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jjvaldezbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
it has the same small issues as Raybearer-- the themes/lessons are often a bit too on the nose, even for YA, and because there is so much happening packed into book 1 of a series, the protagonist has very little time to make mistakes that she can learn from. Redemptor (sequel to Raybearer) solved that for me and I'm hoping Blackgoose will similarly find her stride in a second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Genocide, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, and War
grace_b_3's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This is basically an alternate history of colonial America but with dragons and a lot of names changed. Going into this book, I was under the impression that it was a secondary world, but the map at the beginning is literally the same as our world.
I enjoyed the ride of this book, but there were definitely some flaws. The world-building was kind of clunky. There are lots of long paragraphs of exposition. The main character, Anequs, has that problem where she says and does whatever she wants, and even when there should be consequences, she somehow gets out of them. She is never paying attention to the political ramifications of her actions.
I enjoyed the ride of this book, but there were definitely some flaws. The world-building was kind of clunky. There are lots of long paragraphs of exposition. The main character, Anequs, has that problem where she says and does whatever she wants, and even when there should be consequences, she somehow gets out of them. She is never paying attention to the political ramifications of her actions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Death, Murder, and War
bluenarcissus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Awesome book. Well-written with deep worldbuilding and fully fleshed-out characters, even minor ones. The technique of using Norse-like words took some getting used to before my mind stopped tripping over them, but I loved this book anyway. Anequs is a heroine for the ages and Sander was beautiful representation. The well-woven threads of an Indigenous worldview make this story challenging and easy to love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism and Murder
lpdx's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Death, Genocide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and War
Minor: Confinement, Transphobia, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
znvisser's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This wasn’t the fastest read for me; I was a bit impatient for all world building (never my fave) and was happy when Anequs finally arrived in her new environment so the action could get started.
The world building is elaborate but all very…. Neat, I guess? Anequs is a flawless superior child being miles ahead in logic and intelligence from anyone in her new environment (yet her need to show this to everyone who already hates her for her heritage never leads to actual problems - except for me as a reader, being annoyed by her boring superiority); most geography, science and linguistics appear just slight variations of the actual world, and even the racism and kolonialism racisms and kolonialisms precisely as it does in the real world.
In a way this is all fine - it probably made it all relatively easy to follow and helps laying ground for plot, but it also made all of it… quite unsurprising, at some time close to uninteresting? There was little friction, struggle or mystery, and it all just floats on (sometime there is drama over nothing and then it turns out to be… nothing indeed); it made me wish for accelerated plot development but we just kept learning new Anglish words for known concepts (I really would have preferred a glossary over the pronunciation guide). Maybe I’m just looking for more complexity than what YA is for; and these characters sure didn’t provide that, suffering from being either flat or incoherent.
In a way this is all fine - it probably made it all relatively easy to follow and helps laying ground for plot, but it also made all of it… quite unsurprising, at some time close to uninteresting? There was little friction, struggle or mystery, and it all just floats on (sometime there is drama over nothing and then it turns out to be… nothing indeed); it made me wish for accelerated plot development but we just kept learning new Anglish words for known concepts (I really would have preferred a glossary over the pronunciation guide). Maybe I’m just looking for more complexity than what YA is for; and these characters sure didn’t provide that, suffering from being either flat or incoherent.
However, it wasn’t not entertaining either: I was somehow invested enough to see where it would go, and it is a good set up for a further series - let’s see if enough of this sticks for me to be eager to pick that up by the time it comes out. But this did count a lot of pages for it to turn out not much more than a set-up for the actual story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Murder, War, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
nofrigatelikeabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely loved this! Dragons and steampunk! Part school story blended with the best kind of alternate history-the kind that holds a mirror up to our own.
Wonderful characters!
Wonderful characters!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Racism, and War
Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
welgan's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
My rating are based purely on my own enjoyment of a book. Don't get me wrong : this is a great book and story. But it was hard to read sometimes, because as much as dragons are imaginary, the violence (both physical and social) to indigenous people, queer and neurodivergent people, and women, in the XIXth century is very much real, and sometimes its depiction felt too real for me to only enjoy the story. Which I'm grateful for, in the end, because I want to learn !
I'm grateful also for the strong character of main character Anequs, and the fierce fire of righting some wrongs which is always satisfying. I also appreciate a good bisexual and polyamorous representation!
The writing style kept me engaged with it's flaw, and the world building of a parallel world where things end up a bit different than our own history was very interesting, as was the science based magic.
I regret that dragons don't play a more important role in the story, in the end : this is before everything else a story about society and injustice. The dragons give a flavor to it, but not its substance. I think I was expecting a deeper connexion between dragon and dragoneer, like in Eragon ; I also think the author did a great job at keeping the dragons around in every scene, they're not forgotten, but they're simply not the main subject of the book.
I'm grateful also for the strong character of main character Anequs, and the fierce fire of righting some wrongs which is always satisfying. I also appreciate a good bisexual and polyamorous representation!
The writing style kept me engaged with it's flaw, and the world building of a parallel world where things end up a bit different than our own history was very interesting, as was the science based magic.
I regret that dragons don't play a more important role in the story, in the end : this is before everything else a story about society and injustice. The dragons give a flavor to it, but not its substance. I think I was expecting a deeper connexion between dragon and dragoneer, like in Eragon ; I also think the author did a great job at keeping the dragons around in every scene, they're not forgotten, but they're simply not the main subject of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Blood, Murder, and War
relin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Murder, Lesbophobia, and War
toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Loved this book! Really looking forward to more in this series when it eventually comes out. The worldbuilding was very interesting and I enjoyed it a lot, and all the characters felt very well developed and complex. Anequs was a great narrator and I enjoyed being in her head, and I loved how her knowledge of her people's traditions is what allowed her to succeed
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: Gun violence and Hate crime
Minor: Animal death, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Murder, Lesbophobia, and War
mahaila's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Among the many stories of teenagers being sent to magical academies, To Shape A Dragon’s Breath is a unique and inspiring parallel history, reclaiming, Indigenous culture, and depicting the lived experience of colonization and racism. A central idea of the story, the idea of connecting traditional dance, folklore, healing, dragons and magic was so interesting. I found it comforting reading about Anequs recovering lost parts of her peoples’ traditional knowledge.
I loved meeting Anequs’ close friends and family, particularly Sander who is neurodivergent and prefers to communicate via a magically powered wax tablet. I would have been happy learning more about the technology unique to this historical timeline.
I found the sections where Anequs is learning scholarly topics like skiltaktaft somewhat difficult to follow. This was not helped by the many neologisms and use of German words.
Nevertheless I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Colonisation
Minor: Murder