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rockyroadbutch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
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? No
4.75
Wonderful, interesting, compelling. A bit slow to start but worth it. Love the diverse representation and the opportunity to get to know such a powerful main character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
eguare's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Genocide, Homophobia, Racism, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
The book takes place in a fantasy version of 1840s "America" under colonization, with main characters including a young indigenous girl, a young indigenous boybookish_afrolatina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? No
5.0
An incredible start to a historical fantasy series! I devoured this book quickly despite the length of it because the main character and alternate timeline were captivating. Anequs was kind, smart, matter-of-fact, open-minded, and brave. Anglish society’s rules and customs didn’t have a hold on her unless they could help someone. She was relatable and her friends, for the most part, were from varied backgrounds.
According to the author Moniquil Blackhoose, “To Shape a Dragon’s Breath takes place in southern New England (Rhode Island, Massachussetts) in the 1840s in a very alternate timeline — the Roman Empire never existed, the British Isles were settled by Scandinavian seafarers, and the European colonization of the east coast of the US is proceeding differently. “ Therefore, all of the names of the countries, religious practices, and culture of the colonizers of Turtle Island are almost entirely different from our reality.
I think that Blackgoose handled discussions of race, eugenics, queerness, polyamory, and the autism spectrum with care despite ableism, homophobia, and racism being acceptable by Anglish society. Anequs is our moral guide, in a sense.
I loved the pacing of this book. I found that no matter how many times I thought I knew what would happen next, I was wrong! So that was such a treat. I especially loved the way the characters shared their cultural stories.
The audiobook was lovely thanks to the narrator Charley Flyte! Part way through it I began to wish I had a print copy. Now that I’ve finished the book I know I absolutely want the print since I expect I’ll reread it before the second book comes out.
Y’all need to read this!!!
According to the author Moniquil Blackhoose, “To Shape a Dragon’s Breath takes place in southern New England (Rhode Island, Massachussetts) in the 1840s in a very alternate timeline — the Roman Empire never existed, the British Isles were settled by Scandinavian seafarers, and the European colonization of the east coast of the US is proceeding differently. “ Therefore, all of the names of the countries, religious practices, and culture of the colonizers of Turtle Island are almost entirely different from our reality.
I think that Blackgoose handled discussions of race, eugenics, queerness, polyamory, and the autism spectrum with care despite ableism, homophobia, and racism being acceptable by Anglish society. Anequs is our moral guide, in a sense.
I loved the pacing of this book. I found that no matter how many times I thought I knew what would happen next, I was wrong! So that was such a treat. I especially loved the way the characters shared their cultural stories.
The audiobook was lovely thanks to the narrator Charley Flyte! Part way through it I began to wish I had a print copy. Now that I’ve finished the book I know I absolutely want the print since I expect I’ll reread it before the second book comes out.
Y’all need to read this!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Hate crime, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Sexism, Violence, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Suicide, and Death of parent
avacadosocks's review against another edition
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and War
blacksphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I can safely say that this book lives up to the promise of its incredibly original and interesting plot synopsis. In fact it's even more out of the box than you'd expect. I was confused when I opened the book and was greeted with a partial periodic table of elements - something left off the cover is that dragons don't breathe fire in this world, their breath instead reduces anything it touches to their base elements like carbon and nitrogen. Chemistry is a major and constant plot point!
This is a book that only could have been written by a Native American, and is a shining example of what we're all missing out on when publishers don't give minority voices a space in SF/F. This book tells a steampunk story in a magic school about a Girl And Her Dragon, while also being an unflinching account of the struggles of indigenous people at the turn of the century. Despite having a plethora of characters along almost every axis of diversity I can think of, no one felt like a hollow check mark on a list to me. I especially liked that the indigenous characters are not uniform in their opinions on how to shape the future (you know, like real people!). As you would also expect, the range of white characters realistically behave in ways of their time, with well-intentioned ones also being various degrees of racist/ethnocentric. It's a story that's both "important" while also being a great read on it's own, you know?
I found the plot itself to be beautiful while not neatly fitting into a standard action-oriented structure. If you need some sort of central mystery or struggle to unfold and then be solved by the end of the book, this one might not be for you. There's a revelation around the 60% mark that brought tears to my eyes. While it's not a YA novel, it's the kind of fiction that would have blown my mind as a young teen and I hope going straight to paperback allows it to fit into as many hands as possible.
My only complaint is that I wish there was a glossary of terms, even though I feel it was intentional so we feel as overwhelmed and out of place as our protagonist. While she eventually got the hang of things, my dyslexic self constantly struggled.
This is a book that only could have been written by a Native American, and is a shining example of what we're all missing out on when publishers don't give minority voices a space in SF/F. This book tells a steampunk story in a magic school about a Girl And Her Dragon, while also being an unflinching account of the struggles of indigenous people at the turn of the century. Despite having a plethora of characters along almost every axis of diversity I can think of, no one felt like a hollow check mark on a list to me. I especially liked that the indigenous characters are not uniform in their opinions on how to shape the future (you know, like real people!). As you would also expect, the range of white characters realistically behave in ways of their time, with well-intentioned ones also being various degrees of racist/ethnocentric. It's a story that's both "important" while also being a great read on it's own, you know?
I found the plot itself to be beautiful while not neatly fitting into a standard action-oriented structure. If you need some sort of central mystery or struggle to unfold and then be solved by the end of the book, this one might not be for you. There's a revelation around the 60% mark that brought tears to my eyes. While it's not a YA novel, it's the kind of fiction that would have blown my mind as a young teen and I hope going straight to paperback allows it to fit into as many hands as possible.
My only complaint is that I wish there was a glossary of terms, even though I feel it was intentional so we feel as overwhelmed and out of place as our protagonist. While she eventually got the hang of things, my dyslexic self constantly struggled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death and War
marleywrites's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
In this story, we follow Anequs and her dragon, Kasaqua, as they attend an Anglish school for dragoneering. Anque is a young indigenous woman, and she travels from her island of Masquapaug to attend the school. At the school she is met with hardships and difficulties from classmates, professors, and the Anglish community alike. There are a few heavy themes explored in this novel, such as racism, xenophobia, and bullying. This is a slower paced novel, very “vibe exploration” if you will. You learn a lot about world building. Overall, I rated this story a 5/5 stars.
I rated this story as five stars because I fell in love with the characters. We learn pretty quickly that Anequs is highly adaptable, intelligent, stubborn, and completely ignorant of Anglish customs and social practices. This makes for numerous challenging encounters for Anequs throughout the novel, oftentimes getting her into trouble without her realizing. Following Anequs’s story as she learns to engage with people in a way that does not compromise who she is and what she stands for was something I was grateful for.
I loved the side cast of this novel. Sander has my heart, and Theod became a favorite by the end of the novel. I adore Liberty, and Marta is growing on me. All the little ones were pleasant to read about as well.
In addition, I loved the representation in this novel. Without naming specific characters, I appreciated the representation of LGBTQ+ people, indigenous people, polyamorous people, women, and autistic people. The portrayals were extremely well done. I was also excited by the politics of the story. I find the political intrigue fascinating and the author wrote it very well.
Lastly, I’m eager to see where any sequels will go with this novel. This novel had a lot of world building and was a slower pace, and I’m hoping that we will see more action in the coming novels. I am looking forward to more from this author!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Gun violence, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse
boglord's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
(Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)
Spoiler Free Summary: Anequs, a young woman from an indigenous community on the outskirts of Anglish country, becomes Nampeshiweisit when she is gifted a dragon egg by one of the indigenous dragon species thought to be extinct by her community. Faced by the threat of prosecution by local Anglish laws, Anequs must take Kasaqua, her dragon, to an Anglish dragoneering school in order to properly master Kasaqua's breath, a powerful force when unshaped. In the course of her first year at the school, she makes friends, falls for two different people at the school, and deals with racism and bigotry. In the end, this is a character-driven novel that investigates the relationship marginalized communities have within this fictionalized 19th century America.
I really enjoyed this book. The relationship Anequs has with her friends was constantly touching, and I was thoroughly impressed by the author's ability to fit so many important discussions on racism, homophobia, ableism, and colonialism in a very digestible yet meaningful format. I've seen other reviews speaking of the book as though it was boring; I was never bored. But I did not know what to expect coming into this book- if you're looking for a fantasy adventure this is not one. The book focuses on Anequs in her attempt to figure out how she can exist genuinely in her indigenous identity in a society that wishes she would assimilate. If you're looking for a story of a brave young woman struggling to assert herself in a world that's trying to put her down, while uplifting other marginalized people who she befriends along the way, this is a feel-good, hopeful story that shows how strong we can be when we are together.
I have to say that the plot struggles at some points near the end. The culminating action that takes place in the last couple chapters feels extremely rushed and I wished that some major plot points weren't glossed over, as they would have not only been extremely exciting bits of action to read, but they also would have been great instances to interact with what all the characters who are introduced think and feel as the story wraps up. As it is, I think that the author leaves a lot unsaid, where throughout the rest of the story we are entrenched in the characters' thoughts and feelings.
At times I also struggled with the intense academic nature of the story- there was one chapter near the beginning of Anequs' story that was incredibly difficult to read and digest. Later in the book it became clear that this was intentional to highlight how difficult it was for Anequs to understand, also an outsider to the germanic technical terms used throughout.
I recommend this book and give it 4 stars! I am very excited for this series to continue as I can imagine many ways that the story might progress now that Anequs has grown into a mature and determined young woman.
Spoiler Free Summary: Anequs, a young woman from an indigenous community on the outskirts of Anglish country, becomes Nampeshiweisit when she is gifted a dragon egg by one of the indigenous dragon species thought to be extinct by her community. Faced by the threat of prosecution by local Anglish laws, Anequs must take Kasaqua, her dragon, to an Anglish dragoneering school in order to properly master Kasaqua's breath, a powerful force when unshaped. In the course of her first year at the school, she makes friends, falls for two different people at the school, and deals with racism and bigotry. In the end, this is a character-driven novel that investigates the relationship marginalized communities have within this fictionalized 19th century America.
I really enjoyed this book. The relationship Anequs has with her friends was constantly touching, and I was thoroughly impressed by the author's ability to fit so many important discussions on racism, homophobia, ableism, and colonialism in a very digestible yet meaningful format. I've seen other reviews speaking of the book as though it was boring; I was never bored. But I did not know what to expect coming into this book- if you're looking for a fantasy adventure this is not one. The book focuses on Anequs in her attempt to figure out how she can exist genuinely in her indigenous identity in a society that wishes she would assimilate. If you're looking for a story of a brave young woman struggling to assert herself in a world that's trying to put her down, while uplifting other marginalized people who she befriends along the way, this is a feel-good, hopeful story that shows how strong we can be when we are together.
I have to say that the plot struggles at some points near the end. The culminating action that takes place in the last couple chapters feels extremely rushed and I wished that some major plot points weren't glossed over, as they would have not only been extremely exciting bits of action to read, but they also would have been great instances to interact with what all the characters who are introduced think and feel as the story wraps up. As it is, I think that the author leaves a lot unsaid, where throughout the rest of the story we are entrenched in the characters' thoughts and feelings.
At times I also struggled with the intense academic nature of the story- there was one chapter near the beginning of Anequs' story that was incredibly difficult to read and digest. Later in the book it became clear that this was intentional to highlight how difficult it was for Anequs to understand, also an outsider to the germanic technical terms used throughout.
I recommend this book and give it 4 stars! I am very excited for this series to continue as I can imagine many ways that the story might progress now that Anequs has grown into a mature and determined young woman.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and War