Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - To Shape a Dragon's Breath

Such a phenomenal read, and my favorite speculative fiction book of the year! Indigenous otter dragons!!! Moniquill Blackgoose made a truly audacious worldbuilding choice I have never encountered before, and which took me something like 70 pages to understand. But once it clicked, I felt in awe of her. I won't spoil it for anyone, but the risk she took and the monumental effort she put into her worldbuilding absolutely paid off on multiple levels.

Also, I don't know what the audiobook is like, but I can't imagine getting the same effect without a text version. I'm very glad I have the hardcopy so I could page back and forth to the pronunciations, maps, periodic table, etc. I wish I could share photos of the pronunciation guide because it's a sliver of a glimpse of the amount of brainpower Blackgoose poured into this work. I wish I could show you some of the heart, too, but for that you'll need to immerse yourself in the story.

As a lifelong wheelchair-user, I really enjoyed the steampunk wheelchair alternative (though if I were that character I'd probably try and develop some sort of smaller backup mobility aid to allow me to move into all the inaccessible places around the school where the larger device couldn't go). I loved the magical AAC device the neurodivergent character uses to communicate, too! Brilliant and respectful rep for disability, neurodivergence, queer, and polyam characters. I've been recommending it left and right. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

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owlstory's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny informative reflective sad 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

4.75

How do I describe this wonderful book? I was riveted from the first page. It felt like a response to every magic school, dragon rider book that I've read. It challenged my colonist assumptions (in the best ways) with a main character who came to the table with an "of *course* this is this way", which was refreshing. At times it became a little world building explain-y, but it's not an uncommon problem for first-time novelists that I've seen. This book stands right between teen and adult books. It's got a teen main character but she's also culturally an adult (which was an interesting thing and I'm going to be thinking about it for a while). I grew up spending parts of my summers in some of the regions mentioned. Also, can we talk about the amazing nonspeaking/semi-speaking autistic representation with Sander? I adore him so much. Also the bi rep. This also is an alternate history set in a time period and about topics we just don't talk about enough.

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bookish_afrolatina's review against another edition

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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!!!

Content Warnings

avacadosocks's review against another edition

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informative tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

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shector1's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I love this book!!! I hope it reaches more people. I feel like words can't describe how I really enjoyed this book. I want Anequs to get everything she wants so BADDDDDDDDDD. I enjoyed the moments between Liberty and Anequs so much and I really wanted more. Theod definitely grew on me especially his time spent with Anequs. I am very interested to see where this story goes.

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