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

This was really enjoyable. A decent amount of plot and a lot of excellent world building. I enjoyed the various folklores, the representation of queer and poly relationships, and the autistic representation. The dragons! So many different dragons. I love reading about them. I also love the bond that they have with their chosen people. The pronunciation guide at the beginning is super helpful!

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novella42's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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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noellelovesbooks's review

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4.75

Content Warnings: racism, colonialism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, blood, gun violence, hate crime, and violence.
Mention of: genocide, animal death, animal cruelty, suicide, death of parents, and internalized racism.

This book was incredible. I love all the lore within, how every so many chapters we get a story told to us, and I LOVE how the dragon's look.

Anequs is such a great main character. She knows who she is, where she's from, and isn't ashamed to speak up when she needs to. Although she's stuck living within a different culture, one that views hers as below them, she stand firm in her teachings and culture. She is determined to learn what she needs to ensure her dragon doesn't cause unintentional harm or danger so that she can return home and help her people.

I love that this book has short chapters, short chapters always make it easier to get through books imo.

I have no idea when book 2 is set to release but I look forward to learning more about Anequs, her people, those that she's connected to, and just more about her life.

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quinnyquinnquinn's review

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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

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny 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

4.75

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tmdreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.5

A compelling story, I can’t wait to read the next books!

There are a lot of themes around colonialism explored in this fantasy. The world is similar to ours but imagine our world with dragons, dragons that not only fly but do chemistry. Anequs lives a peaceful substance life on her island before she finds a dragon’s egg and becomes a Nampeshiweisit -a person that belongs to a dragon. She must attend an school on the mainland and learn about the ways of those who colonize this land to keep her dragon.

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dananana's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A debut with a compelling premise, but could have used a bit of editing to really meet its potential.

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath follows Anequs, an Indigenous young woman living in a fantasy world that closely mirrors the history of our own world. Her story begins in the equivalent of the 1840s, when she discovers that a Nampeshiwe – a dragon native to her land that has all but been wiped out – has laid an egg on her island. When the egg hatches, the dragon, Kasaqua, chooses Anequs to bond with. However, the knowledge of how to care for and work with dragons was lost years ago, so Anequs makes the difficult decision to enroll in an Anglish dragoneering academy. There, she will face hostility and colonialist racism as she begins to learn how to shape her dragon’s breath.

The beginning of this novel was incredibly stellar, and I really do love the premise of the story. The simple and direct narration worked for me and I found myself quite emotional over Anequs and Kasaqua’s bond! In addition, I loved the setting, especially the scenes that took place on Masquipaug (Anequs’s island). Those scenes were infused with a sense of community, history, and cultural details that kept me captivated. I was very intrigued by the themes of anti-colonialism and Indigenous strength. And I really loved everything to do with Kasaqua. I love dragons!!

However, I do have to say I felt a little underwhelmed with the rest of the novel. There wasn’t much a plot, beyond Anequs trying to excel at the Academy while facing racism. There was some action toward the end, but it felt very sudden and was over quickly. There wasn’t much build up of tension. And the writing style made me feel removed from any sense of urgency, as it would often summarize events in paragraphs afterward, without showing the scene and the immediate emotions of the characters.

While I enjoyed Anequs’s perspective, she didn’t have much of a character arc. She was calm and levelheaded, always had an answer for how to handle situations, and always saw the truth of situations. This isn't a criticism in and of itself, but maybe as a result of this characterization, she didn’t have much internal growth or internal difficulties. Even her relationships with her roommate, friends, and romantic interests weren’t especially compelling. The dialog was stilted, there was lots of worldbuilding explanation dumped into conversations, and it felt like she kept having the same conversations over and over. My reading doorways are character and plot, so I found myself wanting more.

Overall, I wanted to like this more than I did – I think it needed editing to meet its full potential, with the addition of more plot or character work to really get it there. Also. I just wanted more dragon scenes, there didn't seem to be enough! However, I think this book could still appeal to readers that like a strong setting and explorations of history through fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchanged for an honest review.

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