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star_charter152's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Genocide, Hate crime, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, and War
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Slavery, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
annamay1021's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: War
booksdogsandcoffee's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.75
An absolute masterpiece. Blackgoose melds the perfect combination of political intrigue, an in depth view of colonization, inequality and adds in dragons to create this world that is very parallel to ours.
If you weren't uncomfortable while reading this book, you missed the point. To Shape A Dragon's Breath invokes every emotion imaginable while reading.
I loved everything about this book and will be eagerly awaiting the sequel.
If you weren't uncomfortable while reading this book, you missed the point. To Shape A Dragon's Breath invokes every emotion imaginable while reading.
I loved everything about this book and will be eagerly awaiting the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Genocide and Lesbophobia
rosepetalsandpaperbacks08's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism and War
quartz's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Genocide and War
thoughtsontomes's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? No
5.0
The closest thing I can get to describing this is the boarding school aspect of Harry Potter but add dragons and own world mythology inspired by Norse, American Indigenous, and German folktales using oral tradition mixed with the historical setting, unique worldbuilding, and society of the Winter’s Promise series. Also it’s queer and polyamorous?! What’s not to love??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
jainabee's review
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
After reading the hardcopy once and listening to the audiobook twice, my appreciation for the rich complexities and top notch storytelling is even stronger. Magnificent. Listening to the wonderful character voices and accents performed by Charley Flyte brought out the intercultural class differences and complex social nuances more distinctly.
So much happens so quickly in this first installment of the series that I missed a few important details which deepen the characters—such as the look that Frau Kuiper gives Anaqus right before her skiltakraft final. The look that Anequs cannot interpret in the moment. I think I know what it means now, but it took three reads! The complicated social and political layers of this story are profound—and quite relevant to contemporary issues.
Another aspect that took me this long to get (I am white from a colonizer heritage and this tale is told from an Indigenous POV—there’s probably a LOT MORE that I don’t get) is the stylized language throughout the book. Though most of the places and objects in the book are all places and objects that are real, they all have abstracted names; English is Anglish, a penny is a pennik, a photographer is a lichtbildmacher, radium is strahlendstone, etc… why all of this confusing terminology??? Other than sustaining the tone of the alternate reality, it also puts a reader who has been educated in a typical American school in the same confusing position as the Indigenous protagonist. The words and customs that the colonizers all take for granted are almost as baffling to the reader as they are to Anequs. If the author had simply used words any typical American would understand, the reader would not be able to empathize with the confusion and frustrations and other obstacles that Anequs must move through.
The final layer I that understood more this time I wrapped in spoiler alerts in the content warning section.
I can barely wait for the next installment!
I couldn't put this down and I told each and every one of my friends, colleagues, and quite a few strangers that they really ought to read this book! I can barely wait for the next one—so curious to see where the story goes from the astonishing set-up of the first book.
So much happens so quickly in this first installment of the series that I missed a few important details which deepen the characters—such as the look that Frau Kuiper gives Anaqus right before her skiltakraft final. The look that Anequs cannot interpret in the moment. I think I know what it means now, but it took three reads! The complicated social and political layers of this story are profound—and quite relevant to contemporary issues.
Another aspect that took me this long to get (I am white from a colonizer heritage and this tale is told from an Indigenous POV—there’s probably a LOT MORE that I don’t get) is the stylized language throughout the book. Though most of the places and objects in the book are all places and objects that are real, they all have abstracted names; English is Anglish, a penny is a pennik, a photographer is a lichtbildmacher, radium is strahlendstone, etc… why all of this confusing terminology??? Other than sustaining the tone of the alternate reality, it also puts a reader who has been educated in a typical American school in the same confusing position as the Indigenous protagonist. The words and customs that the colonizers all take for granted are almost as baffling to the reader as they are to Anequs. If the author had simply used words any typical American would understand, the reader would not be able to empathize with the confusion and frustrations and other obstacles that Anequs must move through.
The final layer I that understood more this time I wrapped in spoiler alerts in the content warning section.
I can barely wait for the next installment!
I couldn't put this down and I told each and every one of my friends, colleagues, and quite a few strangers that they really ought to read this book! I can barely wait for the next one—so curious to see where the story goes from the astonishing set-up of the first book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- 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
This is my new favorite book. it delivered on every possible level. I adored the characters and the worldbuilding and the writing style. I will come back and write a longer review when I can express my love for this book more coherently, but wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Minor: Animal death
alliekc1010's review
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
It took me about 50% of the book to get used to the writing style, which has a lot of transitions in conversations and scenes that do not flow very well. However, I love the characters so much; they make the story amazing. TSADB is an excellent examination of colonization, racism, gender roles, and more from the perspective of an indigenous teenage girl in a reimagining of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. There is excellent depictions of queer relationships and autism spectrum disorder. I know that this is supposed to be a series, so I'm excited to see where Anequs and her friends go!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Genocide and Hate crime
There is a specific word in this book that I believe the author uses as a made-up racial slur against the indigenous peoples in this world. It is used very often throughout the book.mateyy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.75
This felt like a fresh breath of air. I was so absorbed from beginning to end following Anequs battle her way through a world that wishes for her to fail at every turn.
Moniquill Blackgoose created a really cool almost steampunk-y Colonial North American setting that lends itself well to the story being told. How Anequs (and subsequently the audience) interacted with the setting worked well and it did not feel like I had to sift through so much exposition.
I think coming into this book with the notion that it was a bit like Fourth Wing but TSADB actively deals with the horrors that Native Americans had to (and still deal with the repercussions) face in a fantasy setting, definitely set me up for a different novel than I got. I think if I read this without that bias, I think I would have enjoyed the book more because the stakes were a lot different than I was expecting.
I am excited to see the story continue in the next installment!
Moniquill Blackgoose created a really cool almost steampunk-y Colonial North American setting that lends itself well to the story being told. How Anequs (and subsequently the audience) interacted with the setting worked well and it did not feel like I had to sift through so much exposition.
I think coming into this book with the notion that it was a bit like Fourth Wing but TSADB actively deals with the horrors that Native Americans had to (and still deal with the repercussions) face in a fantasy setting, definitely set me up for a different novel than I got. I think if I read this without that bias, I think I would have enjoyed the book more because the stakes were a lot different than I was expecting.
I am excited to see the story continue in the next installment!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism