Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

8 reviews

mj1588's review

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Hate crime, Police brutality, Sexism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury

garbutch's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Genuinely one of my favourites out of all of the books I've read in the past few years. (I read about 100 a year.) I love the magic system, and I love the protagonist and the love and kindness she inspires in those around her, even and especially when she's rightfully calling people out for their behaving awfully. I love her determination to speak her mind and stick up for those around her. I feel like this book is so much of what I have always craved to see in anything meant to be in a historical setting, and it's something I wish I saw more. This is one of those books that makes me so excited for the influence I hope it has on the future of historical and fantasy books.

I want to note that I have tagged this polyam and romantic not because it is a romance book (this isn't a major theme in the book, but it is present) but because the protagonist intends to court two people by the end of the book, and it's implied that this will be developed further as it goes on. There is also a secondary character (friend of the protagonist) who prefers to communicate with a magic AAC device who, IMO, was written so well too. A teacher as well who uses a stand-in for a wheelchair. There isn't an identity I have or experience I have had that wasn't represented with care and accuracy, though I can only speak as a white settler queer disabled (neuro + physical) person who uses a mobility aid, and the author surely knows the relevant cultures and dynamics featured more than I could.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, Gun violence, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Death, Bullying, Confinement, Classism, Animal death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Grief, and Forced institutionalization

blakeandbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Ableism, Classism, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Police brutality, Murder, Sexism, Racism, Colonisation, and Misogyny

Moderate: War, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia

thecatconstellation's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful 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

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Colonisation, Murder, and Sexism

Moderate: Hate crime, Genocide, Racial slurs, Death, Classism, Transphobia, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Bullying, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol

nicoleas5's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, and Gun violence

Minor: Police brutality, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

novella42's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Misogyny, Gun violence, Colonisation, Sexism, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Classism, Homophobia, Ableism, Violence, Biphobia, Racial slurs, and Genocide

Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, War, Slavery, Transphobia, Body shaming, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse

thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition

5.0

Wow, I loved this!! I was pretty anxious throughout the whole book because

I kept expecting the Anglish to go kill everyone because...yeah

but I should have trusted the author. <3 Also I wanted to slap so many people in this book. Except Sander.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Colonisation, Ableism, Sexism, Misogyny, Violence, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Genocide, Police brutality, Death of parent, Bullying, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery

thebookcoyote's review

adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

TW/CW: Danger, racism, violence, mild sexuality, gun violence, state violence, sexism 

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Del Rey and am voluntarily writing an honest review. 

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is the story of Anequs, a young indigenous woman who finds and hatches a dragon’s egg, becoming bonded to the young dragon. She is forced by the white colonizers of her land to attend a school for young dragoneers, and finds herself stuck in a world that she has no interest in becoming a part of, with people who constantly insult her for who she is. 

This is, no doubt, a great story. It has all the elements that I love – dragons, a steampunk fantasy world, interesting characters, an underdog succeeding, fighting against racism and xenophobia, LGBTQIA+ representation – all of these things are fantastic. 

Unfortunately, there were two things that affected my enjoyment of this book. First, it was WAY too long at 528 pages. A lot of that was repetition of the same sort of social get-togethers that just seemed unnecessary. Secondly was the writing itself. It’s not that the writing was bad, but it kept me feeling like I was detatched from the story. I found it hard to feel connected because the writing was so dry and lacked emotion. In a lot of ways, it felt more like reading a history book than what should have been an engaging and exciting fantasy novel. 

In all, I would recommend this book, simply because of the things that are so good about it. It drags at times because of the things I’ve stated above, but I think it’s worth getting through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Gun violence, Violence, and Police brutality