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bluejayreads's review
4.5
Occasionally when I plan to come back to a book, I actually do. This is one of those books. Although to be fair, I gave up on it not because of the book itself, but because the audiobook was so quiet that even on max volume I couldn't hear it over the background noise at my job. When I put it down, I knew I hadn't given the book a fair chance, so I told myself I'd pick it up again in a different format.
And I'm glad I actually did. It didn't grab me immediately, but I wanted to at least get past the setup that I attempted to listen to via audio. And by the time I got through that, the world grabbed me and the inciting incident had gotten the actual story started.
This story starts out really simple. Maren is perfectly happy to play second fiddle to her bold, brave, adventurous girlfriend, and would really rather stay in her mountain village instead of traveling the world. Kaia gets very little characterization besides being bold, brave, and adventurous (and Maren being deeply in love with her). I appreciated the rich descriptions of the village, but I really wasn't connecting with any of the characters.
Then Kaia got taken and Maren decided she was going to steal a dragon, and the story really started to pick up. Maren's straightforward plan goes sideways really quickly, as it turns out stealing an entire dragon is not as easy as it seems. Plus there's a whole lot of other stuff going on, and the reader gains awareness of it as Maren does. What starts as mild racial tensions turns out to be a whole anti-imperialist rebellion. What starts as a simple steal-a-dragon quest turns into learning the truth about how the emperor deals treats his dragons and those who care for them. What starts as a simple goal to rescue a girl taken by the Aurati eventually reveals the significantly darker reality behind the Aurati as an institution.
I blazed through this book in two days because it's very good. The world is well-drawn, I love dragons, I love the unique and creative way dragons are managed in this world. Maren herself is a great character who does some fantastic growth, and I love the way the slow revelations about what is actually going on are revealed in parallel with her growth - the more Maren comes out of her complacency and takes risks, the more both she and I learned the truth of this world. It was just very well done. Plus, you know, it's hard to go wrong with dragons.
I didn't realize going into this one that there's a sequel, but I'm glad there is. There's definitely more adventure to be had here, and I want to see where it goes. And of course no YA fantasy featuring a rebellion is going to be complete until the rebellion is done. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Minor: Torture, Animal cruelty, and Colonisation
talonsontypewriters's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit and Animal death
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.25
About a year and a half ago, I embarked on a quest to find good gay dragon books, and Shatter the Sky was one of the first recommendations I got.
This book's setup feels very familiar: a teenage girl leaves her small mountain town to rescue her girlfriend from a magical organization that serves the emperor whose empire is occupying their lands. In the process, she makes new friends, learns new skills, and experiences personal growth. Dragons are involved.
I predicted every major plot twist in this book because it's following such a familiar formula, but I wasn't mad about it at all. I love this formula. It's one of my favorites. It's exactly what I was looking for when I said I wanted gay dragon books.
The dragon stuff gets more interesting as the book progresses, which makes me very excited to hopefully learn more dragon lore in book two. I'm very interested in where the essential oil stuff came from. Not sure if we're going to get more information about that, but I hope we are.
The queer aspects are very much what I wanted, as well, which I know is going to be a controversial opinion. Maren and Kaia love each other, but they're also teenagers with teenage issues, and their dynamic is very unequal. If Kaia had not been taken, I probably would have wanted them to break up. And I love that Sev is someone who actually sees Maren and pushes her and encourages her to grow. So no, I'm not mad at the bisexual love triangle. In fact, this is some of the best casual bisexual representation I've ever encountered. I really don't care who Maren ends up with (one, both, or neither all seem like valid options at this point) so long as the characters talk through their various issues first.
Additionally, this book is set in a queer-normative world, which is a choice that I really respect and appreciate in YA fantasy in particular. Sometimes it's valuable and important and interesting to explore issues of homophobia and transphobia, but sometimes I just want to enjoy a fun queer story without dealing with those issues (and of course the characters have all sorts of other issues to deal with, not least imperialism). Kaia has two moms, and there's also a nonbinary side character near the end of the book.
Honestly, the only reason I see why anyone would have an issue with the queer aspects of this book is if you're biphobic and you think that Maren should be a lesbian. If that's you, maybe think about that for a minute.
Was this a good book? I don't know. Objectively, I think it was fine. It didn't blow me away, and it probably won't blow you away either. But I liked it, and if you enjoy dragon books and want one where the main character is in a bisexual love triangle on top of all of the usual tropes, then you'll probably like it too.
This book's setup feels very familiar: a teenage girl leaves her small mountain town to rescue her girlfriend from a magical organization that serves the emperor whose empire is occupying their lands. In the process, she makes new friends, learns new skills, and experiences personal growth. Dragons are involved.
I predicted every major plot twist in this book because it's following such a familiar formula, but I wasn't mad about it at all. I love this formula. It's one of my favorites. It's exactly what I was looking for when I said I wanted gay dragon books.
The dragon stuff gets more interesting as the book progresses, which makes me very excited to hopefully learn more dragon lore in book two. I'm very interested in where the essential oil stuff came from. Not sure if we're going to get more information about that, but I hope we are.
The queer aspects are very much what I wanted, as well, which I know is going to be a controversial opinion. Maren and Kaia love each other, but they're also teenagers with teenage issues, and their dynamic is very unequal. If Kaia had not been taken, I probably would have wanted them to break up. And I love that Sev is someone who actually sees Maren and pushes her and encourages her to grow. So no, I'm not mad at the bisexual love triangle. In fact, this is some of the best casual bisexual representation I've ever encountered. I really don't care who Maren ends up with (one, both, or neither all seem like valid options at this point) so long as the characters talk through their various issues first.
Additionally, this book is set in a queer-normative world, which is a choice that I really respect and appreciate in YA fantasy in particular. Sometimes it's valuable and important and interesting to explore issues of homophobia and transphobia, but sometimes I just want to enjoy a fun queer story without dealing with those issues (and of course the characters have all sorts of other issues to deal with, not least imperialism). Kaia has two moms, and there's also a nonbinary side character near the end of the book.
Honestly, the only reason I see why anyone would have an issue with the queer aspects of this book is if you're biphobic and you think that Maren should be a lesbian. If that's you, maybe think about that for a minute.
Was this a good book? I don't know. Objectively, I think it was fine. It didn't blow me away, and it probably won't blow you away either. But I liked it, and if you enjoy dragon books and want one where the main character is in a bisexual love triangle on top of all of the usual tropes, then you'll probably like it too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Animal death
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.5
A disaster bisexual MC, dragons and lots of pining bc her girlfriend was kidnapped!? This was sooo good!
Rep: Bisexual biracial BIPOC cis female MC, sapphic BIPOC cis female love interest, BIPOC cis male side character (possibly a second love interest not sure yet), multiple BIPOC side characters, queer-normative world.
CWs: Violence, kidnapping. Moderate: Animal cruelty and death (dragons), death, xenophobia, blood, vomit, medical content, fire/fire injury, torture.
Rep: Bisexual biracial BIPOC cis female MC, sapphic BIPOC cis female love interest, BIPOC cis male side character (possibly a second love interest not sure yet), multiple BIPOC side characters, queer-normative world.
CWs: Violence, kidnapping. Moderate: Animal cruelty and death (dragons), death, xenophobia, blood, vomit, medical content, fire/fire injury, torture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood, Torture, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Vomit, and Medical content
booksthatburn's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
SHATTER THE SKY features a teenager on a quest to rescue her girlfriend and hopefully bond a dragon along the way.
The worldbuilding is good, it errs on the side of not giving much information. It suits the somewhat sheltered protagonist but does mean that I didn't come away feeling like I could say much about the setting beyond a history of conquest, imperialism, and the use of dragons to consolidate and maintain power. Since this is a quest undertaken by someone leaving home for the first time with rescue of a loved one as the main goal, it didn't need a whole lot more than we get, and it works. As for that quest, Maren matures and changes at a significant but believable pace, I like the relationship that develops, and the stuff with the dragons is handled pretty well. If you want a queer fantasy about subterfuge and dragons that doesn't overwhelm with backstory, definitely try this. I generally prefer something a bit denser, but this was a lot of fun. My favorite part is right after Maren enters a town for the first time and has to figure out how to look and behave in a new place pretending to be someone she's not. A lot of important context is conveyed very skillfully and quickly in a few brief scenes, and it's great.
I love the ending, I'd been worried that one of the relationships was going to get dropped once the questing portion was done but it looks like this book sets up the possibility of even more in book two. I'm looking forward to reading whether the sequel delivers on that promise.
The worldbuilding is good, it errs on the side of not giving much information. It suits the somewhat sheltered protagonist but does mean that I didn't come away feeling like I could say much about the setting beyond a history of conquest, imperialism, and the use of dragons to consolidate and maintain power. Since this is a quest undertaken by someone leaving home for the first time with rescue of a loved one as the main goal, it didn't need a whole lot more than we get, and it works. As for that quest, Maren matures and changes at a significant but believable pace, I like the relationship that develops, and the stuff with the dragons is handled pretty well. If you want a queer fantasy about subterfuge and dragons that doesn't overwhelm with backstory, definitely try this. I generally prefer something a bit denser, but this was a lot of fun. My favorite part is right after Maren enters a town for the first time and has to figure out how to look and behave in a new place pretending to be someone she's not. A lot of important context is conveyed very skillfully and quickly in a few brief scenes, and it's great.
I love the ending, I'd been worried that one of the relationships was going to get dropped once the questing portion was done but it looks like this book sets up the possibility of even more in book two. I'm looking forward to reading whether the sequel delivers on that promise.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia
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