A review by jackiijackii
Breath of Earth by Beth Cato

5.0

I'd heard Breath of Earth was great, but when I read its summary, I was afraid it would be too much like Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, the main character a black woman who gets immense power from the earth. But it was not like it at all, and I'm elated, because Breath of Earth is also fantastic. It's more like a D&D earth wizard being dropped into steampunky San Francisco in the early 1900's, and it reminds me most of Gail Carriger's books: paranormal beings in a slightly steampunk, but still very proper, setting, with a dash of romance and humor. Also, about 80% into it, is one of the goriest scenes I've ever read, and it was so unexpected and such a departure from everything else in the book up to that point, it shook me out of the story for a minute but it was undeniably awesome. Putting book 2 on my to-read list right now.