A review by marleywrites
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

adventurous hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

 In this story, we follow Anequs and her dragon, Kasaqua, as they attend an Anglish school for dragoneering. Anque is a young indigenous woman, and she travels from her island of  Masquapaug to attend the school. At the school she is met with hardships and difficulties from classmates, professors, and the Anglish community alike. There are a few heavy themes explored in this novel, such as racism, xenophobia, and bullying. This is a slower paced novel, very “vibe exploration” if you will. You learn a lot about world building. Overall, I rated this story a 5/5 stars. 

I rated this story as five stars because I fell in love with the characters. We learn pretty quickly that Anequs is highly adaptable, intelligent, stubborn, and completely ignorant of Anglish customs and social practices. This makes for numerous challenging encounters for Anequs throughout the novel, oftentimes getting her into trouble without her realizing. Following Anequs’s story as she learns to engage with people in a way that does not compromise who she is and what she stands for was something I was grateful for. 

I loved the side cast of this novel. Sander has my heart, and Theod became a favorite by the end of the novel. I adore Liberty, and Marta is growing on me. All the little ones were pleasant to read about as well. 

In addition, I loved the representation in this novel. Without naming specific characters, I appreciated the representation of LGBTQ+ people, indigenous people, polyamorous people, women, and autistic people. The portrayals were extremely well done. I was also excited by the politics of the story. I find the political intrigue fascinating and the author wrote it very well. 

Lastly, I’m eager to see where any sequels will go with this novel. This novel had a lot of world building and was a slower pace, and I’m hoping that we will see more action in the coming novels. I am looking forward to more from this author!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings