Stronger than a bronze dragon was a book i went in with high expectations , and disappointed.

This book starts off with mulan tropes with a dead father and an unnecessary arranged marriage. Until the point we meet Tai , everything couldve been edited.

Anlei was a difficult character to love for me. With the book entirely being her point of view it was really hard getting through with her the whole time. Tai was so cliché , oneliners and the deep characterisation. It felt like a forced ship for me.

I didn't really enjoy this one as much as i should've.

Thanks Netgalley for giving me a chance to read and review this book.

This was a really great story about a girl who dreams of seeing the world and going on a grand adventure and finally gets her chance to do so. Anlei follows Tai on his quest to save his people, thinking herself a secondary character in his story, hoping that people will somehow remember her name as well when all is said and done. But after they've saved his people and returned home, it is Anlei who discovers the darker secrets plaguing her kingdom and fights to save everyone, becoming the true hero in her own story that she always dreamed of being, and in the end it no longer mattered if her name was remembered or if she reached glory, because she knew she had done the right thing and saved the people who mattered to her, ending a war before it could begin.

I really loved Anlei and Tai and their banter and how he respected and admired her skills, how he knew she could beat him in a fight if she were really trying. I love how he had admired her ferocity even before they officially met, how he loved and trusted her long before she allowed herself to do the same with him. I loved the two of them and all the adventures they went on, the people they saved, and the life they're going to live together, seeing the whole world <3

Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon is a story that will leave you shouting from the rooftops. It's a story with a heroine you will fall in love with. She has a noble heart and a passionate sense of determination, even when it lands her squarely in trouble. There's a fire in her soul to do what's right, even when it's not acceptable. While, her journey imparts the importance of support, of trust and honesty, and of doing what's right especially when it's hard.

Anlei is set on a path of destiny, but it's not one she chose. It's one decided for the good of the village. And while it's against every fiber of her being, And it chips away everything of Anlei - her agency, her desire to fight for what, and who, she loves, and her future. She has a noble heart which yearns for adventure, boxed in by society's expectations, but what people demand of her.

Continuing with the trend for Asian inspired #ownvoice fantasy; this time with added dragons, this book had all the hallmarks of a perfect read for me. However, it was a story I struggled with. Stronger than a Bronze Dragon isn't a bad book, far from it - it just didn't bring much new to the table for the genre. The only proper standout point was the steampunk element which was unexpected and gave a much needed extra layer to the story. So let's start with that. Although we are far from a contemporary setting the wonderfully crafted mechanical dragon ships give a background of creativity and industry. The cyborg soldiers adding a sci-fi twist to this world of cogs and wheels. The world building has a high attention to detail and I have to say that the author does a good job of balancing both a character and plot driven story points, a rare feat.

Anlei as our protagonist though, was a difficult character for me to get on with. Depending on how you feel about particular tropes, readers will either love her feisty, fighting, no holds barred persona. Or, if you're like me, you'll find her constant need to put herself and her own sense of justice first frustrating, especially given the amount of people relying on her; literally all the time. For this reason I struggled to connect to her character - she just never learnt from what came before and she lacked any real depth.  Tai on the other hand couldn't have been more different, I enjoyed his character immensely, so much secrecy around him and so many layers to his character. He had a great story arc and I found myself actually enjoying his cheesy one liners and light hearted approach to even the darkest of scenarios.

The narrative however did feel clumsy at times, some sections seemed very laborious, yet sections full of mystery and action felt like they were over in a blink. There is to a degree too many things in play at the same time and not much felt like it was covered in a satisfying way. I just don't know if there were too many ideas in the story for them to really be given full justice in a standalone setting. Honestly, I thought that the Dragons would play a bigger part too. I appreciate that there were elements of this that maybe were just not my cup of tea, or maybe I've just read too much of this sub genre recently but there just wasn't enough to make me think wow about the story sadly.

This book features a strong badass warrioress, a charming thief/half breed (i'll let you figure that out) and their journey on saving the people in their hometown and eventually, everyone else too. I love the chemistry between Anlei (the protagonist) and Tai (charming thief). The plot developed well as they brought me along their journey. I liked the fact that Tai is a mysterious character and he is quite dynamic. Meanwhile, as much as I love Anlei, she's that strong female character that we all need but at times, I felt that the author is forcing on her greatness too much on the readers that at certain point, Anlei is just too obsessed with her ability to fight and becoming a warrioress. The villain in this book (Viceroy Kang) certainly has so many layers to his character, I loved how the author shaped him and gave him so many layers of identity. It was pure joy to get to know Viceroy Kang and his evil plans.

The relationship between Anlei and her sister, Anshui is also another aspect I adore. It was nice to see the sisters rooting for one another and how mature they are and their affection for one another is really soothing. Of course, I love the Asian aspect of this book. The chinese words that keep appearing along the story making reading this book so much more interesting for me. Also, the myths and the folklore told in this book is a pleasant to read. Psst... The ending got me tear up, just a tiny bit, not much. Like I've seen this kind of ending before but it never fails to touch my heart. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this book!

The writing, plot, setting, and characters are awesome! I loved how real the dragons feel. Many books just don’t know how to do dragons justice but this one does and it is fantastic. I can see many students who enjoyed Eragon liking this one too.

It was such a compelling story and sucked me in from the beginning. I enjoyed every minute of that reading experience!

When I came across this book on Netgalley the cover immediately drew my attention. A Dragon and the typography of the yellow title. I like. Of course the title mentioning a dragon helped. There are dragons in here, just not quite the way you’d think. That didn’t stop me from enjoying this splendid standalone novel.

This book has everything. It is a strange mixture of steampunk, paranormal, magic, and do I dare say, a touch of mythology. There are air ships, steampunk dragons, pearls gifted by a dragon, uncommon fantasy creatures, hell, unwilling brides, thieves. There is so much jammed in this book that it is a little overwhelming at times. Sometimes it maybe had too much. With that I mean that some elements could have used more room to be fitted in world building wise.

Having said that though, there is an incredible pace throughout this book. It keeps going and going and going. I just kept on turning and turning and turning the pages, just to keep up. Yet there was enough room left to explain the world satisfactory and characterize the characters. Seeing as this novel is under 400 pages AND a standalone that is quite a feat. The plot doesn’t stop with the initial quest though initial I felt that we were building up to that moment. Somehow she managed to hold onto that feeling as we build up to the actual ending.

Our main character Anlei is a bit of a spitfire, getting the chance to fight in the guard of her village, it is one of the things she wanted the most. However when she gets offered up as a bride to a powerful older man to save her village definitely she feels she has no other choice but to accept. It does not go easy for her and she ends up going on her first and quite probably her final adventure.

While I liked Anlei, I loved Tai. He is the kind of character I am always drawn. The humor and endless teasing. He was able to draw it out of Anlei too which was great to see. I loved how they were put together because they weren’t opposites. In fact Anlei recognized a lot of herself in him that helped her grow and see her own behavior in a different light. I think that was a great way to go about it.

Overall a great fantasy standalone.

I loved this. I have a soft spot for Asian stories, and I love so many more are available now. This is one of my favourite I’ve read in a long time. The characters are well written, very empathetic and likeable. I loved Tai so much, that kind of irritating charm we all love. Anlei is a great MC strong but human. You will love this book trust me . It’s full of everything you could want steampunk, dragons, action and magic

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I really appreciated the setting - the combination of Chinese history, fantasy, and steampunk-esque technology was really interesting and individual. The rest of the storyline was pretty classic for YA sci fi/fantasy and the writing was average, but the world building elevated it for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC..

I really appreciate that this novel explores a steampunk world that isn't eurocentric. I also love that it features a strong, kick-butt female protagonist. That being said, the story never really grabbed me in any meaningful way and it is unlikely to stay with me. I do think true steampunk fans (which I am not) will enjoy it however.

I ended up enjoying Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon more then I thought I was going to. I'm peculiar when it comes to steampunk books so I knew this book was going to be either a hit or miss for me. But Chinese warrior girls and steampunk dragons basically had me sold.

I really enjoyed Anlei's character and the fact she made the decision to marry the viceroy knowing it was the only way to save her village. I also liked how she wants to be a warrior and not some girl who is fluffed up and trapped in a castle all the time. Her warrior thinking is why she ended up on the quest to rescue the River Pearl with Tai who is searching for the River Pearl to save his people from Mowang and the gates of hell. I enjoyed Tai's carefree demeanor and how he never took anything seriously.

Overall I really liked Strong Than a Bronze Dragon and it had me intrigued from page one. I can't wait to read more from Mary.