When I read it was based off the teachings of Bruce Lee, I was in. For the targeted audience, this book is good. It has works building, martial arts, a quest to be your best, arena competitions, learning to channel power and energy, and more. The martial arts, fight scenes, and world building are the biggest draws.

This was another "new to me" author, actually there were two new to me authors. The book itself is a YA telling of a young man - MMC Jun - who is eager to prove his worth, fight in the elite prized Guardian’s Tournament and win. A win in his mind will reclaim the status that was taken from his family.

Jun ends up having to deal with many roadblocks along the way. Most importantly, his father forbidding him to compete. Along with that, there is also the fact that he is not "breathmarked" while his twin brother is. The breathmarked, in their society, are born with a patch of dragon scales and blessed with special abilities that gage the ability of someone to achieve elite warrior status.

This book is filled with colorful imagery and strong world building.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book was okay. A little slow at parts, but overall I did enjoy it. The plot was interesting and kept me intrigued so I do think I will continue on with the series.

Unfortunately, this was just okay for me, and that's disappointing considering how much I adore the Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee. I'm not sure why this one misses the mark for me, but it just doesn't have the same level of character and worldbuilding that I feel like I've come to expect from Fonda Lee. I know that it may seem unfair to Shannon Lee to have to also live up to those standards, so take this review with a grain of salt.

I picked up “Breath of the Dragon” because I’d heard so many good things about Fonda Lee and her writing. Sadly, this book could not keep my interest. The writing was actually amazing, but the storyline didn’t interest me. The book is a fantastical story inspired by the life of Bruce Lee, and is definitely right up the alley of some readers I know. I think if you loved The Poppy War you should absolutely pick this up. The focus on fighting and martial abilities is not to my taste. My husband loved the book however. 3 stars for me due to content, though the writing and descriptions are phenomenal. I’m going to pick up her urban fantasy and I have high hopes.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read and review.

I had no idea what I was signing up for, but consider me a believer.

I love political intrigue and watching characters grow.

this started a little slow (but not boring) and then ramped up into a full sprint. I finished this at 2am because I just had to know how it ends.

I can't wait for the next one.

Absolutely loved this! The world-building and magic system were incredibly immersive, drawing me into a rich and vibrant setting from the very first page. The characters were engaging and full of personality, and the romance had so much chemistry—it really kept me hooked. The story flowed beautifully, and I couldn’t put the book down. A captivating and enjoyable read that I would highly recommend!

Breath of the Dragon is a well-crafted fantasy that blends a richly imagined world with compelling action and an emotional core. Co-written by Fonda Lee and Shannon, the book delivers a story that will appeal to fans of fantasy with sharp world-building and political intrigue.

The novel’s greatest strength lies in its character development. The protagonist’s journey of self-discovery and growth is a major highlight, as he learns to understand both himself and the world around him. This emotional depth is complemented by a series of powerful messages about doing what is right, honoring family, and confronting prejudice.

While some readers may find the pacing uneven—wishing for more detailed training scenes and less internal monologue—the compelling fight scenes and engaging storyline make it a fun and satisfying read. It’s an easy book to recommend for those who appreciate a narrative with martial arts elements and themes of determination and self-belief.

This was a solid fantasy book! I usually prefer more lyrical writing but this definitely did the job. However the story didn’t feel the most unique. It felt like I read it before but in different fonts, I think it would have been a tremendous help if the characters were fleshed out more and given more depth to their backstories, then they would be more compelling.

Shannon and Fonda Lee deliver a richly imagined world and cinematic action in Breath of the Dragon, though I found myself more admiring than emotionally engaged. The story is solid and the dragon mythology compelling, but something about the pacing or characters kept me at arm’s length. Still, fans of fantasy with sharp worldbuilding and political intrigue will find plenty to enjoy. A fun read, just not one that fully hooked me

This book!! When I finished this book, I was losing my mind. I cannot believe how amazing this was. Though I shouldn't be surprised with one of the authors being Fonda Lee. Every single part of this book was well crafted. The characters and how they operated, their details and history, their emotions and the growth they each experienced. Absolutely amazing. I really love watching a character grow so much, like they aren't perfect by any means and they continue to lose or fall, but they keep working at bettering themselves and just keep going throughout the novel. This had exactly that. I loved our main character's development into understanding not just himself better, but the world around him. Ugh! Amazing. I definitely need a sequel and I do tend to recommend this book to people looking for this type of vibe.

This book was interesting, I loved the lore in this one. The storyline was unique with great character growth. I would recommend this book to everyone.

I truly enjoy reading this book very much. It's very high fantasy young adult. Do not expect romance very much. It's more than to it. Definitely recommend reading it.

I really enjoyed BREATH OF THE DRAGON. While a little slow at the start, the pacing really picked up and I was engaged throughout the rest of the book. Jun was a great main character, a (perhaps over-) confident young boy who worked hard, and I found some of the side characters even more interesting. I can't wait for the next book to continue the journey.

I had so much fun reading this book. I feel like we don't see a lot of YA fantasy books with a male protagonists, so this book is definitely filling a much needed space. The action scenes and competition were riveting to read, and the world building was nicely fleshed out. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel because it ended on such a good cliffhanger.

Thank you Wednesday Books for the ARC!

Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee is a fast-paced YA martial arts fantasy inspired by Bruce Lee’s philosophy. Set in a wuxia-style world, it follows Jun, a determined teen entering a deadly tournament to restore his family’s honor. Readers and critics praise its cinematic fight scenes, rich worldbuilding, and thoughtful exploration of strength and identity. While some found Jun hard to connect with at first, most agree his growth is rewarding. It's a thrilling, action-packed read perfect for fans of martial arts and coming-of-age stories with depth.

3.5⭐️
really really solid ya fantasy full of emotion, determination, and martial arts

i would have liked more training scenes and preparation for the trial. we get Jun’s childhood and then it fast forwards to when he is already a skilled fighter. even as they’re traveling to the city, it’s explained that Chang is training Jun but we don’t really get to see it

the fight scenes were compelling and the storyline was interesting and kept me engaged. i don’t think anything in this felt super exciting or surprising but it was still fun

this had a lot of great messages about propaganda, immigrants, believing in yourself, honoring your family, and doing what’s right even if it feels like the world is against you

This is a fantastic ya fantasy that blends Fonda Lee’s incredible writing with Shannon Lee’s familial heritage of martial arts into a fast-moving engaging story!

I have been a huge fan of Fonda Lee’s adult fantasy series, and hoped that her incredible writing would transfer well into a ya format, and I’m happy to say it did. Her story-telling and style is so unique and I definitely saw glimpses of it in her characters. Her character-work is unmatched and I was captivated by the characters we meet and follow.

In addition, the ya story gave this book a faster pace than her other books, and it captured my attention, making me read this book in three days because I was so interested in where the story would go. This plot is one that could be overall somewhat predictable based on how things are expected to turn out, but Fonda and Shannon both include plot twists and turns that made this story feel wholly unique.


I absolutely recommend this story to anyone who loves martial arts, loves tournament stories, or Fonda Lee’s writing as this is an incredible first book in a duology!

3.5 stars - This book is an adventure from start to finish.
I thought the beginning was a little slow as it feels like typical YA coming of age concepts such as family being torn apart, making new friends, being the best/most disciplined fighter, etc. I thought that the main characters Jun and Yi were well-written and with such maturity, and sometimes even brutality, yet they're still easy to follow for young readers.

This book is fine, but I’m so miserably bored. And this book taking me a week to read is ridiculous. I hate picking it up 🤣