3.5 stars.

I had originally gotten an arc of this book but I've finally finished reading it via audiobook. I love Fonda Lee's work so I eagerly picked this one up.

This the perfect book for the YA reader who is actually in that range group. There's a lot of action, the pacing moves swiftly, and the prose is clear and easy to understand. The main protagonist is a boy so this is a great pick for those young teenagers who wanted to read more boy books. Also, for those of you who aren't interested in the strong romance plot lines, there is very little to none in this book.

If you're a fan of martial arts movies or wuxia films/dramas then this would definitely fulfill your checkbox for it. I could totally envision this as a great kids show or TV show.

I thought the worldbuilding and the magic was great, it's very easy to understand and the world the authors built immersive that I could slip into it right away. The main character is impulsiveness and a bit of a hard head, doing things first and thinking later but it's not aggravating since I'm sure many people are like this in real life. There's a lot of familiar character/plot tropes in here that might make you smile if you watched some of those old shows.

I wasn't very interested in the underlying political and I found my mind sort of glazed over those bits and took away from the tournament and what not. But it didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the book.

Definitely recommended for action lovers and YA readers.

arc provided by NetGalley.

This book would really appeal to readers who enjoy stories about martial arts, especially with a tournament arc. Jun was exiled from his homeland for training in martial arts without being "breathmarked," essentially, born without special powers like his twin brother. Jun is determined to enroll in a national tournament and defeat the strongest fighters in the West to become the Guardian, the protector of a sacred scroll. I really enjoyed Jun's relationship with another boy from his school who participates in the tournament. In most stories, they would have just been rivals, but they end up being very supportive of each other and become good friends. I also thought it was interesting that, in a world full of people with special god-given powers, our protagonist is powerless, but still becomes an incredible fighter. There are also important themes about government propaganda and division between nations. The East and the West are barricaded by the "Snake Wall", which reminded me of the Berlin Wall and the Cold War since the two countries are not exactly fighting each other, but deeply distrust each other and have radically different ways of life.

There is a slight romance subplot with a girl named Ren; I liked Ren as a revolutionary character, but I got bored when the boys thought about her in a romantic way. She and her dad help radicalize Jun into realizing what is really important-- not just winning the tournament, but safeguarding the country from warmongers.

Amazing world building. Amazing characters. Amazing storyline. This was an amazing read that I won't forget for a while. Reading about the passionate feelings toward something as beautiful as martial arts is exuberating and I'm thankful for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I highly, highly recommend giving this one a read!

I don’t read much YA anymore, but I loved this book so much. Co-written by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee (Bruce Lee’s daughter!), this novel is an absolute love letter to Bruce Lee’s life teachings and the love of martial arts. The worldbuilding was beautiful, the writing powerful, the emotions raw and vulnerable for characters that I was extremely invested in! It did take me a little bit to fully get into the story, and there is some immaturity in the MMC, but it is apropos, as he is young, and his maturity arc is heartwarming to watch as well. I am eager to read the second half of this duology, and highly recommend it! 4⭐

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

If you were ever a fan of martial arts movies, either version of The Karate Kid, or Chinese historical dramas, I highly recommend Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee. The story follows Li Jun, who is separated from his breath-marked twin brother and mother, forced to move beyond a divided wall with his father. Although Li Jun lacks the blessing from the dragon gods, he hones his martial arts skills and strives to one day become the Guardian—a mighty warrior tasked with protecting an ancient scroll. As his journey to becoming the Guardian unfolds, Li Jun realizes there is more at stake than just his own life.

Reading this book felt like watching one of those old-school action movies where you can tell the actor truly possesses martial arts skills, rather than relying solely on special effects. Having dabbled in martial arts myself, training two hours a week from ages 9 to 11, I can confidently say the authors have a strong understanding of martial arts—something I confirmed with a quick Google search. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were moments that nearly brought me to tears, and I really appreciated Li Jun’s character arc. It was a fantastic read, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Overall this was a fun read, but did not really give me the substance I experienced when reading The Green Bone Saga - which I was expecting. The novel was very action-packed and I could definitely tell that was all Miss Fonda Lee. The worldbuilding was also really well realized; I wasn't ever confused by it and I found it to be really interesting. I also appreciated the influence of Shannon Lee as there was clearly an influence of her father's teachings and lessons that were sprinkled throughout. They never felt awkwardly placed, but I could definitely tell that was Shannon's addition to the book. I do have to say the story dragged on for a bit towards the end. I think the final 50 pages could have been removed to work as the set up for the second book as I was starting to get a little bored towards the end as the story felt complete a couple of chapters previously. Overall, I think this was a fine YA book, just not totally memorable.

This was good, but I was waiting for it to be godly levels of great.


It's an interesting read, and I grew to love our main character, he started from a self-centered brat to someone who realized there's something bigger in life and something worth fighting for. His journey from someone who knew next to nothing about politics to being radicalized after seeing firsthand how the government oppressed his people and that he could actually do something was my favorite aspect of this. The martial arts were so fun even if sometimes I didn't understand certain things (I'm bad with fight scenes). Overall, it's not the best book out there, but I would recommend it.

[arc review]
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Breath of the Dragon releases January 7, 2025

“The abilities that matter the most don’t come from Dragon’s blood. They’re gained day by day, through sweat and tears. Marked or not, every one of us has Breath enough to will our own destiny into being.”

Forewarning: despite what you may infer from the book’s title, there are no dragons.

Ten years after Jun is exiled and separated from his mother and breathmarked twin brother for practicing the forbidden skill of martial arts, he becomes a runaway from his father in the hopes of competing in the Guardian’s Tournament, and being named the best warrior in the country.

The plot offers an underdog character to root for, but the story reads too predictable and surface-level.
Using the death of Jun’s father as a plot device did not feel earned since the groundwork to lay an emotional foundation connecting the characters to the reader was not there.
I was disappointed to see that Jun’s brother did not have an active role in the story, as I think his character could’ve added a lot of depth and juxtaposition.

I enjoyed this one more than expected! The story pulled me in early with its martial arts elements, and kept it up with a fairly brisk pacing and exciting action scenes, making it easy to get lost in Jun's quest to master his skills and find his place in a world where he's always been overlooked.

While I would have loved to see the world-building and magic system been expanded, I enjoyed the premise of the breath-marked and the way Jun's journey was rooted in his determination to defy his limitations. Overall, this was a fun, engaging read, with plenty of heart and adventure.

If you love martial arts and want a deeper experience of Asian history and learn about martial arts, this story explains the day-to-day experience of traveling entertainers who tell stories through movement. The ending came so fast, I wondered if there was a sequel. The protagonist travels to a martial arts contest focused on winning. He has lots of growing up to do and learns that rivalry doesn't get your friends. I received an ARC copy from NetGalley for this review.

This was a nice, action packed start to the Breathmarked series. I liked the martial arts and the different abilities of various characters. I do agree with some other reviewers, though; some of the characters weren't that interesting or memorable. Their specific abilities were more interesting, if they had them. Maybe we'll get more time with certain characters in the future so we'll care about them more. I do, however, like how Jun seems to be getting another "brother" by the end of the book.

I really enjoyed this book! Jun is a easy to root for MC, his passion and hard work ethic make him easily likable. I found myself rooting for him constantly to win, even with the entire cast of characters backing him up. Ren and her father were a lovely addition and I found myself enthralled by the plight of the silent flute society. I did occasionally forget which side of the east vs west we were on and what their history was, but it was easy explained whenever the history was brought up.

I wish the "final fight" with leopard has been a bit longer AND i also wish we had gotten more info on his brother Sai during the entire book.

Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee have crafted a world and tale that are sure to engage readers of all levels and tastes. The story is Far Eastern in its backdrop, but could be anywhere. Each character is essential, filling a natural space in the tale. The protagonist is three dimensional and believable, as are the rest of the characters.

Five stars for a story well crafted. There are no two dimensional characters in this book, the plot is tight and has nice twists, and the reader is left satisfied, but still wanting more. My thanks to the authors and publisher Wednesday Books. All opinions are my own.

4/5 ⭐️ I thought this book was an interesting journey following Jun who was not breathmarked but learned martial arts and is put to become a soldier nevertheless! It may seem like Jun is the weakest next to his twin (who is breathmarked) but Jun is determined to make his own path with determination and strength amongst his peers; as well as his twin and mother! The world building wasn’t the forefront of the story because the focus was on Jun but I wish there was! Overall, it was great journey of a read to be on and I’m pretty sure there’s another book coming 😏

I struggled to get into this book. It has been a very long time since I read a young adult novel, and I think that was my main hiccup. It felt very childish, which makes sense due to the main character being 16. I just couldn't get my mind to catch up to his actual age. The premise was strong, but the follow-through felt empty. I probably won't be reading the ending of this duology.

This read was okay for me. It wasn’t bad don’t get me wrong but I wasn’t wowed. I think that was more of a me problem though not a book problem!

an entertaining and fast-moving story full of martial arts and politics. i liked the magic system in this and that the main character wasn’t actually breathmarked - made things more interesting when he had to fight others with different advantages. i also enjoyed the fight scenes, and particularly that last like 20/25% the stakes were HIGH and i was hooked!

having said all that the reason for the mid-rating is that this just wasn’t a fave for me. quite often when i picked it up, i did so in order to get to the end - not because i was really wanting to read it (if that makes sense). whenever i picked it up i did enjoy myself, but between reading i sometimes struggled with the motivation for picking up breathmarked.

nonetheless i am intrigued with how this needed and would like to pick up the sequel in the future :))

Breath of the Dragon was a love letter to martial arts. The novel is filled with beautiful and artful descriptions of fighting as our main character Jun embarks on his goal to become the Guardian of the scroll of Heaven for the West. From the East, Jun and his father were separated from his mother and twin brother at an early age because he trained in martial arts. Jun and his father struggle to thrive in the West. Jun hopes that earning glory for the very thing that ripped his family apart, he may once more bring them all together.

The tournament to become the Guardian has become corrupted though, when a power hungry general changes the rules, with the hopes of gaining more political power. War is coming as tensions between the East and West rise. Jun must decide if his life's work is more important than doing what is right.

I think this book was not quite for me. While I loved the themes of rebellion and self growth/discovery, too much of the time felt dedicated to martial arts, rather than the overall plot. The second half of the story was much more engaging as political tensions rose and Jun found himself faced with incredibly hard decisions. I think the magic system was excellent and the idea that while it is powerful to be Breathmarked, anyone has the power to change their fate/destiny. The secret society also kept me hooked and as that grew as a plot point, so did my interest.

Overall, still worth the read and I look forward to the next book which I see as being less focused on a martial arts tournament and more about the larger political issues of the East and West. 3.5/5 stars

Bringing us back to the Karate Kid days, I had fun reading this adventure tale and while I was a bit skeptical at the beginning, I found myself absorbed by the tale so now I need to see what other work these authors have :)