I found this to be a fresh, fun new story. Super engaging the entire time and the characters were just wonderful!

I came into this book with some familiarity of the authors writing and was thrilled to see the fight scenes were just as phenomenal!

I enjoy a tournament story, and this one was full of so much action and well-written scenes. I could have had a bit more added to some character arcs, but I am excited for more!

I lost my mind when I was approved for this Arc. Fonda Lee is one of my auto buy authors. I loved this. I almost wish I didn't read it because now I want more and I am not good at being patient.

'Breath of the Dragon' was everything I hoped it would be and more! Tournament stories are my bread and butter, and I devoured this one in two sittings. I will also say that this book was a breath of fresh air. Frankly, I'm so tired of YA that is written more for adults than teenagers, but 'Breath' feels like it was perfectly tailored to teenagers. I also enjoyed the lack of a romance plot line because this story didn't need that thread.

3/5
I will read anything that Fonda Lee writes, but this felt a little lackluster compared to the Jade City trilogy.
Jun is the twin of a dragon blessed brother who is destined from birth to join the ranks of an elite organization while Jun is not, but that does not stop him from becoming a warrior and uncovering a conspiracy across two countries. If you liked Jade City for its fight scenes, you will like this book, but writing and world building wise they are not comparable.

With her co-writer, Shannon Lee, both of these women created an interesting fantasy world inspired by Bruce Lee with well written fight scenes but in the end fell flat. The conflict of the entire series is quickly shoehorned in the last chapters of the book! Given that this will become a duology, I was expecting a rushed first book. That being said, this was a fast and enjoyable read and I look forward to seeing how it concludes.

I saw a critic’s review saying this book is a classic in the making, and I wholeheartedly agree. There is a tournament held every six years where people (whether they have magical abilities or not) representing different martial arts styles and schools come to compete for one of the most prestigious positions in West Longhan: the Guardian for the Scroll of Heaven. The story follows our MC, Jun, a 16 year old boy, who will do anything to achieve his lifelong dream of becoming the Guardian.

Our MC is a true 16 year old, rambunctious, young buck. And it is wonderful to see him grow and change, with literal hard knocks. But I must say, the story is edgy: you don’t know what necessarily will happen next and who will be safe. The writing is well-paced and simply lets you become part of the world. I became emotionally attached and invested in the characters right away, and I easily understood the magic abilities and even the world’s folklore/origin story.

I loved that this book feels like the tribute to Bruce Lee that it is supposed to be. It’s beautiful to read in characters what he would have believed or done. I watched a lot of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and Michelle Yeoh films growing up. So, I had a fierce sense of nostalgia reading the book. I also have to thank my friend, Lauren, for informing me of Fonda Lee, Sharon Lee and this book. If you would like to know more about what these authors and the book, check out Fonda Lee’s website.

Li Jun's family is separated when he is 6 due to his twin being Breathmarked and a poor decision made on Jun's part. He and his father are banished to the West while his mother and twin are moved to the East's elite Sun Pagoda. Jun grows up practicing martial arts in order to become the next Guardian of the Scroll and make his family proud. However, his father forbids him from entering into the tournament, wanting him to make more for himself and not let martial arts ruin is future. Being a stubborn 16 year old, Jun stows away and decides to enter into the tournament without sponsorship. Upon arriving, though, Jun quickly learns that there is much more at stake this year and the fate of the country is at risk.

What I loved:

The tournament! I thought it was incredibly fun to read the different fights and their corresponding fighting styles. I thought it was a great way to introduce characters and it felt very cohesive.

The characters! Jun very much felt his age with his decisions, thoughts, and dialogue. I love a good story that shows a non-special character have to use their hard work and determination in order to make something of themself. The supporting cast of characters also were so enjoyable. Every person we meet has a purpose and they each felt very fleshed out.

The ending! Lee left readers in the perfect balance between "cliff-hanger" and satisfying ending. I am beyond excited to see the rest of this world in the next installment.

I would highly recommend for people who love tournaments, martial arts, found family, and a unique magic system.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love stories with tournaments in them, and I appreciate a good fantasy without romance. A perfect young adult book full of wonderful characters and great plot.

[Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC and this opportunity to read and review Breath of the Dragon by Fonda and Shannon Lee early.]

4.75 stars out of 5. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so impressed by a YA Fantasy novel.

Summary.

The story begins in a land 50 years divided by the Snake Wall – an expansive, massive construction of stone that carves the country of Longhan into the East and West. It also is the physical and metaphorical wall that has separated Jun and his father from his mother and twin following their now ten-year-long exile into the West. Jun is our main character – a headstrong, passionate, and stubborn boy who is burdened by guilt and blinded by a defensive arrogance developed from growing up a stranger in a strange land. He’s also ignorant of the world, absorbed in his own dreams of becoming the next Guardian of the Earth Scroll. But in order to become the Guardian, he must participate in a dangerous competition that takes place only once every six years. We follow Jun on his adventure to the tournament and then his participation in the elimination trials, making friends and enemies along the way (with a dash of romance sprinkled in). It’s a decently fast-paced story with a lot of great combat scenes – to be expected by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee.

What did I like about the story?

1. Male main character.

The YA genre, particularly the YA Fantasy genre, is sorely in need of more male MCs – male MCs who are good and strong character like Jun, rather than some of the limp-wristed MCs who need their female supporting cast to even be useful, or the “bad boys” who are unrepentant jerks with superficial good qualities and easily forgiven by readers and love interests alike because they’re just too hot. It’s also a breath of fresh air in a genre inundated in heroines, where you have no choice but to choke on and drown in similar caricatures of the Manic Pixie Dream Girls, Not Like Other Girls, and – the pièce de resistance – the She’s an Amazing, Independent Fighter Girl, We Swear! Don’t misunderstand, I’m happy that I get my pick of more female leads than another reader would have 20-50 years ago, but that doesn’t mean I appreciate the seeming slide toward favoring one gender/sex (females) over others (males and those outside of the binary spectrum) in the YA genre. GIVE ME MORE MALE MCs LIKE JUN IN YA PLEASE!!

2. Cast of Characters

Jun and his supporting cast are all a great range of characters. Jun is realistically flawed, yet an inherently good character who goes through a satisfying character arc that clearly has room to continue into the next book in the duology. Fonda and Shannon also created two great foils for him, who you meet early in the book. The villains, on the other hand, are driven by motivations that the reader can understand without making them necessarily sympathetic, which is a great palate cleanser from many of the sympathetic villains we get in YA nowadays.

3. Minimal Romance

Understandably, this may be a negative for some readers, but I was extremely grateful that the romance sub-plot was kept to a footnote. I am here to read about martial arts adventures and winning the grand tournament, not boy-and-girl-make-kissy-mwah-mwah-face-at-each-other, thank you. I also like the chemistry between our possible romantic partners, which is more than I can say for the majority of YA and Adult romance fantasies or romantic subplots. (Bonus points for this book being an actual fantasy like its summary suggests, not a romantasy with a misleading summary.)

There are hints of a love triangle. It didn't throw me out of the story like it normally would, but proceed with caution if that's something you loathe.

4. Well-written Combat

As could be expected, Fonda and Shannon write phenomenal scenes of combat, highlighting the extreme martial prowess of every combatant. My heart was pounding during many of the fights, even when the results of the bouts in question were easy for me to guess.

5. Tightly Packed Plot and World-building

Despite its relatively short length (barely hits 329 pages in the physical ARC), the authors did an admirable job packing many different plot beats into the story while keeping the plot moving at a good pace. These would include, but are not limited to: world-building, power/magic system explanations, political intrigue and interpersonal manipulations, xenophobia, state propaganda, deep discussions on philosophy, martial arts, family, dreams, loss, self-doubt, and more (often based on Bruce Lee’s personal beliefs and hardships). Some of these topics aren’t as deeply explored as I might have liked, but it’s amazing that the authors were able to coherently address so many different and complex subjects in so short a book.

What didn’t I like?

1. Too Short/Would Prefer a Trilogy

Though I praise the book for how much it was able to accomplish with such a small page count, it feels like it could use a little more meat on its bones – maybe 20-70 more pages dedicated to building out some of Jun’s relationships and/or the world at large. Furthermore, if the second book is going to be just as short, I think it’d be better off as a trilogy rather than a duology. Maybe I’m in the minority, but it seems like there’s so much more to this world and tale than what is being allowed within the current length of the first book and its eventual series. Then again, I’m used to reading much longer books, so who am I to judge?

2. Somewhat Shallow Exploration of Relationships and World

Coming off of my first issue with the book, it feels as if certain aspects of the world and Jun’s relationships with his father and teachers were glossed over rather than developed in a meaningful way – more so with the latter than the former. This could have been mitigated by letting us see Jun interacting with his teachers over a longer period of time/word count.

3. Only a Month?

The one detail that I had trouble getting over was how prospective contestants in the Guardian Tournament (at least in Jun’s martial school) are selected a month prior to the Guardian Selection. A month seems like too short a time for whoever is selected to train for the competition. A minimum of six months makes more sense in my mind, and it would have given the authors more time to flesh out their characters and world. Even if the publisher or authors insisted on keeping the shorter word count and fast pace, a time skip is a perfectly viable solution. I understand that the condensed time frame helps highlight just how skilled Jun is in martial arts by having him master some new fighting techniques and lifestyle habits over a short period of time, but surely there could have been another way?

4. I want the second book NOW!

Ending on a good note, reading the first book makes me instantly crave the second book! Don’t rush it, please, but also know I am already impatiently waiting for it!

Final Thoughts

Breath of the Dragon is a breath (pun intended) of fresh air in General YA Fantasy and in Chinese-inspired YA fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this story, from its world to its characters, the combat and the emotional scenes. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to get into Fonda Lee’s and Shannon Lee’s writing.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for the eARC.

I absolutely loved this coming of age story about a boy trying to find his place in the world. Themes of family (lost, found), dashes romance, plenty of action, twists and turns.

I couldn’t put this down. It’s absolutely a 5 star read and the cliffhanger ending means I can’t wait for the next book!

Oh my goodness I loved this. This is a story perfect for teen boys. It focuses so much on the combat, respecting it in a way that teen boys appreciate and love to hear about. It's very animation coded in that sense, which is where a lot of my middle grade and high school boys jump to when they find most of YA catered towards girls and frankly, adults.

Would highly recommend be put in school libraries for your boys.

Another solid fantasy book from Lee. Always a great fantasy world thats developed with a story line thats easy to follow and keeps you hooked. Characters are appropriately depicted as YA and there is some character growth noted towards the middle-end of the book. Thank you netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Six-year-old Jun and his twin brother are equal in every way, except that Sai is Breathmarked, the patch of dragon scales on his chest marking him as gifted with special abilities and purpose, able to be trained and taught along with other chosen ones. When Jun decides to show off before the government officials that have come to collect Sai, his display of forbidden martial arts ends up getting him and his father banished to the West.

Now sixteen, Jun is determined to enter the tournament that determines who will be the next Guardian of the Earth Scroll - are his skills enough to give him a real chance against the Breathmarked competitors?

I found Jun's journey realistic, despite the fantastical aspects of the book - he is a sixteen year old, with all the grudges and fancies of that age, and while I very much disliked him at times, his characterization made sense given his age and what he has already gone through. The martial arts scenes are cinematic, easily visualized, and since this is the first in a new series, I am very excited to follow Jun's story in the next book.

This book would have worked much better as a martial-arts movie rather than a printed book. There was much more emphasis on the fight scenes than there was on character development or any kind of an intriguing plot. The main character, Li Jun, was annoyingly self-centered for most of the book, although he did evolve a little bit toward the end. The setting was a divided kingdom with each side demonizing the other, with the main characters caught in the middle and struggling to reconcile the Eastern and Western sides. Dragon's Breath is the authors' version of qi, the Chinese life force that exists in all living creatures, that when harnessed, allows for sometimes incredible feats. But for me, the focus on the fighting limited the effectiveness of the conceit. The ending was clearly setting things up for a sequel, but honestly, I have no interest in reading it..

<i>First, a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.</i>

Once again, I am left thinking that YA just isn’t doing it for me anymore.

The story itself wasn’t really at fault here, or the characters (who, you know, acted their age), but there was just… a certain je ne sais quoi that made it hard for me to feel invested or to really care about what was going on. It also doesn’t help that I am not that big into action action action so the fight scenes, while “cool”, I guess, didn’t really do anything for me.

I will say, the cover is gorgeous - love the use of the color.

All that being said, I think I would give the second book in the series a go, as sometimes I think the first book in a series struggles a little bit as the author (or in this case, authors) find their groove.

I really, really wanted to like this book, but I didn't :( That's totally on me tho -- I can't stop comparing it with the green bone saga or to other books that do the angsty teenage protagonist wanting to prove themselves trope wayy better. Soft DNF at 30% but might come back to it if the mood strikes.

Thanks to NetGalley & Wednesday Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was disappointed by this book because I LOVED Fonda Lee's Jade Trilogy. This didn't really have nearly as much magic and in-depth plot as her series did.

This was definitely more about hand-to-hand combat with magic-marked fighters here and there. Honestly, I find hand-to-hand combat the most boring kind of combat to read about and it didn't impress me here either.

Jun got on my nerves often, but it was refreshing to have a male protagonist in a YA book--though he's still an idiot, ha.

It was still a decent read, but just felt like it played it safe by using too many YA tropes. There's a love triangle you see coming a mile away, a regular hero's journey, inadvertently part of a resistance...etc.

One of the best fantasy books I have read. The tournament aspect made me immediately pick it up upon reviewing and arc. This is such a heavy, complex world. The martial arts aspect reminded me a bit of Karate kid but make it fantasy. It was so delightful and fast paced!

*Full review to come closer to publication!*

I've read and loved Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga and her novella Untethered Sky, so I was excited to see her branching out in something new. Shannon Lee is new to me, but I was excited to read from her as well. I should start off by saying that if you're looking for the Green Bone Saga, then this is not it. This is a YA fantasy that is much more fast paced and has plenty of action scenes. I'm not always the biggest fan of excessive fight scenes, but I found the focus on martial arts and the way the authors portrayed the scenes made them more engaging than I anticipated, which was a nice surprise. I found the main character to be a fairly average YA protagonist who didn't overly stand out to me, but I did actually appreciate seeing a male main character in YA fantasy, something that tends to be a bit rarer these days. It's clear these authors really love what they are writing about, and that shows through in the writing and made this a really fun read. Probably not a favorite for me, but still one I'd recommend to any YA action fans!

3.8/5 Rounded up
I enjoyed this story, it had a rich world and lore. It follow's Jun story and journey as he is separated from his twin and mother and exiled with his father for practicing martial arts. As his brother does have a mark that singles him as someone with power he is allowed to go and train legally. This made Jun a bit bitter and we see how he grows with this desire to prove himself and become the best martial artist. It felt relatable that he was not perfect as he sometimes acted a bit arrogant because that led to his character development. Makes you still want to root for him as we see how hard he works for it. He trains secretly to participate on a tournament and become a guardian. It had really well thought out and descriptive scenes about martial arts and it also combined some magic, political drama, high stakes and found family aspects. If you like that type of storyline you will enjoy this.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC, all opinions are my own.