Warning, there are some spoilers for the end of the book!

This sits quite solidly as YA fiction with a sixteen-year-old protangonist. Jun is obviously young and a rather self-absorbed. From a very early age, he believes he is the better. The better twin, the better student, the better competitor. His arorgance is very much part of his character arc. It makes Jun a borderline unlikeable character, but there are plenty of other voices in his life trying to ground him and bring him back to reality. In many ways, Jun reacts much as you would expect a competitive young person to behave.

There is the beginning of a solid character arc that could have gone further and made for a much more complex and riviting ending. Instead, the ending felt a bit contrived, like Jun had to make a certain choice in order to wind up in a certain place doing a certain thing. It would have been much harder to get Jun to the end of this book if he'd decided to stay the course and go home to bury his father. As a reader, I couldn't help wondering what if he'd gone home. What if Leopard (or someone else) won the tournament as a result, and Cobu still spread the rumour that Jun stole the scroll and that was why he left the tournament, not that his father died.

I don't ever want to finish a book thinking that a different ending or character arc would have been better. Jun was on a trajectory for intense character development. One of the best I've read in a long time. But instead, it fizzled. And that left me unsatified at the end.

3.5 stars. Sad, because it could have been a five star read.

Shannon Lee, daughter of martial artist Bruce Lee and co-writers with acclaimed fantasy writer, Fonda Lee, conjures a new young adult fantasy in which Jun, a teenaged warrior aspires to win the Guardian Tournament to attain the elite status of the Guardian, protector of the magical Scroll of Heaven. Jun embarks on a journey to prove his worth as a warrior and to become great in the eyes of his father and himself. In pursuit of this dream, Jun encounters challenges and people, kind souls as well as devious ones with twists aplenty!

Will Jun manage to become the next Guardian or will whatever threatens the realm, get to him first?

This story is for a younger audience in the YA Fantasy genre. The fighting scenes are interesting and descriptive and the backdrop of political intrigue is just complex enough for a young audience.

Read this if you enjoyed Spin the Dawn minus the romance!

Thank you to @wednesdaybooks @macmillian for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5/5! ⭐⭐⭐

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🥋 Bruce Lee x fantasy. Yes please. This is such a homage to martial arts. There is no romance, and if you don't like fight scene after fight scene, this more than likely isn't for you.

🥋 Synopsis/Plot:

Jun has a twin brother who is 'Breathmarked', and has special abilities. One day, they come to bring his brother to the Sun Pagoda, a place where Jun's family can live comfortably. During that visit, Jun accidentally reveals he has been practicing martial arts, which is forbidden. Him and his father are exiled to the West, while his mother and twin brother are, unfortunately, forced to stay in the East.

Jun is determined to reunite his family and prove his self worth. He goes to enter a tournament – one his father forbids him from entering – to become the next 'Guardian of the Scroll.' Jun refuses to acknowledge his fathers decision, and sneaks off to head to the tournament on his own.

🥋 Thoughts:

It may of been borderline a little too YA for me? It seemed a little slow in some parts and I found some of the fight scenes to be a little repetitive. Overall though, it was a fun, rewarding journey to follow along on.

The characters in the story were mid for me. The one thing I loved about our MMC, Jun was that he had actual character growth. He starts off bratty, not having a clue, and then gets a reality check. However, he was really the only character I felt like we could have any emotional connection with. Everyone else sort of fell a little bland for me.

The world-building was fun and I loved the atmosphere we were in. Who doesn't love a tournament setting?

Idk. I wish I could say more about this book, but it was just okay for me. I think I would've enjoyed this if it was maybe more of a fast paced book and not as YA. I do think this would make a great read for a teenager, or anyone who just loves martial arts.

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Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 out of 5 stars

Jun and Sai are twins, identical, except for one characteristic - Sai is marked by dragonbreath scales and therefore has a special ability that is sought out by the Aspects of the East. When the Aspects come to retrieve Sai, young Jun is jealous but also terrified and heartbroken by the thought of being separated by his twin, so he tries to show off by using the fighting skills taught by his father.

However, the East has strict rules again training for fights and violence unless you're an Aspect. However, rather than imprison Jun and his father, the Aspects are convinced to exile them to the West instead.

Haunted by the loss of his wife and other son, Jun's father abandons fighting entirely, taking a job at a theater, and forbidding Jun from training or fighting outside of an approved dojo. He absolutely forbids him from participating in the tournament to become the next Guardian - the keeper of the Scroll of Earth - one of a set of scrolls. The other scroll, the Scroll of Heaven, is kept high in a pagoda in the West.

After his father discovers that Jun is planning to participate anyway, an argument ensues, and Jun stows away in the wagon of a blind flute player and his actress/performer "adopted" daughter, Ren. When he is discovered, he convinces the flute player, Chang, to take him with him to the place where the tournament will be held. Along the way, Chang trains Jun in methods so far unknown to him, although Jun is not sure how much it will help.

Then their savings are stolen, and Jun and Ren have to find a way to get the money back or Jun will not be able to enter the tournament.

But Chang and Ren may not be who Jun thinks they are, and they might have their own reasons for wanting Jun to win the tournament.

The beginning is, I cannot lie... A little slow and almost unbearable. But right when I was about to DNF, it got good and exciting. I like the book. I do feel as though there were some unanswered questions, which may or may not be resolved in the sequel. A lot of unanswered questions. So many that this feels more like the first half of a book rather than the first of a duology (or however many the authors are planning on writing).

Despite the page count (352), I felt that most of the last half was rushed and a lot of things were left out. I am grateful that there is not a lot of mush in this book. Yes, Jun may have had his eye on Ren, but been a bit jealous when his "rival," Yin, enters the picture, but there is not really any "romance" and neither of these paths go anywhere.

There were some interesting side characters, and the politics and revolution, for once in literary history, kept my attention.

I definitely plan on reading the next book.

Jun is a very likeable protagonist, especially as an underdog determined to prove himself. Being a teenager, he's a little hotheaded at times but has a good heart. Jun's choices drive his journey and I loved following his growth throughout the story as well as the relationships he develops with other characters.

While this falls into the fantasy genre, it's really more wuxia: the story focuses on martial arts and the Guardian Tournament, and as Jun isn't breathmarked most fights do not involve special abilities. I really enjoyed Jun's martial arts training and the Dragon's Breath element. Every fight was well detailed and easy to visualize, and despite their being so many fights each one was differentiated based on each opponent's style and weapons.

The story is well paced, ramping up when the tournament begins, and entirely engrossing. The world building is fantastic, with an intriguing history, dragon lore, and an impending war that impacts every aspect of the story.I'm incredibly excited to find out what happens next!

If you enjoyed The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu or The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter, you will love this one!

Thank you St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for the digital copy of Breath of the Dragon.

Review posted on Goodreads (link provided).
Review posted on Instagram (link provided).
Review to be posted to Amazon after publication.

Breath of the Dragon is a refreshing YA book. It has been awhile since I read a young adult book that I would actually recommend to the young teens in my life, so I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

The Greenbone Saga is one of my favorite trilogies, so I couldn’t resist requesting this arc when I saw Fonda Lee was teaming up with Shannon Lee to write a book based on Bruce Lee’s teachings. I love reading about martial arts.

In this book we follow sixteen-year-old Jun as he trains for and enters the Guardian’s Tournament, held every six years to entrust the magical Scroll of Earth to a new protector. Jun was separated from his mother and twin as a child because his bother was breathmarked and Jun wasn’t. Jun and his father were banished to the west and haven’t seen his mother or brother since. The tournament is his was of proving himself and restoring his father’s honor.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that Jun acted like a sixteen-year-old. It could be frustrating at times, but it felt true to his age. It’s also rare that we get a male main character in YA books. There were plenty of training and fighting scenes too, which were fun to read.

I think this was an entertaining YA book that is perfect for its age category. If you’re looking for a more adult version of this book, I’d recommend The Combat Codes.

*I think it’s worth noting that there are no actual dragons in this book.

CONTENT WARNING: violence, gore, murder, death of a parent (off-page)

It wasn’t until just before I started reading this that I looked up who Shannon Lee is, because my first assumption was that she is related to Fonda Lee, one of my favorite authors. Thanks to the marvels of the internet, I discovered that Shannon Lee isn’t related to Fonda Lee, but she is the daughter of martial arts legend Bruce Lee. And it made perfect sense for these two authors to work together and create a story that gives me The Combat Codes x Jade City vibes.

I read this book primarily through audiobook, because the narrator, Eric Yang, is fantastic and made this story jump off the page with his narration. I really enjoyed his portrayal of the characters and how he told the story, making it the kind of audiobook that I couldn’t put down.

Initially, we get to meet Jun and Sai, twin brothers who are extremely enmeshed. Jun is a fast learner, extremely determined even at a young age to show that he is equally valuable despite not having the patch of dragon scales on his skin that his brother has, which indicates that they are breathmarked, blessed by Dragon, and have a special talent. Sai’s talent is that he can learn anything after seeing someone else do it, and without having to practice, he can excel. Jun, on the other hand, works hard and learns every skill before his brother, but is discounted because of his lack of a breathmark.

Jun also demonstrates some negative characteristics—he’s hyperactive, impulsive, and rarely thinks before he acts. Due to these flaws, he and his father are separated from his brother and mother, who are sent away so that Sai can train to be an Aspect, a person who keeps public and social order. It is Jun’s actions that lead to this, showing off the secret and forbidden martial arts that his father has taught them. Jun and his father are sent to a neighboring country for a five-year banishment period. In that time, Jun’s father got a job at an opera house, organizing the fight scenes and playing the villain, since martial arts aren’t forbidden in their new home. Jun trains at a local school, and is determined to participate in a tournament that is held every six years and determines who will be the newest Guardian, entrusted to keep the magical Scroll of Earth safe.

We don’t get to see much of Sai, since the story is told entirely through Jun’s perspective. He does maintain a connection to his twin by having imaginary conversations with him, even though the letters stopped passing through the border after the creation of a wall between the countries. Jun’s perspective is interesting, especially since we meet him at age 6, and then again ten years later. There’s obviously a lot of growth that he experiences in this book, and we start to see him changing once he impulsively stows away in Chang and Ren’s wagon. This transitions him from an overactive and honestly, kind of obnoxious child into a young man who is actively working on himself and trying not to keep making the same mistakes repeatedly.

One of the things that stood out the most to me about this book is the realistic nature of the martial arts in the story. I love Fonda Lee’s style of writing, especially her fight scenes, but when she paired up with Shannon Lee, another martial arts expert, the descriptions of the fight were so clear and well-choreographed that they were so easy to visualize, even without having any knowledge of martial arts. This is on display in Fonda Lee’s Greenbone Saga series, and it really made me think of The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin, in how the fighting is depicted.

The way that Jun connects to the people around him is relatively abrasive. He’s great at the physical activity of martial arts, but the structure, discipline, and forethought is an area that he struggles with for a good portion of the book. I also liked seeing how much harder he works to get on even footing with someone who is breathmarked.

This book isn’t just about one young man who fights his way, literally, to the tournament, there’s also some political intrigue occurring in the book. It sets the tone for a duology so that I’m already excited for the next book before this one is even out yet. But I enjoyed seeing how all the different story threads intertwined and created a cohesive plot that was perfectly paced. I can’t say enough great things about the characters in the story, how they interact, and the complexity of the plot, which comes on slowly enough to grasp everything, even while reading the audiobook version. Sometimes I struggle to focus when listening to an audiobook, and have to reread certain chapters, or even switch to reading along in the ebook while I’m listening, but I never had to do that with this book, despite the complex and layered nature of the story.

Overall, this book is fantastic, and I want to just throw copies of it at people like I’m Oprah. You get a book, and *you* get a book, and everyone gets a book!

It’s the best kind of underdog story, in my opinion, and there’s so many positives about the book that I didn’t even notice any negatives. If you enjoy books featuring martial arts, Bruce Lee’s style and teachings, stories with lots of action, YA books with characters who are morally gray in what they’ll do to succeed, and fantasy novels with excellent world building, then you’ll love this book!

Breath of the Dragon, the first of the Breathmarked duology, introduces a well created world on martial arts, intrigue and honor.
Jun, torn away from his twin and mother, and banished with his father at a young age because of illicit martial arts training, has one dream... to fight in the tournament and become the guardian of the scroll. Despite going against his father's wishes, he is determined and skilled. But he is also young, arrogant and a bit foolish.
I really enjoyed his journey to the capital, where he traveled with Chang and Ren, it was fun to see the different ways Change trained Jun and the friendship between Ren and Jun progressing.
Upon reaching the Capitol, the tournament is not precisely as expected, as there is a lot more political intrigue and possible corruption than Jun had expected, but it was interesting to watch it all unfold.

Can't wait to see where book two takes Jun.

Jun lives in a divided world - and because of an incautious word when he was 6 years old, his family is divided as well; he and his father were exiled to the western side of the Snake Wall, while his mother and twin brother stayed on the east side. Jun and his father struggled for years until they found a place in their new community. Prior to the splitting of their country several decades previously, martial arts were widespread throughout the nation, but after the split, only the breathmarked - people born with special abilities indicated by patches of scales somewhere on their skin - were allowed to practice martial arts on the eastern side of the wall. Jun's father, who learned a martial art from his own father, taught his sons, and it was Jun's enthusiasm to show off what he learned that caused their family to be split. Despite that, Jun's dream is to become the next Guardian of the Scroll, the greatest warrior on the western side of the wall. The first half of the novel deals with Jun's desire to enter the tournament that will determine the next Guardian, and the second half with the tournament itself.

This is an underdog story; Jun (unlike his twin) is not breathmarked, and has no special abilities - unlike many of the entrants in the tournament, who use their abilities to bolster their performance in the tournament. But he is dedicated and determined, and willing to learn from those he encounters along the way. The portrayal of various martial arts and the similarities and differences between them is well done, detailed enough to satisfy those who know a martial art, and not so detailed as to bore those who don't. Jun is an engaging and real character, with doubts and fears and dreams.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF at 20%. While there’s nothing especially wrong with this, the coming of age YA feel was not working for me at all. From the reviews I have seen this may get better later, but I didn’t make it that far.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars! This book is if Kungfu Panda and Game of Thrones had an adult baby. It was so entertaining all the way through and I'm looking forward to the next installment! The politics of the East and the West areas of the landscape was intriguing and you couldn't always tell what the twists were until they started to reveal themselves. The main character was written well and had a great flow to his arc throughout. Loved this book.

Breath of the Dragon is the first book in the Breathmarked duology. I wanted this to be my first read of 2025 to kick off the year with a bang, but I couldn't wait. I love everything Fonda Lee writes, and this duo did an amazing job. The worldbuilding was detailed and rich, and the action scenes were fantastic. I highly recommend this book to every fantasy reader. I can't wait to read the final installment. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This would be so much fun as a graphic novel! I'd love to see all of the action scenes in a visual format.

(No hate for fight scenes written in words or anything, but they just don't capture my attention as much as they do in graphic novels and comic books.)

While I was pretty bored with the first half of the novel (typical YA coming of age concepts like a family being torn apart, making new friends, being the best/most disciplined fighter, etc.), I had more fun with the second half of the novel. (But this is definitely a personal preference. I get bored easily with tournament situations.) The second half was more classic YA adventure story, which was more my taste.

This is definitely for the YA set, so adult readers should set their expectations at a reasonable level. Everything is pretty straightforward. You know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. There aren't really any plot twists to make you gasp out loud, but I was satisfied enough to keep on reading.

I liked the relationships between the characters, especially with Jun and Yin. And I was pretty satisfied with Jun's character development. (Because lbr, when YA characters undergo ZERO growth, or become too OP, it gets ridiculous and boring really quickly.)

I'm interested to see how the next book goes.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this arc.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this e-ARC of Breath of the Dragon. Listen, I will read anything that Fonda Lee writes. I am head over heels in love with The Green Bone Saga and I was so excited when I heard she was writing this YA book with Bruce Lee vibes. I loved it. Her writing translates so seamlessly into YA and what I loved about her adult books—the grittiness and the heart—were both here as well, and in spades.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. Breath of the Dragon is unlike anything I have ever previously read. At first I really had trouble getting into it because the main character is just so unlikable, but eventually you see his character change (for the better), and then I felt like the story got so much better when I was invested in the MC. I loved that this was a collaborative story, and I feel like Shannon Lee's contributions blended well with Fonda's into one cohesive story. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads for release.

Fonda Lee isn't for me. I didn't love JADE CITY. While I didn't hate this, I was bored for most of the story.

(As an aside, as much as I love supporting Asian diaspora women, do I let go of the East Asian fantasy genre? It is not serving me.)

The premise? Amazing. I was so interested in Jun, his twin, and the magic of breathmarks. Jun's twin disappears pretty fast. His boohoo attitude, while woe is me, is very male of him.

There are a lot of descriptions about East v. West, in this case I assume Han v. non-Han Chinese. I won't delve into it. It wasn't that deep.

I wanted the secret revolution to be a little more exciting. It wasn't.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books

eArc received from Netgalley for an honest review

3.5 Stars

I was extremely excited to get the Arc for Breath of the Dragon and was hoping it would be a favourite of the year. Unfortunately, it wasn't something I had a easy time getting sucked into, and I had trouble feeling motivated to read it once I began.

For me, the pacing at the start was a bit slow. I had trouble with being invested enough to continue despite the intrigue and concepts that felt really strong throughout. The characters didn't interest me enough either, so I had a hard time caring about them for the majority of the book.

It takes half the book to get to the tournament, and this is when things get a little stronger. The combat is incredibly well written and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The slight found family aspect, and the friendships really warmed my heart as well.
I may not have loved this book, but I think there are huge reasons to try it. There are incredible ideas in this book, and many of them are executed well. For me, it just wasn't enough to hold my interest but I appreciated the cultural themes and ideas throughout. They were beautifully incorporated and well done.

If you like slower paced fantasy with really good fighting scenes, tournaments, and strong family ties, then pick this up and give it a try yourself.

"Marked or not, every one of us has breath enough to will our own destiny into being."

Twin brothers Jun and Sai—one is born marked and thus has a destiny, while the other is not. Jun always had to work twice as hard to earn anything his brother did. Due to an unfortunate series of events, Jun and his father are banished to the West, while his mother and brother are sent to the town where his brother will become something great. Jun is determined to make something of himself, despite his father's wishes. After being forbidden to compete in a martial arts tournament, Jun sneaks out and hitchhikes a ride there.

Along the way, he meets an unexpected teacher and begins to learn there is much more to the world than he thought. The tournament is not what anyone expected, thanks to a war-hungry general. Jun must face many trials and learns that maybe who he thought he was and what he thought he wanted wasn't what he was destined for at all.

This book was gorgeously written, and I greatly appreciated that the MMC actually felt young, because he is. He's impulsive and gets angry, jealous, and prideful. He learns along the way. Also, the ending has me feeling. I need book two immediately. A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to receive an ARC of this one.

This series is about to become my whole personality. Like I literally put down Wind and Truth to finish this, it was that good!!

I didn't know I needed a fantasy martial arts book in my life but this was amazing-- a great coming-of-age, trial by fire, tournament story. Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee made the genre very accessible to newcomers and their worldbuilding was very compelling. There's such an interesting underlying plot of political conspiracies and intrigue that makes me so excited for book 2. I loved the bigger implications that will be addressed later in the duology and thought this was the perfect set up for the larger story at hand.

I really enjoyed Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga so I was very excited to pick this book up. I don’t typically like stories with competitions or trials, but this one really worked for me. The actual competition was important but also moved quickly. The plot was really interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes in the next book.