Review: Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee

Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided both and ALC and an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  I read both the ebook and listened along to the audio.   Both were great formats to follow along Jun's journey to restore his family's honor and fight for what is right in the empire.

This follows Jun, an aspiring warrior who has been separated from is mother and twin brother from a young age.  Sai is breathmarked, while Jun was not so as any hot-headed 6 year old, he can't understand why his twin is allowed to do things he isn't.  Jun and his father are exiled, while Sai is taken to be trained as an Aspect and their mother goes with him.  Their separation is extended due to unrest between the East and the West.  He hopes to restore honor to his family and reunite with his mother and brother by becoming the next Guardian.  His father has forbidden him from participating in the upcoming Guardian Tournament despite the Master of the school he trains at stating he is ready to compete.  Martial arts were the reason they were separated from their family in the first place, and his father doesn't want to lose Jun.

I hope we get to learn more about Sai, the twin, in the next book.  He is mentioned often, but after the prologue, we never reunite with him.  Jun thinks about him often, and uses the thought of reuniting with him and their mother as motivation for many of his actions.  I also hope to learn more about the Aspects and the Breathmarked in general.  Their abilities and lore is fascinating, but as a personal preference I always want more information about magic and lore.  

If you enjoy martial arts especially those of Bruce Lee, and fantasy this is a great book to pick up.  It is action packed and has great world building.  There is good character development, and our main character has to work hard for his achievements as he isn't the chosen one with special abilities like some of his opponents.  There is a good political intrigue plot along side the fight scenes, and I suspect that will be expanded on more in the next book.  I'm looking forward to seeing where book 2 takes us and how the plot develops and where Jun's journey goes next.

View all my reviews