Name: Breath of the Dragon
Rating: 2.75 (2 reviews)
ISBN: 9781250902672

Fonda Lee

Shannon Lee

A young warrior dreams of proving his worth in the elite Guardian Tournament, fighting not only for himself but the fate of everything he loves.

Breathmarked

Breath of the Dragon

Featuring beautiful sprayed edges! A young warrior dreams of proving his worth in the elite Guardian Tournament, fighting not only for himself but the fate of everything he loves. Sixteen-year-old Jun dreams of proving his worth as a warrior in the elite Guardian’s Tournament, held every six years to entrust the magical Scroll of Heaven to a new protector. Eager to prove his skills, Jun hopes that a win will restore his father’s pride—righting a horrible mistake that caused their banishment from his home, mother, and twin brother. But Jun’s father strictly forbids him from participating. He believes there is no future in Jun honing his skills as a warrior, especially considering Jun is not breathmarked, born with a patch of dragon scales and blessed with special abilities like his twin. Determined to be the next Guardian, Jun stows away in the wagon of Chang and his daughter, Ren, performers on their way to the capital where the tournament will take place. As Jun competes, he quickly realizes he may be fighting for not just a better life, but the fate of the country itself and the very survival of everyone he cares about.

Steph

A fantasy book inspired by Bruce Lee’s legacy, written by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee? Say less. Breath of the Dragon follows Li Jun, a young man exiled from the East after exposing his martial arts skills. Determined to keep training despite his father’s warnings, he enters a legendary tournament to claim the Earth Scroll’s guardianship. This book is such a fun read. It wastes no time pulling you into the characters, setting, and backstory. Fonda Lee doesn’t hold back, she lands her first punch in chapter one and never lets up. I was slightly worried the tournament scenes might feel repetitive, but I don’t know why I even doubted. This is Fonda Lee. Her fight scenes are intense, gripping, and keep you on the edge of your seat. Since it’s the first in a series, it does end with a bit of a cliffhanger, leaving me with so many questions. But thankfully, a lot gets resolved too. I can’t wait to see where this story goes next.

If you liked The Hunger Games you’ll probably enjoy this, with an addition of accurate Asian culture. 

amelia

THERE ARE NO DRAGONS, ZERO, I WAS LIED TO.

now that that's out of the way, let's start on a positive note, the world building is simple yet charming, so is the writing. 

if you want a fun, not very serious book with martial arts featured to pass the time, this won't be your worst choice.

okay I usually don't criticize the plot points of a book, because whether or not a plot point is seen as good/bad, can be so heavily subjective; but, the plotting of this was just sooo odd. it felt like there were no high or low points, no twists or fun moments. 

the last 20% felt like it shouldve either been extended or compeletlycut and put into the next book

there are sooo many fight scenes in this and not one excited me(granted I'm a very hard to excite hag). don't get me wrong, the technicallies of the fights are very well written and obviously well-researched, the authors do an impressive job with descriptions as well, but they fail to make you care, every fight just blends into the other 20.

mehrsa

THERE ARE NO DRAGONS, ZERO, I WAS LIED TO.

now that that's out of the way, let's start on a positive note, the world building is simple yet charming, so is the writing. 

if you want a fun, not very serious book with martial arts featured to pass the time, this won't be your worst choice.

okay I usually don't criticize the plot points of a book, because whether or not a plot point is seen as good/bad, can be so heavily subjective; but, the plotting of this was just sooo odd. it felt like there were no high or low points, no twists or fun moments. 

the last 20% felt like it shouldve either been extended or compeletlycut and put into the next book

there are sooo many fight scenes in this and not one excited me(granted I'm a very hard to excite hag). don't get me wrong, the technicallies of the fights are very well written and obviously well-researched, the authors do an impressive job with descriptions as well, but they fail to make you care, every fight just blends into the other 20.

everything else was unremarkable/fine.

Breath of the Dragon Breathmarked

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