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librarybookfamily's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I struggled understanding the different magic systems, but after putting in the time I loved the book. The characters are strong and yet imperfect. They strive to do what is right for the ones they love and conquer their own weaknesses . Magic and dragons with an emphasis on ancestry.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Bullying, Death, and Death of parent
gdulecki's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Feb 2025: just finished my reread in preparation for the sequel, which is in transit from the library! What a delight to be back in this world, and I am so excited to see what comes next.
~~~~~~
WHAT!!!! YOURE GONNA LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THAT????!!!!!!!! I’m screaming this was beautiful and perfect to me!!! And as a debut novel!!!! Wow. I am at a loss for words, I knowwwww this just came out but I am itching for the next book!! What a treat!!!! This may have taken the top spot of faves from this year!!!!
~~~~~~
WHAT!!!! YOURE GONNA LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THAT????!!!!!!!! I’m screaming this was beautiful and perfect to me!!! And as a debut novel!!!! Wow. I am at a loss for words, I knowwwww this just came out but I am itching for the next book!! What a treat!!!! This may have taken the top spot of faves from this year!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Colonisation, and War
avalon's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Great worldbuilding even if it took the entire first quarter to fully explain everything. I also loved the importance of the friendships as well as relationships; while yes there was romance, everyone was buddies and that's still uncommon in YA. Book covers super important real-world themes as well and does it beautifully. I just wish there was more of Elara and Signey, I loved their relationship and I really wanted more of their banter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
zluvsreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is my favorite book and consuming it in audio format just made me love it that much more.
Narration: 10/10
Story: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Plot: 10/10
Simply such a great novel that has colonization and diversity and dragons and sapphic relationships and queer characters and morally grey characters and characters you want to hate but secretly love (hi Gael I love you I’m sorry)
Read this in preparation for the sequel that I have both the digital arc and ALC of. Can’t wait, since i have started that already. My hold expired and then i just got it back again so i quickly finished a little less than 70% of the audio in just today. So good. Highly recommend.
Narration: 10/10
Story: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Plot: 10/10
Simply such a great novel that has colonization and diversity and dragons and sapphic relationships and queer characters and morally grey characters and characters you want to hate but secretly love (hi Gael I love you I’m sorry)
Read this in preparation for the sequel that I have both the digital arc and ALC of. Can’t wait, since i have started that already. My hold expired and then i just got it back again so i quickly finished a little less than 70% of the audio in just today. So good. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
serena_hien's review
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
Moderate: Death and War
oxfordcommas91's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was such a creative take on the trope of "young woman chosen by Gods gets powers and saves her kingdom." I loved how this picked up years after the big fight with our two female main characters who are grappling with their identity, future, and place in the kingdom after everything that's happened. This unique plot had lots of action and was a unique twist on many of the typical fantasy plots that get a bit stale after so many books. It kept me on my toes the whole time and even though it's a YA, it's complex and satisfying enough for an adult audience. I appreciated the genuine/authentic representation for young women of color and queer folks and think the author did a beautiful job creating a unique world that was also steeped in Jamaican history and culture. Absolutely obsessed with this book (and the characters). The only downside was that I realized too close to the end that this was a series and not just a one-off ... I am definitely counting down the days until the sequel is released in early 2025!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Abandonment
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
3.5
It's been months since I read this book but here is what I remember: dragons, anti-colonialism, sapphics, feminine rage, and rivals to lovers! I predict that my second reread will bump up the star rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Death and Slavery
blacksphinx's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Overall I had a fun time with this book but when I sat down to review it, all I could think of was that if someone asked me for an anti-colonialist fantasy novel with dragons, I would give them To Shape A Dragon's Breath instead. This was both a more action-y and a more romance-heavy book than I was expecting; depending on the ending of the duology I'd be comfortable handing it to any fantasy romance fan. What really kept me going was some interesting and unique aspects of how magic works in this world and what a "dragon" actually is. I think Kamilah Cole has a bright future as a writer and I will be checking out her next books.
When it comes to aspec representation, I think it's really important to say upfront that Faron is a demisexual character being written by a demisexual author. I think if I had just heard "aspec protag" without that context, the book would have deeply hurt me because without it, it's very easy to see Faron's character arc as "a young woman thought she was aro ace but just needed to meet the right man to fix her." This is #ownvoices so it's not the case, and as an asexual (not demi) person I can't criticize it. I wish being demi and experiencing attraction for the first time, and what that means to her/how she feels about it, was given more attention in the novel. Especially because the dual romances took up so much page count, so it's not like the romance was a small side plot.
When it comes to aspec representation, I think it's really important to say upfront that Faron is a demisexual character being written by a demisexual author. I think if I had just heard "aspec protag" without that context, the book would have deeply hurt me because without it, it's very easy to see Faron's character arc as "a young woman thought she was aro ace but just needed to meet the right man to fix her." This is #ownvoices so it's not the case, and as an asexual (not demi) person I can't criticize it. I wish being demi and experiencing attraction for the first time, and what that means to her/how she feels about it, was given more attention in the novel. Especially because the dual romances took up so much page count, so it's not like the romance was a small side plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
themdash's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sydapel's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A really stunning debut novel that centers the complications of sisterhood and colonialism, plus dragons!! What more could you want?!? I've been teasing my friend that I'm going to read the Fourth Wing book just to see what all the hype is about, but she recommended this instead and it was so worth my time. My only wish is that the third act was less rushed, in reading it I felt like it left me with far more questions than answers, even though I know there will be a sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism