Unfortunately, this novel missed the mark for me. I thought it had a lot of potential, but it really was missing a lot of world building. I had difficulty really picturing what setting I was reading about and what was actually happening during the scenes. World building is super important to me and I think this novel was really lacking in that area. I also feel like I never really became attached to any of the characters. They seemed really distant and like they were missing something as well. I really think this novel could have been a lot better, so I was pretty disappointed. Thank you to NetGalley for sending this novel in exchange for an honest review.

4*
Pros: Magical world-building. Joins Chinese culture and myths together with steampunk (incredible, right??). Resilient and relatable main characters. Lead character is complemented by the missions and ambitions of secondary characters, which is very refreshing. Feminist notes. Important PoV into mental health.Talks about abusive parental figures.
•
Cons: Too fast-paced, both in terms of plot and of character development. The storyline of this book would be enough for a whole sequel.

It feels like the first half of this was a book I would have DNF'd, while the second half was an enjoyable, exciting action/fantasy story. So it definitely could have been stronger in my opinion, but I finished it feeling pleased.

The writing especially began a bit rough. The beginning was full of stilted, unrealistic dialogue meant to dump all relevant information on us — a problem I entirely relate to, but expect better than from professional writers. For about the first half I didn't exactly dislike Anlei or the setting, but I wasn't emotionally invested. Lingering descriptions of the setting didn't strike me as gorgeous, just tedious. Also, the love interest hit one of my pet peeves for obnoxious male characters that I'm sure plenty of people would love, but I disliked (think Rhysand from ACOTAR, though not nearly as bad).

But sometimes after the middle of the book, I hit a moment when I suddenly could not read fast enough. The plot picked up with new hurdle after hurdle, I stopped disliking Tai at all, and I flew through the rest of the book in one afternoon.

Even though I was bored with the first half, I'd still recommend this book if it at all fit what the person who asked was looking for.

I sadly put this down at 30%. This is a personal preference due to the story telling style and also the protagonist. I feel like there was never enough to connect to her and it felt like a bunch of scenes put together and I never felt like we got to relax at all or get to know the characters more. I can see teens enjoying this, but it wasn't for me.

I received this book for a blog tour. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish it despite starting it multiple times. This was just a personal thing; I couldn't get into the plot and I was a third of the way through, with very little plot happening. Again, just a personal thing!

I enjoyed Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon and read through it rather quickly, primarily because of the world-building and the the fantasy/mythological elements woven through the narrative. I loved the steampunk aspects and particularly wanted to see more of Anlei's sister's work with magic and mechanics, and, while they may play key roles in the story, I wish we could have spent more time seeing how they are developed.

I both liked and found Anlei a rather frustrating character by turn. Her determination, independence and skills are things for which she should be praised, yet the fact that she kept worrying that she would not be the 'hero' of the story during moments when she faced great danger made her feel rather shallow, especially as there are several instances of this. Though she behaves in a selfless manner on many occasions, she also seems blinded by the idea of becoming a legend and being revered as a great warrior, which unfortunately makes her appear quite selfish, to the extent that I wished on more than one occasion that the first thing she thought of after a triumph wasn't her own heroism, as it only seemed to take away from her achievement. This aside, there are many positive aspects of her personality, such as her devotion to her family and her unwillingness to immediately believe anyone who refutes her own beliefs/ideas.

Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon is a well-paced read, with very few lulls in the narrative. The pace picks up with the introduction of Tai, who is among the better male characters of much of the YA I've read, in that his goal is not to 'tame' Anlei or take away her agency. To me, there is a very fine line between genuinely amusing interactions between intended love interests and what gets excused as 'witty banter' that actually undermines the female character, and I was very pleased to find that Anlei and Tai's interactions were not of the latter variety.

On the whole, it's a fun book with some excellent fantasy elements that I would have happily read more about.

Stronger than a bronze dragon was a book i went in with high expectations , and disappointed. 

This book starts off with mulan tropes with a dead father and an unnecessary arranged marriage. Until the point we meet Tai , everything couldve been edited.

Anlei was a difficult character to love for me. With the book entirely being her point of view it was really hard getting through with her the whole time. Tai was so cliché , oneliners and the deep characterisation. It felt like a forced ship for me.

I didn't really enjoy this one as much as i should've. 

Thanks Netgalley for giving me a chance to read and review this book.

This was a really great story about a girl who dreams of seeing the world and going on a grand adventure and finally gets her chance to do so. Anlei follows Tai on his quest to save his people, thinking herself a secondary character in his story, hoping that people will somehow remember her name as well when all is said and done. But after they've saved his people and returned home, it is Anlei who discovers the darker secrets plaguing her kingdom and fights to save everyone, becoming the true hero in her own story that she always dreamed of being, and in the end it no longer mattered if her name was remembered or if she reached glory, because she knew she had done the right thing and saved the people who mattered to her, ending a war before it could begin.

I really loved Anlei and Tai and their banter and how he respected and admired her skills, how he knew she could beat him in a fight if she were really trying. I love how he had admired her ferocity even before they officially met, how he loved and trusted her long before she allowed herself to do the same with him. I loved the two of them and all the adventures they went on, the people they saved, and the life they're going to live together, seeing the whole world <3

Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon is a story that will leave you shouting from the rooftops. It's a story with a heroine you will fall in love with. She has a noble heart and a passionate sense of determination, even when it lands her squarely in trouble. There's a fire in her soul to do what's right, even when it's not acceptable. While, her journey imparts the importance of support, of trust and honesty, and of doing what's right especially when it's hard.

Anlei is set on a path of destiny, but it's not one she chose. It's one decided for the good of the village. And while it's against every fiber of her being, And it chips away everything of Anlei - her agency, her desire to fight for what, and who, she loves, and her future. She has a noble heart which yearns for adventure, boxed in by society's expectations, but what people demand of her.

Continuing with the trend for Asian inspired #ownvoice fantasy; this time with added dragons, this book had all the hallmarks of a perfect read for me. However, it was a story I struggled with. Stronger than a Bronze Dragon isn't a bad book, far from it - it just didn't bring much new to the table for the genre. The only proper standout point was the steampunk element which was unexpected and gave a much needed extra layer to the story. So let's start with that. Although we are far from a contemporary setting the wonderfully crafted mechanical dragon ships give a background of creativity and industry. The cyborg soldiers adding a sci-fi twist to this world of cogs and wheels. The world building has a high attention to detail and I have to say that the author does a good job of balancing both a character and plot driven story points, a rare feat.

Anlei as our protagonist though, was a difficult character for me to get on with. Depending on how you feel about particular tropes, readers will either love her feisty, fighting, no holds barred persona. Or, if you're like me, you'll find her constant need to put herself and her own sense of justice first frustrating, especially given the amount of people relying on her; literally all the time. For this reason I struggled to connect to her character - she just never learnt from what came before and she lacked any real depth.  Tai on the other hand couldn't have been more different, I enjoyed his character immensely, so much secrecy around him and so many layers to his character. He had a great story arc and I found myself actually enjoying his cheesy one liners and light hearted approach to even the darkest of scenarios.

The narrative however did feel clumsy at times, some sections seemed very laborious, yet sections full of mystery and action felt like they were over in a blink. There is to a degree too many things in play at the same time and not much felt like it was covered in a satisfying way. I just don't know if there were too many ideas in the story for them to really be given full justice in a standalone setting. Honestly, I thought that the Dragons would play a bigger part too. I appreciate that there were elements of this that maybe were just not my cup of tea, or maybe I've just read too much of this sub genre recently but there just wasn't enough to make me think wow about the story sadly.

This book features a strong badass warrioress, a charming thief/half breed (i'll let you figure that out) and their journey on saving the people in their hometown and eventually, everyone else too. I love the chemistry between Anlei (the protagonist) and Tai (charming thief). The plot developed well as they brought me along their journey. I liked the fact that Tai is a mysterious character and he is quite dynamic. Meanwhile, as much as I love Anlei, she's that strong female character that we all need but at times, I felt that the author is forcing on her greatness too much on the readers that at certain point, Anlei is just too obsessed with her ability to fight and becoming a warrioress. The villain in this book (Viceroy Kang) certainly has so many layers to his character, I loved how the author shaped him and gave him so many layers of identity. It was pure joy to get to know Viceroy Kang and his evil plans.

The relationship between Anlei and her sister, Anshui is also another aspect I adore. It was nice to see the sisters rooting for one another and how mature they are and their affection for one another is really soothing. Of course, I love the Asian aspect of this book. The chinese words that keep appearing along the story making reading this book so much more interesting for me. Also, the myths and the folklore told in this book is a pleasant to read. Psst... The ending got me tear up, just a tiny bit, not much. Like I've seen this kind of ending before but it never fails to touch my heart. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this book!

Have you seen how stunning that cover is? I was sold the moment I saw that beauty cross my screen; I would purchase the book just for the cover alone. When I was taking my photo for bookstagram, I kept wishing I had some brocade cloth to compliment it. But pretty packages are never what they seem!

I might be a little biased and prejudiced but I think what would really sell Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon for me is that it’s an #ownvoices book and the Asian representation. Too often, Asians are misrepresented in the media and it is only in recent times that we’ve began to reclaim our agency and place as heroes and main characters. If it’s not sexy Oriental women, it’s our exoooootic food. As I’m glancing over Goodreads for reviews, one particular review stood out for me because a negative point that it presented for Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon was a lack of food descriptions! Anlei and Tai are on a mission to save the world and this reader wondered why there was a lack of food descriptions. In fact, I recall a particular scene where they do discuss the different kinds of foods that come from the different regions of China! But I digress,

Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon is a vivid imagining of the typical Chinese paintings interwoven with Chinese culture; there are rivers and quaint towns, elaborate cities with red, slanting roofs and beautiful, serene temples. It is so refreshing to see one’s history and tradition packaged neatly into a young adult fantasy meant to appeal to a mass audience. I particularly loved one little detail that Western readers might not find of note but it gave me such a thrill that Mary Fan included it. In Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon, Anlei wears a necklace her father gave to her as a baby on her 100th day. For the Chinese, the 100th day of a baby’s life is a cause for celebration as it means that the baby will live to be a hundred years old (yeah, Chinese customs are strange but I love them!).

I think this might also make me sound a little bit racist but I am a little bit tired of seeing half-Asian characters in fantasies and in contemporaries. I know that’s the reality of the world and it’s becoming more blended and fluid but I’d love to see a full-blooded Asian doing Asian things in a novel designed for both the Western and Asian readers. In Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon, the Ancient Chinese world is mixed in with some steampunk! I am a massive sucker for steampunk because there’s something so sexy about automatons and machinery in history (I’m weird, leave me be!). I think it’s also a really cool nod to Japanese anime and manga which I feel has somewhat driven the steampunk genre (someone find me some citations!). While steampunk is generally seen as a Western element, it was worked wonderfully into Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon and didn’t take away from the Asian story at heart at all.

And, that’s really where my love for Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon stop.

But, don’t get me wrong. While I was not a fan of Mary Fan’s previous book, Starswept, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I did enjoy reading Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon. It was an entertaining read and I enjoyed the fantasy elements and I genuinely liked that Anlei and Tai were going to challenge the God of Hell.  The plot is extremely convoluted and there were two different plots jammed into a single book! Halfway through, I was very confused that the story arc that I was invested in had come to an end. I was less than 50% into the book. And immediately, a second story arc begun. I frowned at my Kindle for a good five minutes trying to figure out where this was going.

How was this achieved you ask? By way of multiple annoying cut scenes and time jumps. Journeys from one place to another were revealed to take two-three days and some even more. At the beginning of the next chapter, it’s revealed that two days have passed and nothing happened! Anlei and Tai are being pursued and nothing.fucking.happens. It’s infuriating!

But doesn’t matter because like the time jumps lend little depth to the plot, Anlei and Tai also lack a lot of depth. Anlei is a fierce warrior trained by her father to be a fighter in a time and place where women were mothers and caretakers. Anlei is not in the least bit ladylike; she is coarse and she prefers to spend her time snapping at people and being grumpy. Tai, is a charming thief who has a lot of secrets and is very evasive. He’s charming to the point of annoying and can be a little condescending towards Anlei at times. But I did not care for them; nothing in their personalities made me give a fig about them. I was more invested in the plot.

While Tai is still quite an interesting character, I didn’t care for Anlei in the least bit. I found it hard to root for her. Her character is selfish and self-serving, always concerned about her needs and what she wants, even to the end. She claims that she has made multiple sacrifices but she also admits that she did it for the glory! I’m so confused!

The most confusing and frustrating part of Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon: the romance! Of course, every YA story this day has to have a great romance between the main characters, I get that. And while Tai and Anlei are well-suited and there was even one instance that I thought they were quite cute together, the romance was incredibly rushed! There was absolutely no romantic tension between the two (snapping at each other doesn’t count!) and it didn’t feel like it was the right place and the right time for a romance.

I wished it were a little more like Mulan and Shang’s relationship in Mulan, where the whole plot was on Mulan saving China with a little bit of the flirting thrown in at the end.

All these shortcomings can be summarised in one way: the unpolished writing. It’s a lot of telling instead of showing, plots twists and arcs are flung at you without warning, the time jumps and the lack of character depth. It seems more complicated than it should be and I think Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon deserves to at least be a duology with more care given to how the story is told and written. While I hardly touched on worldbuilding, I think it didn’t quite suffer. There were some plot holes about the worldbuilding like how did the automatons get introduced, it was actually sufficient, at least for me.

Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon has a great plot and a wonderful world that the author has built. It’s a really stronger contender for Asian representation in young adult fantasy but a lot needs to be done before it is ready to compete with the greats. The writing is very unpolished and it reads more like a second or third draft as opposed to a final version which really brings down the unique and creative plot.

The writing, plot, setting, and characters are awesome! I loved how real the dragons feel. Many books just don’t know how to do dragons justice but this one does and it is fantastic. I can see many students who enjoyed Eragon liking this one too.

It was such a compelling story and sucked me in from the beginning. I enjoyed every minute of that reading experience!

When I came across this book on Netgalley the cover immediately drew my attention. A Dragon and the typography of the yellow title. I like. Of course the title mentioning a dragon helped. There are dragons in here, just not quite the way you’d think. That didn’t stop me from enjoying this splendid standalone novel. 

This book has everything. It is a strange mixture of steampunk, paranormal, magic, and do I dare say, a touch of mythology. There are air ships, steampunk dragons, pearls gifted by a dragon, uncommon fantasy creatures, hell, unwilling brides, thieves. There is so much jammed in this book that it is a little overwhelming at times. Sometimes it maybe had too much. With that I mean that some elements could have used more room to be fitted in world building wise. 

Having said that though, there is an incredible pace throughout this book. It keeps going and going and going. I just kept on turning and turning and turning the pages, just to keep up. Yet there was enough room left to explain the world satisfactory and characterize the characters. Seeing as this novel is under 400 pages AND a standalone that is quite a feat.  The plot doesn’t stop with the initial quest though initial I felt that we were building up to that moment. Somehow she managed to hold onto that feeling as we build up to the actual ending. 

Our main character Anlei is a bit of a spitfire, getting the chance to fight in the guard of her village, it is one of the things she wanted the most. However when she gets offered up as a bride to a powerful older man to save her village definitely she feels she has no other choice but to accept. It does not go easy for her and she ends up going on her first and quite probably her final adventure.  

While I liked Anlei, I loved Tai. He is the kind of character I am always drawn. The humor and endless teasing. He was able to draw it out of Anlei too which was great to see. I loved how they were put together because they weren’t opposites. In fact Anlei recognized a lot of herself in him that helped her grow and see her own behavior in a different light. I think that was a great way to go about it. 

Overall a great fantasy standalone.

THIS WAS SO COOL i seriously enjoyed this book so much, there were some small details that i'd change but overall a very enjoyable book!

I loved this.  I have a soft spot for Asian stories, and I love so many more are available now. This is one of my favourite I’ve read in a long time. The characters are well written, very empathetic and likeable. I loved Tai so much, that kind of irritating charm we all love. Anlei is a great MC strong but human. You will love this book trust me . It’s full of everything you could want steampunk, dragons, action and magic

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

So this is the first Mary Fan book I've read. I've come across some reviews of her other books. I now know she is an author to look out for though. This was just, WOW!
The book synopsis and cover sucked me in right away, I just I knew I just had to read it and that I would love it. 

This book has everything from steampunk, magic and badass heroine plot twists and amazing world building. Its seriously everything. You have to read this book, like today!! NOW!



You will fall for Anlei and this story instantly. 

Overall this book was fantastic and I 100% Recommend it! I plan on hunting down a hardcover of it, I need this book forever on my shelves!

*This book was given for honest review by netgalley*

I really appreciated the setting - the combination of Chinese history, fantasy, and steampunk-esque technology was really interesting and individual. The rest of the storyline was pretty classic for YA sci fi/fantasy and the writing was average, but the world building elevated it for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC..

Engrossing  ~  Compelling  ~   Exciting

tl; dr: Village girl in alternative history China becomes mixed up with robot dragon rather than marry an (evil) ruler. 

This story takes place in a Qing dynasty with all the Confucian piety but way more dragon robots. I loved the idea of steampunk, Chinese historical fiction mash-up. It is incredibly well-done, with the world building occurring seamlessly. Anlei, the main character, is an appealing, strong girl, who will not be giving her body to the Viceroy. Along with her friend Tai, they have to save the world, change the balance of power, and deal with a potentially cursed peal. While the story feels epic, the book is fairly short and a quick read. The prose was wonderful and the pacing some of the best of recent character-driven fantasy. Put this on your TBR if you love Chinese history, dragons, robots, adventure, fantasy, YA, or good writing. 

Thanks to NetGallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.