This was an action packed story clearly inspired by the classics of martial arts. I loved the nods to these popular plots. I found myself invested in the action sequences. The character work was good but not up to the level of the Green Bone Saga. However it's tough to compare to some of the best characters I have found in fantasy.

While this is categorized as young adult, I was pleased to find it avoided many of the tropes I dislike. The novel does not have any adult subject matter but it doesn't dumb down the actual story. The characters felt the right level of maturity which made an enjoyable read.

Needless to say, if you enjoy Fonda Lee's adult fantasy or are simply interested in a new martial arts fantasy series, this is an excellent option. I highly recommend it. I got to the audiobook version and the narrator helped to uplift the story.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

It is law that a breathmarked child must be presented to the Council by the time they reach six yearsof age. The mark is a spearhead – shaped patch of dragon scales, which means they have Dragon blood, which gives them a special ability that they are only meant to use. They are trained to become Aspects.

When Jun was six years old, the Aspects came to take his brother Sai, who was breathmarked, to train to become an Aspect. Jun wanted to go too and, wanting to prove he could train too, he accidentally revealed to the Aspects that his father taught him martial arts in a world where violence was not to be taught or encouraged, for only the Aspects needed to fight. Because his brother was breathmarked, the Aspects decided to take his brother Sai and his mother to live in Yujing, and then exiled Jun and his father from East Longhan for five years to see if they will renounce the practice of violence.

But then the border between West and East Longhan closed trapping Jun and his father outside of East Longhan and separating them from their family.

Ten years later, Jun and his father still live in Longhan with his father working as security and an actor for the opera house. And Jun still trains in martial arts with Master Song and is hoping to enter the upcoming Guardian’s Tournament.

His father finds out and forbids him from going to the Tournament. And so Jun decides to run away to enter the Guardian’s Tournament anyways and prove to his father and everyone that he is the best warrior and will be the next Guardian.

This was truly a different book from what I normally read. I am more of a romantasy reader, and so it was refreshing to read a fantasy focusing on the growth of a rather arrogant boy who just wants to prove to everyone he is the best, and yet learns so much more on this journey and becomes a better person on the other side.

This was a slow going book, but I really needed that growth for Jun. He definitely was rather arrogant and stubborn. His primary focus was just on being the best and not on the bigger picture. And it’s wonderful to read and see his eyes opened and becoming this different and better person. He even becomes friends with those he may view as a rival or those he may never have thought of befriending, but he sees the bigger picture now. He also learns to use the Breath in a way that others may not realize they can when they’re not Breathmarked, which made for interesting fights.

There’s no romance, a tiny hint of it, but not sure it will turn into anything, but we’ll see. And that was okay because this book needed to focus on Jun and his journey and growth along the way, and it was both entertaining and nail-biting. That competition was something else and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

There are also wonderful side characters. Chang is definitely a favorite, and I look forward to seeing more of him! I would love him as a teacher! Jun has no idea how good he’s got it with Chang being his teacher.

This was a wonderful read! It started in a way that I thought it would take me back, but took a different more roundabout route that may eventually take us full circle. Until then, I look forward to the next book after the exciting ending in this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars

Jun, a 16-year-old martial arts prodigy, dreams of competing in the prestigious Guardian's Tournament. Held every six years, the tournament crowns the protector of the sacred Scrolls, granting the victor unparalleled wealth, fame, and political influence. However, Jun faces a significant hurdle: he lacks the "breathmark," the coveted dragon-born markings that bestow extraordinary abilities upon chosen individuals.

Despite his father's vehement opposition in his entrance, due to the risks and dangers it presents, Jun believes that winning the tournament is his only chance to restore his family's honor. Against his father’s will, he secretly embarks on the journey to the capital, determined to compete.

As the tournament unfolds, Jun discovers that the stakes are far higher than he ever imagined. The fate of the nation hangs precariously in the balance, and the next Guardian may hold the key to its survival.

As a fan of Fonda Lee's work, I was eager to dive into this novel, and I was not disappointed. The detailed fight scenes are fantastic. Given the intense training and the nature of the Guardian's Tournament, combat plays a central role in this story. The vivid descriptions allowed me to almost feel the impact of each blow and the fluidity of every movement.

The story also effectively establishes a strong found family dynamic and lays the groundwork for a compelling character arc for Jun. While initially portrayed as immature and headstrong, we witness his potential for growth and maturity throughout the novel.

I'm eagerly anticipating the next book, hoping for a deeper exploration of the political intrigue and more high-octane adventures that Lee is so adept at crafting.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this eARC for review! All opinions are my own.

Final Rating: 4.5

I had such a fun time reading this book! I loved all the martial arts fight scenes and the world was absolutely fascinating! I liked the character development that Jun had as he learned more about the world and people around him and I'm excited to see how he further develops in the sequel! I'm always a fan of political intrigue and tournaments so I was really into this one. I also loved the magic, although I think that will be expanded on even more in the next book. I'm also looking forward to hopefully meeting Sai again in the sequel too and hopefully get some interactions between the twins! This was my first book from Fonda Lee and I'm definitely looking forward to finally reading Jade City soon! Also I'm currently doing my first playthough of Sekiro and I couldn't help but think of the fight sequences of each while reading and playing. Not that that really has any impact on my enjoyment of this book, but it did kind of influence how I visualized everything!

A great YA first-in-series that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

I read 70% of this in one day, and if I wasn't home with family I likely would have finished it. It was almost immediately engaging, and I was so excited to into the tournament! (I love a good tournament in my books) I read this thinking that Shannon was Fonda's daughter or niece, thanks to the shared last name, and I later learned she is actually the daughter of Bruce Lee. This shifted my opinion, because I thought it was more of Fonda helping a younger author get her start. I'm assuming, however, that the descriptions of martial arts comes from Shannon. I, myself, am not knowledgeable of martial arts in any way, so I can't explain if they were done well or not, but as an uninformed reader I really enjoyed it. I was able to visualize the many fight scenes in this book fairly easily, and I really enjoyed it.

The book does feel YA in that the main character is 16 and he feels so. However, I didn't think he felt underdeveloped as a character, just one with an underdeveloped frontal lobe. While it felt YA, I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult.

I would highly recommend this book to people who like action, though I am not an action-driven reader myself and I still loved it!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It's a true YA story with an MC that you grow to love. Jun starts out as a naive, boisterous, and cocky teen that you're slightly annoyed with but I found myself keeping the hope alive for him throughout the story. There's no romance in this story but there's an amazing group of likable characters that that become a found family for Jun. This is the first installment of a duology and I'm already highly anticipating the second book. Obviously this is a book about martial arts and a tournament so there are a lot of fight scenes. I loved it but I will say by the last fight scene I was slightly over them. Overall, this was well written, well plotted, and the world building was easy to understand.

Pick this up if you love stories that include:
Found family
Tournaments
Political intrigue
Martial arts
Fantasy

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a chance to read this in exchange of an honest review. An easy 5 stars and I'll be impatiently waiting for book two!

What a fun read! Breath of the Dragon is a young adult fantasy full of political intrigue and action-packed fight scenes that engaged me and leave me excited for book two of the duology. While I had a slower start with the book, largely due to Jun's immaturity and selfishness, I see now just how important that starting point was for him for the character arc that Lee and Lee take us on. I appreciated the vivid scene descriptions, strong characters, and especially how Lee and Lee gradually built up stakes that left us with an explosive final 15% of the book. While this book is YA, the craft of it is well done that I think readers of adult fantasy would also enjoy (leaving understanding for some of the dialogue and characterizations that are common in YA stories). Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Note: this is a translated version of the original review posted and written in spanish.

Score: 4.5 / 5 Stars.
Before I start with the review, I want to thank Wednesday Books for sending me the Arc of this novel.

Breath of the Dragon is a fantasy novel in which fighting styles and techniques have a special role. This has transported me to my childhood, when I watched action anime series like Dragon Ball and Yuyu Hakusho, in which the characters competed in martial arts tournaments. As you can imagine, this has been an important factor in my reading experience.

The other reason why I decided to request this arc is because of the amazing team behind the novel. First we have Shannon Lee, daughter of martial arts master Bruce Lee, who will bring to the team all the knowledge related to martial arts techniques and movements. On the other hand, we have Fonda Lee, one of the most acclaimed fantasy and science fiction authors of recent years, who wrote The Green Bone Saga. Fonda will be in charge of creating the fantastic world in which the story will take place. I can tell you right away that both did an impressive job, but I will go into that later.

But anyway, what is “Breath of the Dragon” about? In this novel we will follow Jun, a 16-year-old boy who in his childhood, while living in the East, was separated from his twin brother, since his brother had “the mark of the dragon”, which gives its users special abilities. In the East, children who have this mark are recruited to be trained in the temple and thus become Aspects. Jun, on the other hand, is exiled with his father, and they moved to the West, where martial arts are not prohibited and people can practice them without any problem.

However, the differences between the East and the West go far beyond martial arts, since both territories are mortal enemies, and therefore, each one thinks the worst of its neighbor. “Those from the East are tyrants”, “Those from the West only want our destruction”. This will cause the tension between the two sides to intensify and the characters will feel like they must take sides at some point in the story, especially Jun, who was born in the East but grew up in the West.

Now, the main theme of the novel is that Jun wants to participate in the most important martial arts tournament in the West. This tournament takes place every 6 years and its winner is named the Guardian, who is in charge of protecting the scroll of heaven (a sacred writing that contains information about magic and other topics). However, this tournament is highly dangerous, and Jun's father forbids him to participate, so, as a teenager would do, Jun decides to run away from home and test his luck.

This is a very entertaining story that can also be read with a lightness that has surprised me. In addition to the world and the magic system, which were very well-structured, I must highlight the characters. Each character is very well constructed, with a coherent backstory and ambitions of their own. There is not a single character that feels forced or flat in the story.

I also found the combat scenes entertaining. As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, these scenes transported me back to my childhood, which I appreciate, as I remembered how much I enjoyed the fights I saw in series like Yu Yu Hakusho, HunterXHunter or Dragon Ball. In addition, the authors do a phenomenal job describing the fights and fighting styles, not to mention the absolute respect that can be felt for these disciplines.

Towards the end, a plot twist occurs that I did not expect and that opens the doors for the next novel. I remind you that this will be a duology, so in the next book we will have the final conclusion of the story. Now, I am really looking forward to the sequel, as the authors have left us many interesting details depending on a thread, details that involve a possible armed conflict, and what I am most looking forward to: The reunion between Jun and her brother, which will undoubtedly have to take place through a fight.

3.5 stars. I think this story had a lot of potential that it didn't quite live up to, so I'm excited to see what the second half of the duology had in store.

What I liked:
- This felt like YA for actual teenagers, starring actual teenagers (aka I felt too old for it). It's an important story that's not trying to be overly dark or romantic or to hit certain tropes.
- The supporting cast was incredible. I was especially interested in Yin Yue, the golden boy of Jun's original martial arts school, and I'm glad he ended up being a big part of this book.
- The tournament itself was interesting without being too predictable. The fight scenes were really good and all different from each other.
- Limited romance.

What I didn't like:
- Jun was incredibly unlikeable. I know this was intentional in the beginning, but I didn't connect with his growth arc, which was less of an arc and more of an abrupt series of jumps.
- There wasn't a lot of downtime to get to know the characters. Lots of plot was always happening.

Thank you Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this ARC and for sending me a gifted copy!

This story follows Jun‘s journey to become the champion of the Guardian Tournament. He has trained in order to compete in the martial arts tournament with the hope of winning, which would restore the honor and respect that he unintentionally lost for his family when he was just a boy. Many of his competitors are breathmarked, born with a patch of dragon scales and a special, unique ability that might make them tougher to defeat. But Jun is determined to come out victorious in order to restore his family’s honor.

Breath of the Dragon was such a compelling read filled with gripping martial arts sequences, political turmoil, and an MC you can’t help but root for. The character development was very well done, and there was so much heart written into this story. I absolutely loved how this book ends, setting up the next book. I’m just sad I have to wait for the second book!

I really can’t express how much I enjoyed this book. This duology is based on characters and teachings by Bruce Lee, and reading this had me feeling nostalgic. It felt like I was a kid again watching Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon with my dad. This is the first full book I’ve completed since finishing my program, and I couldn’t be happier that this was my re-introduction into reading. If you’re looking for an action-packed fantasy, I’d highly recommend this one.

I really enjoyed this story! The world building in this book was so nicely done and really strengthened the story for me. The tournament made the plot cohesive and fun. This read as a true YA book and I think it hit its mark with lots of fighting/action scenes and no romance. I loved all the characters (and the growth they have), too, which made reading this even more entertaining. I also thought the ending was great and am super excited for book two! I

**DNF at 26% ~ Review of portion I read only**

Breath of the Dragon is a YA fantasy about a young man who wants to prove his worth by winning the Guardian's Tournament. Forbidden to compete by his father, Jun runs away determined to compete and restore his family's honor. There is a lot happening in these first few chapters. Jun is a twin, and they are separated when they are young because his brother is breathmarked: born with a patch of dragon's scales. All breathmarked have an ability. Sol's is mimicry. So while Jun studies and trains hard, Sol can copy him after watching him once. When breathmarked show up at their home to take Sol, Jun is upset that he cannot go too. He shows them his fighting skills not realizing that it is forbidden to train. Jun and his father are banished while his mother and Sol are taken to the capital. During their exile, the country is split in two. Where Jun and his father live, training isn't forbidden so Jun continues training in the hopes of becoming a Guardian one day. But with his father forbidding it, Jun is forced to run away in secret.

I really liked the premise of the story. A tournament, the martial arts, it all makes for an exciting, action-packed story. However, I wasn't thrilled with the execution. I think this is more a case of the book isn't for me. Jun is immature, acting like a typical 16 year old. However, I feel like his circumstances and what happened to his family would've had a bigger impact on him than it has. Yes, it impacted him, but it doesn't change his desire to prove himself. He is still that little boy watching his family fall apart because he performed martial arts. The fight scenes are elaborate, and I could easily picture them in my mind, even though I'm not super familiar with the style. The writing itself was too detailed for me. I found portions of the story dragged out and dull. It couldn't hold my attention. I wound up skimming the rest of the novel to see if it would catch my attention again and sadly it did not.

If you are a fan of YA fantasy or looking for an action adventure, this book may be for you.

"Breath of the Dragon" by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee was an exciting and immersive read from start to finish.

The story follows Jun, an underdog with big dreams of becoming the Guardian of the Scroll, as he navigates a journey filled with martial arts, political intrigue, and self-discovery. The fight scenes were incredibly well written and choreographed, showcasing the authors' expertise and passion for martial arts. The vivid descriptions made it easy to visualize each moment, especially the intense and detailed combat sequences. Jun's growth from an impulsive teenager to a more disciplined and determined young man was engaging to follow. I also appreciated the emphasis on friendships and rivalries instead of leaning on a low-effort romance subplot.

This book is perfect for readers who enjoy action-packed fantasy with a focus on character development and political intrigue. I cannot wait for the next installment in this duology. If you love martial arts, layered plots, and high-stakes competition, this one is a must-read.

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! ⭐⭐⭐

⛩️ ---------------------------- ⛩️

🥋 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.

⛩️ ---------------------------- ⛩️

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!