Breath of the Dragon is the first book in a YA fantasy duology inspired by the teachings of Bruce Lee. This is my first book from Fonda Lee which is exciting since she has so many well-known fantasy novels. I found this book to be easy to read and very fast-paced which I enjoyed. I felt like I was invested really quickly and I found the magic system to be unique. I would have liked to see more worldbuilding so I hope the next book explores it more. Overall I really enjoyed this book!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for a review!

Fonda Lee's Green Bone saga is an absolute modern masterpiece and I'll pretty much read anything she works on. But this wasn't really the book for me.

What I love most about the green bone saga is the intricate world-building, the magic system (especially the very easy to visualize fights) and most importantly-- the characters. Years later, I can still fully visualize scenes, remember character names, and feel like I know how they'd act in any given situation because they're so real and fully-realized to me. I was invested in their plots and their lives, even the short stories within the same world.

Breath of the Dragon didn't find that magic again for me, unfortunately. It's still a perfectly serviceable story, but it feels very rote. I think there are a lot of original stories in the YA space, but this wasn't really one of them. It also doesn't have a whole lot of Fantasy to it, since the main character is just an ungifted martial artist and doesn't really surround himself with magical folks who are using the magic system frequently.

There's nothing wrong with this book, but I could literally drop it mid sentence (and did, multiple times) and not care about returning to it. idk why, but I felt compelled to finish it simply because it was an arc. But if I didn't have it as an arc? Eh, it's fine but I didn't need to finish it.

Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee and retired martial arts teacher Linda Lee Cadwell, and Fonda Lee, the World Fantasy Award-winning author of the Green Bone Saga come together to bring to life characters created by Bruce Lee. Breath of the Dragon features Lee’s teachings while focusing on a pair of fated twins.
The breathmarked are those given gifts by the Dragon and one in a set of twins is marked. Sai can copy any fighting technique after watching but Jun has no such magic. In an effort to show his value, Jun gives away that the children have been taught martial arts, something strictly prohibited in the West Longham. Jun and his father are exiled to the East while his Mother and brother go onto live in plenty.
Sixteen years later Jun is still trying to prove his worth by entering the elite Guardian’s Tournament, held every six years to entrust the magical Scroll of Earth to a new protector. But Jun’s father strictly forbids him from participating. 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 that nothing is as it seems, and the fate of the country itself is at stake.
Thanks to Fonda Lee the writing is sharp and tight. There is no space wasted. Each event in the book is needed and affects the plot or the character’s motivation. There is lots of action, but it spaced out enough that each sequence doesn’t leave you with adrenal exhaustion. The reader can savor the fights and then delve more into the characters and their personal situations. The philosophy isn’t esoterical and the politics are easy to understand. The religion/Dragon could a used a bit of fleshing out, honestly, but that’s a minor issue.
I am not a huge fan of Jun as a character. He is rather flat even as the authors try to give him some character development with the cliché death of someone he cares about. But at that point in the story, it seems more of another reason for Jun to walk away from what his fate. It takes to the very end for him to become the warrior he’s truly meant to be. And in those last few chapters, we’re past the point where he should have already been that warrior.
The first in a duology, Breath of the Dragon is action packed though it takes way too long for Jun to evolve. The authors bring to life the philosophy of Bruce Lee and fans can find easter eggs in the novel.

Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee was a good first book in the new series, Breathmarked. This book was very martial arts forward, so you really do need to have an interest in martial arts to fully appreciate this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Breath of the Dragon takes no time throwing the reader into the story. While it intrigued me at first, as I kept reading I wanted the story to slow a bit- to show me more of the lore, the war, and quirky personality traits of the characters. But, just as the MC had one goal that was all encompassing- so too did this story. It was so cool to read the descriptions of the fighting scenes, but other than that, I didn’t feel connected to the characters. I felt that there were many opportunities to add in inner dialogue or background but it wasn’t done. While this is marketed as YA, it read more middle grade to me, but take that with a grain of salt as I, unfortunately, DNF’d this book. It’s not something I do often, but this wasn’t the book for me. I’ve seen many reviews raving about it, so clearly it’s just a fit thing. As always, I encourage readers to try it for themselves.

This book was so incredibly fun! I loved every second of the book. The characters motivations were clear. The dialogue was incredible and fun to read. The world and lore of the world was fun to discover. The pacing was perfect and made me keep reading late into the night.

GIVE ME MORE ASAP I loved this so much!!!! Ugh the tournament was perfection, the characters were perfection, and all the twists and turns were perfection

I had a lot of fun reading this first instalment of the Breathmarked series. If you’re like me, and grew up on Bruce Lee’s presence, you’ll absolutely adore this. My dad showed me and my brothers his movies like Enter the Dragon and my personal favourite, Fists of Fury- This book definitely collides with the shared idea of confronting face to face a challenge in order to restore or avenge the family’s honour, and the importance of duty. Far less violent than the movies though haha, it being YA. Mixed with fantasy, martial arts, a tournament (my favourite part) and Fonda’s amazing world building and fighting scenes (dang I missed her fighting scenes), I can’t imagine the rest of the series not getting better and better. I love Jun with all my heart, and I can’t wait to see what’s to come, especially the strengthening of the bonds between the characters.

It’s hard to keep a secret. At any age. It’s hard to keep a secret that’s quite innocent, but could unravel your world, if it ever came out. In one brief moment, Jun’s world unraveled taking him from his home and family to banishment on the other side of the Snake Well with his brokenhearted father away from his mother and twin brother. Even with his father resigned , Jun still dreams and hopes of a way to bring his broken family back together, but a child’s dream is often no match for cold, hard reality. Jun is fierce, precocious, passionate, and more than enough teenager to believe that he can be the one in a million. He’s so easy to root for even when everything is against him. Definitely for fans of Warrior, Wu Assassins.

4.5 stars rounded up.

I don't know much about martial arts, though I've always been fascinated by it, so when I learned that Breath of the Dragon came from concepts by Bruce Lee, and that his daughter was part of this herself, I knew I wanted to read it. I really loved this book and I loved getting to watch Jun grow as a warrior, both physically and internally. I appreciated that you don't need to know much about martial arts to be able to enjoy reading this. I'm not great when it comes to understanding complicated fight scenes at times, but this was written in a way that made it easy to follow along with. I'll definitely be recommending this to everyone, and I will be picking up the second book whenever it comes out!

This is such a well written coming of age story for readers of all ages, not just young adult. This book will hook you from the beginning and won’t let you go. From class rivalries to political ones, this story takes a deep dive into the exploration of both, and achieves it through beautiful prose.

This book was fine, I guess. Very basic. Honestly reads a lot like a shonen manga/anime. Quick paced. Lot of action. Not a lot of character building. Fight after fight after fight. I thought Jun was a pretty good character. He was hard headed and desperate for approval. I was most interested in his relationship with his brother and the inferiority complex that seemed to develop, but this wasn't really addressed much in the novel. I just felt like their relationship was the most engaging, even though it wasn't really that present.
There is a little bit of romance in this book and it felt quite underdeveloped. Again, felt very shonen manga where the main character has a crush on the only female character (Ren), but can't indulge in his feelings because he is committed to fighting. I don't know why the romance was added at all seeing as how it was barely present at all. I feel like it was just to give Jun another reason to dislike Yin, since Yin also had a crunch on Ren.
I found this book pretty boring, but I might check out the sequel since I'm interested in seeing Jun and his brother reunite.

I finally read a book by Fonda Lee! Her Green Bone Saga has been on my TBR for quite a while, and when I saw she had a new books coming out, which is part of a duology, I thought it was the perfect time to finally read her work.
I think it was overall a really great fantasy book, with a lot of beautifully written scene of martial. I would think it is in part the influence of Shannon Lee (who is Bruce Lee's daughter and do have a lot of knowledge about martial arts), and those scenes are worked really nicely through the story. It worked with the flow, and it made the reading experience quite addictive.
I have to say, I struggled a bit to start this book, because I had been on a contemporary kick, and I find that I often need to be in a certain mood to really get into these kinds of books. But once I got into the story (about a 100 pages in), I couldn't put it down and read it in an afternoon.
Honestly, I'm really looking forward to hear something about the sequel, because I do want to know what will happen next, and get more of this world. Thankfully, I feel that the ending of Breath of the Dragon does wrap the story nicely, and, while it does lead into what will be the next book, I don't feel like it ended on a big cliffhanger that sometimes gets me mad (especially when we have to wait probably a year to read what will happen next). I'm excited for book 2, but I'm satisfied with where the story ended.

I have to admit that a good chunk of this book was very, very boring to me. Part of the reason I stuck through it though was because I knew that once Jun reached the tournament, the plot would pick up. While I enjoyed reading about Jun, Ren and Sifu Chang, I didn't particularly care to hear about their journey. It did build up the storyline of the different factions in the West who were vying for the Guardian role but I found parts of it to be so tedious. I kept thinking that Sai might appear in the story but it made sense that he didn't. Yin Yue's inclusion though made the story worth it. I was worried for him when he and Jun both decided to stay. I knew that Jun would survive (MC energy/plot armor and all that) but I thought Yin Yue's role might be small enough that he'd also end up as a death on Jun's conscious that he feels he has to avenge. I should've known that they'd try to keep the love triangle between Ren, Jun and Yin Yue alive. My hope is that Ren and Jun will end up together and that Lure will end up with Yin Yue. It seems like a plausible option. I hope the sequel does a better job of capturing my attention as I still want to read it.

Breath of the Dragon is the first installment in authors Shannon Lee, daughter of legendary Bruce Lee, and Fonda Lee's Breathmarked series. Inspired by ancient China, this secondary-world setting draws on Bruce Lee's teachings. Ten years ago, 6-year-old Jun made a terrible, boastful mistake when he was a child, one that forced him and his father into exile, while his mother and his incredibly blessed twin went on to a life of privilege. A war and wall soon created a permanent divide between Eastern and Western Longhan.

Jun is now sixteen, an arrogant young martial artist determined to compete in the brutal championship to become the Guardian of the realm. 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 breath-marked, 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. Little does he know that this year's tournament is not what he was expecting.

As Jun competes, he quickly realizes he may be fighting for not just a better life but the fate of the country and the very survival of everyone he cares about. Jun becomes aware of a rebellion against the current military leader (who controls the child emperor in the West). A fascist leader who changes the rules of the Challenges before they even begin, which sends many of the hopefuls home without a chance to fight. Jun and his former classmate Yin Yue fight for their lives with the winner likely to become the new guardian, while the losers face death.

Jun is not breathmarked. He struggles to find a way to be important and carve out a place for himself without a special ability. In fact, every year since the East and West divided, there have been fewer breathmarked those born with a special power. Jun is irritating and definitely arrogant. Because of his arrogance, he doesn't seem to understand that everything he does has consequences. Consequences like having his twin brother excel while he and his father struggle.

The best parts of this book were the fight scenes because I have always loved martial arts movies. I loved Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li. Heck, even Chuck Norris, David Carradine, and Jean-Claude Van Damme were good. The book ends on a stunning cliffhanger, and I hear the good news is that this is actually a duology, not a series, which means the next book should be capable of wrapping up things and giving answers to readers.

I really enjoyed this book! It has rich world building and an interesting magic system, and I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book. The characters are lovable, and the martial arts elements were so fun to read about. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and all Bruce Lee fans.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

When Jun was 5, he was separated from his mother and twin brother when Aspects came to their house to take his brother Sai away for training, simply because he had the mark of the dragon on him and Jun didn't. While trying to get them to take him with his brother, Jun inadvertently shows off his martial art prowess, which has been banned in the East. Exiled to West and unable to get back when the Snake Wall is erected between the East and the West, Jun grows up with his father. He dreamed of finding a future in martial arts and to reunite with the rest of his family.

Against his father's wishes, he wants to enter a country-wide tournament to be the next Guardian, who has the ear of the Emperor and the admiration of many.

Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee is a thought-provoking and exciting tale of family, martial arts and power. It definitely leaves the door open for a sequel. I enjoyed it!

Breath of the Dragon was a very refreshing YA novel. I loved the combat and the tournament base, and the way the magic unraveled. I think the book started fairly standard and didn't do a lot to distinguish itself for the first half, but was competently written. But the second half really becomes its own thing and I'm pretty excited for the sequel!

Breath of the Dragon mixing Martial Arts with fantasy elements was kind of a cool concept. I’m not really familiar with Martial Arts but the way the fights were written really helped me visualize everything. I said it before about the Green Bone Saga and I’ll say it again, it’s like watching anime.

I honestly thought this was just going to be about following the main character’s path to victory but there’s so much more to it than that. Jun really grew as a character and I feel like a proud big sister. With the way things ended I’m scared for him. As a reader, though, I’m excited for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars 🌟

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the arc through netgalley and a finished copy in exchange for an honest review!

I have to admit I have never seen a Bruce Lee movie and in line with that, have seen very few martial arts movies or other forms of media. However, I find it interesting and entertaining in the media that I have consumed, such as Shang-Chi in recent years. This fantasy centered around a society with martial arts and sweeping Chinese folklore sounded so interesting, and was thrilled to be able to read this book through an arc and a finished copy with gorgeous red sprayed edges.

Jun's family was split apart the day that the East found out his brother was breathmarked and he wasn't, his father and him sent to the West on account of their martial arts practices that were forbidden. Now, at sixteen Jun aspires to win the next Guardian's Tournament to entrust the Scroll of The Earth to a new protector, which would restore his familial honor. However, his father forbids him from entering on account of martial arts was what drove them out of the East in the first place. Jun stows away in a carriage and makes his way to the tournament, and when he gets there realizes not only is his family's honor at stake but that of the country.

There were some reviews I read that said this story dragged far too much, but I think it was interesting and had some great lore pieces. I wish we had gotten more lore, but there was plenty that can be expanded upon in the next book. As for the plot, I think it was relatively well-paced even if it lost my attention just a little before the tournament started, but I didn't find the tournament itself too repetitive. Learning about the different fighting styles from the different martial arts schools and areas of the West was very interesting as well, especially with the descriptions and it made me intrigued to see more of this in coming books.

Jun himself was a fun main character, and it was honestly really refreshing to read a young adult fantasy centered around a male character. Oftentimes, these books center on young women which is fine as sometimes it's easier for me to connect with them, but Jun was relatable in himself. It was obvious, even if he made some rash choices, that he cared so much for his family and was willing to do anything to try to see them again.

The ending was crazy! So much was happening at once, things that I did not expect, and so it made me really interested in continuing the series. I think there's a lot of expansion that is going to happen in subsequent books that will make this world even cooler. I had a really good time with this story and think it is a solid start to what could be a very fun series.

[TW: death of a parent, depiction of grief, war themes, murder, blood and gore]