SPORTOCHICK’S MUSINGS: This book is brilliant in its execution and so well written that this reader was taken to a place she had never been before.

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Breath of the Dragon
Breathmarked
by Fonda Lee; Shannon Lee
Narrated by Krys Janae

Pub Date Jan 07 2025
St. Martin’s Press

DESCRIPTION

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.

REVIEW

This book stands on it own with no need for sexy scorching love scenes that most authors are renown for. It’s brilliant in its execution and so well written that this reader was taken to a place she had never been before. The authors Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee use detailed descriptions of people and sceneries throughout Jun’s tragedies, competitions, and frenemy relationships.

Li Jun didn’t start as a character I loved. He was very self-centered with anger tendencies. His character continually expands while learning his life lessons and the young man at the end of the book is someone I would want by my side in a war.

Some of the other characters that are memorable are performer Ren and her father, Sifu Chang as well as Yin Yue his competition at the Iron Core school and for the Guardian Tournament.

The authors do a seamless job of shaping and growing all the characters personalities from their experiences and when the book ends all I could think of is “Please tell me the next book is soon!”.

I recommend you read the book and please let me know what you think.

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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