This very appealing YA fantasy novel takes us to a different version of our world in the 19th century. Anequs is a 15-year-old indigenous woman (because once you hit puberty you are a woman in her society) who lives on an island and leads a traditional life. This world has dragons, but her people have been without dragons after the ruling class brought disease and death some time ago. One day Anequs sees a beautiful dragon leaving her island and when she goes to check that part of the island, she discovers an egg. Bringing it back to her village, it is cared for by the whole community and when it hatches it chooses Anequs as her companion.
In this society, dragons are strictly regulated by the Anglis, the ruling class, and Anequs is compelled to attend a school on the mainland if she wishes to keep her dragon. This is a story of the first year for Anequs at this school and all that entailed. An interesting part of the book is the Contents pages: each chapter has a title that when you read all of them gives you an outline/story of the book. It's an interesting concept that draws you in. Anequs also is a strong character -- she is not afraid to think for herself and question the ways of her 'betters' as just about everyone she meets does think that she and her people are uncivilized and ignorant. One criticism is that usually Anequs is always right even if she has to face consequences for those beliefs. The author calls out racism and sexism through Anequs and you are glad she does, but no one is always on the right side of every argument and belief.
This seems to be the first of a series and I'm sure a second book about Anequs will be anxiously awaited.

Premise

Anequs, an indigenous islander in this fantasy world, is forced to attend a white school away from her people after a newly-hatched dragon chooses her to be its rider.

Quick Review

Another reviewer described this as a "cozy fantasy" and I think that's a great description. With great diverse representation and an overall wholesome feel, this book takes you on a journey to a world where the main villain is politics and racism. This book is for you if you love detailed worldbuilding.

Long Review

While this book covers heavy themes like racism, xenophobia, and colonization as assimilation is forced onto our main character, it's balanced out with scenes of going to class, making friends, and taking adventures in the city. Anequs herself is a satisfying main character. She is strong-willed, forward, and open-minded. She suffers no miscommunication, she seeks people out first, she extends her hand to those who are down-trodden and speaks up in defense of herself and others.

I also appreciated that all of the characters were given breathing room. Our first impressions weren't always accurate, and we had a chance to see them grow and evolve as well. We also got some great representation in this book. The core culture revolves around indigenous people of course, but we also got to see rep for autism, LGBTQ+, polyamory, and women.

The worldbuilding was incredibly detailed and intricate. In addition to unique place names and ruling class titles, we also got new words and definitions for scientific principles. It was so fleshed out and believable--though it did take some time for me to keep everyone and everything straight in my head.

It was an overall delightful read and I'm excited for this series to continue. I will definitely be reading. This book is set to release May 2023.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dragons, commentary about racism and colonization, and a badass MC? Then you should read To Shape a Dragon's Breath. The writing was good, the story was captivating, and the commentary was on point.

I really enjoyed this novel, set in an alternate North America among Indigenous groups and settler-colonizer communities--and their dragons. The deft handling of Native lore, practices, and life is a treat to read, and while protagonist Anequs, a queer young Indigenous woman who has been chosen by a dragon to care for it, serves as a didactic mouthpiece most of the time, she is a fairly well-constructed character in her own right. The world-building tends to fall somewhere between the simple "can you line up places and things between the world of the book and our world?"--like cities and materials (lead becomes "lood," for example)--and a more thoughtful imagination of how colonization changes the world. In addition to Anequs, there are other characters who clearly serve very specific roles, including two love interests, a roommate who explains Anglish colonialist culture, a brother, who has left his family to live in an Anglish city and learn their technology so he can take it home with him and use it for Native interests, an autistic boy who is there to be Anequs's friend and teach readers about non-speaking or low-speaking autistics, the racist, elitist instructor at the academy Anequs attends, and a few others, all of whom fulfill various other archetypes. But despite the characters being stereotypes, they generally don't grate--author Blackgoose has fleshed them out at least a little bit. The pacing is a little jerky, and the end feels rushed. Despite the obvious doors left open for sequels, I'm kind of hoping this remains a standalone, so that readers can imagine what happens next.

A fantasy/sci-fi/steampunk based story of a young indigenous girl who finds a dragon egg and is bonded with the dragon when it has hatched. She must leave her quaint island home and go to an academy where she and the dragon can be trained. The academy is in the city and the attendees are mostly young men from families of high social standing. She has no idea how to fit in with these people.
The book chronicles Anequs and her dragon's first year at the academy. The year is an eventful one, with death threats, social blunders, an assassination attempt and lots of studying.
I enjoyed reading this and look forward to the sequel.

Most fantasy books ignore the issues of race and colonization. Many of them assume that European culture is somehow superior within fantasy. This book questions those assumptions and tells a tale of empowerment, struggle and culture that many people have been waiting to hear for a long time.

To Shape a Dragon's Breath is about a teenage girl from an indiginous(and recently colonized) American east coastal island. She stumbles upon a dragon egg and has to struggle through what it means to be a Dragoneer at a prestigious academy, how important her culture is, and how incredibly dismissive the colonizers are of it. All this while finding friends, keeping family and fostering her new relationship with her adorable new dragon companion.

Mythology, and its intricacies are a forefront of this story. This is an honest to goodness fantasy book with species names, magic systems, complex social etiquette, and a very deep collection of world lore.

Would absolutely recommend this book to people who love:
- Harry potter and other fantasy academia
- Political dramas
- Folklore and mythology
- Academia vibes
- Diverse representation
- Historical fiction
- Adorable animal companions

Anequs's life changes one day when she sees a dragon, long thought to be gone from the island of Masquapuag where she lives, fly over. The next day she returns and finds an egg, which, upon hatching, produces a dragon that bonds to her. Realizing that she must learn to guide the dragon to prevent it from becoming dangerous, Anequs leaves her island and way of life to learn among the Anglish, who have colonized the area, and who have very different ideas about how the world should be run and how dragons should be raised than Anequs does.

Anequs is a brave and forthright young woman, and as she steps out into the Anglish world with her dragon at her side, the friends she meets and the way she interacts with society is informed more by her upbringing than by Anglish rules. Of course, this causes unrest and fear among the Anglish, who see Anequs and her dragon as a possibility of power for the indigenous people of the area.

The strength of this book is in its carefully drawn cast of characters and in its world that parallels our own but is, in itself, unique. If you liked the Temeraire series, you'll like this.

A strong boarding school novel set in colonial, loosely New England geography, with an equally strong and compelling heroine. Excellent option for readers seeking indigenous representation with nuance and complexity. The first novel dwells on world-building and exposition that may offer a stronger payoff in the sequel. A strong historical fantasy option for fans of Rebecca Roanhorse, and a palate cleanser for those who struggled with the protagonist’s POV in The Black Witch.

An impressive work of anti-colonial fantasy melded with a classic magic academy novel. This novel has gorgeous representation, with a protagonist who is bisexual and indigenous, as well as a lovely depiction of a non-verbal autistic character through Sander. I loved Anequas as a character, and found her journey to remain true to herself and her culture while being pressured to assimilate to Anglish society very poignant. Her and her friends are a wonderful, genuine example of the found family that results from marginalized individuals clustering together around their shared differences in a society that rejects them for being who they are. Contrary to other reviewers, I actually liked the world-building and the gaslamp fantasy setting, which I felt like did a good job of contrasting Anequas' traditional indigenous culture with the occupying colonial society. The plot did move surprisingly slowly up until the end, which had the consequence of making stakes that were actually quite high feel less dire.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Spoiler Free Summary: Anequs, a young woman from an indigenous community on the outskirts of Anglish country, becomes Nampeshiweisit when she is gifted a dragon egg by one of the indigenous dragon species thought to be extinct by her community. Faced by the threat of prosecution by local Anglish laws, Anequs must take Kasaqua, her dragon, to an Anglish dragoneering school in order to properly master Kasaqua's breath, a powerful force when unshaped. In the course of her first year at the school, she makes friends, falls for two different people at the school, and deals with racism and bigotry. In the end, this is a character-driven novel that investigates the relationship marginalized communities have within this fictionalized 19th century America.

I really enjoyed this book. The relationship Anequs has with her friends was constantly touching, and I was thoroughly impressed by the author's ability to fit so many important discussions on racism, homophobia, ableism, and colonialism in a very digestible yet meaningful format. I've seen other reviews speaking of the book as though it was boring; I was never bored. But I did not know what to expect coming into this book- if you're looking for a fantasy adventure this is not one. The book focuses on Anequs in her attempt to figure out how she can exist genuinely in her indigenous identity in a society that wishes she would assimilate. If you're looking for a story of a brave young woman struggling to assert herself in a world that's trying to put her down, while uplifting other marginalized people who she befriends along the way, this is a feel-good, hopeful story that shows how strong we can be when we are together.

I have to say that the plot struggles at some points near the end. The culminating action that takes place in the last couple chapters feels extremely rushed and I wished that some major plot points weren't glossed over, as they would have not only been extremely exciting bits of action to read, but they also would have been great instances to interact with what all the characters who are introduced think and feel as the story wraps up. As it is, I think that the author leaves a lot unsaid, where throughout the rest of the story we are entrenched in the characters' thoughts and feelings.

At times I also struggled with the intense academic nature of the story- there was one chapter near the beginning of Anequs' story that was incredibly difficult to read and digest. Later in the book it became clear that this was intentional to highlight how difficult it was for Anequs to understand, also an outsider to the germanic technical terms used throughout.

I recommend this book and give it 4 stars! I am very excited for this series to continue as I can imagine many ways that the story might progress now that Anequs has grown into a mature and determined young woman.

Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse Publishing Group for providing a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Honestly, I thought I was going to love this book but it wasn't quite what I expected.

I was excited to read this book based on the blurb: a Native American take on a dragon rider/magic academy story with a girl as the dragon rider? Sign me up! So many dragon rider stories have male riders as the central character, I really wanted to see where a Native American writer would take this story.

It's about a 15-year-old girl called Anequs who lives on the isolated island of Masquapaug with her people. One day she sees a type of dragon thought extinct, a Nampeshiwe. The next day, she finds a dragon egg. After it hatches, she bonds with it but they discover that unregistered dragons are against the law and could be destroyed. Dragon riders are required to attend licensed dragon rider academies. So, she registers the dragon and is reluctantly admitted to the Anglish dragon rider school on the mainland.

Anequs's people were conquered centuries before by the Anglish and they are subject to the laws and customs of their Anglish rulers. Their culture is very different from the Anglish one: it's a matriarchal society where houses & other property are passed from mother to daughter, not from father to son. Anequs's introduction to Anglish society, rules and educational system is a tough adjustment for her and is pretty rough going at times. Her struggle to fit into that Anglish society really pulled me into the story and that's what kept me reading it.

I enjoyed the story & I really liked the characters. The world-building was the best part: it's a fantastic blend of Victorian-era style manners with a steampunk aesthetic. It's set in a world where Norse explorers or Vikings settled North America first and had a greater impact on the colonial society than the English who came later.

I really enjoyed the story, but it wasn't quite a 5 star read for me.

Pros:

Victorian/gas-lamp style world with cool steampunk aesthetics and technology

Cool dragon-based magic

Great 1st person narrative with an interesting & likeable narrator

Baby dragon

Cons that kept this from being a 5 star read for me:

Everyone sounded the same: they all spoke very proper English with great vocabulary and almost always in complete sentences. People don't talk like that. From scullery maids to the jarl who rules the country, everyone seemed to have the same voice. Having 16-year-olds using words like "liminally" and "boorish" just didn't sound right. I know the vocabulary used by modern day teens isn't nearly as good as well-educated Victorian-era teens, but even back then, I imagine teens spoke much more informally among themselves and with family members than they did with teachers & other authority figures. But, in this book, everyone sounded the same. This made the dialogue seem very stiff and way too formal.

I was into the strong anti-colonial theme of the story, but I think it was often laid on a bit thick. In every aspect of society, it was: Anglish bad/Masquapaug good. Where the colonial people were patriarchal, classist, racist, ableist, misogynistic, transphobic and homophobic, indigenous society was matriarchal, egalitarian and very accepting of different sexual orientations.

Anequs was a bit of a Mary Sue. That combined with her very stiff, formal way of speaking kept her from being more likeable than she otherwise would have been.

Conclusion:

I did enjoy the story and, for the reasons give above, it wasn't quite a 5 star read for me. But, I loved the world created by Moniquill Blackgoose and I'm eager to read the next book in the series.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking for fantasy inspired by indigenous culture or dragon rider stories. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my ARC copy.
In this story we follow Anequs, and indigenous young person living on the island of Masquapaug. We first meet Anequs as she lives on the island amongst her people and specifically with her family. That all changes when she finds a dragon egg. Her people have not had dragons amongst them in some time and the training required to harness a dragon’s breath has all but left their teaching. There’s not a Nampeshiwesit (person bonded to a dragon) among them and there hasn’t been for a very long time.
This leads Anequs to apply to attend a nearby Anglish school for dragoneers. There, Anequs is put through trials and tribulation as she just attempts to learn the art of shaping a dragon’s breath with the goal of returning to her people. Anequs is smart and very self-aware for her age. Though there were times when I thought she might be a bit mature for her age, it didn’t take away from the story and I found myself supporting her every move.
Strong themes found in this book are racism and xenophobia, and I felt the otherness of the character in the Anglish environment particularly strongly. Even amongst those who were friendly with the MC, there still existed a distance because of the Anglish person’s ignorance or unwillingness to understand Anequs’ perspective. It’s taken for granted that Anequs comes from an uncivilized life and would, of course, desire to leave her family and culture behind to stay in the Anglish world.
That being said, the side characters do have charm and I was happy to find representation for autism, bisexuality, and polyamory. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and am excited to see where the author takes these characters next. There’s so much in this world that could be developed and I’m along for the ride! 😊

A very solid and compelling story with great side characters. So much depth to the characters but the world building was a little lacking for my taste. An overall great read!

In this story, we follow Anequs and her dragon, Kasaqua, as they attend an Anglish school for dragoneering. Anque is a young indigenous woman, and she travels from her island of Masquapaug to attend the school. At the school she is met with hardships and difficulties from classmates, professors, and the Anglish community alike. There are a few heavy themes explored in this novel, such as racism, xenophobia, and bullying. This is a slower paced novel, very “vibe exploration” if you will. You learn a lot about world building. Overall, I rated this story a 5/5 stars.

I rated this story as five stars because I fell in love with the characters. We learn pretty quickly that Anequs is highly adaptable, intelligent, stubborn, and completely ignorant of Anglish customs and social practices. This makes for numerous challenging encounters for Anequs throughout the novel, oftentimes getting her into trouble without her realizing. Following Anequs’s story as she learns to engage with people in a way that does not compromise who she is and what she stands for was something I was grateful for.

I loved the side cast of this novel. Sander has my heart, and Theod became a favorite by the end of the novel. I adore Liberty, and Marta is growing on me. All the little ones were pleasant to read about as well.

In addition, I loved the representation in this novel. Without naming specific characters, I appreciated the representation of LGBTQ+ people, indigenous people, polyamorous people, women, and autistic people. The portrayals were extremely well done. I was also excited by the politics of the story. I find the political intrigue fascinating and the author wrote it very well.

Lastly, I’m eager to see where any sequels will go with this novel. This novel had a lot of world building and was a slower pace, and I’m hoping that we will see more action in the coming novels. I am looking forward to more from this author!

I mean....it was aiiight. This book was good, but it didn't do much else than other books in the same genre. The characters were a bit of a stain between the actual story which wasn't the entire focus. It was indeed enjoyable but I'm going through a bit of a reading slump and pushed myself to finish this (as always) and didn't regret reading it. I recommend reading it but it's nothing outstanding. It's enough to entertain and keep you busy though. My overall rating is a 3.5/5.

Extended Breakdown:
Characters: 2/5
Story: 3.5/5
Pace: 3/5

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This was an intriguing read! I requested based on the premise (and the cover) and, for the most part, it did not disappoint! I really want to support Indigenous authors and stories, so I'm very grateful to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC!

One of the biggest pleasant surprises that this book had for me was the representation. Anequs is not only Indigenous, but bisexual as well, and the story never made it a bigger deal or over or underemphasized it than was common in real-world parallel at the time. I also want to draw special attention to the character of Sander - I am in my mid-twenties, and this was the first time I can recall a YA novel including an autistic character, and a nonspeaking one, no less! And he's treated with such respect! As someone with experience teaching in special education rooms, this was amazing to me. Thank you, Ms. Blackgoose!

That said, I do echo other reviewers in that the worldbuilding is a bit shallow and almost too-analogous to Real Life to be believable; however, considering the history of Indigenous peoples on the North American continent, I can understand why certain choices were made. I think there's a current trend in YA to have very self-aware protagonists, which, for me, kind of takes away from the experience of the story and refocuses my attention on the message - sometimes it can come across as a bit heavy-handed, in this novel and in others as well (Iron Widow comes to mind).

But it was a good read! I liked the characters, and it made me confront some of the expectations I had about what Anequs might say or do in a given situation. It was thought-provoking and sometimes challenging, which I enjoyed immensely. Overall, totally worthwhile and would recommend for the YA (and adult too if you're like me) audience!

I'm bummed because I really really wanted to love this. It has all the ingredients of something wonderful, but sadly it fell kind of flat for me.

I think what I struggled with most is that a lot of it read like a textbook or a newspaper and there were so many moments that got bogged down in logistical details. There are the bones of a really great story, but I wish it spent more time exploring the emotional impact of events and less time explaining the logistics of train times or ferry schedules.

However, there were still elements that I really enjoyed. I really liked Anequs. I loved how matter-of-fact she was, her kindness, her boldness, how she took things in strides, and never judged people (even those who deserved it). I absolutely adored sweet, wonderful Sander and want all good things for him. The diversity of the story was wonderful and I appreciated that it went beyond the bounds of just racial diversity. I also loved the moments of storytelling when different characters would share a tale from their culture.

Despite my critique, I'd still be interested in reading future installments in the series. I'd love to see more development of the dragons' characters as well as get sense of where the overall story is going.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read and review this ARC!

I was not expecting this YA Fantasy story to be so deep and intense based on the cover alone, but I think that is absolutely perfect. This story is one that will draw all different fans of fantasy stories and show case incredible story telling and diversity in such a great format. This is in fact in the YA genre but Moniquill Blackgoose writes as if the audience is older and does it incredibly well.

This book is one that I hope to see shared and loved by many. Everything from the writing, characters, diversity, plot and style of this book are amazing. I will be recommending this to everyone and can’t wait to pick up a copy when it comes out in May 2023!

The premise of this book absolutely drew me in. Dragons? Dragon riders? Told through an Indigenous perspective?? Sign me up!

While the themes of this book are heavy handed and address racism, colonization, and has thinly veiled direct correlations to real-life history, the plot and pacing of this book almost feel like a cozy fantasy. Until the last 10-15% of the book, we are comfortably wrapped up in this world where we spend our days going to classes, sometimes into town, and social engagements of sort here and there. I have no complaints about this, because as I said, all of that is still written with the purpose of making the reader examine how historically Western society has treated Indigenous people. I think if I went into this book aware of the slow pacing and lack of action scenes, I would've felt less of the "Okay...when are we going on a quest or battle?" urgency I felt throughout.

With that aside, I absolutely love the diversity and representation that's found throughout this book! Anequs is a bold, direct, take-no-shit MC who quickly identifies fellow students who are marginalized and/or ostracized and gathers them close. Her band of misfit friends warms my heart, and I loved seeing them slowly grow together. Within her time at the dragon academy, we see neurodivergent, bisexual, and lesbian characters. Not only that, but the representation of an Indigenous character who is white-washed and raised separately from his culture and people? I love that the author talks about what that's like in this book.

I'm looking forward to reading more in this series, especially as the dragons and their riders grow older. Hopefully in future books we can see further development of the dragons themselves as characters too!

Full review closer to publication date!

I'd like to thank the publisher, Ballantine and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.