Tag: martial arts

Breath of the Dragon by. Shannon Lee and Fonda lee| ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Breath of the Dragon

Author: Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 1/7/25

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Martial Arts, Fantasy, Young Adult, Series, Politics

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!



The first novel in a sweeping YA fantasy duology based on characters and teachings created by Bruce Lee!

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 Earth to a new protector. Eager to prove his skills, Jun hopes that a win will restore his father’s honor—righting a horrible mistake that caused their banishment from his home, mother, and twin brother.

But Jun’s father strictly forbids him from participating. There is no future in 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.

Content Warning: violence

Jun and his twin, Sai, are born in the East where only a dragon breathmarked can learn to fight be picked to become an elite warrior. When their family is torn apart, with Jun and his dad to the West and Sai and his mom in the East, Jun has to do what he can to see them again. The first step is to become the next Guardian. And to do that he has to join a fighting tournament against the toughest fighters in the West.

If you like martial arts, you will love this story. It’s got fighting, politics, found family and it’s overall just such an entertaining story! I really enjoyed the world-building.

I really enjoyed Jun as the main character – he’s stubborn, but you know this kid has such a good heart. He wants to be a Guardian but it’s so he can make his dad proud and find his mom and brother. I was really rooting for him through his growth and his fights. I loved watching him build relationships with Ren, Chang and his rival Yin. There is political intrigue going on in the West but I think with how this book ends, we’ll get to see what is happening in the East next.

The fighting scenes are great! Very violent but so good that I wish this was a tv show or movie – remember those days of martial art movies? It’s definitely entertaining.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this one a lot and can’t wait to read the next book!

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Jade City by. Fonda Lee | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Art of Prophecy by. Wesley Chu | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Art of Prophecy (The War Arts Saga, #1)

Author: Wesley Chu

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 528

Publication Date: 8/9/22

Publisher: Del Rey

Categories: Fantasy, Martial Arts, Magic

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Del Rey for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

An epic fantasy ode to martial arts and magic—the story of a spoiled hero, an exacting grandmaster, and an immortal god-king from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lives of Tao.

It has been foretold: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom. 

The hero: Jian, who has been raised since birth in luxury and splendor, celebrated before he has won a single battle. 

But the prophecy was wrong. 

Because when Taishi, the greatest war artist of her generation, arrives to evaluate the prophesied hero, she finds a spoiled brat unprepared to face his destiny. 

But the only force more powerful than fate is Taishi herself. Possessed of an iron will, a sharp tongue—and an unexpectedly soft heart—Taishi will find a way to forge Jian into the weapon and leader he needs to be in order to fulfill his legend. 

What follows is a journey more wondrous than any prophecy can foresee: a story of master and student, assassin and revolutionary, of fallen gods and broken prophecies, and of a war between kingdoms, and love and friendship between deadly rivals.

Content Warning: violence

This one is definitely for readers who love epic fantasies with marital arts and magic. I was intrigue with the story but it lost my interest at the 60% mark so let’s see what did and didn’t work for me:

+ If you like martial art stories, you will love this one. The fighting scenes are epic and reminded me of the martial art movies I watched as a child.

+ The story in itself is intriguing. There is a child hero, Jian, who is said to be the one to fulfill a prophecy and defeat the Eternal Khan. But what happens when that Khan isn’t eternal? There is lots of adventure in this story, it shows both sides, those fighting the Eternal Khan and those that side with him.

+ The characters are great! Jian is a bit spoiled and has to learn the hard way that being a hero doesn’t mean he isn’t expendable. I loved Taishi who is this a grandmaster at fighting but she has some issues following her. I love that she is a strong ass-kicking woman though who forms a strange bond with Jian.

~ This book is out of my comfort zone because I don’t read martial art books. I’m a romance reader first and foremost but I love the characters. I was engage for almost half of the book and then my attention waned. But like I said I blame it on me not being the right audience for this book.

Why you should read it:

  • you are into epic fantasy with martial art and magic
  • great fight sequences
  • fun characters

Why you might not want to read it:

  • you aren’t into anything I mentioned above

My Thoughts:

If this were my kind of genre, I would be giving this five stars and I think people who love these kinds of books will give it five stars. It is well written with lots of action and great characters. For me, it was enjoyable but it lost my interest halfway into the story, but I did appreciate all the martial art scenes and Taishi was my favorite character.

📚 ~ Yolanda