Early Review – To Shape a Dragon’s Breath (Nampeshiweisit, Book 1) by Moniquill Blackgoose (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 519 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: May 9, 2023
ASIN: B0B95T4GW3
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in Nampeshiweisit series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars
“The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.
Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.
For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.
Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Nampeshiweisit series. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.
Thoughts: This is the 1st book in the Nampeshiweisit series and was good but a bit slow at parts. There is a ton of detail here on the magic system and our main protagonist learning things about dragons at her school. It can get a bit dry at times and the main protagonist comes off as one of those people who can do no wrong. The world-building is very intricate and unique but at times it completely takes over the story.
The story follows Anequs, who finds a dragon egg. When the dragon hatches it chooses her to be its bond mate. Unfortunately, no one on Anequs’s island knows much about dragons so Anequs is forced to journey to the Anglish mainland to go to a dragon school and learn how to control her the very dangerous breath of her dragon. What Anequs doesn’t realize is how big of a deal it is for someone from Masquapaug (Anequs’s home island) to go to an Anglish school and how much prejudice there will be against her.
The world-building and magic system is intense in this book and explained in somewhat excruciating detail. There are large sections of the book where we attend lectures at school with Anequs and are taught about the world in extreme detail. While I appreciate solid world-building, I though portions of this book took it too far and just made the whole thing a bit boring.
The characters are generally well done and have a lot of depth to them. I did struggle a bit with Anequs’ character, she was way to well spoken and knowledgeable for her supposed situation and she is one of those characters who can do know wrong. She is wiser than everyone around her and helps everyone solve everything. I would have preferred a bit more balance to her.
I did greatly enjoy seeing the contrast between Anequs’s people and the Anglish and I also enjoyed Anequs’s family. The dragons were amazing and I loved seeing the different types of dragons and their different skills. This book deals very deeply with prejudice and you can see huge parallels between real-life European or American culture and the conflicts these populations have had with smaller indigenous cultures.
This was an easy read, I enjoyed it. However, I did end up skimming parts that were too drawn out. I think some better editing could have made these more boring portions tighter and more fun to read. I did enjoy that there are a number of times throughout the book where a character goes into a folklore story within the book.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a decent read. I loved the dragons and the intricate world-building. I do think some of the details of the world-building and magic were a bit too drawn out. I also thought Anequs was one of those heroines who can do no wrong and that makes her a bit boring to read about. This book also has incredibly heavy themes around prejudice and mainstream cultures taking over important small-group traditions. I do plan on reading the next book since I think this could develop into an amazing epic fantasy series.
