Okay, the internet is wrong. If you read just one dragon book this year, don’t read Fourth Wing. Read this instead!

(Like, Fourth Wing was okay, but it pales in comparison to this.)

In To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose, fifteen-year-old Anequs has grown up on the island of Masquapaug. This place hasn’t seen dragons in centuries, but Anequs finds a dragon egg to everyone’s delight. Dragons are sacred to their people, so they bring the egg to the meeting hall. When it hatches, the dragon chooses Anequs to be her human companion, and the tribe rejoices. But no one on the island can teach Anequs how to care for a dragon and to learn to shape its volatile breath—only the Anglish colonizers have knowledge of that anymore. So Anequs enrolls in their dragon school on the mainland, though she soon finds that they have very different attitudes about, well, everything. From what to wear to how to speak, from dragon husbandry to what women are supposed to do, the Anglish have different views. Anequs has to grapple with all this, in addition to the prejudice of her fellow students and some of her professors. But she is determined to succeed at helping her dragon, whether she fits with people’s expectations of her or not.

So first of all, this book endeared itself to me pretty much immediately by having dragons featured in the first chapter. The presence of dragons is everywhere in this book, and it’s delightful. Anequs’ dragon Kasaqua is so fun, with lots of personality and spirit, even though she cannot speak.

The other characters are great, too. I especially liked Liberty and Anequs’ small circle of friends she makes at school. Marta is sometimes annoying, but is also sweet. Theod, a boy Anequs likes, is not all that interesting to me as a person, though it was interesting to see how he is a bit of an archetype for people who are raised outside of their cultural heritage. I think that all of the character dynamics are complex and well-written, believable and touching. Sometimes the dialogue, especially Anequs’, can come off a little curt and almost unnatural, though—but that might be partially due to the audiobook narrator’s delivery? Not sure. Anyway, it’s a minor thing.

There is also a bit of romance, but for once it didn’t annoy me. In fact, I kind of loved it, because at last there’s something like a love triangle that does something different! This ties into Anequs’ culture, which is welcoming of people having multiple romantic partners of any gender. Anequs’ queerness is, to her, natural, as is her desire to court more than one person. It’s delightful to see what could have been a love triangle with Anequs having to choose between two people instead being an opportunity to show the various ways people can experience and express love. And while Theod didn’t make much of an impression on me, I love Liberty, and can’t wait to see how the bond between all three progresses in the next book.

Beyond nuanced character interactions, there are also many excellent themes at play in this book. Anequs not only has to learn about dragons but experiences a lot of culture shock, being suddenly immersed in the society of people who have invaded the land of her people. This world is essentially an alternate version of our own history, and it’s great to see our past brought to life here, just with dragons and automatons. The discrimination and micro-aggressions that Anequs experiences are very true to real life and given space to be explored here.

Though there isn’t much action with the dragons—this being somewhat more of a character-driven story—the magic system is fascinating. Essentially, dragons’ breath can alter the way elements react and combine, and a human’s job is to help the dragon guide their breath to produce a certain result. It’s something like chemistry meets magic, using drawn symbols as spells. What’s especially cool, though, is how Anequs twists the Anglish way of doing it to suit her own cultural knowledge and tradition. It’s a powerful moment in the story, with lots of promise for her abilities in the next book.

In the end, To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is a fantastic story. Wonderful characters, vivid settings, and layered themes make for an excellent read. The romantic aspects are compelling for once, and the scenes on Masquapaug are absolutely lovely. Anequs isn’t a perfect character, but it’s great to see her starting to come into her own power despite the societal obstacles she faces, and she never backs down when facing prejudice. And not to compare this book to Fourth Wing yet again, but I swear I experienced more deep thoughts in the first third of this book than I did during the entirety of that one. Like, Fourth Wing is certainly entertaining, this is both entertaining and genuinely thought-provoking. The magic is so cool, it’s queer, there are dragons everywhere—what’s not to like? It’s the first of a trilogy, but this is certainly a series I can’t wait to continue!