#tsadb

[hiwaaranit]

I finally did it, I’ve been itching to make a to shape a dragon’s breath sona for a long time. Also just to draw myself with all the traditional things I actually have and ones I eventually want to make for myself. And Go read the book go hurry it’s by @moniquill 🎀💖🩷💜 please I love it so much

This is a dragon inspired by how we describe giant serpents and one of our sacred beings

[crownomancer]

More doodling of Kasaqua. I just wanted to draw the toe beans.

[moniquill]

To Shape A Dragon's Breath will be in a "Most Viewed Books in 2024" Kindle Goldbox Email Blast

It will be discounted in the United States for one day, discounted at all accounts but promoted at Amazon.

Date of the promotion: 12/26

Sale price of your book during the promotion: $1.99

[mysterybean2000]

Hi there! First art of 2025 and I had to make 'em dragons! They're from my new favorite book that I just finished reading :D I actually made one for each types of dragon in the book (except for two) but these are the only 3 drawings I actually like lol

[corvidcrowned]

read a cool book recently,

[gemini-queen42]

HEY LADS FUN FACT: I've been reading To Shape A Dragon's Breath and i love it dearly And I must recommend it!♡♡

[Some (mild?) spoilers under the break]

LITERALLY The only reason I didnt squeal is bcuz i was in class.

BUT SCRAMING!!! OMFG!!! OMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!!

HELLO hi yes I've been AWFULLY invested in Anequs & Libertys relationship... ouggh...

The amount of HEARTS I annotated on just these 2 pages....sorry i lomv them...

Like literally Anequs's FIRST thought about Liberty... and when they next meet?? Ouugh???♡♡

Some more misc lil moments of theirs i annotated. Sorry these aren't taken with full readability but I can't retake them rn so 😭😭

[saintstars]

Anequs x Liberty - To Shape A Dragon's Breath (repost)

[bookwyrminspiration]

it's so unbelievably refreshing to have such honest and open communication between love interests. Liberty explaining to Anequs they'd be in severe danger if they courted, Anequs telling Theod it'd be risky if they courted openly--but her saying she'd love to later with both of them, when it was safe. and no one gets upset about it and everyone understands, even though they're disappointed. now that i'm saying this out loud--"wow its so great that people who love each other talk to each other about their feelings maturely"--i think maybe my bar was. a little bit damaged and low damn

[nighttimepatrons]

I dont know if i can keep reading To Shape a Dragon's Breath, 30% done and not a single dragon has spoken a word 😔

[spikemd]

This feels like another excellent moment to shout out "To Shape a Dragon's Breath" by @moniquill where chemistry, magic symbols, and dragons all interact in the most incredible way. As a science geek I had the bonus fun of continually referencing the in-universe periodic table (since all of the elements have different names in this alt-history) and realizing what everything was.

[crownomancer]

Kasaqua.

-

I thought I was going to draw Anequs first, but I love Kasaqua’s design so much. I missed up on the neck in the main drawing, but I’ll fix it in later stuff.

[moniquill]

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706010/to-shape-a-dragons-breath-by-moniquill-blackgoose/

ABOUT TO SHAPE A DRAGON’S BREATH

A young Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy—and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things—in the first book of this brilliant new fantasy series. 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.

PRAISE

“A thorough delight . . . To Shape a Dragon’s Breath reveals a world that is complex and political through deft, thoughtfully drawn characters who, like their world, are complicated and believable. I love Anequs!”—K. Eason, author of How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse “Imagine a world full of dragons where a newborn chooses you to be its caregiver. Imagine you have to go to a special school to learn how to train it. Imagine that almost no one at the school wants you there. This is how the well-written, compelling tale of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath begins, and once underway it doesn’t let you go.”—New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks

[aroaessidhe]

faves of 2023: YA fantasy (secondary world)

To Shape A Dragon's Breath

Lucha of the Night Forest

Sheiné łénde

The Siren, The Song, and The Spy

Into The Midnight Void

City of Nightmares

[gigantomachylesbian]

To Shape a Dragon's Breath was very good, it was the rare YA book that didn't overly read like YA fantasy in terms of style and didn't make me feel like I was being talked down to as a reader, but still felt very accessible. It's a book that I both really loved reading as an adult and made me feel connected with my younger self and my consistent passion for dragons, and is a book I would love to share with some younger cousins because I'm sure it could be even more meaningful to them. Just a compelling, touching, enjoyable read :^) I definitely recommend either reading this one yourself and/or gifting it to any teens in your life!

[gemini-queen42]

JUST FINISHED TSADB. I AM ILL!!! SICK!! FUCK!!!

Anequs my queen....

Idk my brain is all JSJSJDJSJS <- positive so I don't have good WORDS rn but I do have Feelings.

Anyways I cannot WAIT for the next book to come out omfg !!!!

[e-b-reads]

Just finished To Shape a Dragon's Breath (just in time, it's due back to the library) and I really liked it! While reading I found myself contrasting it with Babel. Now obviously they're different books (and differently complete, as TSaDB is first in a series) but they are both books about (among other things) colonialism and academia so I think some comparison is warranted.

A conclusion I came to is that R. F. Kuang really wanted to say some things with Babel, and so she made certain that those things came across! To the point of footnotes that were like "in case you missed it..." Meanwhile in To Shape a Dragon's Breath, Moniquill Blackgoose definitely had things to say, but she doesn't hammer those things home. Her main character is an indigenous young woman in a colonized society, and she has things that she wants for herself and her family (and other things she's still grappling with) and Blackgoose makes sure that those are clear, but the rest of the larger societal implications are kind of, well, implied.

I did like Babel and I think it's skillfully written (not always the same thing) but I think I like To Shape a Dragon's Breath more. Looking forward to a sequel.