Spoiler Warning: This is the review for the second book in a duology and contains spoilers for the first book, Breath of the Dragon.

📕 Title: Mark of the Warrior
✏️ Author: Shannon Lee; Fonda Lee
📖 Genre: YA Fantasy
⭐ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ Book 2 in the Breathmarked Duology

Exiled as a traitor after the Guardian’s Tournament, Li Jun has vowed to retrieve the stolen Scroll of Heaven and to honor his father’s dying request: find his mother and twin brother, Sai. Jun and his longtime rival Yin Yue have no choice but to trust the two breathmarked women who saved their lives but who answer to the mysterious and draconian Council of Virtue that tore Jun’s family apart and banished him and his father a decade ago. The twin he was separated from in childhood is now the High Keeper who resides in the Sun Pagoda, protecting the precious Scroll of Earth from all potential enemies…including Jun.

REVIEW

Mark of the Warrior is the second book in the Breathmarked Duology, a young adult fantasy wuxia series, and primarily single POV third person perspective.

This sequel is action packed with well choreographed martial arts fights, and overall felt fast paced and exciting. The stakes are high as the theft of the Scroll of Heaven pushes the East and West towards war, and the story offers plenty of political intrigue. I loved the introduction of more Breathmarked individuals with abilities that add unique challenges for Jun and his allies.

I enjoyed Jun’s evolution from a single-minded, impulsive teen to a more level-headed martial artist who can finally see the bigger picture. While in the previous book it felt like Jun’s decisions primarily drove the story, in this sequel it feels more like he is reacting to a political situation that is largely out of his control.

Being an identical twin, Jun’s return to the East leads to cases of mistaken identity, a fun story mechanic, and his reunion with his brother leads to unexpected revelations that sent me through a rollercoaster of emotions. I liked how their upbringing on opposite sides of the wall mirror the ongoing conflict as well as ancient lore.

I was glad that both Yin Yue and Ren returned in this book, and that they too had their own challenges and growth throughout the book. I especially appreciated Yin Yue’s journey to adapt to the loss of his hand, and Ren’s struggle to accept the truth about her Breathmarked ability. All three teenagers are also faced with loss, and their grief manifests in very different ways.

Their trauma is reflected in the overall political atmosphere, in which people from both sides of the wall must decide whether to choose vengeance, even if it means passing on their suffering to a new generation, or pursue harmony.

Though I did prefer the first book, overall I loved this duology and highly recommend it!