Scan barcode
mnstarr's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Miscarriage
brooklvk's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved this book! It had happy lighthearted storytelling, but kept me totally interested the whole way. Loved it! Spoiler:
The ending with her husband made me soo sad! I was so invested in the romance!! So sad! but I am still finishing the series of course.
Content Warnings
Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, Death, and Miscarriage
I would highly recommend this book to anyone 12+ - good for youth as well as adults. I love it!crunchylettuce's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Fictional memoir that reads like a Jane Austen novel combines the fantasy of dragons with scientific discovery. Cannot recommend this one enough, a delightful read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Misogyny and Death
Minor: Miscarriage and Fire/Fire injury
madzie's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Brennan mashes the voices of early English women writers like Austen and the Brontes with scientific notes and realistic fantasy. She excels at worldbuilding and seamlessly fits dragons into Victorian Europe. Her world of dragons is sensical and easy to follow. The dragons feel very real, and you can imagine being a part of this world. However, while Brennan thrives in her exploration of dragons, she leaves me questioning other parts of her world and how it differs from our own historical one. Often, Brennan's exploration of sexism is intriguing, as it is central to the story, but falls short, not incorporating the entire picture, even illustrating that women can only be strong if they show masculine traits, which seems to go against the same theme she is attempting to portray. Other themes follow suit, often making a good attempt at deep ideas but leaving me with questions about the whole picture, especially from a historical perspective.
However, Brennan creates a nicely written plot with a good twist at the end. Throughout, I got bored with the lack of details. Although seemingly purposeful due to attempting to draw in scientific writing, it leaves me again wanting more and never really feeling like part of the story. Perhaps more of a success is her incorporation of Victorian writing, which echoes history while still being accessible to modern audiences, as well as less pretentious. Occasionally, I felt the sentence variety was lacking, especially in action scenes. Lady Trent herself is an intriguing character, who did leave me feeling for her by the end of the novel. Overall, I felt like the book stayed in the middle ground, perhaps rising above for other readers, especially those more interested in scientific explanations and writings over story flow and details.
However, Brennan creates a nicely written plot with a good twist at the end. Throughout, I got bored with the lack of details. Although seemingly purposeful due to attempting to draw in scientific writing, it leaves me again wanting more and never really feeling like part of the story. Perhaps more of a success is her incorporation of Victorian writing, which echoes history while still being accessible to modern audiences, as well as less pretentious. Occasionally, I felt the sentence variety was lacking, especially in action scenes. Lady Trent herself is an intriguing character, who did leave me feeling for her by the end of the novel. Overall, I felt like the book stayed in the middle ground, perhaps rising above for other readers, especially those more interested in scientific explanations and writings over story flow and details.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Classism, Grief, and Miscarriage
ophycore's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Animal cruelty, Death, Blood, Gun violence, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism, Grief, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Death of parent
jackiepreston's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, and Sexism
rainbowrachel's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Miscarriage, Death, and Classism
zotty's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Miscarriage
flowerpaladin's review against another edition
I really wanted to like this book so badly. But I just couldn't connect with the main character at all. Her voice is so dry and dispassionate... I guess from the premise I was sort of hoping for a fantasy version of Amelia Peabody. I'll also add that her husband is about as bland as a sack of potatoes. There is zero romance in this book, which was disappointing for me. And the relationship with the husband was odd... it felt like Isabella was being painted as a pseudo-feminist, but her husband still babied her and didn't seem to respect her as an equal, and she was sort of okay with it? The last straw was when they butchered a dragon "for science," and she was totally okay with that, too. This book is definitely NOT for dragon lovers, I'll say that much! The dragons are animals and treated as such, and the main character is more interested in sketching their muscles and bones than understanding and appreciating them. It just felt a bit weird and off... like I said, hard to connect with her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Misogyny
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Miscarriage
luna_staci's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Animal death, Death, and Miscarriage