Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - A Natural History of Dragons

Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

82 reviews

sevensableyes's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Love, love, love.

I knew when I first heard the premise of this series, that I would adore it. And I do. Isabella is fast becoming one of my favourite protagonists, along side Keladry (Protector of the Small series). This book made me feel very nostalgic for my dragon/dinosaurs phase. Isabella's passion is infectious.

The worldbuilding feels very natural, and is fairly easy to keep up with. I think it's because the world will slowly unravel throughout the books, following Isabella's adventures into different parts of the world. I really like how there is no magic system; it's just dragons. It makes them feel like real and vulnerable animals. I'm looking forward to seeing more species.

I loved all of the characters. I liked that

Jacob was a good husband; it would have been very easy to write him as dismissive of Isabella's passions, but he was truly lovely

. I'm fairly certain

Isabella and Mr Wilker will become closer in the future (not romantically)

.

This book ticked all the boxes for me, and hopefully the rest of the series does too.

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micallab's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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featherinthewind's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A magnificent read about dragons and history that had an underlying note of love. I really did enjoy this book but boy was I not expecting that ending.

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marywadesy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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thewendybryd's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I had a wonderful time climbing mountains and exploring caves, ready to get into all the trouble Isabella was wont to find. My only wish would be that

the conclusion was more dragon-centric. Dragons seemed to be wrapped up in all the mysteries surrounding the expedition, but in the end answer was rather two separate problems (dragon bones and fire stones) than one convoluted mess with a brilliant through line that somehow connected it all. Not that I wasn't satisfied with solving the mystery, I was just prepared for it to be more about dragons.

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mileskayden's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-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? No

3.0

I loved the first 1/3 of this, if anything it was more the pace of the book that created a falling out of love and into a like sort of vibe. I was so excited for dragon anatomy and really, we didn't learn all that much about any dragon's. Only a single breed was the main focus of this story, and if anything it took a back seat and that was a disappointment.

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novella42's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed the angle of writing a 19-yr old character from the vantage of an older woman publishing her devil-may-care memoir. Perhaps because of that, I liked the protagonist more than I expected. One of my favorite parts of the story was Kate Reading's performance as audiobook narrator, as she was a phenomenal fit for pretty much every character. The voices, emotion, and nuance she brought to the story gave it a rich texture that I would have missed if I was simply reading the text. (I'm familiar with her work in Sanderson's Way of Kings and was impressed how much more her voice seemed to come alive with this story. Maybe she really resonated with this story in particular?) The scientific mindset and world building were excellent, and it's always lovely to have more examples of women in STEM fields, even in the fantasy genre. I took away a star because unfortunately I'm not very into mysteries and the book's pacing was slow for me. I almost didn't get the audiobook finished before the library reclaimed it, but I also enjoyed dipping in and out of it for a few weeks. Not every story calls for a fast pace, and this one was well told.

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beata's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Call me an ass or a victim blamer, but I do think Isabella is partially responsible for Jacob's death. And what and asshole move to make me care about him just to kill him off. And the fact that even when she thought he might survive she wanted to delay their departure which would've meant a sure death for him.
I had my suspicions about Jacob's death because of her being Lady Trent, but I wish it was clearly said from the beginning that their marriage would be very short. God I'm so mad. He's not even buried in his homeland! She's probably going to have another husband later ugh.
I'm curious about the next book and what will happen then. I know the next expedition won't take place immediatly, but she'll either have to take her young child into a dangerous place or abandon him for who knows how long. At least she warned she didn't have maternal instincts.
At times I found her to be a hypocrite. In one breath she was criticising someone for not bowing to her traditions and in another critisicing them or someone else for not bowing to someone else's. I'm also not a fan of how quickly she felt alive again when Hilford suggested another expedition. Her son didn't do it, but an opportunity of going off again did. And before someone accuses me of being sexist, I would think the exact same about a father and his child.

I am curious about the next book and I'll read it, but not for a good few months for sure.

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ellelenton's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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jkpiowa's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious sad slow-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? No

3.0

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