mnstarr's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Miscarriage
madzie's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Classism, Grief, and Miscarriage
kalira's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Death, Grief, Violence, Colonisation, Classism, Murder, Sexism, Animal death, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Racism and Religious bigotry
jackiepreston's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, and Sexism
squinnittowinit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
It's written as a memoir, so the fictional author as the narrator is writing about a time in the far past, and she does say that she finds some of the sexism to be ridiculous now, but she still makes weird "men vs women" statements that just reinforce harmful gender stereotypes.
She also read as very Victorian British, in that she was a noble from a colonizing nation
Still, I enjoyed the dragons and I enjoyed the mystery plot. I just wish it had more modern values.
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Classism, Violence, Mental illness, Blood, Gun violence, Xenophobia, and Death
Minor: Colonisation, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Medical content, Grief, and Murder
alice_clawford's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Animal death
Moderate: Death and Gun violence
Minor: Sexism
zotty's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Miscarriage
meganpbell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death and Animal death
Moderate: Miscarriage, Xenophobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Classism, and Sexism
leona's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The general story was somewhat interesting, however I am glad the book was only short as the expedition and mystery wasn't my favourite. I found the beginning much more exciting, as well as the hints of social commentary and the relationship between
Despite this, I could also understand if people were to dislike her. She comes from a place of relative privilege, which ultimately makes her 'quest' somewhat easier, she has a supportive relationship and is somewhat wealthy. This makes her somewhat frustrating when she is interacting with the characters in the village in which they were staying, (such as Dagmira). She often seems unnecessarily critical or rude, for no other reason than that she was 'frustrated with the language'. I feel this made it difficult for me to fully connect with her character.
The plot itself was relatively interesting and the more scientific approach to looking at dragons was something that is rarely seen.
An aspect I did enjoy was the beautiful relationship
But then, I feel like the way this book is written sucks some of the emotion out of the story. Young Isabella was someone I could connect too, but the older Isabella narrating the story felt rather unexpressive when it came to these major events. I would have liked to see events such as Isabella's miscarriage, Jacob's death, and her later pregnancy, be given some time to explore these sections with greater depth and emotion. At times it felt somewhat sterile or coldhearted.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this story, particularly the character work and emotional sections. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series, however I will be rating this installment 3.5 stars.
Graphic: Animal death and Miscarriage
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Sexism
featherinthewind's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Kidnapping, Sexism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy