A review by flowerpaladin
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

Did not finish book. Stopped at 48%.
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.
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