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A review by artemis_growl
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-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
4.0
Moods:
✨Historical Fantasy Fiction
✨English Victorian Age
✨Dragons
✨Adventure
✨Audiobook
✨Stubborn Smart FMC
🌶️- alludes to/fade to black
Trigger warning:
Death/Violence, animal violence
Setting:
The world/setting was very similar to British Victorian age times. The conversations, the audiobook, all of it felt very period historical British book/movie.
Overall spoiler free impression review:
The book is from the POV of “Lady Trent” or as she is known in this book, Isabella Camherst. She’s gives off well to-do privileged lady from Victorian Age times. The book starts in the POV of now older Lady Trent who is retired from her adventures and she is retelling her life story and how she became interested in the study of dragons. If a TV series of this book is ever made i just want Maggie Smith narrating as Old Lady Trent.
The focus is all on Isabella, her character, personality, how she becomes involved in her adventures because of her love for dragons. The dragons feel more like a secondary thing. She has all the spunk of Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility but the logical mind of Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.
I will say, if historical novels aren’t your thing then you probably won’t like this. The fantasy element is limited to the dragons and everything else is very ordinary. It’s as if Charles Darwin was a Victorian age lady who decided to write books about her adventures and there’s dragons. Isabella is a stubborn, young, smart woman, who doesn’t fit in with society. She wants to be a scholar, to research, go on adventures, study dragons. She dissects animals and wants to learn about them. Yet, she’s constrained by the societal restrictions and expectations of what a woman is supposed to be in Victorian age British society. She’s expected only to learn how do things like draw, play music, be interested in clothes, getting married, having children, and whatever else it is that well to-do British ladies from Victorian age are supposed to be interested in. I personally enjoy historical novels so I had a blast listening to the audiobook. I finished it in just a couple of days. My one annoyance with the book, and this is a minor thing I am nitpicking on….the chapter titles, they were like chapter descriptions and gave a little bit of a spoiler, more like at the end of a TV show you see a “On next week’s episode of…” I don’t know why I found that annoying.
I will say, if historical novels aren’t your thing then you probably won’t like this. The fantasy element is limited to the dragons and everything else is very ordinary. It’s as if Charles Darwin was a Victorian age lady who decided to write books about her adventures and there’s dragons. Isabella is a stubborn, young, smart woman, who doesn’t fit in with society. She wants to be a scholar, to research, go on adventures, study dragons. She dissects animals and wants to learn about them. Yet, she’s constrained by the societal restrictions and expectations of what a woman is supposed to be in Victorian age British society. She’s expected only to learn how do things like draw, play music, be interested in clothes, getting married, having children, and whatever else it is that well to-do British ladies from Victorian age are supposed to be interested in. I personally enjoy historical novels so I had a blast listening to the audiobook. I finished it in just a couple of days. My one annoyance with the book, and this is a minor thing I am nitpicking on….the chapter titles, they were like chapter descriptions and gave a little bit of a spoiler, more like at the end of a TV show you see a “On next week’s episode of…” I don’t know why I found that annoying.
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Spoiler Ridden Review:
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Spoiler Ridden Review:
Again, I really enjoyed this book, other than the chapter titles and maybe wish there was more development of the side characters, I breezed through his book. I really liked Isabella’s relationship with her husband, Jacob. I’m devastated he died in the first book. I want more of him. Wish I could have seen how their relationship matured and developed. He was so good for her. It was charming how much he loved her and defended her interest as her own person. I liked the tension between Mr. Wilker and Isabella. I liked the old Earl guy and I hope to see more of his grand daughter in the next books. I really enjoyed how the writing was in the style of a historical drama and the audiobook narrator did a fantastic job. Can’t wait for the next books!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Death