My Five Word TL:DR Review : I Absolutely Loved This Book

Well, this is not my first book by Stephanie Burgis and it certainly won’t be my last but I can say it’s my favourite book so far.  I adored it.  There’s a sweet, slow developing romance.  A chaotic family who are totally lovable.  A young female who has an almost modern feel to how she bends the Regency rules that constrained most women during that period.  And, of course, dragons.

Claws and Contrivances is the second in the Regency Dragons series, the first being Scales and Sensibility.  The first story brought to us Elinor Tregarth, orphaned and living with relations and this second story revolves around her sister Rose.  I would say that although the stories are set in the same world, and indeed the protagonists are related, I don’t believe it’s necessary to have read Book 1 before picking this one up.  I would of course suggest you do so because it is such a delightful read so why deprive yourself.

So, this time around we meet Rose.  Similar to Elinor she finds herself at the mercy of relatives. Fortunately, her uncle and his family are totally lovely, in a madcap, chaotic and eccentric fashion, made even more crazy by their slowly crumbling away mansion.  Rose’s uncle is a scholar, and fascinated with the study of dragons.  In fact as the story begins the household is in turmoil trying to prepare for a visit by a prestigious dragon expert.  At the same time a stray dragon manifests at their home and, believing this to be the property of their neighbour, Rose sets out to investigate.

I won’t discuss the plot further, suffice to say that a madcap romp ensues.

What I really loved about this book and in fact the series so far.

Firstly, we have this wonderful Regency creation that doesn’t totally adhere to all the rules and makes it a charming and oftentimes funny read.  The characters and storylines have an Austen feel and certainly Austen readers who are not averse to fantasy should definitely pick these up.  The fantasy elements in fact lend themselves very well to the story.

Secondly, the characters here are totally lovable.  Plus we have this absolutely dreadful villain and the storyline feels like it could have popped straight out of Northanger Abbey and definitely plays into the love of anything gothic (or terrifying) that seemed to take hold during that period.

Thirdly, a lovely, slow burn romance, one in fact that the main character is oblivious to for the majority of the novel even though she seems to be the only reason for a certain young man to take his head out of a book.

In conclusion.  I highly recommend not only this book, but this series.  I cannot wait to see what the author comes up with next (no pressure there then).  Literally, when is the next book due and please tell me there are quite a few more in the pipeline.  My cunning plan is to gobble up everything that is forthcoming from the Regency Dragon series.

My rating 4.5 of 5 stars

I received a copy from the author for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.