Temeraire is one of my favorite series of all time. I love all of the characters and the overall story. Plus, the narration for the audiobooks is spectacular.

The series had some slow bits and sometimes the opposite happened where the story felt rushed. Occasionally the story jumped forward without transitioning well between the scenes. For example, the characters would be in the middle of a suspenseful scene, the chapter would end, then the next chapter would pick up a week later in a completely different situation and slowly the reader would be let in on what happened to get the characters to where they were at present.

Overall, this is an amazing series and it kept my interest well. I'm happy with the ending, and I'm looking forward to reading the short stories and novellas that Naomi Novik wrote for the series. ( )

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Naomi Novik - League of Dragons: I found much of this series plodding - the ideas are excellent, the execution not so much. The same goes for this final installment. #cursorybookreviews #cursoryreviews ( )

While I was / am happy that I got to read another Temeraire book this one was my least favorite of all of the books.
I just found it so boring compared to all of the previous books. I finally perked up when an egg was hatched as I loved the new dragon's personality and then even that mostly went away.
I think what I love most about these books are the interactions with the dragons and yet this book was 65-70% war and strategy on how to win the war.
I'm happy with the ending. ( )

I was almost gonna give this four stars, because I thought a certain character had been dumped in a ditch somewhere, but then they appeared during the last few pages so I was content. I actually really enjoyed that ending, it was a good place to finish the series in, as well as setting things up for the future so you know what the characters will be up to.

I did want to see the final confrontation, [spoiler]Temeraire and Laurence against Lien and Napoleon[/spoiler] but I didn't feel completely cheated without it either, so that complaint will not lower my rating for the book. It was a good read and that's all I want. This series is definitely one of my all-time faves! ( )

No doubt about it—this was a solid 5. I'm sad it was the last book of the series, but I'm glad she had such a strong ending. The battles were well-plotted, and the characterization of both major and minor players (both human and dragon) was as thorough as it was entertaining. How I will miss these relationships—Laurence and Temeraire; Granby and Izkierka;Laurence and Tharkay;Laurence and Granby, etc.
The continual reminder of the act which happened so many books ago, and which has made life so difficult for our Laurence and Temeraire, is always wrenching but drawn very realistically. This is how it would be for them.
After the wonderful characters, that's what I've loved most about this series—how realistic she made a story about dragons. Her thoroughness with the different breeds and cultures has never been over-explanatory or dull. It's just worked into the plot so seamlessly the whole history seems perfectly plausible—an aerial corps of dragons with their captains and crews in every country's militaries during the Napoleonic wars—here's how it would be. It's a fantasy that feels like a history—Novik pulled it off beautifully.
I don't re-read much anymore, but this series is on the to-be-re-read pile for sure. I will miss these characters, this world, too much to stay away. ( )