Tongues of Serpents

Love the characters, especially the dragons. I needed to reread some of the earlier books before this one, because it took me a bit to remember everyone's names and relationships. Mostly, I liked it, but the plot was a little meandering and the book felt like it just ended without a real climax or cliffhanger or anything. Fairly disappointing, especially if this is the end of the series.

I adore the Temeraire series of books with a passion, and am happy to spend time with Ms. Novik's characters, but sadly this was the weakest book in the series so far. The politics are a bit muddy, and a large chunk of the book is spent with the characters seemingly meandering about, initially with no real sense of purpose. It picked up towards the end, but there wasn't quite enough plot to fill the book.

This is not to say that I hated it, I for the most part found it enjoyable. The writing style is easy and entertaining and most of the characters are likeable and/or interesting. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series (I know it's out, I'm just waiting for the price to come down) and I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

I just hope Temeraire and Laurence get a bit more to do in it.