A Natural History of Dragons is the first memoir of Isabella, Lady Trent, and chronicles her childhood obsession with dragons, culminating in her first expedition to study them. 
 Not only does Brennan cram everything I love into the book like she she was working with a checklist, she does it well. A Natural History of Dragons is well written, well plotted, clearly well researched, and all around super fun. 
 The illustrations fit the content and style of the story, and they are quite beautiful. The characters are great (Isabella's adult voice is hilarious!), and Brennan deserves special kudos for having a romantic interest who is actually a decent and complex guy with his own inner conflicts, rather than just going the usual route of either having a manic-pixie-dream-guy or a macho jerk. 
 If you've ever enjoyed a Victorian novel or if you have any interest in natural history or fantasy, I really couldn't recommend this book more.