Oh holy smokes, I adored this. If you like fantasy-of-manners ala Gail Carriger's Soulless you should probably add this to you TBR immediately. 
 The writing is charming, the character voice strong and the world delightful--because even though this feels like Victorian England, it's tried and true fantasy. But enough so that newer readers to the genre won't be too put off by the learning curve. The world feels very familiar, and if you've read any historical fiction taking place in the 19th century you'll feel right at home with this one. 
 Isabella is an absolute delight as well. Narrating some of the exploits of her younger self, she often addresses the reader directly--sometimes to fantastic comedic effect. (She dares you to challenge her on the inclusion of some details that wouldn't be brought up in polite company and it is darling.) It also has the added benefit of being tantalizing foreshadowing sometimes. 
 Isabella is reckless, headstrong and determined to make more of herself than is expected of a woman of her time. And let me tell you, I am all about women defying societal propriety and expectation in order to strike out and discover something great. I love those kinds of stories, and this one did not disappoint. 
 That said, as other reviewers have mentioned, this ends up focusing less on the dragons and more of the memoir part of the title. Which I didn't mind at all, but I understand why some might be disappointed. Still, the dragons do feature, and I expect there will be much more of them in future books as well--which I can't wait to read! 
 If any of this sounds even remotely appealing, I'd definitely recommend picking this up. You're in for fantastic characters, enthusiastic discussions of science! and quite possibly a lot of capital-f Feelings about parts of that ending if you're anything like me.