Throughout about the first half of this book, I couldn't have imagined rating it any less than 5 stars. It was so wonderful, with talking dragons, a sense of humor, and Novik's writing style (which is just so very pleasing to me). It gave me that happy, warm feeling you get when you're reading a book that you just know will be a favorite. I instantly fell in love with Temeraire, and I adored the bonds between the dragons and their "captains." It definitely called to mind the near absurd affection I have for my dogs, and I can only imagine how that would be if my dogs could talk. And fly me around. Anyway, the animal lover in me was intensely pleased. 
 This, however, proved to work against me toward the latter part of the book. I'm one of those people who will tear up if a horse goes down in a battle in a movie. I can't stand for animals to be hurt, even if it isn't real. In a story about a war where dragons are essentially the air force, you can imagine that some severe injuries would occur, and I should have been more prepared for it than I was. While the battle scenes were blessedly few and not particularly graphic, I had a tough time getting through them. 
 Another struggle was Laurence. He was a bit too much the gentleman for my taste. I think part of the problem was that although he did evolve a fair amount throughout the story, the tone of the book was so stodgy in and of itself. I'm hoping this improves later in the series. *fingers crossed* He also, on top of his impeccable manners, seemed to handle everything way too perfectly. It was just too Stepford. There is ONE scene where he gets REALLY angry, and if it weren't such a tragic scene, it would've been one of my favorites for no other reason than that it was satisfying to see him be a human being. 
 A strange thing about this book is that there is no real antagonist. Sure there's some crappy people and the war and Napoleon and everything, but there's no Bad Guy. We don't ever meet Napoleon, and there's really not a whole lot of action altogether. Part of me liked it. It's always refreshing when a book steps outside of the villain box. Another part of me felt like it was incomplete. I can't really say that a whole lot happened. 
 Overall, however, I did enjoy this book. The world is unique and Novik's writing is superb. But truly, the dragons alone are worth reading about, and I will forever wish I could have a Temeraire of my own.