Sophia Rose Reviews: Secrets of the Dragon Archives by Maria Grace

 

Today Sophia Rose Reviews

Secrets of the Dragon Archives by Maria Grace

#13 Jane Austen’s Dragons

Gaslamp Fantasy

Publisher:  White Soup Press

Published:  2.14.2024

Pages: 217

Rating: 4 stars

Format: ebook

Source: purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis:

Elizabeth was not running away from danger like prey when she left Pemberley for London, no matter what the Council dragons might be saying behind her back.No, protecting Little Anne and the baby she carried was the right, sensible and courageous thing to do. It was what any maternal dragon would do. And what place could be safer than Blue Order offices in London?

But where dragons were involved, safe was a relative term.

With threats to the Blue Order on every side, everyone is stepping lightly around the Council dragons. After all, with a huge, unpredictable sea drake off the coast, an ineffective dragon king, and an heir who is even worse, who can blame them for being crankier than usual?

Why, then, do they keep haranguing Elizabeth about the Historian’s assistant drake who has been digging up the Archives under the Order offices? Why is the Council so desperate to know what the Historian has found? What could awkward, annoying little Bede have found to warrant the Council's to threaten to eat her on sight?

What indeed?

A fresh new gas lamp fantasy adventure in the engrossingly intricate world of Jane Austen’s Dragons. Anne McCaffrey meets Jane Austen, a perfect mix for dragon lovers and regency-era fans alike.

Sophia Rose's Review:

What is hidden down in the archives that the dragons are desperately trying to discover?  The latest in the series takes us away from the sea dragon turmoil to the heart of the Blue Order.  Maria Grace has proven time and again that she has the golden pen when it comes to all things dragon.

Secrets of the Dragon Archives is the 13^th in the Jane Austen’s Dragons Gaslamp fantasy series. This is a series that must be read in order for the most part.

Lately in the series, the books have been swinging between various threads: the Elizabeth and Darcy events, the Anne and Frederick events, and one took a jaunt with Georgiana Darcy.  Now, Elizabeth has left Darcy and some complications at Pemberley to be in London at the Blue Order offices where it was thought to be safest since she is expecting their second child.

However, complications are even there and danger from dragons she once didn’t question as her allies is a possibility.  Elizabeth is constantly on her guard.  The Council is hiding things from her even while demanding she discover what secrets are being discovered in the Archives while, on the other end, her father as Archivist and the Scribe with their assistant dragons have discovered mind-blowing information that alters the very historical foundations of the Blue Order and peace in the Kingdom.  These are secrets someone would kill for.

Meanwhile, matters are escalating with what is happening among the royal dragons and the Council and Elizabeth along with Sir Frederick have their paws full preventing another dragon war.

So much is coming to a head and big discoveries are coming out.  It’s all so exciting.  I will say that I found Elizabeth’s agitation and the focus on her weariness to be a bit much drama for me, but, it is also a level of realism needed to show how human she is while dealing with the great dragons of the kingdom.  Can’t wait to snatch up the next book to see what comes next.

Author Bio:

Six time BRAG Medallion Honoree, #1 Best-selling Historical Fantasy author Maria Grace has her PhD in Educational Psychology and is a 16-year veteran of the university classroom where she taught courses in human growth and development, learning, test development and counseling. None of which have anything to do with her undergraduate studies in economics/sociology/managerial studies/behavior sciences. She pretends to be a mild-mannered writer/cat-lady, but most of her vacations require helmets and waivers or historical costumes, usually not at the same time.

She stumbled into Jane Austen fan-dom in the mid '90s with Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility film, having somehow graduated HS without ever having read Austen. It was only a short leap then to consume all of Austen's works, in all their various media forms. In the hopes of discovering more works by Austen, she stumbled into the fan fiction forums, which naturally led to asking 'What if...' herself. Twenty nine books later, she still asks that question.

She writes gaslamp fantasy, historical romance and non-fiction to help justify her research addiction.

Website:  http://www.randombitsoffascination.com/

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose