CLAWS AND CONTRIVANCIES (Regency Dragons #2), by Stephanie Burgis

I received this novel from the author, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks for the opportunity to read the ARC.

Two years ago I was introduced, with Scales and Sensibility, to Stephanie Burgis’ new alternative version of the Regency Era, one where dragons are a fact of life and the ultimate fashion accessory for ladies of the ton. I was charmed by the adventures of spirited Elinor Tregarth and Sir Jessamyn, the dragon she came to adopt, so when Ms. Burgis contacted me with the ARC for the second book in this series I was delighted to go back to her imagined world.

Claws and Contrivances follows the adventures of another Miss Tregarth, Rose: the three sisters, orphaned after the death of both parents in a carriage accident, were sent to three different groups of relatives and while Elinor had the misfortune to be taken in by the insufferable Heathergills, Rose had better luck with the Parrys, a somewhat impoverished but loving family made of delightfully eccentric individuals: cousin Serena would love to live in a gothic setting, and looks for ghosts and ghouls behind every corner, while Georgiana aka Georgie is quite the tomboy, preferring riding breeches to flowing dresses; Beth, on the other hand, is the more reserved of the three, while Aunt Parry is a dedicated, distracted, ink-smudged novelist and Uncle Parry a noted dragon scholar.

While the family is waiting for Uncle Parry’s guest, a fellow dragon scholar, Rose stumbles on a dragon in one of the less-frequented rooms of Gogood Abbey: the poor creature is terrified and shows clear signs of previous abuse, but Rose’s gentle ways soon gain her the dragon’s trust – which seems to lead to the appearance of a second, equally traumatized creature…   Determined to find the dragons’ owner, Rose tries to contact the Parrys’ new neighbor, Sir Gareth, but the arrival of the expected guest – the scholarly Mr. Aubrey we already met in the previous book – brings about a change of plans and the start of a delightful comedy of errors that soon takes on some romantic overtones mixed with a slowly unfurling mystery.

I don’t want to share more of the plot because to spoil it would be a great disservice: it’s enough to say that here you will find all the elements that have made Ms. Burgis’ stories such a joy to read, with plucky heroines, dastardly villains and gallant gentlemen – and of course the dragons, which feature quite abundantly in this story  😉    I was delighted to see the return of distractedly bookish Mr. Aubrey here: he might be oblivious to the usual social graces while his nose is buried in a book (and how could a bookworm like myself blame him?) but when he’s called to higher purposes he shows a remarkable strength of character, which becomes quite necessary considering that the shady Sir Gareth is the kind of villain we all love to hate.

Rose is an outstanding heroine, her selflessness and courage work well within the conventions of the era, but she also shows a capacity to transcend those conventions when she feels the need to protect those she loves – either her adopted family or the dragons she has taken responsibility for. And speaking of Rose, I have to commend once again Ms. Burgis’ skills in creating romantic scenes that not only develop in an organic way inside the story’s framework, but also feel extremely appealing even to an old, grumpily un-romantic reader like yours truly – to the point that I find myself rooting for the protagonists to reach the necessary happily-ever-after…

If you’re looking for an enjoyable, quick read where the comedy of manners successfully meets a magic background (and dragons, let’s not forget the dragons…) you need not look further than this series and its charming, engaging characters. And since there are three Tregarth sisters, I do look forward to the dragon-linked adventures of the third one, Harriet: I have no idea where Ms. Burgis will take the story next, but I know that it will be just as engaging and lively as the previous ones.

My Rating: