Will Laurence is a captain in His Majesty's Navy. When he and his crew take over a French frigate, they find an unexpected prize -- an unhatched dragon egg.

Unfortunately, it looks like it's about to hatch and so must be bound to a partner immediately. This spells doom for one of the officers of the crew, a lot Laurence includes himself in. And despite his not having drawn the lot, he still ends up being the one the dragon chooses. Life as he's known it is no more.

Author Naomi Novik may overuse semi-colons sometimes, but once the egg shows up, I was caught up in the story and never looked back. Novik totally catches the wonderful flavor of the era she is covering and beautifully integrates the concept of dragons into the woven tapestry of the world. Prized by the government and at the same time shunned by society, Laurence gets immersed into the life of an aviator and learns firsthand why they are as they are.

It is fun watching Temerair's and Laurence's relationship blossom and grow, and seeing the hardships war and necessity thrust upon them. The world as Laurence has envisioned it will never be the same. Get ready for dragons, warfare, air and sea battles, politics and more.