A Proper Introduction to Dragons

Jane Austen's Dragons, Book #4

By: Maria Grace

Narrated by: Benjamin Fife

Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Most people were blissfully unaware that England was overrun by dragons. Only those born with preternatural hearing could hear and converse with dragonkind, and even those rarely came into their hearing before they were fifteen. It was not Elizabeth’s fault that she discovered the truth about dragons when she was only four years-old.

It was also not Elizabeth’s fault that the old tatzelwurm, Rumblkins, who lived in the woods near Longbourn House befriended her. Really, he would have attached himself to anyone who fed him dried cod and scratched behind his ears.

So clearly, it could not be her fault when Rumblkins led her to a nest of endangered fairy dragon eggs that the Pendragon Treaty compelled her to save. Unfortunately her father does not agree.

Thomas Bennet, dragon-lore expert, faithful member of the dragon-hearing society, the Blue Order, and Keeper of the local wyvern, Longbourn, has a dragon-sized problem on his hands. At eleven years-old, his second-oldest daughter is hopelessly fascinated with all things dragon-related. But his wife and other daughters lack the ability to hear dragons, so the world of the Blue Order must remain hidden from them.

Now faced with an abandoned clutch of fairy dragon eggs to care for, the careful balance he walks between the needs of his jealous estate dragon, Elizabeth’s incorrigible draw toward dragons and continued secrecy from the rest of the family hangs in jeopardy. If only Elizabeth would be a more conventional child!

But how can a girl who shuns traditional ladylike pursuits to play with dragons ever be conventional? Does dragon-hearing society have a place for such an oddity as her?

Prequel to Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon

Jane Austen meets Anne McCaffrey - a must for lovers of Dragon Riders of Pern fans.

©2018 Maria Grace (P)2020 Maria Grace

I love this series

What wonderful stories. Elizabeth is so lucky to have such wonderful friends. The dragons are so interesting & funny sometimes. The adventures that they have are very fun to read about. It appears that the dragons make better friends than people .I am in love with this series. The stories are well written with great characters. I also think the narrator for these stories is doing a phenomenal job. I can't wait for the next audiobook.

So much fun

This is one of the most enjoyable books I have read (or listened to) in a while. I find the combination of dragons and the world Jane Austin brought to life to be such an intriguing idea. The author does a fabulous job of creating interactions between humans and dragons. The narrator on this book was exceptional. His voice inflections are unique to each character and do a fabulous job of fitting what I expect the character to be like. I am going to have my daughter listen to this one, I think she will enjoy it too.

I really enjoyed it

This is a wonderful story about a girl and her dragon. Elizabeth Bennett really loves dragons and it was fun to join her as she learned so much about them. I can't wait to get into the next book in the series.

Delightful Prequel

This was a great prequel! I loved getting to come back to an amazing series and spend more time with characters I adore. I also loved getting to see how miss Lizzy got to know dragons the way she did and how she was with them even from the start. It was also really nice to see her develop friendships with the dragons she later counts as some of her closest friends. If you enjoy this series then this is a must read story! And if you don’t know this series this is a great introduction to this mix of Jane Austen’s characters and dragons! I love this series so much and just want more stories with these characters. The dragons have so many different and unique personalities along with customs and rituals. This story also gives hints of things which later become integral to the story. If you love pride and prejudice or dragons then this series is a very good one to read. I listened to the audiobook of it and the narrator did a fantastic job!

INTRODUCTION OF DRAGONS!

WOW A WONDERFUL STORY PERFECT FOR CHILDREN, TEEN AND ADULTS ALIKE.
BENJAMIN FIFE IS A GREAT NARRATOR AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR MORE!

The perfect prequel

If you’re interested in finding out how Elizabeth first forged her relationships with many of the dragons in her life, or more insight into the Blue Order, than this is the book for you. You’ll also find out more about some of the Bennett family relationships.

Maria Grace has given us so much background information and many details about the world she has created. I love how it was presented.

The narration, by Benjamin Fife, was exactly as I expected... wonderful!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Really is a Introduction to Dragons

This was a good story and help define many things in previous books. I was Rather confused because This should have been Book #1. Instead it is Book #4, I have read and reviewed books 1-3 on Audible already. The Narrator did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life. One of the characters the Narrator did sounded quite like Sean Connery and that add alot since he just passed.

Entertaining

Book 4: I am enjoying this series and have already recommended to a friend. Creative and pleasant. Well written.

Elizabeth Bennett, Age 12? Yes, Please!

Imagine Elizabeth Bennett, age 12, with dragons. She is seriously the most adorable! She is constantly befriending dragons without fear. And. They. Love. Her. Apparently the first time this happened, she was only four. If you need an excuse to fall even more in love with Elizabeth Bennett, this book will do it for you. So good.

This is the first of the series that uses the characters from Pride and Prejudice without following the story or excessive quoting of Austen. And I loved it so much. Benjamin Fife's narration was superb. I am continually amazed with the variety of voices he comes up with.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from StoryOrigin and have reviewed it willingly.

3.5/5 Proper Dragons and Dragon Society

Narrated by Benjamin Fife
4/5 Stars Performance Notes:
- Very well performed overall.
- I still hate fairies with a passion. In every single book I’ve heard a fairy (or in this case fairy dragon) voiced, I’ve wanted to strangle the creature. It’s always a squeaky and annoying as all heck voice. Some are gonna call it cute. I do not. This is a personal preference, not a reflection of the narrator’s skill. He has pretty good range for both male and female characters.
- There’s a lovely variety of dragons in here, and thankfully, not too much of that annoying little twit of a fairy (April).

3/5 Stars Story Summary:
13-ish-year-old Elizabeth Bennett is the daughter of a Dragon Keeper. (I heard the audio, so I don’t know if it’s capitalized, but it sounds important enough to be capitalized.) She saves a clutch of fairy dragons from freezing to death and meets some cool dragons. That’s about it.

Additional Comments:
- 3/5 Stars World-building: It’s an awesome world. There are a lot of very cool ideas here. Marie Grace jumped hard on the bandwagon of Jane Austen spinoffs and manages to weave in a world of dragons and dragon lore within the early 19th century. I’m not sure if the series was meant to be read out of order, but there’s a LOT of background. Several sections almost read like the author’s notes on the topics. There are okay integrations, but I’d venture to say at least a third of the story is on the borderline of world-building infodumps.
- 2/5 Stars plot: Maybe I spend more time with action-filled books, but it seemed like nothing happened. Entire conversations revolved around fleshing out the world, which is cool to a point but slows things down by a LOT. In a story like this, where because of the Jane Austen style of writing it takes 30 words to say 3, that messes with pacing. (That worked in Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies because you had periods of slowness punctuated by pitched battles. Here, you don’t have pitched battles to help you make up lost ground.)
- I kind of don’t understand the obsession with Jane Austen. I liked Pride and Prejudice well enough, but there are practically cults sprung up over her.
- It took me a while to realize that Elizabeth’s only 13-ish in this book. That might just be because of experiencing the books out of order.
- Content Rating: Clean.
- 3/5 Stars Old Characters: Fairly true to Jane Austen’s molds of the characters – Lizzie is sensible, Jane is beautiful, Mrs. Bennett nags Mr. Bennett, etc.
- 4/5 Stars New Characters: The dragons have unique personalities.
- There’s 0 action in here. I say that because most dragon containing stories have some sort of action. This might as well be a tea party to discuss dragons.

Conclusion:
If you’re absolutely obsessed with Jane Austen, give the series a go. I honestly can’t tell if this is going to tick you off because of the additions to sacred lore, or if you’ll enjoy it immensely because it gives you a chance to experience old friends in a new light. If you’re a dragon fan, you may like this take. Then again, you could be disappointed because the dragons are AWESOME and get to do nothing.

It’s certainly a worthy series to check out on your own and decide.
*I was given a free copy. I have freely chosen to review it. All thoughts are my own.