Basic Reason for Beginning: Read the first book, really liked it. Took me ages to get to the second. It just about works as a stand-alone, but I really wouldn't advise it.
Basic Reason for Finishing: Actually, I'm not sure. I don't think I read this at the right time.
Texture: Grainy? Something not entirely comfortable, anyway.

Full review here.

Book Rereadability: Uhm, as part of a series, yes. On its own, I'm not convinced. (I really should just to see if it's a timing issue.)
Author Rereadability: I'll probably continue on with the third book, but if it reads more like the second than the first for me, I think I'll pass on the fourth and beyond. That said, I'd be more than happy to read other books by Novik.
Recommendation: If you loved the first book, it's probably a given you'll pick up more from the series, but be warned that Throne of Jade has a vastly different pacing. ( )

A fun read, but not quite as captivating as the first book. We got an interesting look at shipboard life as they travel for a long time, which made the book drag a bit, but not too much. The story had some twists & turns, some quite unexpected. From the long build up, it seemed to end quickly & completely, much to my surprise. A bit too abruptly & neatly, perhaps. I look forward to reading the next book, which I have, but I won't be reading it next. I don't feel I HAVE to read the next book. ( )

The second in the Temeraire series, this starts off with Captain Laurence stuck in London, dealing with bureaucrats and diplomats over his dragon, Temeraire who was discovered to be a Chinese Celestial dragon at the end of book one (His Majesty's Dragon). And the Chinese are rather peeved that Temeraire is being used as a weapon against the dastardly French.

Almost immediately, Laurence and Temeraire fly off to help battle the dastardly French in the air, and then almost immediately again, they're shipped off to China to deal with the political ramifications of having a Celestial on English soil.

While voyaging, they have many adventures. And all of a sudden I realised that was about all this book was: one thrilling dash from one adventure to another. And while the adventures were exciting and action-packed (I particularly liked the sea serpent), sometimes one does crave a bit more something to a book. Maybe plot?

It does all eventually resolve quite satisfactorily in the end, but the pacing could have been a lot more even.

I shall be buying (and reading) book three in the series, but I do hope she's discovered some plot for the next one. ( )

Laurence and Temeraire take a slow boat to China--quite literally--and we go with them. The trip at sea takes easily two-thirds of the book, denying fans of the first book so many of the things that made us fall in love with the series. Rarely do we get to see Laurence as captain of Temeraire's in-flight crew. Almost never do we get to see interaction with other English dragons and their captains and crews. And the core of the series, the powerful relationship between Laurence and Temeraire, is so diluted here as to almost be non-existent. While the novel begins with Temeraire making a dashing and heart-wrenching display of affection and protectiveness toward Laurence, Novik then plays with the question of their bond for the purposes of her plot: will the influence of the Chinese and their fantastic, dragon-loving culture make Temeraire abandon Laurence? Unless we are to throw out everything she's done to prove their relationship in the previous book, and again at the beginning of book two, the answer is never really in doubt--except in the minds of her characters. Thus, the agonizingly slow trip to China, which is supposed to be fraught with will-he-leave-Laurence tension, never compells. The best part of the novel by far is when Laurence and Temeraire reach China--but by then we have only a couple of hundred pages for the politics, social issues, and intrigues to play out. Far too short a time, unfortunately. While still an enjoyable read, I hope that book three returns to more of the formula that made His Majesty's Dragon so great: Laurence and Temeraire (and their crew!) against the world... ( )

Summary: When the British seized Temeraire's egg from a French frigate, they had no way of knowing that he was a Chinese Celestial - an exceptionally rare breed of dragon that are normally only treated as companions for members of the Emperor's family - intended as a gift to Napoleon. The Chinese embassy is outraged that one of their royal dragons is being treated like a common soldier in the British aviator corps, and they demand his immediate return to China... with or without Laurence. Rather than make enemies of the powerful nation, the British Admiralty agrees, and Temeraire and Laurence unwillingly board a transport bound for China. Neither of them wants to be parted from the other, but the Chinese embassy is none too keen on the idea of keeping Laurence around, or on letting Temeraire out of their control. Together, they must find a way to stay together without sabotaging British foreign relations... but first they must survive the perils of the long sea voyage.

Review: While His Majesty's Dragon charmed the socks off of me, this one actually made me think. Still charming, but also thought-provoking... sometimes uncomfortably so, in fact. In His Majesty's Dragon, Novik's introducing us not only to her characters, but also to her world, and so we take on faith that things are the way she says they are, and if none of the characters give a second thought to the way dragons are treated, and the relationship between dragons and humans, then why should we? In Throne of Jade, however, Temeraire's growing up, and has reached the dragon equivalent of teenagerhood - particularly the part where he starts questioning the status quo. The reader gets the chance to grow with him, and as we get to see the Chinese system of dragon-human interactions, we also start to question what we'd been taught in the first book was normal and right. I actually got uncomfortable when I stopped to look at my assumptions from the first book - Why did I ever think this or that was okay? What does that say about me? - and that's a neat trick for an author to pull off. Full round of applause for Novik for that one.

The rest of the book is good as well - Novik manages to capture the style and the tone of period literature while somehow keeping it captivating and easy to read. I feel like there was more high-seas adventure - Battles with the French! Intrigue and spying! Treachery and plots! Sea serpents and fierce storms! - than in the previous book, which is never a bad thing (plus boys on boats = always good), although it did come at the cost of some of the interpersonal (inter-dragonal?) interaction that so charmed me the first time around. Still, this book went in some interesting new directions without sacrificing the key elements that make the series great, and I'm excited to see what happens in the next book. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Historical fiction and fantasy lovers alike should all be reading this series. This one isn't *quite* as strong as its predecessor, but it's still an absorbing, entertaining, and increasingly thought-provoking read. ( )