Dragon research and victorian influences sounded awesome and the book embraced it, though both aspect could have been even stronger for me. The book is mostly an adventurous good time. The best aspect is probably Lady Trent herself and her narration. She has a very strong narrative voice and I loved listening to it. I never felt like I wholly got to know the other characters and in the later parts the story focused more in the mystery aspects, which I wasn't expecting and didn't seem like the most interesting direction for me. However, I really enjoyed both the English inspired and the foreign culture in this and how Isabella reflects on things in the furure. Everything concerning the research was delightful and was positively surprised how the book avoided some historical fiction pet peves of mine. Lady Trent felt like a person of her time but could still comment on some problematic elements with hindsight, without making the setting less fun.
It was a nice read but I probably won't continue the series.