Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis

Book Description

Sensible, practical Elinor Tregarth never meant to kidnap her awful cousin Penelope’s pet dragon. She never expected to fall in love with the shameless – but surprisingly sweet – fortune hunter who came to court Penelope, either. And she never dreamed that she would have to enter into an outrageous magical charade to save her younger sisters’ futures.

Now Elinor will have to find out just how rash and resourceful she can be when she sets aside all common sense. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll even be impractical enough to win her own true love and a happily ever after…with the unpredictable and dangerous “help” of the magical creature who has adopted her.

Review

Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis is a sweet, frothy, regency fantasy. It’s cozy and charming. Burgis packed the novel filled with madcap mishaps, terrible relatives, and a sweet, clean, slow-burn romance. Like Small Miracles, Scales and Sensibility was a finalist in SPFBO 8.

Elinor Tregarth has resigned herself to living a small life… until she chooses to protect a creature even more defenseless than herself.

Have you ever made a spur-of-the-moment decision that changed the trajectory of your entire life?

If not, it’s fun to watch what happens when someone else does!

In Scales and Sensibility, we get to accompany Elinor on a journey of self-discovery. Luckily for us, the character is wonderful; Elinor is appropriately lovable and flawed. Unluckily for her, she will never live the life she deserves without undergoing a monumental transformation.

Which isn’t easy to do when you live in a time when women had no power.

A Whole New Era To Love

If you’re unfamiliar with Regency Fantasy, think Jane Austen, but with supernatural creatures sprinkled into the mix.

Mayhem, misunderstandings, and magic, oh my!

However, despite its title, Scales and Sensibility isn’t just another Austen retelling. Instead, it could be the A plot of an undiscovered Austen novel. A woman trying to make the best of the bad situation life has dropped her in, plus pet shoulder dragons.

If you want an intricate plot, danger, and a well-developed magic system, Scales and Sensibility probably isn’t the book for you.

This is a book that will make you giggle and sigh. It’s charming and utterly delightful.

So if you enjoy parties, gossip, and people getting what they deserve, add Scales and Sensibility to your reading list today!

Content Warning

Animal Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Parental Death, Sexism, Theft

The header photo is a composite image. Base image by Annie Spratt on Unsplash