Scales and Sensibility

I was first introduced to Stephanie Burgis’ writing with her Harwood Spellbook series. That series, set in an alternative reality of England, had plenty of heartwarming romance and magical whimsy. I thoroughly enjoyed every novel and novella in that series. So, when Burgis offered me an advance copy of Scales and Sensibility I jumped at the chance. This one is more historical fantasy than alternate history fantasy, but Burgis continues to offer plenty of romance and whimsy—with more than a few nods to Austen. After all, you know what you’re getting when a novel starts with, “it was a truth universally acknowledged that any young lady without a dragon was doomed to social failure.”

What really drew me into this novel was the well-drawn main character. Elinor is someone who is very easy to cheer for. I cared about her and her plight from basically the first page. This was easy partially because she was obviously so ill-treated by her extended family. I was initially worried that the extended family would end up as caricatures, but as the novel went on Burgis’ deft hand wove believable motivations for them as well. Certainly we don’t see their motivations to the same extent as Elinor’s, but we see enough of them to humanize them. Before I get ahead of myself, however, let me return to Elinor. I enjoyed her character arc and she has quite a bit of a development in that arc. The aspect of her growth that I enjoyed the most was probably the fact that her change as a character comes very much in terms of her self-perception. I don’t know if we see that a lot in fantasy and I enjoyed having that as one of the primary ways in which Elinor grew and changed. It’s very relatable, at least for me, having a protagonist who doesn’t necessarily see themselves the way others do. The side characters were also well characterized. Scales and Sensibility is a romantic comedy, so it is true that many of the characters fit into archetypes (the handsome young suitor, the overwrought relation, the fashionable young miss from town, the plucky servant), but Burgis manages to craft the story in such a way that you aren’t bothered by the characters being representative of those archetypes.

I think, at it’s heart, this is a feel-good story. It’s a romance that lacks significant love triangles (and I can’t express enough how much I appreciate that. Love triangles have ruined many an otherwise good romance for me). I love the way that the tension in this story is drawn from other dilemmas. The various plot threads manage to come together for a very satisfying climax. Along the way there are plenty of laughs—I laughed out loud more than once, which isn’t common for me when reading—and there’s just enough magic and world building to keep things interesting.

Anything that I would criticize about this one really has more to do with genre than with actual failings of the story as Burgis has crafted it. Yes, I’d like more magic. But I don’t know how additional magic would have been fitted into this story. I’d love a more epic plot, but this is a romantic comedy, not a drama or epic fantasy. In fact, the laughs are something I really appreciated in this one. Too often I find that fantasy comedies attempt to get their laughs by straying into the absurd. They might be mildly funny, but the world rarely feels like it really holds together or makes sense. The world of Scales and Sensibility feels like it could function. It’s also a really funny story.

The first novel in Stephanie Burgis’ Regency Dragons series is sure to please fantasy of rom coms, fans of Regency romances, and fans of dragons. If you’re looking for something funny (without being absurd or slapstick) that manages a heartwarming romance in the midst of hopeful character development, then you ought to check this one out.

8.2/10

4.1/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing