Two books in and I'm now confident I've found a new favourite series.

The second half especially of this book had me absolutely hooked, I ended up staying up hours later than planned so that I could finish it. 

This is historical fantasy but unlike much of that genre it doesn't feel either slow or dense. For a series based in the military, it also isn't action heavy (although there is certainly some, and it's very original - Novik has clearly spent plenty of time thinking about how dragons could function within naval warfare) but spends a lot of time on worldbuilding, politics and character development. 

I was aware of book one when it first came out and for some reason never picked it up - I'm actually glad now that I didn't because I am enjoying every moment of bingeing the series.