I came across this series while shelving manga at the library where I work. The art was cute, and I got a sense that it might be kinda gay, so when the Internet confirmed that yes, it is pretty gay, I decided to read it. (It's astonishingly easy to convince me to read a book if a cute lesbian is involved. Just ask my girlfriend how many of her recommendations I've taken. [She'd probably say not enough, and I'm too slow to do so, so maybe don't ask her, actually...])

It's best to have clear expectations going in. The initial set-up is pretty much the entire plot, at least for this volume: An office-worker (Kobayashi) gets drunk, encounters a dragon in distress (Tohru), and offers to let the dragon crash at her place. Much to Kobayashi's surprise, Tohru takes her up on the offer, appearing at her door in full maid regalia, eager to cater to all of Kobayashi's needs.

What follows is a series of episodes in which Tohru and Kobayashi navigate their new living situation. You don't get that much backstory or explanation about Tohru's past, but you do get a lot of her being cute and doing her best to make sense of the human world and make Kobayashi happy. I found Tohru rather endearing and could relate somewhat to her clumsy attempts to do what she thinks she is supposed to. Obviously, I'm not a dragon, but I am autistic, and I think I sometimes find neurotypicals as perplexing as Tohru finds humans.

In terms of tone, expect some bawdy comedy and double entendre with a dash of fanservice. I know that's not to everyone's taste, so it bears noting. From what I've heard, this differs somewhat from the anime, but I've not watched it yet and can't confirm.

I hope that the characters develop a bit more as the series continues, but even if they don't, I would still consider Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid to be an enjoyable read of the brain candy variety.