Group Buddy Read (Series in Progress) - The Tropic of Serpents (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #2) by Marie Brennan - Starting March 1, 2023

[Dee Dee, Head Nuisance in Charge]

The thrilling adventure of Lady Trent continues in Marie Brennan's The Tropic of Serpents . . .

Attentive readers of Lady Trent’s earlier memoir, A Natural History of Dragons, are already familiar with how a bookish and determined young woman named Isabella first set out on the historic course that would one day lead her to becoming the world’s premier dragon naturalist. Now, in this remarkably candid second volume, Lady Trent looks back at the next stage of her illustrious (and occasionally scandalous) career.

Three years after her fateful journeys through the forbidding mountains of Vystrana, Mrs. Camherst defies family and convention to embark on an expedition to the war-torn continent of Eriga, home of such exotic draconian species as the grass-dwelling snakes of the savannah, arboreal tree snakes, and, most elusive of all, the legendary swamp-wyrms of the tropics.

The expedition is not an easy one. Accompanied by both an old associate and a runaway heiress, Isabella must brave oppressive heat, merciless fevers, palace intrigues, gossip, and other hazards in order to satisfy her boundless fascination with all things draconian, even if it means venturing deep into the forbidden jungle known as the Green Hell . . . where her courage, resourcefulness, and scientific curiosity will be tested as never before.<\b>

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 1- Geez Isabella's mother got meaner than last book:
(view spoiler)[."Now it all made sense. I had ceased to answer my mother’s letters some time before, for my own peace of mind. She would not, even when asked, leave off criticizing my every move, and implying that my bad judgment had caused me to lose my husband in Vystrana." (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 2 - (view spoiler)[We are scouting out who stole the research (hide spoiler)]and I cannot I am not interested in the slightest. Lots of names that I don’t care to learn and I hope wont be of significance.

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 4 - (view spoiler)[ Finally starting the expedition this book started so boring hopefully now it picks up I love that Natalie is coming along. I’m hoping to get to know her character a bit more. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 5 - We are talking for paragraphs about the geography of this world, sad I just want to get to the story. I also don’t care one bit about the nationalities which we are now also talking about.

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 6 - I hope this book is not all politics...

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 7 - (view spoiler)[I am so amused. I went to the bathroom and started reading this chapter on my phone I had just finished reading about how Isabella started her period when I realized I had just started mine. Crazy. (hide spoiler)] Also judging by all the very obvious foreshadowing this book will be political and I’m very unhappy about it. I keep zoning out during all that because I care about the characters not the world. I just want to study the dragons.

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 8 - (view spoiler)[Lol Isabella has no shame whatsoever:
"Do you have a personal reason for broaching this topic, Mr. Wilker? Because if so, I would thank you to do me the courtesy of admitting it.” (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 9 - (view spoiler)[I hope Natalie is not sent home. We have barely even heard her speak… (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 11 - (view spoiler)[Isabella speaking about Natalie:

"She spoke lightly, but I could see that she meant it. Her resolve comforted me. It is one thing to decide that you are willing to risk leeches and fever; it is another entirely to drag someone else along with you"

I didn't even think about the fact that it was totally possible for Natalie to hate adventuring (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 12 - (view spoiler)[We just met the Moulish:

“Nudity, I find, rapidly becomes boring when it is not treated as scandalous”

Not quite nudity but this was pretty relatable, I used to be on a swim team and during competitions we were all in swimsuits packed super closely together and no one ever paid attention to each other's body we were too busy thinking about our event. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 18 - (view spoiler)[I am surprised the Moulish were not more offended or skeptical of the dragon bone story. Then more surprised that Yeyuama reacted so mildly to discovering Isabella was there to steal dragon eggs (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 22 - (view spoiler)[They just agreed to Isabella taking eggs. Wild. Also it was pretty interesting that the fang fish are young dragons. I’m surprised that Isabella did not immediately regret not studying them more (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 24 - (view spoiler)[ Made me sad because I relate:

"So it has been, again and again throughout my life, as I form connections with people and then lose them to distance and time" (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Chapter 25 -
(view spoiler)[Quote re Natalie:

"She proved surprisingly able with Jacob, once she was a resident of my house rather than a visitor to it. “I would not want one of my own, I think,” she said with a laugh, “but I do not mind borrowing yours for brief spans of time.”

This is me with my brothers lol.

Andrew I apologized to for the loss of the penknife he had given me when we were children. He listened to the tale of its demise with all the wide-eyed excitement of the eight-year-old boy he had been, and afterward clapped me on the back as if I were a man. “It fell in a noble cause,” he said solemnly

I love Isabella's relationship with her brother, it's so playful. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellie, Mod]

Final Thoughts: I did not enjoy this as much as the first book. It started really boring with lots of names, geography and politics. I like the latter half of the story when we were actually adventuring. Mostly I like the main characters and there wasn't much focus in their interactions in this book. (view spoiler)[We got to know Mr. Wilker a bit more and I liked that but we didn't get much from Natalie which I was looking forward to. She was kind of just there and we didn't see much of her and Isabella talk. I did like learning about the Moulish and the Swamp Wyrms though (hide spoiler)]