Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan

Series: The Memoirs of Lady Trent #5 (last in the series)
352 p.
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 4/25/17
Source: From publisher for review

The conclusion to the thrilling memoirs of Lady Isabella Trent and her legacy of dragon evolutionary research and anthropological adventures. 

After nearly five decades (and, indeed, the same number of volumes), one might think they were well-acquainted with the Lady Isabella Trent--dragon naturalist, scandalous explorer, and perhaps as infamous for her company and feats of daring as she is famous for her discoveries and additions to the scientific field. 

And yet--after her initial adventure in the mountains of Vystrana, and her exploits in the depths of war-torn Eriga, to the high seas aboard The Basilisk, and then to the inhospitable deserts of Akhia--the Lady Trent has captivated hearts along with fierce minds. This concluding volume will finally reveal the truths behind her most notorious adventure--scaling the tallest peak in the world, buried behind the territory of Scirland's enemies--and what she discovered there, within the Sanctuary of Wings.

My thoughts:

Last book. I was excited to see how this one concludes since I have been enjoying this series. I have to say, this is my favorite book out of all of them. That is unusual for me as the last book often tends to be the weakest for me, but this one held my full attention.

It builds on the other books so I would suggest to read all of these in order. It shows the timeline of how she became a dragon naturalist/scientist, the barriers she eroded as a woman in the field, and the historical findings she made while being an adventurist. It is all well told together and you can see this alternate reality happening. Oh and there is a love story in the midst that also finds its way into this last story. This book becomes the most mythic out of all of the books and really comes to a complete conclusion. It is the most surprising of all of them and it feels like this is the book all the rest were building toward. I don't want to say too much or I'll spoil it, but this one captured me in scope and imagination. I wouldn't mind if there were more, especially with the artwork all the books include. I really feel that the artwork brings the stories to life.

I give this book 4 1/2 stars and highly recommend it to those that enjoy a fantastical history with dragons. Need I say more? 😊 I also recommend this series to those that would like to jump into fantasy but might have been reluctant in the past.

Bloggy Note:

For reviews of the other books in the series and a couple of author guest posts by Marie Brennan go HERE. There are also some artwork to enjoy on the author posts. 

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