I did not realize that T.A. White‘s first Cosmic Dryad novel was related to the Firebird Chronicles, and really wish I had since it might’ve stopped me from buying it. It starts off with a scene tying the two together, then progresses through a poorly handled timeskip to quickly start firing off the same kind of nonsensical events that caused me to drop that series.
Kate Stradling‘s Yes, Your Serpentine Excellency is a pretty great stand-alone romance. The setting’s detailed without feeling overbearing, the characters are varied, the romantic elements are unrushed, and most of the event developments are fitting. The only minor sticking point was that her relationship with her ‘friend’ did not seem even remotely friendly, either subjectively or objectively.