Miss Percy's Definitive Guide to the Restoration of Dragons

Miss Percy Guide #3

by Quenby Olson

Miss Mildred Percy has no wish to go to London.

Unfortunately, her niece, Belinda, has recently absconded from Nyth y Ddraig with 1) a newly-hatched white dragon, 2) over a dozen (unhatched) dragon eggs, and 3) an extraordinary surfeit of hubris. All clues lead to London, and so Mildred and company have no choice but to follow her to town.

But retrieving a hoard of dragon eggs in the middle of a vast city is no easy task, especially when confronted with such impediments as journalism, pelicans, and a certain Prince Regent. Now Mildred must do everything in her power to return the stolen eggs to Wales — before they hatch! — and finally carve out the life for herself she has always wanted.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Audiobook, Romance, Historical, Cozy, Cozy Fantasy

440 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 26, 2024

About the author

Quenby Olson lives in Central Pennsylvania where she spends most of her time writing, glaring at baskets of unfolded laundry, and chasing the cat off the kitchen counters. She lives with her husband and five children, who do nothing to dampen her love of classical ballet, geeky crochet, and staying up late to watch old episodes of Doctor Who.

Reviews

[Julia]

The story continues from the not so pleasant events of the last book. Our friends are now on a quest of sorts to right the wrongs of others. The pace is slow to begin with but quickly builds to further on the plot. The story is filled with lots of humour, warmth, and adventure which kept me wanting more. The writing remains witty and engaging, blending historical charm with fantasy in a way that is fun to read.

Mildred's growth as a character is inspiring, and the relationships she builds along the way add depth to the story. I loved the character development of all the supporting cast even the bad people you can’t help but like. The way the places are described is beautifully done and conjures up all sorts of images in the mind.

Overall, this is a heartwarming and entertaining read, I especially enjoyed the ending which brought a tear to my eye. There is the possibility of another book in this series and I really hope that comes about. This final instalment offers a mix of humour, adventure, romance and a touch of magic, making it a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

[Lauren]

4.5 Stars

Before I get too far into my thoughts, I want to start by saying this series deserves all the praise and recognition in the world. It is a jewel of self-published fantasy, and I would love to see it get more recognition. If you enjoy whimsical, cozy-adjacent stories (with just the right amount of peril), poetic, thoughtful prose (even if it's a little meandering now and then), and characters representing the most underserved demographics (single, 40-something year old aunties), I would highly recommend this series.

The way the author writes dragons is just delightful. Each has its own distinct, humorous personality, and their antics were absolutely the highlight of the story for me. The cast of human characters is also lovely, and is a wonderful example of found family.

While the ending to this story is satisfyingly happy, I was really hoping for a more dramatic resolution with our villains. I ended up hating the main antagonist, and I wanted to revel in the glory of their complete and utter downfall. Unfortunately, Miss Percy is just too kind for all that, and I was left feeling just a little bit disappointed. I also think a stricter edit may have been helpful. A few scenes drug on longer than I would have liked, and sometimes the narrative tangents seemed a little too.. tangential for the scene we were in.

Gripes aside, I'm so thankful I picked this up as one of my last reads of 2024, and I look forward to supporting the author in her future endeavors!

[Chloe Frizzle]

Fun, solid ending

[Irina Kermong]

3.5 stars.

[Theresa]

In this conclusion to the Miss Percy trilogy, Mildred and her human and dragon entourage follow her niece Belinda and her partner in crime to London where they seek means to recover the stolen dragon eggs and the newly hatched white dragon. At the same time, the one dragon egg Belinda had left behind decides to hatch and turns out to spit an acid substance when annoyed. This escalates Mildred's fear that the remaining 15 eggs will soon hatch to run amok and wreck havoc in London, making the situation worse. Let's just say that everything seems to be falling in line for Belinda and her plans, until there's a climactic scene in Westminster Abbey involving Mildred and her found family and dragons and a few others. There's also a lovely wrap-up Epilogue, and though it hints at a possible furthering of this story...the author's acknowledgement says otherwise.

I give this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. It's odd, but while it felt long and dragging a bit, especially once they reach London, I also was not ready to see it end. I loved this series where the heroine is middle-aged, with aching joints and doubts, yet courage to grab the adventure put in her path, and becoming the only current expert on dragons.

[Laura Hütt]

Not a fan, unfortunately. While the series is relatively sweet and cozy, I became tired of Mildred never standing up for herself, the whole cast of heroes being dumber than an obnoxious 17-yo and the books completely ignoring English marital law of the 19th century, which could have solved half the issues of the last book immediately, i.e. bigamy was illegal, and Belinda could have been thrown in jail. Besides, all property of a woman was legally her husband's, meaning that Mr Hawthorn could have very easily claimed the (stolen) property as his. Instead, we got a convoluted story where a teenager outwitted 8(?) adults, spread lies in papers without anyone challenging her, made claims of being an expert in dragons while no one questioned any part of her story (somehow the word of Lady Pritchard is not valid but a random teen girl is unanimously believed). And while I understand that many people like Mildred's quiet kindness, I kept hoping that for once, she'd grow a backbone and slap the smug smile off Belinda's face - especially considering how she hurt Fitz and her own siblings in the 2nd book.

It all just took so much away from a story that could have been so much fun, but instead focused on long explanations of mundane events instead of the actual adventure they were on (endless minutes listening to how Mildred thinks she's not enough or how wonderful Mr Wiggan is and then barely anything left for the actually interesting parts). Unlike some, I didn't mostly mind the endless asides and parentheses, but it just seemed like fun fluff while the bones of the story were given very little time.

I did like the fact that the MC is a 40-yo woman, but eventually, that seemed to take up so much of the story (how could an old spinster possibly go on an adventure!?) that eventually, it just became yet another annoyance.

[Noor Al-Shanti]

Miss Percy's Guide to the Restoration of Dragons is a wonderful conclusion to this trilogy. The ever-growing cast of excellent characters that feel so real continues to grow, bringing more great characters and also giving more depth to some of the characters that were already introduced in the previous two volumes. This book is full of adventure and difficult situations for Mildred and the others, so much so that I felt intense anger and stress for her future at times, but it's also full of that same cozy vibe that permeated the other two.

With this series the coziness stems from the character interactions and the fact that even though it's a book about dragons you can see similarities and connections to very real behaviours that a pet or child might display. The way Mildred cares for the dragons - and for everyone else around her, really - is so reminiscent of a mother or other caregiver worrying about and caring for their kids, which makes it all so believable in the midst of this grand adventure.

Also, can I just say how much I despise Belinda? Read the book to find out why, but wow...

The other great thing about this series is that the situations and locations keep changing so there's never a repetitive or dull moment. The stakes keep rising and there are all kinds of new problems to deal with.

As usual, the book is full of parentheses and asides and explanations that are absolutely wonderful.

Not sure what more I can say without spoilers except do yourself a favour and go pick up book 1 and start this series. Oh, and I really, really hope there are more books planned in this world even though this particular trilogy reached a very satisfying ending. I would love to see more related books!

[S. Bavey]

I was given an advance review copy of this book by the author. Thank you, Quenby! My review is honest and my opinions are my own.

Miss Percy’s Definitive Guide to the Restoration of Dragons is the third and final episode in the Miss Percy trilogy. An utterly delightful story in which we see our main character, Miss Mildred Percy go from strength to strength as the country’s premier authority on dragons, but also having to endure a period of iniquity at the hands of her villainous niece Belinda and the Prince Regent himself. Miss Percy is very self-aware. She knows her place in the usual pecking order and where she stands in terms of attractiveness, but with the love and support of her devoted vicar, Mr Wiggan, in this book we see her coming into her own, standing up for herself against media ridicule and attempted character ruin by the horrendous Belinda, a character equal to any Disney villain, whose lack of morals are outstanding considering she was mostly brought up by Miss Percy.

Miss Percy and her brave company of heroes, hellbent on the protection of all dragons, born or still yet to hatch, take on London, with all its hustle and bustle, despite mostly being people of an age who would much prefer a quiet spot by the fire in Wales. All because Mildred believes deeply in her cause to protect dragons and keep them safe and free rather than caged by greedy scientists and Royals and her entourage has become unwaveringly devoted to her and her kindness and strong morals.

The climactic scenes at Westminster Cathedral play out like an old-school Ealing comedy or British farce in the style of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Do not miss this book!

[Amy Marshall]

I just finished it. Like literally just put my Kindle down. And I can't find the words. I loved it so much <3

[Anna]

I loved this trilogy ending. I love that Mildred never stopped being a good person. So riveting!

[Pau]

Fantastic ending of the trilogy! Hopefully will get to read more adventures of Miss Percy and co.

[Isabelle]

This was such a fun series and this last book provided a pretty solid ending. I have to admit, there were several times where I thought I knew how it would end, but then things got mixed up yet again! It was fun that it wasn’t super predictable.

I do wish though that Miss Percy would’ve been a little more active with decision-making in this book rather than letting herself be swept up by some of the opposing characters. I felt like she became more and more sure of herself throughout the series so it felt like she was taking steps backwards a couple of times here. In the end, she got it all figured out though and I was happy to cheer that on.

Quenby Olson is one of my favorite cozy writers and I’m excited to see what she’ll have next for us. This series was such a great cozy adventure with fun characters!

[Cindy]

If there was an award for flowery writing, this would win hands down. There was a lot of padding, I mean a lot. I suspect if the trilogy was edited down to remove all of the aforementioned padding you might have a single fair sized novella. I normally don't skip or scan when reading, but I did with this book trying to get to points where the plot was actually furthered and something actually happened. The only reason I didn't give it up as a bad job was my interest in the subject; who doesn't like a story with dragons?

[Vera]

Read this book vs listening on Audible; might have made a difference for me, as I felt this one was not quite as good as the first two. So much parenthetical wring it got distracting. Still an enjoyable read though.

[Kristen]

I have really enjoyed this series. Likable characters, fun and energetic plot with plenty of tongue-in-cheek humour.

These books (this is the third in the series) feel very Jane Austen-esque to me with the writing style, the characters and their development through the story as well as the setting. To me that is a plus as Pride & Prejudice is my favourite book.

I loved Mildred. She is smart, kind and resourceful through many adventures that present her with situations she never expected to have to confront or deal with and she navigates all of it like a champ (even if she doesn't always feel like she is).

The supporting characters are also delightful pretty much across the board and I became very fond of all of them by the third book. The dragons are hilarious and offer plenty of fun moments that I loved.

The plots, especially in this third book really had me on the edge of my seat waiting to ensure there would be a "happily ever after" for Mildred et al.

The one very minor quibble I had was just that some of the descriptive passages became a bit too long and detailed in some moments. I had this as an audio book from my library and while the narrator was excellent, the extending of some of the "cleverly humourous" passages that were cute but went on a bit longer than necessary for me had me forwarding to get to the next actual plot point towards the end of this book. They were fine and cute and all that but getting toward the end I just wanted the resolution of the story and could have done without the extra cuteness. As I said this was a very minor quibble and I really enjoyed this story and the whole series very much!

[stasia]

[octobre 2025]

borf ça tirait franchement en longueur
là où le tome 1 était très introductif mais on se dit que c'est ok, là où le tome 2 était un peu plus dynamique et ça laissait présager un truc sympa, le tome 3 est franchement lourd.
l'écriture ne m'a pas gênée dans les tomes précédents, même si le style assez patacaisse était déjà présent, là ça se ressent vraiment comme un moyen pour combler le vide!

clairement en dynamisant un peu le récit, y avait moyen de faire une bonne duologie, là c'est abusé comment on stagne pendant la moitié du roman et RIEN n'évolue.
la fin aussi est genre hyper facile? ok c'est de la cosy fantasy mais ça n'exclut pas de travailler son récit?
franchement déçue, j'ai bien cru ne pas aller au bout de ce tome. dommage parce que l'histoire était sympatoche...

[Dr susan]

Awesome regency fantasy

And filled with dragons! Bad things happen, not entirely due to the villain. One character finds redemption and gains a place in my heart. The story is incredibly engrossing, thrilling, heartwarming, and humorous. Owen and Morgen are often hilarious. Mildred is a realistic main character, filled with doubts, struggling to cope, and occasionally battling the desire to give up (although the villain may have something to do with that). Claude is a lovely partner, supportive, caring, and daring. This series was an unexpected joy, and I will buy it to reread when I need some happiness.

[Mica]

This entire series has been an absolute joy and delight to read! I have very much enjoyed my time spent with Miss Percy and the ever-growing cast of friends and dragons. I found this such a satisfying conclusion to the series as well, that now I feel all warm and fuzzy, as if I'm sat by a cosy fireside with a dragon sleeping at my feet and one too many cups of tea. (As if there is such a thing as too many cups of tea!)

[Mikayla Bond]

4/5
I liked this book but I feel it was the weakest of the series, if only for it's change in feel of the novel. This book had higher stakes and more backstabbing and misfortunes to the main characters than any other books. Not that the first books were without troubles, but this had much less of a cozy feel and more of a darker (though that's not quite the right word) feel to it. Still a great series.

[Shazzie]

Read this book. Read this series.

Read my review here

I was given a review copy by the author.

[Mair Alys]

THE BEST EVER

I WANT MORE

PERFECTION


Nothing will compare to the joy I get from this series. Not only the dragons but the character and a romance (from a non romance reader) I was squealing over.

Perfect end to this arc. I do hope more is to come

[Charles Desjardins]

Un excellent tome qui clôt la série. Une belle histoire où on soutient miss percy durant ses moments sombres et on l'encourage lors de ses confrontations. Jusqu'à la fin elle est resté fidèle à elle-même et à toujours sut s'en tirer sans agir comme ses ennemis.

[Brenda]

This was a good ending(?) for the series, although, I wouldn't be sad if there were more stories in the future.

[KateFair]

Thoroughly enjoyed each book and I’m sorry to see them end. Loved the way each thing (person and dragon) was concluded. And yet there was another area opened up to explore, I hope!

[Lucy]

This is a completely delightful series. I will miss spending time with the characters.

[Shannon]

I need more! I hope this isn't the end, but either way I enjoyed this series. Super clean and kind of relatable to a 31 year old haha

[Tara Edwards]

This is a cute series! I strongly recommend if you are into cozy fantasies dragons and like main characters not being the typical main character authors usually choose.

[Judith]

excellent livre

[Dee Turner]

I read the first two books about Miss Percy and her discovery of dragons (through an inheritance of an ancient egg from a great uncle) with pure, unadulterated glee. Quenby Olson's writing is so far above most novels written today! Her vocabulary is extensive, and as she's writing about England's Georgian period, it's full of Bridgerton stuff, but oh, so much better! She's droll and not above impressive alliteration--or calling attention to it!--but more, she really brings her characters to life. I just finished reading a rom-com in which the sex was explicit but rote; what was meant to be an expression of real love was flimsily constructed, as out of cardboard. Not here. Here, the barest intertwining of fingers between two souls who've been together from the first book is so utterly touching--and by the same token its opposite, the villain of the piece, Miss Percy's 18-year old niece, Belinda, uses language to such soul-crushing effect and is so relentless, I wanted to murder her outright. Rarely do I get that involved in my reading. 455 pages flew by in a single day. I am now committed to reading anything Quenby Olson writes, and I won't even miss her dedications:
"To my mother, You’re the one who taught me to read and write, so really, this whole author thing is all your fault." Right?!

Miss Percy, hereafter Mildred, has been on the adventure of several lifetimes since the egg she'd inherited hatched. She names her dragon Fitzwilliam but he's long since become just Fitz. At this point, about a year later, he's the size of a dog and growing fast. He's always been in a pocket of her dress, or lately, in her arms, or wrapped around her shoulders, but he's getting to be an awful lot of weight to carry. And now there's little Morgen, too, a wholly different kind of dragon. He loves being near a warm fire and sneezes puffs of smoke with a snort of fire, but Morgen dives into a fire and eats the charcoal! A tagalong named Owen manages her, as she's quite a bit to manage. Mildred had initially asked the local vicar of Plimpton, Claude Wiggan, for help in researching dragons with her great-uncle's notes; he'd been at her side ever since, through the long months' journey to Wales where her great-uncle had found Fitz's egg, and the long slog since after Belinda abandoned her husband, hooked up with a Welshman, and absconded with one live and petite white dragon--and 15 eggs they must recover before hatching.

At one point, Mildred worries that there will never be a real time for her and Claude because the dragons are EVERYTHING. Now, here's what I mean about genuine tenderness:

"'I am happy with you, Mildred. Whether we are scaling mountains in search of dragons, or lazing about in the afternoons surrounded by books and tea and monotony. All we ever have will always be the only thing I ever want, as long as I am with you.' Mildred told herself she should not cry— Diana [her older sister, a termigant who's forced Mildred to be governess of her two children and ignores all three] had always hated tears (at least when others became drizzly) declaring them an overwrought
surfeit of emotions best reserved for funerals and the occasional wedding — but there were many times when she told herself she would not do a thing (have that third slice of cake, read just one more chapter, sleep past ten in the morning) and yet did it anyway. 'I do not think I can be an ideal wife,' she confessed.'I am nothing like my sister. I do not like to entertain or make banal conversation over lukewarm tea with all the other women in the village. I would probably keep a very untidy house, and I do not care whether it is long or short sleeves that are in fashion. And if y-you—' She stuttered into silence when Mr. Wiggan kissed her lightly on the forehead (pushing her bonnet askew) before he kissed her again, with greater firmness of purpose and resolution, on the corner of her poorly puckered mouth. 'God help me if I should want a wife molded after one such as your sister,' he said. And barked out a laugh before he kissed her again. Of course, reality was left to intrude after..."

I freely admit to being cast in Mildred's mold, myself. Her idiosyncrasies are also mine, right down to that third piece of cake, unconcern for fashion, untidiness, and sleeping late. And how I'd love to have a man as loving as Claude in my life!

They are now accompanied by a Mrs. Merrick, a Welsh witch whose healing powers are often needed, whether for humans or dragon-born, and her bff and probable lover. As they gear up to follow Belinda and recover the eggs, they've become quite a bundle of people, including her sister's children, Nettie and Matthew, and Belinda's alcohol-sodden, abandoned other half, a Mr. Hawthorne. Mildred would like to think the dragons were still a secret, but:

"Somehow, in a tiny corner of her mind where she still believed she would one day be able to fit into her favorite gown without letting out the seams or that she could become fluent in French if only she applied herself to a renewed spate of studies, she had allowed herself to shelter under the conviction that the dragons were still mostly a secret. As though no one beyond their own small circle — and Mr. Gorman and his household, and the villagers around Abergavenny where Fitz had set fire to a chicken coop, and Mr. Matthew Gwilym and his family, and a good portion of Builth, and everyone in and about Nantlle, and anyone Mr. Parry and Belinda might have crossed paths with over the last week, and—"

And I do love when an author sneaks in a few comments about present day reality, as here:

"Before now, she had only ever read about the great doings and happenings and how they had occurred to others. (Most of it involving men with too much power going to war with other men with too much power, with an occasional bout of inventing or a worldwide plague threading through everything.)"

"Was this how the days of all of history’s important individuals went along? Rushing off to a battle in the morning, followed by a touch of prophecy at luncheon and then a coup d’etat in time for afternoon tea?)"

"Journalism, this thing the London newspapers claim to practice, brings to mind the old saying that if one tells a lie for long enough and loud enough, it will eventually become the truth. -from a letter written by Mr. Claude Wiggan, to Mr. Richard Gorman."

Belinda always slashes her victims to bits with her words, and Mildred has always succumbed to the demands of others:

"She had not married nor borne children. She was not rich enough to be of consequence, nor poor enough to be lamented. A tired spinster, lacking in classic beauty, stumbling around at the fringes of an adventure that should never have been hers to begin with. That was, at least, what Belinda wanted her to believe. Even now, Mildred sensed her niece’s will pushing towards her, smothering the keenness of her thoughts into a smooth complacency. The urge to surrender thrummed through her, a feeling that lacked the definition of words. That she would have what she wanted if she would only step aside, if she would only allow Belinda to have her own way. The problem was that Belinda did not know what Mildred wanted. Because her niece saw her as nothing, then it naturally followed that she could not believe her aunt would want anything worth anyone’s notice. The promise of a life hardly better than the one she had already possessed was the most her limited powers of imagination could conjure. But Mildred could not — would not — be so cheaply bought." How could the reader fail to cheer her on to the victory of her choice?

When SHFT (someone texted that to me and I had to Google its meaning), it does so in SPECTACULAR FASHION, even to involving the last heir to Victoria's throne, Prinny himself. I won't spoil that for you. Finally, once again in Wales and living quietly with Claude, Owen, Fitz and Morgen, who are too domesticated to be returned to the wild, one day she receives a letter from Germany. They have discovered a dragon and perhaps, eggs--and would she be agreeable to visit and advise--?

"“Well,” she said, and tucked the letter into her pocket, though she did not release it for several minutes, as though worried it would cease to exist if she could not assure herself of its presence. “I suppose this is when we find out how well a fire-breathing dragon fares on a ship!” * * * THE END Or is it?"

I can't wait!

[Pippin Took]

Fitz and Morgen...adorable chaos🤍🤍🤍!!!
WARNING: This book will make you want to hit the villain with a red-hot cast-iron skillet...justice for Mildred and the dragons!!