Tongues of Serpents - Naomi Novik

Tongues of Serpents is the sixth novel in the Temeraire series.

Temeraire and Captain Laurence have been shipped to Australia as punishment for their supposed treason against the crown. Now they're caught up in the politics of the new colony at Sydney and the search for a way to bypass the mountains to the north. They were also carrying three dragon eggs to help populate the new continent with dragons. When one of the eggs is stolen there's a desperate search to find it before it hatches. The surprise they find on the opposite coast from their colony could mean war or something else entirely. Highly recommended.