Throne of Jade - Naomi Novik

Throne of Jade is the sequel to His Majesty's Dragon. Captain Laurence and Temeraire are off to China where a celestial dragon is real royalty. The Chinese ambassador insists that Temeraire be returned to China, but allows Captain Laurence to come along since Temeraire insists. It's months by sea with battles along the way. Then in the Chinese court the two are pulled into intrigues that threatens to ruin their chances to return to England and possibly end their lives. There's a lot of detail to this second story and it's very interesting to see how dragons are treated in China compared to England and the rest of the world. Very highly recommended.