Empire of Ivory - Naomi Novik

Empire of Ivory is another in the series of Novik books following His Majesty's Dragons. I'm reading out of order again. This is the fourth book in the series about Temeraire and Captain Laurence. In this story they return from their travels and discover that the cold that Temeraire had on their trip to China was actually a virulent disease that is killing the dragons in his majesty's corp. Since Temeraire seemed to shake it off around the coast of Africa, they're bound back to Africa to find out what cured him. The adventures they encounter kept me reading late into the night. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I was very sad at the ending. Novik really leaves you hanging. Now to read book three and then I can read book five. So many books and so little time. Very highly recommended.