Why You Should Read: Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide by Quenby Olson

A little while ago I put out a call for some self-published books to review, as in the past I’ve found some of my favourite reads from doing just that. And it worked! Again! This book, fully titled as “Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons”, is a wonderful example of the great stories that exist in self-publishing, should you take the time to find them.

There are a bunch of great reasons to read this one, which I’ll list below. I’ll also highlight a couple of things that might be worth a thought or two. Depending on your tastes, these may function as additional reasons to pick this story up, or might steer you towards reading the sample before committing.

So… why should you read Miss Percy’s Guide?

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The Blurb:

Miss Mildred Percy inherits a dragon.

Ah, but we’ve already got ahead of ourselves…

Miss Mildred Percy is a spinster. She does not dance, she has long stopped dreaming, and she certainly does not have adventures. That is, until her great uncle has the audacity to leave her an inheritance, one that includes a dragon’s egg.

The egg – as eggs are wont to do – decides to hatch, and Miss Mildred Percy is suddenly thrust out of the role of “spinster and general wallflower” and into the unprecedented position of “spinster and keeper of dragons.”

But England has not seen a dragon since… well, ever. And now Mildred must contend with raising a dragon (that should not exist), kindling a romance (with a humble vicar), and embarking on an adventure she never thought could be hers for the taking.

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Reason 1: The premise

Did you skip that blurb? If so, go back and read it, because the premise of this book is a delight.

Basically, this is a story about a middle-aged woman (Mildred), who has consistently let familial obligations win out over a sense of individuality and adventure, and discovers who she really wants to be when she inherits what turns out to be a dragon egg from a distant uncle. This has a very optimistic, approaching on jaunty tone throughout, with a delicate romantic subplot laced throughout the background. I have to shout out the epithets, too, which play a vital and wonderful part in keeping the optimistic feel of the novel constantly in sight, reminding us that Miss Percy does get to live the life she deserves. Even when things seem a little rough.

I also really enjoyed that this story is unequivocally Mildred’s throughout. Any romance and any antagonism serves to support Mildred’s story, rather than act in isolation. Nothing feels “separate”. Everything feels like it fits, and so consequences and growth feel entirely natural.

Something to consider: The side-character cast

When reading this story, I got the feeling that the jauntiness of the narration made for some level of distance from the side character cast. For characters like Mildred’s sister, her niece, or the antagonist, it felt like they had a few personality traits that were stuck to quite rigidly over the course of the story. I suspect that to some readers, these characters may read as a little one-note or “flat”, especially in comparison to Mildred — who admittedly (and in my mind, understandably) gets a lot more focus.

Now, this was something I quite liked. As I’ve already mentioned, I loved that this felt like Mildred’s story. That sense of focus and ownership was something that I really enjoyed. I liked that those aforementioned traits made for defined personalities which Mildred could bounce off, and in turn I loved how that definition allowed for increased anticipation and tension. With that said, I would quite like it if we got to see a bit more in-depth exploration of these characters in future novels, and I appreciate that there was some space left for Olson to go back and do just that in the sequels, should that be her intention. I’d love to see how those characters can develop from here.

It’s a personal thing, but in an ongoing series I always love feeling like a lot of distance has been covered in a given book, but that there’s still plenty more to go. And I feel like Quenby Olson threaded that needle quite well here.

Reason 2: It feels like a thoughtfully-crafted “Fuck You”

Okay, so my swearing here feels at odds with the tone of Miss Percy’s Guide, but let me explain. There are a lot of things about this book and about Mildred’s life that touch on societal or genre expectations. How often do you see a middle-aged woman act as the sole point-of-view protagonist in a fantasy novel? In those books, how often do you see that woman begin an adventure at their supposedly late age? And how often do such stories or such adventures fully embrace traditionally “feminine” tropes and trappings — rather than falling back on the Strong Female Character archetype?

Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide is unapologetically itself. Miss Percy starts her story as a so-called spinster in her sister’s family home. She is openly belittled on a daily basis, treated almost as a piece of furniture with a talent for child-watching. And yet despite the societal expectation that, at her age, this would forever be her lot in life… She still has her adventure. She still finds romance. She still crafts her own life. She carries a story of her own, and she does it well.

If Miss Percy is a “fuck you” of sorts, it doesn’t exist solely for that purpose. It absolutely functions as a solid rejection of societal & genre expectations, but it does so by being a fucking good story.

Something to consider: For readers of the Memoirs of Lady Trent

Some well-read fantasy readers may note that there are some surface-level similarities between Miss Percy’s Guide and the Memoirs of Lady Trent books by Marie Brennan. If you’re someone who enjoyed those books, and you’re wondering if you would like Miss Percy too, then I might hazard a guess at yes!

But with that said, these are entirely different books. While they both feature middle-aged women studying dragons in some form, they each have a very different tone. Where the Lady Trent books have a focus on academic cleverness and competence, Miss Percy more centres around a feeling of joyous discovery — a discovery of passion, and a discovery of self. While both women are of course clever and passionate, Miss Percy’s story feels a little less isolationist, and a little more integrated with the people around her.

Part of this has to do with the difference in means. Lady Trent is of course a Lady, with all the finances and high-society conflicts that implies. With far fewer means, Miss Percy is more dependant on the kindness of others, and the existence of that kindness — or lack thereof, depending on the person — is something that is vital to the story. (That vicar mentioned in the blurb? He’s a sweetheart. But he’s not even the nicest person in his household.)

So… should fans of the Lady Trent books read this? Absolutely! But don’t expect anything like a clone, because Miss Percy is very much its own story. (And as a surprise to no-one who knows how much I dislike the prevalence of noble characters in Fantasy… I prefer it.)

Reason 3: Fitz

Admittedly, given my love for Robin Hobb, I am somewhat predisposed to loving characters named Fitz. But this cute, restless, little baby dragon? He’s adorable.

Let’s be honest. In any book that features dragons, if those dragons are boring… well, it’s an enormous failing on the author’s part. How do you make a DRAGON feel boring? But thankfully, we have to worry about nothing of the sort here. Fitz is… he’s a delight. He’s somewhat like an unruly but very loyal cat. With wings. And the ability (and tendency) to set things on fire. He’s wonderful.

Something to consider: The style of prose

In terms of things that make a reviewer say “your mileage may vary”, style of prose is a huge one. Especially for novels written in a very stylistic way. We all have our preferences for descriptive or workmanlike prose, and personal quirks like strong visual imaginations or aphantasia can play a huge part in that.

Quenby Olson is fond of descriptive language. The writing style in Miss Percy is something that I think some readers may find verbose, while others will be utterly charmed. I always find it difficult to give any kind of objective judgement on a writer’s style, so all I can do here is relate my own experience and hope you glean enough from it to decide whether this book is for you or not.

For me… I’m a very visual reader. All I need is a few short sentences of description, and my brain has already built a picture to fill in the gaps. With books that devote so much page space to description, such as this one, I can feel frustrated and sort of “held in place” when I’m made to constantly reshape that image in my head before getting on to whatever comes next. As a result, I was admittedly frustrated by the writing style for the first half of the book, until eventually sinking into it by the second.

My best guess is that, depending on how you enjoy very detailed prose, you’ll either immediately fall in love with how this one flows, or you might find it a bit of a barrier to entry. One that’s still very worth jumping, in my opinion, should you be sufficiently charmed by all of the other aspects on show. (And it’s worth mentioning that despite personal preferences, the writing here feels very Mildred. It’s told in third-person past, but the narration feels very personalised in how it will venture off on distracted tangents. I can see it being immediately immersive for the right reader.)

If descriptive prose is a major deal-breaker for you, I’d encourage checking out a sample of Miss Percy before picking it up. Hopefully, all going well, you’ll be able to slide right from there into the rest of the book.

Reason 4: The heart

Y’know, I’ve said that this book is optimistic. I’ve said that it’s joyous. And I’ve said that I had a really good time with it.

But seriously. The heart that is in this small story is insane. It’s not some epic, twisty, save-the-world tale. It doesn’t have to be. Quenby Olson does a fantastic job at pulling you into Mildred’s life when Mildred doesn’t really have one her own. From there, with a little bit of kindness from others, she is able to slowly and carefully build one. It’s so… sweet. It’s the best kind of feel-good. It’s bottled dopamine.

And honestly, the best thing about Miss Percy’s Guide is that the ending isn’t the ending at all. Cue the review cliche — but it feels like the beginning of something brilliant. I can’t wait to read the rest.

And if any of the above strikes a chord with you, then you should read it too.

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Check out Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide on Goodreads or Amazon. Kindle Unlimited users — You can read this one for free!