Dragons for the rest of us

Eon Dragoneye Reborn, by Alison Goodman is a dragon book but not only a dragon book. Set in a fantasy world based on traditional Chinese society and mythology, it is a story of intrigue, sword fighting, court politics, and mostly pretending to be something you're not. Eon is a dragoneye apprentice hoping to be chosen by the Rat Dragon to protect the empire. Eon is his master's last chance to have an apprentice chosen, a cripple who causes people to make the sign warding off evil wherever he goes, and disrespected in his household, his training classes and by the world at large. But more than that, Eon is really 16 year old Eona masquerading as a boy.

Coming out in December, Eon is a book you won't want to put down. And then you'll wish 2010 would hurry up and get here because that's when the second book in the duology will appear. Here's her website: http://alisongoodman.com.au/

Books that you might also like if you like Eon:

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, by Nahoko Uehashi (fantasy inspired by Japanese history and culture about a female warrior)
The Masqueraders, by Georgette Heyer (period romance about a brother and sister who each masquerade as the other)