His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

Wow, what a great book, and almost impossible to set down. Dragons, epic sea voyages, swordfights, and compelling characters all combine to make this a great book. And it's nice that it's a paperback, so you can tuck it in your purse and haul it out when you are waiting in line at the bank! (There are at least 2 sequels, and they were good, but I didn't enjoy them as much as I did the first one.)