If you think of them as "a big dumb object", you'll be pleasantly surprised. I too thought "Napoleonic War with dragons" sounded like a stupid idea, but it's amazingly well done. Novik's characterisation of both humans and dragons is incredible (in fact, I think the dragons are better characters than the people), and I say this as someone who's usually a plot-driven reader rather than a character-driven reader. I really think that if you promote the first book to higher up your reading list, you won't regret it. (And if you do, it's a quick read, so no great loss).