Off the Bookshelf: NO GOOD DRAGON GOES UNPUNISHED, Rachel Aaron

 

Heartstrikers Book 3

Narrated by Vikas Adam

One evil dragon seer dead. Evil mother dragon overthrown. Friendly dragon apparently, temporarily in control of the Three Sisters clan and willing to be an ally. Mating flight completed. Friendly siblings supporting him.

You'd think everything would be looking up for Julius, the runt of the litter and nice dragon. Nope. Human politics are bad enough, but dragon politics make Washington look like a bunch of kindergarteners with dirty diapers. And then there's the water spirit, Algonquin, who has destroyed the newly awakened Three Sisters and declared war on all dragons. And Algonquin's territory sits in the middle of Heartstriker territory. Not good. Then there are all the assassination attempts and threats on Julius.

All he wants is to spend time with Darcy, but both of them keep getting dragged away by opportunities and duties. Suddenly, Darcy has a chance to be the first Merlin. She's being targeted by a supersoldier with Raven for an advisor, and a snotty mage who considers himself a better choice for that plum role and title.

Warning: you won't like what happens to some of your favorite characters, dragons and humans.

But I've started listening to Book 4, and there's light at the end of the dragon tunnel. Maybe. Of course, with Book 5 waiting ... that might just be a dragon-sized train coming!

Can't wait to find out how this all gets resolved....

Off the Bookshelf: ONE GOOD DRAGON DESERVES ANOTHER, Rachel Aaron

 

Heartstrikers Book 2

Narrated by Vikas Adam

Julius and Darcy have settled down to a pretty satisfactory life, dealing with magical creatures, making a living, and staying out of the reach of his clan. Because you know, dragons, are pretty intimidating and selfish and demanding and kind of hard to live with. Especially when you're like Julius, not just the runt of the litter, but sealed so he can't access his dragon shape and magic.

Then things start getting tricky. Because Bethesda, his mother, has got more plans in the works, and she's decided Julius is useful.

Between two dragon seers manipulating fate and fighting each other, and all that dragon arrogance causing trouble, Darcy and Julius have very little opportunity to make progress on their relationship. The daughters of the Three Sisters seem to be having internal problems, and then some of the most powerful members of the Heartstriker clan suddenly start acting strangely. Julius finds it harder and harder to stay in the shadows, unnoticed by the clan, and ignoring all the scheming and injustice that has been going on for centuries.

How's a nice dragon going to win?

Well, strong hint ... there are 5 books in the series, and this is #2, so it ain't gonna be over for a loooong time.

Which is really good when you think about it, because I love this series!

Off the Bookshelf: NICE DRAGONS FINISH LAST, by Rachel Aaron

 

Heartstriker series #1

Wry humor, constantly rising stakes, an incredible new zoology thanks to the weirdness of rogue magic, and the incredible worldbuilding where Detroit has turned into a wild west of magic. Love the DFZ books. 

I guess I'm reading backward, because I started with Minimum Wage Magic, and this seems to have come before it, with Heartstriker #1.

Aaron makes you care about her characters from the beginning. Which is good, because poor Julius needs someone rooting for him, from almost before the story begins. The runt of the litter, he's managed to survive by being quiet and lying low -- until his mother, Bethesda Heartstriker, who has dragon-sized ambitions (naturally) locks him into his human form and throws him into the one place on the planet where dragons are outlawed, and gives him a month to prove he's a real dragon (whatever that is) or he'll probably end up a midnight snack. For her!

Things seem to improve, only slightly, when he meets a mage named Darcy -- until all her problems, starting with a gangster on her tail, catch up with them. One simple little job, to start proving himself, turns into a nail-biting adventure that could get them both killed a dozen times over. Then dragon politics get involved and things get really dicey ...

Fun. I'm addicted. Thank goodness I have another Audible credit in my account, because once I catch up on my podcasts, I'll need another dose of the DFZ and dragons.

Off the Bookshelf: NIGHT SHIFT DRAGONS, by Rachel Aaron

 

Audiobooks, Audible Original

Detroit Free Zone series

Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

Opal Yong-ae, adopted daughter of the Great Dragon of Korea, is back in her third adventure. And just like the 3rd Indiana Jones movie, she's brought her dad.

More like she and her dragon father are stuck with each other. Everybody is out to kill him, to take over his territory, and just as Opal and her father are starting to make some progress on re-igniting his fire (vital for a dragon to regain his magic and strength), a new enemy rears his ugly, bloody head. An arena god has set his sights on taking over the DFZ, and Opal as a part-time priestess of the city of Detroit has to step up to the plate and do something. Before Nik, the cleaner she loves, becomes another bloody sacrifice.

Everything is on the line this time. Opal and Dad barely escaped with their lives in the last battle and book, and now every step forward seems to result in two steps back, with more dire consequences every time they apparently mis-calculate. But one thing you need to remember: don't mess with dragons. Especially dragons who will risk everything to protect the ones they love. Even when admitting to love is considered a weakness.

Lots of family dynamics and wry humor, frustration, sarcasm, maybe even some theology all woven together into a fascinating tale, in a framework of incredible worldbuilding. Bravo. (More, please?)

Off the Bookshelf: PART-TIME GODS, by Rachel Aaron

 

Audible Original, Audiobook

Emily Woo Zeller, narrator

And we're back to the DFZ, the Detroit Free Zone, where dragons are welcome to live and the anthropomorphic spirit of the city is its deity -- and our heroine, Opal, encounters that spirit as she continues her struggle for freedom from her adopted father, the Dragon of Korea.

When we last left Opal and her partner-in-cleaning, Nick, she learned she had been cursed with bad luck, to keep her from earning enough money to pay her debt to her father -- and when she defaults, he can drag her back to Korea, where she will be part of his collection once more.

Or so she thinks. Like any second book in a series, there are a lot of turning points and "this ain't what you thought it was" moments. Opal is in a bad place, damaging her magic to the point it won't work. She has literally disconnected herself from her soul, and if she isn't careful, she could destroy it altogether. When her plan to work around the bad luck curse just doesn't seem to be working, she finds what she thinks are some loopholes ... and things get really strange.

Think you've got a bad relationship with your father? Try a father who is a literal dragon, who can become a human at will, who insists everything he does is to protect you, but you know better. Toss in a really bad sibling rivalry problem that goes back a millennia with a snotty coward younger sister dragon named White Snake ... just when you think it can't get worse, it gets worse.

I'm about halfway through the third book, which just keeps getting better and better. I'm at the point of chewing my nails down to the first knuckle from the tension! 

Off the Bookshelf: MINIMUM WAGE MAGIC, by Rachel Aaron

 

Audible exclusive, audiobooks

Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

Major fun! Incredible world-building.

This book takes place the same setting as another series by Aaron, with titles like Nice Dragons Finish Last, set in the living city of Detroit.

Okay, I need to find out how I can get by on 1 hour of sleep a day, just so I can indulge in more of these audio books. And yes, the narrator DOES make a huge difference in enjoyment. This is a great narrator, and I agree with another reviewer who said to please keep Zeller for the other books in this series.

Our heroine, Opal, is a cleaner -- someone who comes in and cleans up when someone defaults and is evicted, or dies, or vanishes in the living, magical, fantasy city of Detroit. Just a slice of the background of this alternate reality: magic has returned to Earth, and the air and water spirits and other "gods" have come back and some of them aren't too happy about what happened to the world while they were gone. Detroit is a living entity, constantly changing, and there aren't really any laws -- except that if you're in debt, you better pay up fast, or else.

Opal has a huge debt to pay, and a deadline to meet. She bids on an apartment where the tenant has defaulted -- the city gets some of its money back, and she gets to keep whatever she finds when she cleans out the apartment. But what she finds leads her on a treasure hunt, in and out of danger, facing the underground of this living city -- and takes the reader on a fascinating tour of this strange and magical world, where dragons are real, criminals are everywhere, and vicious, and you don't want to mess with death gods. Enemies and problems just keep popping up, and betrayal clings to her like a bad luck curse -- which shows up as well. She's one tough chick, and readers find out why, bit by bit, as the story careens through the ever-changing landscape.

SO. MUCH. FUN. Of course, I have to find the rest of the stories of Opal and her AI, and the trouble she's still in at the end of the book. Yeah, and when will I have the TIME? Gee, if all my problems were this kind, I'd be a very happy (sleepless) camper!