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on February 12, 2017
4.25 Just try to forget I’m watching your every move while silently judging you and make the decision as you normally would based on the information provided. Thank You! <3 <3 Stars
What a breath of fresh air. Where has this book been in my tbr pile I should have dusted it off to read/listened (the audio is really good) forever ago.
Another YA book that proves that you don’t have to have sighing teenagers, whose eye dilate in a spectacular shade of blue and let out breaths they didn’t know they were holding to have tension and a great story. You could just actually have a plot and cool characters. This was actually so good I don’t even want to put it in my YA pile.
Julius is a horrible dragon. He is the scrawniest least dragon like of all his many siblings. He has no ambition to gain power, no drive to hoard treasure and he is nice to humans of all things. His mother has had enough of him hiding out in his room playing on the internet and not being dragonlike so she has bound him in his human form and he has a month to do something Dragon-worthy or she is going to eat him.
I loved this story. Julius is adorable in so many ways and he brought out this mothering instinct in me that made me want to nurture the kid. But it isn’t just Julius, he hooks up with a witch to get a little help and I totally LOVE her. Marci is a fantastic character and she was so much fun with her interesting witchy contraptions, bubbly personality and curious nature. She is hard not to like her but she is definitely has some demons and secrets that might be of a not so nice nature.
But if you don’t read this for one of the best Beta-Boy characters I’ve ever read, read it for BOB.
So let me make sure I’ve got this straight,” Marci said. “The three great dragon seers are the Black Reach, Estella the Northern Star, and Bob?” When Julius nodded, she arched an eyebrow. “One of these things is not like the others.”
“He’s actually Brohomir, Great Seer of the Heartstrikers, but he only answers to that on formal occasions or when he’s booking tables at restaurants.”
Bob is Julius’s favorite brother or at least he will be in about a year according to Bob the Heartstrikers great and powerful seer. Thing is getting caught up in Bob’s potential futures could also get you killed. He was hilarious and one of the best side characters I’ve read in a long time. He seems a little on the cray-cray side but that was part of the fun of his character.
“Don’t get your feathers in a fluff,” he chided. “I’m here to help! I can’t let you have all the fun, can I?”
Julius gaped at him. “What’s fun about almost dying?”
“But that’s the best sort of fun,” Bob replied. “The kind you can look back on centuries later and laugh about. Of course, since I’m always centuries ahead, I can laugh about it right now.”
There was some ground work set and you can tell that there are some bigger dragon politics and machinations going on it the background but the overall story and getting to know the characters, magic and world was a lot of fun. I’m so happy I finally got to this book
I totally recommend it to any Fantasy lover.
What a breath of fresh air. Where has this book been in my tbr pile I should have dusted it off to read/listened (the audio is really good) forever ago.
Another YA book that proves that you don’t have to have sighing teenagers, whose eye dilate in a spectacular shade of blue and let out breaths they didn’t know they were holding to have tension and a great story. You could just actually have a plot and cool characters. This was actually so good I don’t even want to put it in my YA pile.
Julius is a horrible dragon. He is the scrawniest least dragon like of all his many siblings. He has no ambition to gain power, no drive to hoard treasure and he is nice to humans of all things. His mother has had enough of him hiding out in his room playing on the internet and not being dragonlike so she has bound him in his human form and he has a month to do something Dragon-worthy or she is going to eat him.
I loved this story. Julius is adorable in so many ways and he brought out this mothering instinct in me that made me want to nurture the kid. But it isn’t just Julius, he hooks up with a witch to get a little help and I totally LOVE her. Marci is a fantastic character and she was so much fun with her interesting witchy contraptions, bubbly personality and curious nature. She is hard not to like her but she is definitely has some demons and secrets that might be of a not so nice nature.
But if you don’t read this for one of the best Beta-Boy characters I’ve ever read, read it for BOB.
So let me make sure I’ve got this straight,” Marci said. “The three great dragon seers are the Black Reach, Estella the Northern Star, and Bob?” When Julius nodded, she arched an eyebrow. “One of these things is not like the others.”
“He’s actually Brohomir, Great Seer of the Heartstrikers, but he only answers to that on formal occasions or when he’s booking tables at restaurants.”
Bob is Julius’s favorite brother or at least he will be in about a year according to Bob the Heartstrikers great and powerful seer. Thing is getting caught up in Bob’s potential futures could also get you killed. He was hilarious and one of the best side characters I’ve read in a long time. He seems a little on the cray-cray side but that was part of the fun of his character.
“Don’t get your feathers in a fluff,” he chided. “I’m here to help! I can’t let you have all the fun, can I?”
Julius gaped at him. “What’s fun about almost dying?”
“But that’s the best sort of fun,” Bob replied. “The kind you can look back on centuries later and laugh about. Of course, since I’m always centuries ahead, I can laugh about it right now.”
There was some ground work set and you can tell that there are some bigger dragon politics and machinations going on it the background but the overall story and getting to know the characters, magic and world was a lot of fun. I’m so happy I finally got to this book
I totally recommend it to any Fantasy lover.
on July 17, 2014
The premise of the novel is dragons who shapeshift as humans, only our hero is stuck as a human by curse. From his mom.
Julian's personal weakness is that he's a nice guy. And Dragons aren't nice. At all. It's pissed off his mother and caused him problems.
But he has decided to embrace being nice. Rachel Aaron has bucked the classic hero prototype that heroes are generally a nice guy because that's their default setting. Instead being a decent person (dragon, whatever) is a burden to overcome. It's a fun twist to make the nice guy thing a disadvantage that he can use to against his foes.
Several characters, especially the quirky dragon seer, Bob, are wonderful. Marci, the mage, is not just a paper cutout female to compliment the protagonist, but is a strong co-protagonist, perfectly willing to kill, while Julian, the dragon is more squeamish about taking life. And Ghost the Dead Cat is quite terrible in an interesting way.
There are lots of references to pop fantasy culture things to find. Some are obvious, some are not, which makes it fun to wonder if you found something intentional or if you are imagining it.
I enjoyed it. And I look forward to the next one immensely.
Julian's personal weakness is that he's a nice guy. And Dragons aren't nice. At all. It's pissed off his mother and caused him problems.
But he has decided to embrace being nice. Rachel Aaron has bucked the classic hero prototype that heroes are generally a nice guy because that's their default setting. Instead being a decent person (dragon, whatever) is a burden to overcome. It's a fun twist to make the nice guy thing a disadvantage that he can use to against his foes.
Several characters, especially the quirky dragon seer, Bob, are wonderful. Marci, the mage, is not just a paper cutout female to compliment the protagonist, but is a strong co-protagonist, perfectly willing to kill, while Julian, the dragon is more squeamish about taking life. And Ghost the Dead Cat is quite terrible in an interesting way.
There are lots of references to pop fantasy culture things to find. Some are obvious, some are not, which makes it fun to wonder if you found something intentional or if you are imagining it.
I enjoyed it. And I look forward to the next one immensely.
on June 5, 2017
Why I Think Boys May Enjoy This
First and foremost, it’s about dragons. Boy or girl, who doesn’t love dragons?! Aaron, though, has found a great way for us to learn about the dragon world presented by the entire Heartstrikers series, in that Julius is sealed into a human form from before the first book begins. Both because of this and Julius’s uniqueness as a very un-dragonlike dragon, it is easy to sympathize with Julius as a human reading this story (I can’t speak for dragons reading the story, but I’d assume they’d be more likely to identify with Justin or Ian, Julius’s brothers). This combination is a brilliant way for Julius to be both an outsider to the dragon world and give the reader enough insight to not feel confused.
All that being said, Julius struggles with very human-connected issues that many teen boys face: finding their own identity and voice, dealing with an overbearing (and murderous) mother, and being singled out and ridiculed for being different. That Julius is actually a dragon is irrelevant for the humans reading to connect with him. Add in the very human and very awesome Marcie Novalli (a mage who becomes Julius’s best friend over the course of the story). Marcie brings an even further human element to the story but she also serves as our conduit to the amazing magical capabilities unearthed in this dystopian future.
Content/Appropriateness
Even though Julius and Marcie are older than your traditional Young Adult audience (they are in their 20s), I’d still consider this a great book for pre-teens on up. The familial obstacles faced by Julius and Marcie are not unlike those typically faced by teen antagonists in your more traditional YA fantasy stories: venturing out on their own with minimal support. So even though the age of the main characters would suggest this book be NA instead of YA, the content is clean enough that readers as young as 10 could easily enjoy this story.
There is some violence and gunplay in the story (Marcie’s father apparently ran afoul of some human gangsters who like to use guns) but nothing worse than your average cartoon/children’s show. Most of the fighting involved in the story is supernatural in nature, involving spirits and dragons as opposed to more realistic human on human violence. There are no major language concerns and zero sexual content (which is why I say the characters could easily have been 16 instead of in their 20s had the author chose to do so).
All in all, it’s good, clean dragons and magic fun!
Special note: I personally listened to this series on Audible, and Vikas Adam did a *fantastic* job narrating them. So if you are into audiobooks, I can highly recommend them. My 11yo read the physical books and enjoyed them just as well.
Rating
5/5 Giant Cartoon Mallets from Toonopolis, The Blog's Books for Boys review.
First and foremost, it’s about dragons. Boy or girl, who doesn’t love dragons?! Aaron, though, has found a great way for us to learn about the dragon world presented by the entire Heartstrikers series, in that Julius is sealed into a human form from before the first book begins. Both because of this and Julius’s uniqueness as a very un-dragonlike dragon, it is easy to sympathize with Julius as a human reading this story (I can’t speak for dragons reading the story, but I’d assume they’d be more likely to identify with Justin or Ian, Julius’s brothers). This combination is a brilliant way for Julius to be both an outsider to the dragon world and give the reader enough insight to not feel confused.
All that being said, Julius struggles with very human-connected issues that many teen boys face: finding their own identity and voice, dealing with an overbearing (and murderous) mother, and being singled out and ridiculed for being different. That Julius is actually a dragon is irrelevant for the humans reading to connect with him. Add in the very human and very awesome Marcie Novalli (a mage who becomes Julius’s best friend over the course of the story). Marcie brings an even further human element to the story but she also serves as our conduit to the amazing magical capabilities unearthed in this dystopian future.
Content/Appropriateness
Even though Julius and Marcie are older than your traditional Young Adult audience (they are in their 20s), I’d still consider this a great book for pre-teens on up. The familial obstacles faced by Julius and Marcie are not unlike those typically faced by teen antagonists in your more traditional YA fantasy stories: venturing out on their own with minimal support. So even though the age of the main characters would suggest this book be NA instead of YA, the content is clean enough that readers as young as 10 could easily enjoy this story.
There is some violence and gunplay in the story (Marcie’s father apparently ran afoul of some human gangsters who like to use guns) but nothing worse than your average cartoon/children’s show. Most of the fighting involved in the story is supernatural in nature, involving spirits and dragons as opposed to more realistic human on human violence. There are no major language concerns and zero sexual content (which is why I say the characters could easily have been 16 instead of in their 20s had the author chose to do so).
All in all, it’s good, clean dragons and magic fun!
Special note: I personally listened to this series on Audible, and Vikas Adam did a *fantastic* job narrating them. So if you are into audiobooks, I can highly recommend them. My 11yo read the physical books and enjoyed them just as well.
Rating
5/5 Giant Cartoon Mallets from Toonopolis, The Blog's Books for Boys review.
on May 4, 2015
Started a bit slowly compared to Fortune's Pawn and The Legend of Eli Monpress, but eventually picked up. I find it difficult to spend a lot of time reading about dysfunctional family dynamics, and that was not only the starting point, but the entire backbone, of the story. It's also unclear how the protagonist evolved to be different (read: have empathy) from his clan members. A bit more background on his growth would have made this more believable - inasmuch as magic and dragons are ever believable, that is. I also cannot conceive of creatures that have lived for millennia being as immature and conniving as the dragons are. One would hope they'd have had a chance to gain some perspective through the years. This aspect, while crucial to the plot, was decidedly off-putting.
As with a lot of sci-fi/fantasy stories, there was a little too much wide-eyed Denial That Anyone Could Like Me For Me stuff going on, and the sitcom level misunderstandings in the romance sphere were a bit eye rolling. Still, with all that said, I enjoy Rachel Aaron (Bach)'s writing, and eventually found the story enjoyable. It doesn't come close to the loving-every-minute-of-it feeling I had while reading the Paradox Series, but her writing is engaging, filled with many of the fantasy elements I enjoy, and easy to read. I was particularly taken with her descriptions of magical mechanics and spellwork. It's easy to make that dull and overly wordy in fantasy, but in this case I wanted to know more - much more.
All in all, a good, solid read.
As with a lot of sci-fi/fantasy stories, there was a little too much wide-eyed Denial That Anyone Could Like Me For Me stuff going on, and the sitcom level misunderstandings in the romance sphere were a bit eye rolling. Still, with all that said, I enjoy Rachel Aaron (Bach)'s writing, and eventually found the story enjoyable. It doesn't come close to the loving-every-minute-of-it feeling I had while reading the Paradox Series, but her writing is engaging, filled with many of the fantasy elements I enjoy, and easy to read. I was particularly taken with her descriptions of magical mechanics and spellwork. It's easy to make that dull and overly wordy in fantasy, but in this case I wanted to know more - much more.
All in all, a good, solid read.
on July 30, 2014
Really, it's like a steel rollercoaster -- fast, slick and a hell of a lot of fun.
This is a charming urban fantasy, which is a slightly disconcerting thing to say about a story set in a dystopian future. But that's the genius of the book -- it's full of opposing elements which -should- clash, but instead work together. (Dragons and dystopia!) The hereo isn't battling his darker impulses, but trying to find a way to productively channel his inherent--and very un-dragon-ish--kindness. Even the ruthless enforcer turns out to have empathy.
There's a wonderfully deadpan humor to the hero, who really does come off as a mid-twenties slacker -- smart but aimless. And the rest of the cast is very well drawn; even the character who seems to be a simple brawler shows some surprising depth. The world-building is very well done -- the reveals feel very organic, and it's different enough that I'm looking forward to more.
Honestly, I dithered a lot between four and five stars -- the book is a lot of fun, and I'm certainly going to buy the next one. But it was a little too pat to get five stars. It depends on how you want to judge it: It's a 5 out 5 for entertainment, 4 out of 5 for emotional involvement/making the reader think. Honestly, I'd say 4.5, but a 9/10 isn't on Amazon's scale.
A final note: I had no idea this was self-published. I noticed one jarring typo, but I've seen much worse in ebooks put out by traditional publishers. And I'm going to seek out the author's earlier books, because this was extremely entertaining.
This is a charming urban fantasy, which is a slightly disconcerting thing to say about a story set in a dystopian future. But that's the genius of the book -- it's full of opposing elements which -should- clash, but instead work together. (Dragons and dystopia!) The hereo isn't battling his darker impulses, but trying to find a way to productively channel his inherent--and very un-dragon-ish--kindness. Even the ruthless enforcer turns out to have empathy.
There's a wonderfully deadpan humor to the hero, who really does come off as a mid-twenties slacker -- smart but aimless. And the rest of the cast is very well drawn; even the character who seems to be a simple brawler shows some surprising depth. The world-building is very well done -- the reveals feel very organic, and it's different enough that I'm looking forward to more.
Honestly, I dithered a lot between four and five stars -- the book is a lot of fun, and I'm certainly going to buy the next one. But it was a little too pat to get five stars. It depends on how you want to judge it: It's a 5 out 5 for entertainment, 4 out of 5 for emotional involvement/making the reader think. Honestly, I'd say 4.5, but a 9/10 isn't on Amazon's scale.
A final note: I had no idea this was self-published. I noticed one jarring typo, but I've seen much worse in ebooks put out by traditional publishers. And I'm going to seek out the author's earlier books, because this was extremely entertaining.
on December 11, 2015
I’m a longtime fan of traditional fantasy but am new to urban fantasy, and I’d never read any of Rachel Aaron’s books before until I stumbled on this one. So I had no idea what to expect. Nice Dragons Finish Last, I’m happy to report, turned out to be an inviting introduction both to Rachel Aaron and to urban fantasy. I’ll share my specific thoughts after this quick summary of the book’s premise:
“Stay out of the way of bigger dragons.” Adhering to this strategy is how Julius, runt of the Heartstrikers dragon clan, has managed to survive. But when his mother Bethesda strips him of his powers, traps him in human form, and packs him off to the DFZ, a city built on the ruins of Old Detroit where ancient spirits reign and magic flows rampant but dragons are forbidden, Julius is suddenly faced with an ultimatum: prove he’s a real dragon by demonstrating some ruthless ambition in less than a month, or Bethesda, proud matriarch of the Heartstrikers, will end his short, unaccomplished life. His assignment? To capture a runaway dragon and return her to the rival Three Sisters clan, with nothing to aid him but a magical bracelet that will bind her…if he can get close enough. Julius—the nicest, most un-draconic dragon in his clan—is determined to get the job done without resorting to tactics of cruelty, greed, or betrayal like the rest of his siblings. But how?
That’s when he meets Marci Novalli, a young woman on the run who is seeking work in the DFZ as a mage, someone trained in the arts of curse breaking and magical warding services. Though most dragons regard humans as an inferior species, Julius takes a sincere interest in Marci—not only in the help she can offer him but also in the possibility of something he’s never experienced before: friendship. As they race together against time and the limitations of magic in human form, Julius and Marci discover not only that their fates are connected but also that they are up against a much grander scheme than a mere runaway dragon. The future of Julius’s family and Marci’s survival are at stake. Can a dragon runt and a human mage take on all the ancient and malevolent forces bent on destroying them?
So, my thoughts: The title is what initially hooked me. Nice Dragons Finish Last has a playful sense of humor I couldn’t resist. True to the title, author Rachel Aaron writes in a teasing style that had me wondering what was going to happen next and at the same time relieved some of the tension here and there with humorous quips from the characters. And that’s what kept me reading: the characters. Julius is intriguing because as a self-conscious dragon he seems oddly comfortable in his human form, and his stubborn determination to get his way through diplomacy rather than the usual draconic ruthlessness makes him endearing. It’s also interesting to see how the other dragons reveal their personalities in human form. Marci is my favorite, though—not only because she stands out as one of the few true humans in the story, but also because she has this really appealing combination of wide-eyed curiosity and unwavering self-confidence in the face of dragons who are much older and more powerful than she is. Plus, she has a ghost cat—I mean, come on, how can anyone trump that?
I suspect Nice Dragons Finish Last is on the lighter end of the urban fantasy spectrum. Although it has plenty of intrigue, suspense, and close brushes with death, it’s not as gritty as I expected, which for me is a plus. I have this funny preference for keeping my appetite while reading—especially since I’m often eating while reading. So I don’t know whether hard-core urban fantasy fans will be satisfied, but I think if you like your fantasy rolled with action, great characters, and a generous dollop of humor, you’ll enjoy this one.
“Stay out of the way of bigger dragons.” Adhering to this strategy is how Julius, runt of the Heartstrikers dragon clan, has managed to survive. But when his mother Bethesda strips him of his powers, traps him in human form, and packs him off to the DFZ, a city built on the ruins of Old Detroit where ancient spirits reign and magic flows rampant but dragons are forbidden, Julius is suddenly faced with an ultimatum: prove he’s a real dragon by demonstrating some ruthless ambition in less than a month, or Bethesda, proud matriarch of the Heartstrikers, will end his short, unaccomplished life. His assignment? To capture a runaway dragon and return her to the rival Three Sisters clan, with nothing to aid him but a magical bracelet that will bind her…if he can get close enough. Julius—the nicest, most un-draconic dragon in his clan—is determined to get the job done without resorting to tactics of cruelty, greed, or betrayal like the rest of his siblings. But how?
That’s when he meets Marci Novalli, a young woman on the run who is seeking work in the DFZ as a mage, someone trained in the arts of curse breaking and magical warding services. Though most dragons regard humans as an inferior species, Julius takes a sincere interest in Marci—not only in the help she can offer him but also in the possibility of something he’s never experienced before: friendship. As they race together against time and the limitations of magic in human form, Julius and Marci discover not only that their fates are connected but also that they are up against a much grander scheme than a mere runaway dragon. The future of Julius’s family and Marci’s survival are at stake. Can a dragon runt and a human mage take on all the ancient and malevolent forces bent on destroying them?
So, my thoughts: The title is what initially hooked me. Nice Dragons Finish Last has a playful sense of humor I couldn’t resist. True to the title, author Rachel Aaron writes in a teasing style that had me wondering what was going to happen next and at the same time relieved some of the tension here and there with humorous quips from the characters. And that’s what kept me reading: the characters. Julius is intriguing because as a self-conscious dragon he seems oddly comfortable in his human form, and his stubborn determination to get his way through diplomacy rather than the usual draconic ruthlessness makes him endearing. It’s also interesting to see how the other dragons reveal their personalities in human form. Marci is my favorite, though—not only because she stands out as one of the few true humans in the story, but also because she has this really appealing combination of wide-eyed curiosity and unwavering self-confidence in the face of dragons who are much older and more powerful than she is. Plus, she has a ghost cat—I mean, come on, how can anyone trump that?
I suspect Nice Dragons Finish Last is on the lighter end of the urban fantasy spectrum. Although it has plenty of intrigue, suspense, and close brushes with death, it’s not as gritty as I expected, which for me is a plus. I have this funny preference for keeping my appetite while reading—especially since I’m often eating while reading. So I don’t know whether hard-core urban fantasy fans will be satisfied, but I think if you like your fantasy rolled with action, great characters, and a generous dollop of humor, you’ll enjoy this one.
on November 8, 2016
I have loved Rachel Aaron’s work since I read her Legend of Eli Monpress series. I was hesitant for a little while about reading this, because I was afraid I’d be disappointed. I’m so glad I took a chance and picked it up though, because I absolutely loved it. It’s so incredible to me that Rachel Aaron self-published this series!
WORLD
So in this urban fantasy world, everyone knows about dragons -and the dragon clans. Julius is a member of the Heartstriker clan, which is pretty much an enormous clan. So big that every “generation” starts with a letter of the alphabet. Julius is thus one of the youngest, as his name starts with a J -so there are 9 groups of dragon-children before him.
A lot of this story plays out in the DFZ (does that stand for Dragon Free Zone? I don’t remember) which is ruled by a sea-godlike-creature who hates dragons. Dragons aren’t allowed in the DFZ. So Julius has to be careful, while trying to fulfill his mission. I love the fact that Julius had to stay low during this novel, because we got to know the darker parts of the DFZ, as well as the wealthy parts.
I really loved the setting of this book. Because it’s urban fantasy, there is still such a big part of the world you can relate to. Yet you have these amazing elements added: magic, dragons, seeers.
PLOT
The story starts when Julius gets punished by his mother, Bethesda, the ruler of the clan. She believes that Julius is a disappointment for dragons everywhere. Dragons are supposed to be masters of manipulation, deceit and success. They infiltrate the highest levels of any sector that suits them. Whether that’s political or corporate/financial. If it’s profitable or gives power, they’re there. But Julius doesn’t want to do any of that. He wants to be left alone so he can play video games or interact with his human gaming friends instead of his family. So Bethesda seals him in his human form -so he can’t become a dragon anymore- drops him in the DFZ and orders him to prove himself as a dragon. Either prove yourself, or die.
I really enjoyed the action-packed plot of this novel. Julius frantically trying to save his own life, yet stick to his character. I really like books with politics, schemes and intrigue, and this book was filled with it. Because dragons are so manipulative, Julius not only needs to survive but try to uncover all the threads of the web he’s stuck in.
CHARACTERS
Julius is such a fun main character. First of all, he’s extremely likable. I just love him, for the same reason his dragon family doesn’t: he’s so nice. Yet not stupid or naive. Actually, they sometimes call him Julius the Nice Dragon. It’s meant to be insulting of course, but I’d take it as a compliment. I love how smart Julius is, and how witty. He loves his family -or the part he’s met at least- yet at the same time doesn’t want to be like them.
Family is such a prominent aspect in this book. Not just Julius’ family, but Marci’s too. Marci is the main female character, a human magician. Her story revolves around her father basically. I love family ties and struggles in books, because family is such a big part of my life. Although my family is nowhere near as crazy/big as the Heartstrikers clan is. I really loved the dynamics between the family members. Bethesda, a mother, yet a ruthless ruler of her clan. Justin, Julius’ brother, who loves him yet is basically the complete opposite. It’s fun to read about.
I’m urging everyone to read this. Everyone. It’s such a fun urban fantasy story with family and schemes/intrigue at its heart. Julius is such a likable character, you’ll be rooting for him throughout the whole book. And lastly, Rachel Aaron self-published this book. I’m so in awe of her for creating this and getting it out there on her own, I’d love to support it.
WORLD
So in this urban fantasy world, everyone knows about dragons -and the dragon clans. Julius is a member of the Heartstriker clan, which is pretty much an enormous clan. So big that every “generation” starts with a letter of the alphabet. Julius is thus one of the youngest, as his name starts with a J -so there are 9 groups of dragon-children before him.
A lot of this story plays out in the DFZ (does that stand for Dragon Free Zone? I don’t remember) which is ruled by a sea-godlike-creature who hates dragons. Dragons aren’t allowed in the DFZ. So Julius has to be careful, while trying to fulfill his mission. I love the fact that Julius had to stay low during this novel, because we got to know the darker parts of the DFZ, as well as the wealthy parts.
I really loved the setting of this book. Because it’s urban fantasy, there is still such a big part of the world you can relate to. Yet you have these amazing elements added: magic, dragons, seeers.
PLOT
The story starts when Julius gets punished by his mother, Bethesda, the ruler of the clan. She believes that Julius is a disappointment for dragons everywhere. Dragons are supposed to be masters of manipulation, deceit and success. They infiltrate the highest levels of any sector that suits them. Whether that’s political or corporate/financial. If it’s profitable or gives power, they’re there. But Julius doesn’t want to do any of that. He wants to be left alone so he can play video games or interact with his human gaming friends instead of his family. So Bethesda seals him in his human form -so he can’t become a dragon anymore- drops him in the DFZ and orders him to prove himself as a dragon. Either prove yourself, or die.
I really enjoyed the action-packed plot of this novel. Julius frantically trying to save his own life, yet stick to his character. I really like books with politics, schemes and intrigue, and this book was filled with it. Because dragons are so manipulative, Julius not only needs to survive but try to uncover all the threads of the web he’s stuck in.
CHARACTERS
Julius is such a fun main character. First of all, he’s extremely likable. I just love him, for the same reason his dragon family doesn’t: he’s so nice. Yet not stupid or naive. Actually, they sometimes call him Julius the Nice Dragon. It’s meant to be insulting of course, but I’d take it as a compliment. I love how smart Julius is, and how witty. He loves his family -or the part he’s met at least- yet at the same time doesn’t want to be like them.
Family is such a prominent aspect in this book. Not just Julius’ family, but Marci’s too. Marci is the main female character, a human magician. Her story revolves around her father basically. I love family ties and struggles in books, because family is such a big part of my life. Although my family is nowhere near as crazy/big as the Heartstrikers clan is. I really loved the dynamics between the family members. Bethesda, a mother, yet a ruthless ruler of her clan. Justin, Julius’ brother, who loves him yet is basically the complete opposite. It’s fun to read about.
I’m urging everyone to read this. Everyone. It’s such a fun urban fantasy story with family and schemes/intrigue at its heart. Julius is such a likable character, you’ll be rooting for him throughout the whole book. And lastly, Rachel Aaron self-published this book. I’m so in awe of her for creating this and getting it out there on her own, I’d love to support it.
on July 4, 2016
Awesome right! I love Rachel’s summaries. I am already emotionally invested because Julius seems so relatable already. I mean who doesn’t want to root for the under dog and how bad are these dragons really? Pretty bad….trust me. Julius gets a rough pill to swallow in the beginning and within the first chapter you already want to hug this adorable dragon!
(Reminder these are my personal opinions and I am in no way representing the author of the book, the publishing company or any franchises attached to the books I review.)
Scoring factors:
Originality- As usual Rachel doesn’t parry ideas from other authors. She has magic in her stories but its not the hocus pocus magic school you see in so many stories now a days, (not that they aren’t good just that there is a lot of them.) Anyway, this has magic and dragons in a way that you don’t expect to see them and they back story behind why everything is here is slipped in subtly without pulling you away from the main screen. The world building is awesome and takes you to a city that I would be taking thousands of pictures every step. I wish this was a manga cuz I really want to see this world illustrated.
Predictability- pfft none, Rachel seems to know exactly what to write to make you not know what coming or how to take it when it happens, I mean you are literally just as surprised as Julius and Marcy.
Readability- This book doesn’t really have a rating and is pretty short by most book standards with only 287 pages. I found it to be fun and full of Rachels signature humor and is enjoyable for any age of reader.
Wow Factor- Since this was one of the first books I read from Rachel I was hands down blown away. If I gushed too much on her Eli Monpress review than I am gushing even more here because she really is one of the best authors I have found since JK Rowling and the amount of enjoyment I get from her books is comparable to Cassandra Clare and PC Cast. I loveeeeeee this book, its so good and the characters figure out their problems and deal with them its so inspirational.
Topic- Here there is a lot of self discovery since Julius doesn’t know who he is or what he wants to be and this indecisiveness and lack of drive is what gets him into trouble in the first place. He may be a pushover but he in no way lets others do what they want..aside from his mother…and older brothers and sisters but listen, he is a tough little lizard! I found his journey here to be very fun to read as well as Marcy’s this girl is the s***zzzzznet.
Over all score- 10 out of 10
I cant get over how good this book is. I of course am looking for all sorts of sparkles and flare in a book but also substance and this book has it all. I am so glad that there is 4 more of these to come because I am biting my nails for what might happen!
(Reminder these are my personal opinions and I am in no way representing the author of the book, the publishing company or any franchises attached to the books I review.)
Scoring factors:
Originality- As usual Rachel doesn’t parry ideas from other authors. She has magic in her stories but its not the hocus pocus magic school you see in so many stories now a days, (not that they aren’t good just that there is a lot of them.) Anyway, this has magic and dragons in a way that you don’t expect to see them and they back story behind why everything is here is slipped in subtly without pulling you away from the main screen. The world building is awesome and takes you to a city that I would be taking thousands of pictures every step. I wish this was a manga cuz I really want to see this world illustrated.
Predictability- pfft none, Rachel seems to know exactly what to write to make you not know what coming or how to take it when it happens, I mean you are literally just as surprised as Julius and Marcy.
Readability- This book doesn’t really have a rating and is pretty short by most book standards with only 287 pages. I found it to be fun and full of Rachels signature humor and is enjoyable for any age of reader.
Wow Factor- Since this was one of the first books I read from Rachel I was hands down blown away. If I gushed too much on her Eli Monpress review than I am gushing even more here because she really is one of the best authors I have found since JK Rowling and the amount of enjoyment I get from her books is comparable to Cassandra Clare and PC Cast. I loveeeeeee this book, its so good and the characters figure out their problems and deal with them its so inspirational.
Topic- Here there is a lot of self discovery since Julius doesn’t know who he is or what he wants to be and this indecisiveness and lack of drive is what gets him into trouble in the first place. He may be a pushover but he in no way lets others do what they want..aside from his mother…and older brothers and sisters but listen, he is a tough little lizard! I found his journey here to be very fun to read as well as Marcy’s this girl is the s***zzzzznet.
Over all score- 10 out of 10
I cant get over how good this book is. I of course am looking for all sorts of sparkles and flare in a book but also substance and this book has it all. I am so glad that there is 4 more of these to come because I am biting my nails for what might happen!
on July 5, 2015
A nice dragon. How could we resist?
Yes, this story features mobsters, demonic cats, hippie wizards, and of course whole clans of dragons on the verge of warring with each other. But more than anything it's about the plight of little Julius, the one Heartstriker who's sealed into human form and trying to muster enough ruthlessness to keep his (psychotic) mother and (assassin) sister from killing him as an embarrassment. And of course Marci, the desperate and (almost) equally sweet human mage that falls into his path and helps him "grow his fangs"-- on his own terms.
There's enough Jim Butcher-esque high speed magical battle here to keep us on our toes, not to mention draconic schemes within schemes. But Julius's growth and his synergy with Marci is the kind of plot where we can see every step coming-- we're just cheering all the way, plus Julius does do a convincing job of keeping his growing integrity by finding honest, non-manipulative solutions to the web of lies. (The author also says "Julius and Marci are so perfect for each other it's painful," and there's no doubting that either.)
And then there's his battle-happy brother, and his *other* brother-- the babbling, pigeon-loving seer, Bob... (It would have to be "Bob.")
It's a lively, colorful romp that never loses its cozy heart. And the next book is in August...
Yes, this story features mobsters, demonic cats, hippie wizards, and of course whole clans of dragons on the verge of warring with each other. But more than anything it's about the plight of little Julius, the one Heartstriker who's sealed into human form and trying to muster enough ruthlessness to keep his (psychotic) mother and (assassin) sister from killing him as an embarrassment. And of course Marci, the desperate and (almost) equally sweet human mage that falls into his path and helps him "grow his fangs"-- on his own terms.
There's enough Jim Butcher-esque high speed magical battle here to keep us on our toes, not to mention draconic schemes within schemes. But Julius's growth and his synergy with Marci is the kind of plot where we can see every step coming-- we're just cheering all the way, plus Julius does do a convincing job of keeping his growing integrity by finding honest, non-manipulative solutions to the web of lies. (The author also says "Julius and Marci are so perfect for each other it's painful," and there's no doubting that either.)
And then there's his battle-happy brother, and his *other* brother-- the babbling, pigeon-loving seer, Bob... (It would have to be "Bob.")
It's a lively, colorful romp that never loses its cozy heart. And the next book is in August...
