Summary:

Rachel Aaron's Heartstrikers Series, beginning with Nice Dragons Finish Last, is a urban fantasy set in a semi-futuristic metropolis built upon the ruins of Detroit where magic, and the creatures that depend on it, have returned after thousands of years.

It is here that Julius, the smallest and nicest dragon in the Heartstriker clan was banished, cast out from his home after his mother lost all hope and patience in her son's potential as a dragon.

He is given one chance to redeem himself and only a few weeks to do it. His task is to capture a runaway member from a rival clan and he must do it sealed in his human form. Which might be a blessing of sorts since dragons are hunted like rats in Old Detroit, now known as the DFZ.

But while his family would like Julius to show his teeth and drag the runaway dragoness back by any means necessary, he is determined to not only succeed, but to do so nicely.

====== The Dragons ======

These dragons are shape-shifters and in their dragon forms are either feathered, scaled, or a combination of both.

They are massive, even one of Julius's youngest brothers is around forty feet long in his dragon form.

They breath fire and produce their own magic while humans and many other creatures must draw on surrounding magic.

They see everything as either a tool they own, or a threat that can't be trusted.

======= Characters =======

Julius the Nice Dragon: He's the protagonist and a dragon in his early twenties. He lacks the manipulative nature that is not only present in other dragons, but seems to influence everything they do.

Marci the Mage: A young woman who is a scholar and user of magic. Her father was recently murdered by a crime lord who now has his sights on her and an artifact in her possession. She is hired by Julius to aid in his search for the dragoness on the run and she suspects something of his magical nature.

Bob, the All Knowing and All Powerful: Bob is Julius's oldest of many, many brothers. He is also his family's Seer, allowing him to see the future, or at least parts of it, and alter events in their favor. He has a dual personality, the one known as Bob who is scatter-brained and a bit crazy, and his true dragon ego who even frightens members of his own family.

Chelsie the Enforcer: Chelsie's sole purpose is to remind her fellow Heartstrikers of their place and make sure they follow the rules their mother has established.

===== Series Book Order ======

1) Nice Dragons Finish Last (2014)

2) One Good Dragon Deserves Another (2015)

3) No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished

4) A Dragon of a Different Color

5) Last Dragon Standing

===== Personal Thoughts =======

The first volume suffers from what I dislike about most urban fantasy, especially those with shape-shifters. Dragon culture is almost nonexistent in this world. They have a slightly modified mindset and eat a lot, but otherwise act just like humans and seem to prefer being human over being dragons. So their dragon form comes off as a super power more than a "true form" as it constantly referred to. This shortage of world/culture building is a common flaw of Aaron's fantasy worlds.

However, another common feature of Rachel's writing is this was very fun read, especially once I hit the 60% mark where I became almost inseparable from my kindle. So you may not get much depth, but the action and dialog was certainly entertaining and a good source of escapism, if that's what you're looking for.

Sample from Chapter One:

"Get up."

Julius woke with a jump, toppling off the slick modern couch. He landed face down on hard white carpet, smacking his knee painfully on the corner of his sister's abstract coffee table in the process. When he reached down to clutch his smarting joint, his sister kicked his hand away again with the pointed toe of her black leather flats.

"I have to be at the hospital in thirty minutes," she continued as she marched across the room to yank open the hanging blinds. "That means you need to be out of here in ten. Now get moving."

Julius rolled over and sat up, squinting against the bright ray of sunlight she'd sent stabbing across her ultra-fashionable, ultra-expensive apartment. "Good morning to you, too," he said, furtively rubbing his injured knee, which was still throbbing.

"Try afternoon," Jessica snapped. "Honestly, Julius, it's nearly five. Is this when you got up at home?" She turned with a huff, walking over to the marble breakfast bar that separated her immaculately white kitchen from the other immaculately white parts of her apartment's open floorplan. "No wonder Mother kicked you out."

Mother had kicked him out for a whole host of reasons, but Julius didn't feel like giving his sister any more ammunition, so he spent the energy he would have used explaining himself on standing up instead. "Where's your bathroom?"

She stabbed one perfectly manicured nail at the hall, and he shuffled as directed, though it still took him three tries before he found the right door. The others led into beautifully furnished bedrooms, none of which looked to be in use.

Julius sighed. Two guest bedrooms, and she'd still made him sleep on the couch. But then, Jessica had always been very conscious of where she stood in the pecking order, which was usually directly on top of Julius's head. The only reason she'd let him sleep here at all was because he was her brother, and the consequences for not helping family were dire. In any case, it wasn't like he was in a position to complain. When you found yourself shoved off a private plane into a strange airport at dawn with nothing but the clothes on your back, you took what you could get.

He found the bathroom and showered as fast as he could only to get right back into the same faded T-shirt and jeans he'd slept in, because what else was there to wear? He didn't even have a toothbrush, and he wasn't about to risk Jessica's wrath by using hers. In the end, he had to settle for mostly clean, raking his shaggy black hair into some semblance of order with his fingers and wishing he'd had a chance to get it trimmed before his life had gone down the drain. Of course, if he'd had any advanced warning of last night's personal armageddon, he wouldn't have wasted it on a haircut.

By the time he emerged into the living room again, Jessica was dressed for work in a pants suit, her long, blond-dyed hair pulled back in a tight French twist. She sat in the kitchen, perched on a silver bar stool like a model in an interior design magazine as she sipped coffee from a minimalist white mug. Naturally, she hadn't made any for him.

"Here," she said when she saw him, shoving a sleek, black metal rectangle across the marble countertop. "This is for you."

Julius's breath caught in amazement. "You got me a phone?"

Jessica rolled her brilliant green eyes, the only family feature they shared. "Of course not. Unlike you, I know how to be a dragon, which means I don't give out freebies just to be nice." She hissed the last word through sharpening teeth, letting a bit of her true nature show before resuming her human mask. "It's from Bob."

Julius snatched back the hand he'd been reaching toward the phone. Bob was his oldest brother and their dragon clan's seer. He was also insane. Presents from him tended to explode. But the phone looked normal enough, and Julius had already been kicked out of his home and dropped in a strange city without a dollar to his name. Really, how much worse could today get?

He picked up the feather-light piece of electronics with tentative fingers. Cursed gift or not, this phone was much nicer than the old one he'd been forced to leave behind. As soon as the metal contacts on the back touched his skin, the phone's augmented reality system blended seamlessly into his own ambient magic. After a second's calibration, the air above the phone flickered, and a 3D interface appeared. He was still getting used to the beautifully designed, almost unusably small icons floating above his hand when a flashing message appeared directly in front of his face, titled THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT.

Hesitantly, Julius reached up to tap the floating message. The moment his finger passed through the icon, a short paragraph appeared, the glowing letters hovering seemingly in thin air.

My Dearest Brother,

Sorry I didn't warn about Mother's incoming Upset. I foresaw it last year and simply forgot to tell you due to other VAST AND SERIOUS events currently unfolding. To make it up to you, I've taken the liberty of preparing the proper credentials for your new Life in the Big City. I can only hope it's all still valid, seeing how I'm putting this phone in the mail to you four months before you'll need it, but We Do What We Must. I've also set you up with some money from my private hoard to make the transition a little easier. Try not to spend it all in one place!

Hearts and kisses, your infallible and all-knowing brother,

Bob

PS: I almost forgot to give you your advice for the day. You must be a GENTLEMAN above all else, and a gentleman never refuses to help a desperate lady. You're welcome.