I bought myself the most delicious, non-caloric treat: the ebook trilogy consisting of Nice Dragons Finish Last, One Good Dragon Deserves Another, and No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished by Rachel Aaron. I finished off all three books in a week!
The Heartstriker series is set in a future where magic has returned to the earth after a meteor strike, and follows two principal characters: Julius, the youngest dragon in a family of violent, ambitious power hungry dragons who doesn't have an avaricious bone in his body. Disgusted by his gentle heart and utter lack of proper draconic behavior, his mother Bethesda seals him in human form and throws him into the DFZ (the Detroit Free Zone), telling him to Dragon Up or Die, basically. Too bad dragons are forbidden in the DFZ! But it is in this city that he meets Marci, a human mage who has a mysterious bond with Ghost, a spirit feline that isn't just a cat.
So what did I love best about this series? To start, the humor is hilarious! I especially loved the fact that Marci was no damsel in distress waiting to be rescued by Julius. Much of the series is devoted to her developing her powers as a mage and discovering more about her bond with Ghost. As for the other main character--oh Julius! He is stubbornly kind, non-violent and selfless even when his own life is at risk. And it is this very unique nature of his that starts to change the rule (and rules) of dragon society. The slow and sweetly awkward romance of Marci and Julius is also a pleasure to read . . . if you don't mind having your heart wrenched out now and then (no spoilers!). I don't think I've enjoyed a dragon story so much since Princess Cimorene and Kazul in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede.
Very much looking forward to book 4!
