Nice & Not so Nice: No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished | Review
Two wonderful protagonists & a slow burn romance make this NA Fantasy a real pleasure.
When Julius overthrew his mother and took control of his clan, he thought he was doing right by everyone. But sharing power isn’t part of any proper dragon’s vocabulary, and with one seat still open on the new ruling Council, all of Heartstriker is ready to do whatever it takes to get their claws on it, including killing the Nice Dragon who got them into this mess in the first place.
To keep his clan together and his skin intact, Julius is going to have to find a way to make his bloodthirsty siblings play fair. But there’s more going on in Heartstriker Mountain than politics. Every family has its secrets, but the skeletons in Bethesda’s closet are dragon sized, and with Algonquin’s war looming over them all, breaking his clan wide open might just be the only hope Julius has of saving it.
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Source: I received this book free in return from Audible. My opinions are my own.
BOOK DETAILS:
No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished by Rachel Aaron, read by Vikas Adam, published by Audible Studios (2016) / Length: 18 hrs 50 min
SERIES INFO:
This is Book #3 in the "Heartstrikers" series. The author confirmed on Twitter that there will be 2 more books (for a total of 5) and that she hopes to publish them both in 2017.
**This review may contain minor spoilers for the previous books.**
SUMMARY:
You really should be reading this series. Each book builds the story and the characters further. So much happens in this book; yet I don't want to spoil anything, so this review won't have a lot of details.
CHARACTERS:
Julius: Although I don't always agree with his decisions, I am very impressed by how much he has grown. By the end of this book he knows who he is, what he wants, and what he is willing to do to get it. And he is not ashamed of any of it.
Marci: She too has continued to grow beyond the alternately sweet & mercenary person she was in the first book. Although she is still overly rash in some of her decisions, she tries to do what's best for everyone when it all hits the fan.
Julius & Marci: Quite a bit of inner progress in made in this relationship, though not a lot happens.
Although I am not a proponent of using violence to resolve problems in the real word, I think someone should do them all a favor and get rid of Bethesda. / I really feel for Chelsie, despite her having made some poor decisions (and I'm not talking about the one that landed her in her predicament). / Ghost is more interesting all the time, including his jealousy over Marci's feelings for Julius. / Amelia, Bob, Ian, Justin, and Svena are back as well. And we get to meet some great new characters, of course.
WORLDBUILDING:
Tons more information about the world & how it works are revealed. I'm not going to say anything more since most of it would be spoilers
PLOT:
The beginning was well done. It picks up right after the previous one ended. Although she does a good job with trying to fill you in on what has happened, I really wouldn't recommend reading these out of order. There is just too much nuance in the characters and their relationships that would be missed if you do.
The ending is definitely a cliffhanger. The election is resolved, but everything else is left wide open.
HIGHLIGHTS / CAUTIONS:
- Marci is put into the human daycare area to wait for Julius.
- Julius stands up to more than one older brother (although I don't always agree with him.)
- Marci & Ghost are there for each other every time (the final bits are especially full of feels).
I COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT: Dragon morals (still) / A vulgar sexual innuendo made by Marci while drunk.
OTHER CAUTIONS: Amelia is still an alcoholic and encourages others to drink as well. / There's quite a bit of violence, as usual. And there is a scene of what could be called suicide.
NARRATION:
Character voices differentiated = Yes / Opposite sex voices acceptable = Yes / Accents = Good / Phrasing, Pacing & Pronunciation = Good / Emoting = Good / Speed = listened on 1.25, my usual
He did his usual excellent job. I might quit listening if they ever changed narrators.
BOOK DETAILS:
No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished (Heartstrikers #3) by Rachel Aaron, read by Vikas Adam, published by Audible Studios (2016) / Length: 18 hrs 50 min Buy Now | +Goodreads
Talk to Me (pretty please)
- Can you recommend a good (non-erotic) dragon book/series?
- How about one with a truly "nice" protagonist?
- Do you prefer slow burn romances (those that take most of the series to develop) or something a bit quicker?
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- If you are a first time visitor, how did you discover my blog?
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