booksandcats
Written on Sep 4, 2022
- ISBN10 1500506338
- ISBN13 9781500506339
- Publish Date 11 July 2014
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 286
- Language English
Reviews
jesstheaudiobookworm
Written on Aug 26, 2020
EBookObsessed
Written on Jun 17, 2020
ross91
Written on Jul 9, 2019
It’s not a bad book... I’m just not interested
Melanie
Written on Oct 28, 2015
Julius is a young dragon. He isn’t like other dragons. He doesn’t feel any need to be ambitious and take advantage of the weak, especially humans. Ever since he was let out of training, he has been hiding in his room being a professional college student (I so wish I could that), and doing everything in his power to avoid his more powerful siblings and his mother. He wanted to go unnoticed. This is until his mother figures out his plan and kicks him out.
Julius is sent to Detroit with just the clothes on his back. He is forced to work for his brother and do something to show his mother his worth as a dragon or she will eat him. One of his older brothers and a seer sent him a phone with money on it (this is how they use money in the future instead of credit cards), but it isn’t much. Julius is charged with finding another dragon in this town and bring her back to her sisters. Oh, and Detroit is controlled by Algonquin, the Lady of the Great Lakes, and she hates dragons.
Julius hires Marci to help him find this dragon. The dragon is supposed to be at a mage party so he needs to fit in to get into the party. She is going to help him. They instantly hit it off. They become fast friends, with the potential to be more. She is a mage who isn’t without her own issues. She has a mob boss after her.
You can tell the age of siblings based on their name. Each clutch was all named with the same first letter with the first clutch all being As, then Bs and so on. Julius is in the newest group. The Heartstriker clan is the largest clan of dragons and many call their mom, Bathesda, a whore because each clutch has a different father. Bob is the other character in this book that really impresses me. He is the seer. He is about 800 years old. Being that old and being able to see the future has to take a toll on a person, or in this case dragon’s, psyche. He is always saying weird things, showing up out of nowhere. Oh, and he has a pet pigeon that goes everywhere with him, usually on his head.
Narration
Vikas Adam does a great job with the narration of this book. It is the first time I’ve ever listened to a book by this narrator. He really brought me into the story. I really felt like he brought out things that were important to the story like, Bathesda’s rage and Bob’s weirdness. He did a great job with male and female voices. I was always able to tell which character was talking. His pace and tone were great. Highly recommended.
Kate (Blogging with Dragons)
Written on Aug 24, 2015
Julius is a dragon of a large and infamous clan named the Heartstriker. But unlike his fearsome brother and sisters, he doesn't see people as tools to be acquired and discarded, he isn't greedy or ruthless, he doesn't try to take things over, and well, he's nice. Too nice, according to his mother, the clan founder and famous dragon Bethesda. She decries, “Being a disappointment within your own family is one thing, but can you imagine what would happen if the rest of the world found out that my son, my son, spends his days locked in his room playing video games with humans? Humans, Julius. And you don't even win!” (Let's ignore how well I can relate to the not winning part xD)
If this acerbic barb weren't enough, she declares that she should've eaten him years ago. Instead, Bethesda seals all of Julius's magical dragon powers and throws him into the one place where dragons are illegal, the Detroit Free Zone (DFZ for short). It is there where Julius meets a capable mage named Marci, who's on the run from some serious thugs who even murdered her father. But Julius soon finds out that Marci is anything but your typical damsel in distress. Teaming up, the two face trouble not just limited to thugs, but also demonic ghost cats, magic eaters, rival dragon clans, and possibly most troubling, other members of the Hearstrikers clan. Most notable of these Hearstrikers is Bob, Julius's eccentric older brother, who actually is both one of the three most renowned seers in the world and one of the most feared and threatening dragons in existence, enjoys life by stirring up trouble and watching Julius's latest efforts. Notably, this is all while having a pigeon on his head.
Through all of these difficulties, Julius and Marci form a solid friendship, with the strong possibility of something more developing. But this romance isn't too much or sickening, in fact, it's just the right amount of sweet. And for Julius, it's everything. Marci is the first creature—dragon or human—to even thank him! But she goes even further than that, making Julius feel like a worthwhile person and soon, despite the fact that “friendship was as undraconic as generosity.....when he clenched his fists and stepped up to stand beside Marci, Julius felt more draconic than he had in a long, long time.”
The relationship between these two characters and the emergence of Julius's newfound confidence is purely a delight to read. What's more is that when Marci finally finds out that Julius is a dragon, she blows his mind, by being the first creature ever to proclaim that he is, in fact, a “fantastic” one. I could literally feel my heart swell with happiness for Julius, that's how attached I became to these characters. Besides this great friendship, I also love that Julius doesn't lose his sense of self when he becomes more confident in his own abilities. Instead of becoming more like his sword wielding, prone-to-violence siblings, Julius maintains his strong moral compass, claiming “...if I'm going to be taking risks, I'd rather take them doing what I think is right.” What a breath of fresh air Julius, the other cast of characters, and the entire book are in a genre that is often filled with overly confident, strong, and perfect heroes that often make magical overnight transitions into badasses! But Julius is still a dragon after all and even with his dragon powers sealed he still manages to take a bullet, supercharge Marci's mage powers, track down missing persons—er, dragons—, bring a first ever treaty to rival dragon clans, start his own business, and destroy dangerous magical creatures repeatedly for a bounty—all while having a dangerous dragon family breathing down his neck. I'd say that if anything this unique book proves that nice dragons finish anything but last and I can't wait to read the next book in the series (and everything else the author has ever written, for that matter).