One Good Dragon Deserves Another: Heartstrikers, Book 2

First, you should really read Nice Dragons Finish Last so you know who all the characters are. It's a fantastic book and a superb new take on the urban fantasy genre. The sequel is a strong follow-up that further fleshes out the world and characters, while still leaving enough mysteries to be explored in the next book. Things that I loved: Julius and Marci. In the first book we get just enough of their attraction to hint that there will be future developments in that area, but they don’t immediately fall in love or jump into bed at the first chance they get. I’m not against books that do that, but a slow burn makes a nice change of pace compared to many other books in this genre. - Ghost. We learn a LOT more about this phantom kitty and it only made me want to read more! I think he and Marci are going to make a killer team in future books. - Marci. She’s had it kind of rough due to events in the first book and while I often found myself cringing in embarrassment at her dragon-related faux pas, she’s still pretty awesome and STUFF HAPPENS that makes me excited to read the next book. - The Heartstrikers. I love the whole “every clutch has names with the next letter of the alphabet“ idea. It makes me want the whole damn family tree charted out like in the Lord of the Rings appendices where I can check each name and see what became of them. Meeting new Heartstrikers, seeing more of the ones we already knew of, and learning more about the family history were all big parts of why I loved this book. Certain things I found frustrating as a reader but didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book: Bethesda. How she acts is totally fitting for her character and that world, but she’s definitely one of those characters you love to hate. I was actually partially rooting for the antagonist at several points, if only so Bethesda could get what was coming to her. - The antagonist. It’s pretty clear by the end of the prologue who the antagonist is, but I won't want to spoil it. I read a lot of first-person POV urban fantasy books, so it was tough in this book (with alternating POVs) to occasionally have to sit in the villain’s smug head, hearing all their smug thoughts about how delicious their long-awaited victory will be. - All of the yelling. There were a lot of frustrated and angry people in this book, and for good reasons! That didn’t make it any easier to read through, especially when the characters were having an argument about something stupid.

I've enjoyed the series so far. The cast of characters are well fleshed out, the setting is unique and imaginative, and the overall quality of the writing is very good. A more honest rating would be a 7/10 for me. It was an enjoyable read with only a few personal stumbling blocks. The one major tripping point for me was the romance throughout the story, or more accurately, the protagonist's part in it. It didn't in any way feel rushed or forced. Overall it was fine. I feel like the author did a great job of crafting two characters who would realistically be attracted to one another. Some combination of thought and experience were very likely put into the dynamic of the relationship, but I had a hard time stomaching much of it. I actually like a little romance in a story, but this story's romantic scenes were a little too saccharine for my tastes (personal preference). The two were a fine pair, though. The real issue for me was that the male perspective was somewhat lacking. His thoughts, in particular, seemed altogether too feminine. It wasn't so much how the character acted and reacted, that was all fine, but it's what went through his head in each scene that bothered me. It came across very strongly as "female author's best approximation of what might go through a nice guy's head," and after talking it over with my sisters, we agreed that he was thinking like a female in each romantic scene. A nice guy is still a *guy*. He thinks about a relationship the way a nice guy would think: Through a male perspective. Writing in an inherently different perspective from your own is probably pretty hard, I understand, but, given that his actions were relatable and realistic, it seems like the only real disconnect was the way he thought, and again this only applies to the romantic scenes. It just felt off. For a good example of an equal but reversed issue, see the Waldo Rabbit series. The WR story had a similar glitch (although to a much higher and, frankly, intolerable degree), but reversed, in that the female romantic interest very clearly behaves and thinks in ways that would likely cause a similar disconnect with female readers. The rest of my issues were very minor and didn't really interfere with the overall story, which was a good read, and I'm hoping to see more.

If you liked the first in the series, get the second without second thought. Although Rachel Aaron has a reputation for writing really fast, this book makes it clear she takes her time when it comes to delivering solid material. It's also appreciated that Aaron's clear plan for this series. At no point does this book feel like it was some disparate story slapped together to follow the first and leave you with some vague ending to open up another sequel. The ending leaves you satisfied and curious as to what could possibly happen in the next one. Unfortunately, the only people who know for sure are Aaron... and possibly Bob. If you're ready to re-join the Heartstriker clan, which is pretty much your typical dysfunctional family dressed up as dragons, and get a few fun surprises along the way - add to cart.

Much better than the first book, better plot, pace and characters. Also a nice setup at the end for the third book.

...und bleibt dabei auf gleich hohem Niveau. Die Charaktere sind gewohnt liebenswert, die Auftritte von Bob dem Seher einfach klasse und jeder inklusive den Nebencharakteren ist erfrischend dreidimensional. Es tut sich einiges unter den Drachen, die Machtverhältnisse ändern sich und unser aller Lieblings-Drache Julius ist mitten drin im Getümmel. Seine Mutter, Kopf des Heartstriker-Klans ist machtversessen wie immer drauf und dran, ihren Klan an die Spitze zu bringen und geht dafür ggf. auch über die Leiche ihres jüngsten Sprößlings. Wie Julius sich da wieder rauswindet und welche wesentlich größere Bedrohung von außen droht, davon handelt der zweite Band der Serie. Ich finde auch diesen Band sehr erfrischend in einem Genre, dass schon langsam etwas abgedroschen wirkt und voll mit eher mittelmäßigen Büchern ist. Auch wenn der Bekanntheitsgrad der Autorin noch nicht an die führenden Autoren des Genres heranreicht (Ilona Andrews & Co), so etabliert sich Rachel Aaron mit dieser Serie definitiv als eine der Top-Stimmen. Und mit diesem dritten Band hat sie definitiv das bislang beste Buch der Serie abgeliefert - mit vielen Hintergrundinformationen über die Drachen, Algonquin, die Seher und der Grund für die Animositäten zwischen den Drachenklans. Eingebaut ein Krieg unter den Sehern und die zunehmende Stimme von Marci macht dieses Buch zu einem must-read des Genres - aber erst nach der Lektüre vom Vorgänger Buch "Nice Dragons Finish Last".

The story continues. The characters become more richly drawn and plot moves fast. This is a really good read for all ages.

These great characters are once again highly entertaining, bad and good guys alike. Lots of twists in the plot and a new direction for the story at the end of the book... I'm opening the third book in a second!