How far can a friendly dragon get in the world?

The nicest dragon in the universe slowly wins people over with his sincerity in Rachel Bach's One Good Dragon Deserves Another.

Note: One Good Dragon Deserves Another is the second book in the Heartstrikers series. For the first book, Nice Dragon Finish Last, click here. Otherwise, read on!

A mother's love can be...difficult at best.

Dragons have a certain image to uphold. Vicious, ruthless and driven, they can be found both  as leaders of corporations and heads of underground organizations. Predators by nature, and clannish as well, being born a dragon is a dangerous, competitive situation.

In Rachel Aaron's Nice Dragons Finish Last, Julius has a problem. As the youngest and smallest Heartstriker, he's constantly surrounded by stronger, more powerful siblings. As a result, he's become very, very good at being unassuming. Since getting in the way of his family would more than likely make his remaining time on Earth rather unpleasant he simply stays out of their way, mostly playing video games in his room.

Such passive behavior is NOT what his mother has in mind. As the second most powerful Draconic clan - and certainly the largest - such a blemish on her reputation simply cannot be tolerated. She'd much rather simply order his death by one of her enforcers, but she's nothing if not fair, and that means giving him a chance to redeem himself.

And this is how Julian has found himself kicked out of the clan house with just the shirt on his back. He's told that has until the end of the month to earn his way back into the clan, or else he'll be permanently exiled - or worse. 

But that's just too easy for a Heartstriker, so his mother Bethesda turns it up to hard mode. If he wants to live as a stupid weak human, she's more than happy to oblige. She's sealed away his magic, leaving him to earn his way back into her good graces with none of the benefits of dragon-hood.

Even though he can't access the benefits of being a dragon, the threats are still all too real. He's been dropped off in the Detroit Free Zone. When magic re-entered the world, the spirit of Lake St Clare Algonquin flooded the old city of Detroit, and claimed the area as her own. On top of the ruins, a shining city has been built, but dragons are expressly forbidden. So long with trying to make a name for himself, he can't make so much of a name that Algonquin or her guards notice.

As ruthless as his siblings can be, they still try to help each other out. Ian, one of Julius' older brothers, has a mission for him. He's been dating a dragoness named Svena, a daughter of the Heartstriker's rivals, the Three Sisters. Svena's youngest sister Katya has run away from home again, and she needs someone to retrieve her. He's the only dragon who is unassuming and non-threatening to get within a mile of Katya, and all he needs to do is get a bracelet with a binding spell on her.

Of course, a soft-hearted guy like Julius couldn't just take an easy job and do it. As the job progresses, he starts to wonder why Katya wants to escape her family so badly. He knows how bad it can be to be the outcast in a clan, and perhaps he has more in common with Katya than anyone realizes.

Along the way, he also runs into a mage name Marci, who might actually be in more trouble than he is. But with his powers locked away, he needs all the help he can get. And for a human, Marci is a heck of a lot of fun.

Rachel Aaron, who also writes under the name Rachel Bach, is a master of fiction that draws you and and just won't let go. Her books keep you in 'just one more chapter' mode, and before you know it, your alarm clock is going off. Well plotted, thoroughly thought out and carefully edited, Aaron's first foray into self-publishing shows none of the problems that plague the budding industry. Nice Dragons Finish Last is an addictive, immensely enjoyable read that, as is the case with all of Aaron's works, leaves that reader eagerly anticipating the next story.

Highs: Any chapter with Bob, the clan's Seer, ends up being a fantastic mix of comic relief and dangerous prophecy.

Lows: Hopefully, we'll get more details into the history of the Dragon clans, and the re-emergence of magic, in later books.

Verdict: A must-read for fans of urban fantasy, and a strong suggestion for readers of New Adult and general Fantasy as well.

Further Reading: Fortune's Pawn, The Legend of Eli Monpress, Princess of Wands

Sometimes, information needs to stay buried

Rachel Bach creates the rollicking SF/Romance that she had wanted to read herself in the first book of her Paradox series, Fortune's Pawn.

Deviana Morris isn't just any armored fighter, she's a gal with a plan. Having risen as far as she can in her armored company without being forced into a desk job, she spontaneously leaves her position with the Blackbirds and starts looking for the next step in her Plan.

Devi wants to be a Devastator. The best of the best of the King's Own fighting force, Devi knows that she'll have to make a name for herself before the recruiters even look her way. So when one of her closest friends suggests she take a post as security on a freighter, she's pretty suspicious. Walking in circles in her battle armor on the deck of a ship isn't generally what the Devastators are looking for on a CV. But after checking out the history of the the Glorious Fool, and realizing just how much trouble the ships gets herself into, she caves and signs up.

What she finds on board is...peculiar. Her fellow security guard Cotter is pretty much the meathead she expected when she first saw his overcompensating armor, and her roommate Novascape Starchild is a predictably spacey, but genuinely a good person.

The ship's doctor, however, is a xith'cal, a sentient lizard race better known for eating humans than patching them up. 

And their pilot is literally a giant bird, an aeon, from a violently xenophobic race whose claim to fame is being the best pilots in the known universe.

And their cook has far more charisma than any one human has a right to.

But it's the captain, Brian Caldswell who is the biggest enigma of them all. Seemingly just another captain of a trade freighter, the more Devi travels with him, the more she realizes that something's up. And as the missions get more bizarre, and more dangerous, none of what she's being told adds up. Perhaps a good merc would simply let things go unquestioned, but that's just not her style. 

Some secrets, though, are more dangerous when they come to light.

Rachel Bach has already proven her writing chops as Rachel Aaron in her Legend of Eli Monpress series, and fans of that quintet will find lots to love here as well. Seamlessly mixing humor and adventure into her science fiction, along with a hearty helping of romance, creates a perfect storm of emotions by the end. Never have I wanted to throw my reader across the room more than when I realized that the book was over, and it would be months before the next one comes out. Bach has an amazing universe created here, and in the first volume has her readers emotionally invested in the characters and eagerly anticipating the rest of the story.

Highs: Every character is so complex and multi-dimensional that their interactions are absolutely fascinating.

Lows: The unexplained strange kid character is becoming more and more common, to the point where I nearly rolled my eyes when she appeared.

Verdict: Bach specializes in the 'hook,' and keeping her readers' interest from page one, and she's done a fantastic job.

Further Reading: Honor's Knight, The Legend of Eli Monpress, The Android's Dream