Audiobook Review: Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

Author: Rachel Aaron

Narrator: Vikas Adam

Title: Nice Dragons Finish Last

Series: Heartstrikers #1

Genre: UF, Paranormal, SciFi

Format: Audiobook

Published: July 11, 2014

Where I got It: My shelf (gift)

Summary: 

As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don’t cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn't fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ--a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit--Julius has one month to prove that he can be a ruthless dragon or kiss his true shape goodbye forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are considered monsters to be exterminated, he’s going to need some serious help to survive this test.

He only hopes humans are more trustworthy than dragons...

Review:

Picked this for book club because I have been itching to give this a re-read. 

Julius is nice and that isn't very dragon-like, so his mother kicks him to the curb to make something of himself before he can come back to the family. He has one month. But he is dropped into the DFZ and this is a city where dragons are illegal and labeled as monsters. He will have to find an ally or two in order to make it before the deadline. 

Awwwww it feels so good going back to the beginning of the series! Love this world and love these people. Julius is so nice. Justin is a hot-head, but I am in lovveeeeee with him. Chelsea is scary. Marci is the best thing for Julius. And Bob....well.....you can't help but love him and his pet. 

There are loads of characters we get to meet but the author does a good job dancing them around the stage. It never feels confusing or overwhelming.

Honestly, it was nice getting through this much quicker. Last time I wasn't able to because of the lockdown. It took my eons and it would be days before I had a chance to really sit down and listen. This time I was able to listen to my normal pace. 

Between that and knowing what happens next...I think I like this even more than my first listen!! This series is for sure a series you can listen to multiple times. Lots of little clues and foreshadows that I didn't catch the first time. 

The narrator? Awful. JK. I love him to bits. He is fabulous. Like I've said before some of his girl voices are a touch silly, BUT he makes sure every girl voice has their own voice so you are never confused. His accents are great and fit. 

All-in-all, this series is a must listen. Sure you can read it, but where is the fun in that? Listening is the way to go. 

Originally I gave this 4 stars, but I am going to bump this up to 5 because why not???

- Favorite Character(s): Justin and Bob

- Least Favorite Character(s): Mama Heartstriker

 Challenge(s):

- Audiobook #24

Best of the Year

Welcome to the BC Awards!!! We will be showcasing our favorites from the year! We changed up the categories a little bit. We also did the top 3 TV shows (no order) since we had a hard time picking. 

Best Movie:

Blodeuedd's pick......Spider-Man: No Way Home

Carole's pick.......Prey (2022)

Best Show:

Carole's top 3 (no order).....

Blodeuedd's top 3 (no order).....

Best Book Cover:

Blodeuedd's pick.....Let It Be Me by Kate Noble

Carole's pick......Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Best Audiobook:

Blodeuedd's pick...........Storm Echo by Nalini Singh

Carole's pick........Crowbones by Anne Bishop

Best Book (ebook, paperback, hardcover): 

Carole's pick......Woman On The Wall by Robin Rivers

Blodeuedd's pick........Lapvona by Ottessa Mosfegh

Best Re-read: 

Blodeuedd's pick......Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron

Carole's pick........As The Stars Fall by Steve N. Lee

Notable Mentions: 

Carole's pick......Inseparable by David Kruh

Blodeuedd's pick......Crowbones by Anne Bishop

And that is the end of the BC Awards. I am excited to see what 2023 has in store for us!!

Best of the Year with Blodeuedd & Carole

Welcome to the BC Awards!!! Blodeuedd and Carole will be presenting awards to their favorites of 2021! 

Best Movie:

Blodeuedd's pick......DUNE

"Best movie of the year is Dune! Omg amazing and beautiful."

Carole's pick.......Fatherhood (2021)

"This has everything. Humor, tears, and joy. A must-watch."

Best Show:

Carole's pick.....Bridgerton (Season 1)

"This wins! I had a lot of shows I fell for this year, but this one takes the cake."

Blodeuedd's pick.....Shadow and Bone (Season 1)

"Who cares about whatever her name was, I can not even remember cos Ben Barnes people, Ben Barnes! OMG"

Best Book Cover:

Blodeuedd's pick.....Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

"Prettiest cover!"

Carole's pick......The Golden Gryphon and the Bear Prince by Jeffe Kennedy

"Had a lot of goodies....but this is the most stunning methinks."

Best Book:
Blodeuedd's pick...........Circe by Madeline Miller

"Best book of the year goes to Circe by Madeline Miller. I thought I knew Circe, I did not"

Carole's pick........Paris in Ruins by M.K. Tod

"This was a captivating story. It for sure is worth the read!"

Best Re-Read: 

Carole's pick......Persuasion by Jane Austen

"My favorite Austen forever. I loved the audio version just as much! This performance was fantastic!"

Blodeuedd's pick........Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

"Oops, I am doing it again, but I am re-listening to Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron, and if I have to choose the best audio I have to go with Vikas Adam!"

And that is the end of the BC Awards. I am excited to see what 2022 has in store for us!!

Best of August

Happy September!! Summer is ending? WHAAA???

Best Book of the Month:

Blodeuedd's pick..........Nice dragons finish last by Rachel Aaron

"I re-listened. So obvi it was the best book of the month."

Carole's pick......As The Stars Fall by Steve N. Lee

"A beautiful story!!!!"

Best Movie of the Month:

Carole's pick............A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

"Funny and makes you happy you live in the 21st century."

No pick for Blodeuedd this month

 

"I can not remember what I watched!"

Best TV show of the Month:

Blodeuedd's pick...........The Umbrella Academy


   

"Yay new season. Intense!"

Carole's pick........Supernatural

"Been binge-watching before the last season comes out!! Started from the beginning!"



Best Cover of the Month:

Bloduedd's pick - 

"Very sweet!"

Carole's pick - 

"Fun and beautiful!"

Audiobook Review: Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

Author: Rachel Aaron
Narrator: Vikas Adam
Title: Nice Dragons Finish Last
(Heartstrikers #1)
Genre: UF & fantasy
Format: Audiobook 
Pages: 287 
Published: July 11th 2014
Where I Got It: My shelf (Blodeuedd gave me this for Xmas)



As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don’t cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn't fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ--a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit--Julius has one month to prove that he can be a ruthless dragon or kiss his true shape goodbye forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are considered monsters to be exterminated, he’s going to need some serious help to survive this test.

He only hopes humans are more trustworthy than dragons...

Been meaning to check out this series for a while now. Thank goodness I have good friends like Blodeuedd who got me the audio for Xmas. ;) 

The story follows Julius who has survived his dragon clan by keeping to his room and staying out of the way of his family. However, Bethesda, his mother, has had enough. She banishes him to DFZ and seals him to his human form. He has to make it on his own before he can come back and he only has one month. In a city that dragons are illegal, he will need some serious help. 

This took forever to finish. Not in a bad way. Things kept getting in the way and cut seriously into my audio listening time. Especially with the lock-down taking place...BF is working at home now with me and thus there goes my listening time. I don't drive to the office anymore either so there goes that listening time. SIGHS. 

But yes - I really, really liked this story. I was hooked from page one. I simply loved the array of characters! Especially Julius' family members. 

Julius is fun and I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in the next book. I want him to succeed. Marci was fun too. She is human but way more dragon then Julius is. They are perfect for each other. 

Bob...oh Bob. You are a lovable weirdo. 

Justin....idiot. But I love him. Yes...I have a crush. ;)

Chelsea....love her too for some reason. She scares me and everyone in this world. But she is awesome. 

Mommy dearest....psycho. 

Those are just to name a few of the players here.

Even though we have a lot of characters running around, the narrator did awesome. Everyone had their own voice and it was easy to follow along. The narrator is fantastic. Some of his girl voices are eye-rolling-worthy, but he did a good job. I had heard him before so I was excited that he was the narrator for this one. I hope he does book 2!

But yes - this was a fun story. There were some slow moments that could've been snipped a bit, but I enjoyed this journey. I want Julius and Marci to be a thing! They complete each other nicely! She is human, but dragon-y. He is dragon, but with a heart of gold. Love them. 

Overall, I really liked this!! I feel the narrator really brought all these characters alive for me. He was fantastic. The story had a few slow spots, but overall, this was a good one! I can't wait to dive into book 2. In the end, I shall give this......mmmm.....4 stars. 

Challenge(s):

- #14 for Audiobook Challenge

Best of October 2017

Hi All! 

This is just a fun little meme that Blodeuedd and I are going to try  and do once a month. Give a little shout-out and "badge" of honor to our favorite book and movie of the previous month. This month we'll share our favorites of October.

First, favorite movie:

Blodeuedd selected..............Spider-Man Homecoming 

"Another meh movie month. I will go with Spidey cos at least it kept me entertained and it was a good Spiderman movie. Funny ya know."

Now, my choice for the month is.......................The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

"I didn’t really watch a lot of movies this month because of us moving. Not a lot of free time! Next month, hopefully, will be better. I’ll give the best movie to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. It is a classic and super scary and gross. If you love horror movies, this is a required watch. You can’t call yourself a horror fan unless you watched some of the old stuff that set the pace for future movies. Very gory, very scary and creepy. It is a 70’s movie so it was cheesy as cheese on cheese day. You have been warned ;) Even with the cheese, it is still a good watch. "

Now, favorite book:

First, here is my pick.................................From Beyond by HP Lovecraft

"I had a couple really, really good reads this month. So hard to choose! Mhmmm…I think I’ll say “From Beyond” by HP Lovecraft was the best in October. Yes, it was short, but it was soooooooo good. It was a great read especially during the Halloween season. Honestly though…you can read it whenever and it would still be good. It was so creepy and bizarre!"

Now, here is B's choice this month.................Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

"Omg another month with best book going to an audiobook! Yes this month i was impressed with Nice dragons finish last by Rachel Aaron cos it was funny. :)"

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

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What was your favorite book of the month? Please share below!