Book & Audio Review: A Dragon of a Different Color by Rachel Aaron

A Dragon of a Different Color
Author: Rachel Aaron
Narrator: Vikas Adam
Series: Heartstrikers (Book 4)
Publication: Audible Studios (September 12, 2017); Aaron/Bach (July 28, 2017)
Length: 21 hours and 25 minutes; 525 p.

Description: To save his family from his tyrannical mother, Julius had to step on a lot of tails. That doesn’t win a Nice Dragon many friends, but just when he thinks he’s starting to make progress, a new threat arrives. Turns out, things can get worse. Heartstriker hasn’t begun to pay for its secrets, and the dragons of China are here to collect. When the Golden Emperor demands his surrender, Julius will have to choose between loyalty to the sister who's always watched over him and preserving the clan he gave everything to protect.

My Thoughts: The fourth Heartstrikers story sees lots of changes. With Marci dead (sort of), Julius is heartbroken but needs to put it aside when the Chinese dragons come to invade Heartstriker Mountain. The terms are too good to be true and puts Julius right in the middle of secrets Chelsie has been hiding for over 600 years.

Meanwhile, Marci is struggling to become a Merlin, fix the magic that is almost terminally broken, and find a way to get back to her human life and Julius. She is aided in her plans by Amelia who has goals of her own and Raven who also has been plotting to his own ends.

And the DFZ has become a Mortal Spirit due to Algonquin's efforts with Sir Myron as the human who is bonded to her. The two don't get along at all since Sir Myron has decided what has to happen to make everything come out right and can't see that a scorched Earth policy is good for anyone. 

Algonquin with its ally Leviathan - a Nameless End from outside of the planes - has declared war on the DFZ and all other Mortal Spirits. The action shifts to the DFZ where dragons, spirits, and Marci are gathering to try to stop plans that will destroy the plane. 

This was an engaging story with intriguing characters, lots of action, and lots of moral dilemmas. 

Favorite Quote:

The DFZ was Algonquin's Mortal Spirit. Not just the physical city, but the idea of it, the addictive promise of a city of absolute freedom that had been hammered down through countless movies, shows, novels, and video games ove the past sixty years. The concept of the DFZ as a place where anything could happen and anyone could go to start a new life was so common, it was its own family of clichés, and that was the entire point.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.