88th out of 667 books
—
1,185 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers, #1)” as Want to Read:
Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers #1)
by
Rachel Aaron (Goodreads Author)
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 ...more
Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ ...more
Kindle Edition, 490 pages
Published
July 13th 2014
by Aaron/Bach, LLC
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Nice Dragons Finish Last,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Nice Dragons Finish Last
Community Reviews
(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

I'm still debating whether to put Nice Dragons finish last in my list of favorites...I'll wait to see how I feel about the sequel.
Ok, ok, how do I start. I was freaking bored with this book... XD Yep, that's how I felt at first. Julius, the protagonist, was too nice, too misunderstood, too predictable. The supporting cast failed to impress me too, as if they all had a couple of personality traits and that was it (the nasty and dangerous big sister; the crazy, all-knowing brother; the hyper-activ ...more
4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/03/10/a...
I found this book surprisingly enjoyable…or perhaps that ought not to be so surprising. After all, I loved The Spirit Thief and the rollicking sci-fi Paradox trilogy that the author wrote under her pen name Rachel Bach. Still, combining dragons, magic, dystopia, humor and urban fantasy? Seemed just a tad ambitious. But boy, does Aaron pull it off with flying colors. I think Nice Dragons Finish Last may be my favorite boo ...more
I found this book surprisingly enjoyable…or perhaps that ought not to be so surprising. After all, I loved The Spirit Thief and the rollicking sci-fi Paradox trilogy that the author wrote under her pen name Rachel Bach. Still, combining dragons, magic, dystopia, humor and urban fantasy? Seemed just a tad ambitious. But boy, does Aaron pull it off with flying colors. I think Nice Dragons Finish Last may be my favorite boo ...more
Full review over at Fantasy Book Critic
ANALYSIS: Once Rachel Aaron mentioned this book to me in one of our email correspondence, I
4.5 stars! I am giving the sequel a space to grow! I loved it and can not wait for the next one!!! It is not a secret that I am nuts about dragons and my all time favorite series is about the flying magical beasts, so my falling for this book was not particularly surprising. What did surprise me was the ease with which the author emersed us in this magic infused world and the Heartstriker family politics. Everything unfolds with increasing pace and the end promises a lot more fun to follow! love
...more
Very enjoyable start to a new fantasy trilogy by the author of Fortune's Pawn. This story is full of dangerous magical creatures who returned to the world after a comet strike in 2035. Julius is the black sheep of his family because he refuses to act like a dragon. His mother takes away his power to shift to dragon form and drops him penniless in the middle of the Detroit Free Zone, a place where dragons are killed on sight. He teams up with a mage (Marci) on the run from her father's killer and
...more
3.5/5; 4 stars; B+
I can't recall where I read about this author trying her hand at self--publishing with this book but I thought I'd check it out, mostly because I like dragons, humour, and magic. I am glad I did check it out and will definitely read more by Rachel Aaron.
This book had the feel of a story written for youth but it is not immature or 'bopperish'. The main characters; a young dragon shape-shifter, on the outs with his clan because he's "too nice", and a young mage, on the run from ...more
I can't recall where I read about this author trying her hand at self--publishing with this book but I thought I'd check it out, mostly because I like dragons, humour, and magic. I am glad I did check it out and will definitely read more by Rachel Aaron.
This book had the feel of a story written for youth but it is not immature or 'bopperish'. The main characters; a young dragon shape-shifter, on the outs with his clan because he's "too nice", and a young mage, on the run from ...more
When this book first came my way, I didn’t recognize the name Rachel Aaron and was surprised when a friend talked about her like she’s someone I’m supposed to be very familiar with. The joke’s on me though, guys, because Rachel Aaron is Rachel Bach, author of the Paradox trilogy, published by Orbit, which I’m currently enjoying in audio format.
For reasons I can only assume, Aaron/Bach chose to take the self-published route with her new Heartstrikers series, and while I’m sure promoting it will ...more
For reasons I can only assume, Aaron/Bach chose to take the self-published route with her new Heartstrikers series, and while I’m sure promoting it will ...more
Aug 05, 2015
Laura (Kyahgirl)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio-books,
coming-of-age,
humour,
part-of-a-series,
magic,
dragons,
ghosties,
fantasy,
new-to-me-author
4/5; 4 stars; A-
I am glad I got this on audio because its a great story and the audiobook was well done. Vikas Adam is a narrator I am not familiar with but I look forward to hearing him narrate more stories. His voice was suited to the types of characters in this fun fantasy. This book would appeal to children as well as adults I think because so many of the characters are young and dealing with begin out on their own against huge odds.
I am glad I got this on audio because its a great story and the audiobook was well done. Vikas Adam is a narrator I am not familiar with but I look forward to hearing him narrate more stories. His voice was suited to the types of characters in this fun fantasy. This book would appeal to children as well as adults I think because so many of the characters are young and dealing with begin out on their own against huge odds.
3.5 stars (my 12 yr old daughter gave it 4 stars, I gave it 3)
This was a really sweet PG dragon shifter read. I liked the characters and the plot was fast paced. It was definitely YA but it wasn't done in a way that felt juvenile. My daughter is in middle school and loved this. I personally prefer more adult reads, but it was still pretty cute. The cover doesn't give it justice. A nice start to the series.
This was a really sweet PG dragon shifter read. I liked the characters and the plot was fast paced. It was definitely YA but it wasn't done in a way that felt juvenile. My daughter is in middle school and loved this. I personally prefer more adult reads, but it was still pretty cute. The cover doesn't give it justice. A nice start to the series.
Feb 16, 2015
Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ Rabid Reads
rated it
really liked it
Recommended to Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ Rabid Reads by:
Tabitha (Pabkins)
Shelves:
urban-fantasy,
indie,
some-kinda-magic,
dead-things,
dragons,
rabid-reads-wishlist,
creeptastic
This was surprisingly good. And NOT just b/c dragons. RTC.
Dec 18, 2014
Tabitha (Pabkins)
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
dragons,
favorites,
own,
ebook,
urban-fantasy,
indie,
magic,
audio-book,
reading-listening-in-tandem
Why does everyone always pick on the nice guy!?
Poor Julian has a rough road in Nice Dragons Finish Last. He’s been picked on and ostracized his entire life by his family and all others of his kind (dragon-kind). He was the runt in a the most recent clutch of dragons born about 24 years ago to Bethesda the matriarch of the Heartstriker clan. And his family hasn’t let him forget for one moment how much of a failure he is because he doesn’t have any of the personality traits expected in a dragon. R ...more
Poor Julian has a rough road in Nice Dragons Finish Last. He’s been picked on and ostracized his entire life by his family and all others of his kind (dragon-kind). He was the runt in a the most recent clutch of dragons born about 24 years ago to Bethesda the matriarch of the Heartstriker clan. And his family hasn’t let him forget for one moment how much of a failure he is because he doesn’t have any of the personality traits expected in a dragon. R ...more
One thought plagued my mind while contemplating what to say in my review for NICE DRAGONS FINISH LAST: how do I convince literally everyone I know to read this book? It’s that good.
Bethesda the Heartstriker is the leader of the Heartstriker dragon clan, a calculating and formidable dragon who’s hell-bent on making her clan the most powerful in the world. How has Bethesda come into power? With the help of her dozens of powerful and uniquely talented children! Other dragons don’t call her Bethesd ...more
Bethesda the Heartstriker is the leader of the Heartstriker dragon clan, a calculating and formidable dragon who’s hell-bent on making her clan the most powerful in the world. How has Bethesda come into power? With the help of her dozens of powerful and uniquely talented children! Other dragons don’t call her Bethesd ...more
You guys, this book was amazing! I did not want it to end. From it's well developed characters to it's witty dialogue, Nice Dragons Finish Last is a must read for everyone!!
This is without a doubt on of my favourite books ever! I devoured it. Everything was amazing and I'm going to list all my loves, though there aren't any dislikes because this book was magnificent.
I adored all the characters. Julius is the runt of the fearsome Heartstriker litter and has spent his whole life trying to avoid hi ...more
This is without a doubt on of my favourite books ever! I devoured it. Everything was amazing and I'm going to list all my loves, though there aren't any dislikes because this book was magnificent.
I adored all the characters. Julius is the runt of the fearsome Heartstriker litter and has spent his whole life trying to avoid hi ...more
This was such a fun book! I look forward to reading more of this series
Oct 19, 2015
BookLoversLife
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
for-review,
audio-book
You guys, this book was amazing! I did not want it to end. From it's well developed characters to it's witty dialogue, Nice Dragons Finish Last is a must read for everyone!!
This is without a doubt on of my favourite books ever! I devoured it. Everything was amazing and I'm going to list all my loves, though there aren't any dislikes because this book was magnificent.
I adored all the characters. Julius is the runt of the fearsome Heartstriker litter and has spent his whole life trying to avoid hi ...more
This is without a doubt on of my favourite books ever! I devoured it. Everything was amazing and I'm going to list all my loves, though there aren't any dislikes because this book was magnificent.
I adored all the characters. Julius is the runt of the fearsome Heartstriker litter and has spent his whole life trying to avoid hi ...more
If Julius has any flaws, it would be that he is too nice. For a dragon. Instead of taking control and dominating the world around him, he haggles and says please and thank you and generally tries to stay out of people's ways. But it all changes when his forced into kidnapping a girl - with the threat of death on the line.
I primarily read this because I loved Rachel Bach's Paradox series. However, this was a disappointment to me. Yeah, this book started out strong. It had all the right movement ...more
I primarily read this because I loved Rachel Bach's Paradox series. However, this was a disappointment to me. Yeah, this book started out strong. It had all the right movement ...more
It's becoming apparent that Rachel Aaron can't write stuff I don't like (she's currently 9/9). I think I liked Paradox and Eli Monpress a smidge better, but that also may be because I've read the entirety of both of those series.
ANYWAY. Fabulous characters, solid storytelling, interesting world-building, excellent series set up. If this entire series were available to preorder right now, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Such is my faith in Rachel Aaron.
ANYWAY. Fabulous characters, solid storytelling, interesting world-building, excellent series set up. If this entire series were available to preorder right now, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Such is my faith in Rachel Aaron.
I almost rated it 4/5 because the "there is a storm coming" that I loath is used at the end but \_(ツ)_/
I loved this book a lot and will read book2 this summer! It was so so so enjoyable, will definitely write a better review soon!
EDIT: here's the full review! (also on my blog with some quotes: https://adragoninspace.wordpress.com/...)
For the little story, I was on the train coming back to my parent’s house for my birthday when I started this book that I had on my ereader because it was not too ...more
I loved this book a lot and will read book2 this summer! It was so so so enjoyable, will definitely write a better review soon!
EDIT: here's the full review! (also on my blog with some quotes: https://adragoninspace.wordpress.com/...)
For the little story, I was on the train coming back to my parent’s house for my birthday when I started this book that I had on my ereader because it was not too ...more
The premise of this book is that our main character, Julius, is an underachieving dragon of the HeartStriker Clan. His mother subsequently banishes him from her lair and magically binds him to his human form, ostensibly to provoke him into demonstrating his worth by completing a quest.
As a part of Julius' path to complete his quest, he decides to take on a mage (who has a pretty good story line of her own) to help him navigate the magical underworld of a dystopian downtown Detroit, MI.
I really ...more
As a part of Julius' path to complete his quest, he decides to take on a mage (who has a pretty good story line of her own) to help him navigate the magical underworld of a dystopian downtown Detroit, MI.
I really ...more
Review from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2015/0...
I’ll admit it. I would never have picked up this book if it were not for rave reviews and recommendations from fellow bloggers. I know I really shouldn’t, but I guess I sometimes judge a book by its title. As a reader who tends to prefer darker books a title like “Nice Dragons Finish Last” just leaves me a bit less interested. Not that all the books I read and enjoy are dark, but hearing a title that feels the opposite of dark ...more
I’ll admit it. I would never have picked up this book if it were not for rave reviews and recommendations from fellow bloggers. I know I really shouldn’t, but I guess I sometimes judge a book by its title. As a reader who tends to prefer darker books a title like “Nice Dragons Finish Last” just leaves me a bit less interested. Not that all the books I read and enjoy are dark, but hearing a title that feels the opposite of dark ...more
Jul 20, 2014
Lila
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Fans of Generation V series by M.L. Brennan
Shelves:
funny,
great-mc,
all-nighter,
cute,
optimistic,
bad-ass,
uf,
fast-paced,
dhasg-2014-challenge
4,5 stars
So. Much.Fun.
I discovered Rachel Aaron (Rachel Bach) through her Paradox trilogy. I wanted to try her fantasy series first, but I couldn't resist the blub.
Julius is a terrible dragon. He is too nice, polite, not very ambitious- nothing like dragons should be. That's why his mother, head of Heartstriker clan sends him to one place where dragons are forbidden- DFZ (Detroit Free Zone). Yes, that is Bathesda's logic for you, a mother of the year. :)
Since his other option is to be eaten, Ju ...more
Nice Dragons Finish Last was our audio book pick for our summer road trip and happily it lived up to our expectations. I initially thought it was a YA book, but it isn't. However it was still appropriate for my young teen daughter's to listen to. The narrator was great, and that's something that is so important when listening to an audio book. I've enjoyed all of Rachel Aaron's/Bach's books so far. My daughters enjoyed this one just as much as I did. One of them said she would give it 5 stars. W
...more
3.5 or 4 stars for this urban fantasy told in 3rd person. I bought the kindle book for about .99 and got the audiobook for $1.99. I'd have maybe paid a little more for this book /narration package.
Here's the scoop: Julius is a 24-year-old dragon-shifter and Marci is a 25-year-old human Mage. They team up and fight for their lives against mobsters, magical monstrous beasts, and feuding dragons, accompanied by a solid cast of secondary characters. (Truly excellent secondary characters). Julius, a ...more
Here's the scoop: Julius is a 24-year-old dragon-shifter and Marci is a 25-year-old human Mage. They team up and fight for their lives against mobsters, magical monstrous beasts, and feuding dragons, accompanied by a solid cast of secondary characters. (Truly excellent secondary characters). Julius, a ...more
Aaron never fails, whatever last name she's writing under. But this might actually be my favorite so far, it's just consistently fun beginning to end. She did a great job blending near-future sci-fi (auto-nav cars, some fancy phones, a magically dystopian Detroit) with urban fantasy elements (dragon shifters, mages, all sorts of scary critters and spirits). It kind of has the upbeat energy of a paranormal romance, and the main characters did connect with each other and become completely loyal to
...more
This was a really quick and enjoyable read. I give it three and a half stars but it definitely has the potential of being one of those stories that the rating increases after a few reads/depending on the sequel. Summary and review below
Julius is a nice and unassuming dragon which is the anti-thesis of what a dragon is. He survives by avoiding his family members and hiding in his room. He has no ambitions but to stay alive and to his mother that's not good enough.
So she kicks him out of her hous ...more
Julius is a nice and unassuming dragon which is the anti-thesis of what a dragon is. He survives by avoiding his family members and hiding in his room. He has no ambitions but to stay alive and to his mother that's not good enough.
So she kicks him out of her hous ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fringe Fiction: heartstrikers | 1 | 4 | Sep 12, 2016 05:10PM | |
| Urban Fantasy ser...: #1: Nice Dragons Finish Last | 7 | 81 | Sep 01, 2016 07:37AM | |
| Wyrms of Words: Why call them dragons if they are just shapeshifters? | 1 | 9 | Nov 29, 2015 11:43AM |
Hello, my name is Rachel Aaron, and I write the Heartstriker books, a new Urban Fantasy series about misfit dragons, starting with Nice Dragons Finish Last. I also wrote The Legend of Eli Monpress fantasy series for Orbit Books about a wizard thief and the poor bastards who have to try and stop him. PLUS I'm also the author of the new, rolicking fun Science Fiction romance Fortune's Pawn under the
...more
More about Rachel Aaron...
Other Books in the Series
Heartstrikers
(5 books)
Share This Book
3 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“Why are mortals always so eager to declare things impossible, anyway? It’s not like things do or don’t exist just because you say so.”
—
18 likes
“Don’t tell me the Pigeon Whisperer dragged you into one of his stupid schemes.”
—
11 likes
More quotes…
























































Jul 15, 2016 07:41PM
Jul 17, 2016 12:42PM