Review – Night-Shift Dragons (DFZ, Book 3) by Rachel Aaron (4/5 Stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 398 pages
Publisher: Aaron/Bach
Release Date: May 5, 2020
ASIN: B086YMKQWR
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the DFZ series
Source: Borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars
“They say family always sticks together, but when you’re your dad’s only lifeline and the whole world—humans, dragons, and gods—wants you dead, “family bonding” takes on a whole new meaning.
My name is Opal Yong-ae, and I’m in way over my head. I thought getting rid of my dad’s bad luck curse would put things back to normal. Instead, I’m stuck playing caretaker to the Great Dragon of Korea. That wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t such a jerk, or if every dragon on the planet wasn’t out to kill him, or if he were my only problem.
Turns out, things can always get worse in the DFZ. When a rival spirit attacks my god/boss to turn the famously safety-optional city into a literal death arena with Nik as his bloody champion, I’m thrust onto the front lines and way out of my comfort zone. When gods fight, mortals don’t usually survive, but I’m not alone this time. Even proud old dragons can learn new tricks, and with everything I love falling to pieces, the father I’ve always run from might just be the only force in the universe stubborn enough to pull us back together.”
Series Info/Source: This is the third and final book in the DFZ series. I borrowed this book for Kindle through Kindle Unlimited. This series is a spin-off series from the Heartstrikers series and takes place ~20 years after that series.
Story (4/5): In this volume Opal is trying to help her father get back to his “normal dragon self” while also growing her own Shaman powers. When Nik tracks her down, Opal finds that Nik made some hard choices to find her and is back fighting in the arena in the Rentfree zone again. Opal goes to watch him and finds that big things are happening in Rentfree and there may be another god rising in Rentfree that is a major threat to the DFZ herself. The story was fast-paced and engaging. Things were tied up nicely for this series and overall I enjoyed it.
Characters (4/5): Opal does grow and mature quite a bit through-out the series. I really enjoyed the relationship she and Nik developed (although Nik was missing from the first part of this book). Watching Opal interact with her father was incredibly fun and endearing. I also enjoyed the addition of another Mortal God to the mix. I also enjoyed watching the DFZ grow as a city god and liked getting insight to the struggles of this city/mortal god.
Setting (5/5): I, of course, love the DFZ and enjoy any story set there. This book had us spending a lot more time in the Rentfree area of the DFZ which is a fascinating area. We also spend quite a bit of time in a limbo area of the DFZ that Opal gets access to. It was all very well done and I enjoyed it.
Writing Style (4/5): This book is well written and easy to read. I really enjoyed the world a lot. The characters are well done, even if Opal wasn’t a favorite of mine, I do like the characters surrounding her. The style is very urban fantasy in feel and I don’t have any complaints about it.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this book tied up the series nicely. Everything is well done and I continue to love the DFZ setting. The book moves at a good pace and has some interesting additions to the DFZ. The main character in this series wasn’t my favorite, Opal is immature and selfish at times, but the surrounding characters were well done. I look forward to more spin-off series set in DFZ and this world. This is a solid urban fantasy series and I enjoyed it.
