Night Shift Dragons by Rachel AaronMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: 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 was my only problem.
Turns out, things can always get worse in the DFZ. When a rival spirit attacks my god/boss with the aim of turning 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.
Read as an audio book.
Book three in the Detroit Free Zone series featuring Opal Yong-ae. This series straddles the fence between being YA and a more mature read. Though even that observation is subjective when compared against other YA books. But, in my humble opinion, this could tumble either way.
I picked this one up because I needed something that was escapism, I didn't have to think about the plot, and I could just zone out to on my commute. This book begins where book number two - Part Time Gods - concludes. Opal and her Father have been in hiding for the past eight weeks with the help of the DFZ, Opal is continuing her Shamanic training, but the Great Youg is not healing as a dragon should. Opal makes a poor decision (surprised anyone?) and our cast of characters is off and running.
I basically enjoyed this latest installment. The supporting characters keep me coming back (Opal...not so much), the plot(s) are engaging enough if not sometimes built on poor decisions by the main character, and the world building is interesting. Detroit - who writes about a future Detroit?!?
What drops this from a four or five star review to a solid three is the repetition. So. Much. Repetition. I don't know if this comes across on the written page, but I know that a nine hour book could - nay should - have been six, if there wasn't so much repetitious dialog. And I'm referencing both internal dialog and vocal. I fully admit to hitting the "skip ahead" button more than a few times.
The other item that dropped my star rating was Opal's flip-flopping emotions. One moment it was "We can kick some Arena God ass!" and the next sentence would be, "We're doomed, this is it, the end of everything we've worked for...". I would have been pulling at my hair with both hands if I hadn't been driving.
This is not a stand-alone book. As I noted above, book three begins right where book two leaves off. There are some interesting and engaging aspects that keep me coming back, and there are a couple of aspects that drive me a bit batty. Recommended with some reservations.
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