Title: Her Hacker Dragon
Author: A.J. Tipton
Publisher: Unknown
Date of publication: March 16th, 2016
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Dragons, LGBTQIA
Number of pages: 110
POV: 3rd person
Series: Her Biker Dragon
Her Valiant Dragon – Book 1 (review here)
Her Delicious Dragon – Book 2 (review here)
Her Rockstar Dragon – Book 3 (review here)
Her Hacker Dragon – Book 4
Her Alpha Dragon – Book 5
Can be read out-of-order from series: Yes but I would recommend reading them in order
Where you can find this book: Amazon
Goodreads synopsis:
Geeks rule in this delightfully dangerous dragon adventure.
The badass dragon shifters of the Iron Claws motorcycle club will risk everything for the people they love. Cast out from their dragon clans, they must use their cunning and strength to defy the laws of their people and stay one step ahead of those determined to keep life-saving cures out of the hands of humans.
Brilliant, transgender shifter Alec Harper is trying to atone for his dark past by dedicating his life to healing humans. When it appears his life-saving drug may actually be a life-taking drug, Alec must race to discover the truth before more innocents die.
Vampire scientist Penelope O’Hara has been fascinated by all things supernatural for three hundred years. When Alec saves her from a sudden attack by dragon shifter goons, Penelope is pulled into a dangerous world of hackers, killers, and conspiracies. Logic tells her that the perils of being with someone from the Iron Claws are a bad idea, but her heart keeps telling her to stay.
This adult novella includes daring rescues, sexy science, and a nerdy romance that defies expectations.
My review:
Way back in book 1, Dylan and Marie’s story, it was revealed that Alec was transgendered and it intrigued me. See, I don’t think I have read a romance that had a transgendered man (or woman) as one of the main characters. I was very curious to see how the author would be writing the romance. I wasn’t disappointed. Not only did the author did a great job writing the romance but Alec’s background as well.
I just wanted to hug Alec. The poor guy had been through the wringer and back before he joined the Iron Claws. I just wanted to cry when he thought he wouldn’t find his mate because of how he looked (male on the inside (dragon was male too), female on the outside). He was too male for some girls, too female for others and he just gave up looking for love. While he was happy for his friends, he was sad at the same time. He wanted what they had.
Penelope was a brilliant vampire scientist who was researching magic. She has a tragic past too but nothing like Alec’s. The reason she started studying magic was that when her brother was dying, she attempted a spell to cure him and it didn’t work. So she wanted to know why it worked for witches and not for her and that is what fueled her 300 year-long research.
The Iron Claws find out that Puff has been killing people and it throws everyone into an uproar and a tizzy. They know it is not true but they need to find a way to prove it. Alec decides to go for a walk and happens to run into Penelope, as she is getting a beat down on a sidewalk just down the street from AUDREY’s. Who was she getting a beat down from? Hired muscle from the Dragon High Council for reasons that are revealed later in the book. Being out in the daylight has drained her so when Alec offers his wrist to her to drink from, she takes it and feels overwhelmingly attracted to him.
The romance between Penelope and Alec did get off to a rocky start. See, Penelope couldn’t wrap her head around that while Alec had male blood, he still had the body of a woman. Alec was sure that while Penelope was attracted to him, she wouldn’t get past that Alec was still a woman in body (not in heart or soul, though). Obviously, they get together but it was interesting to see Penelope’s thought progress and then her “who cares” attitude when she gave in.
The sex scenes between Alec and Penelope were hot but sweet. I literally laughed out loud when Penelope unloaded a bunch of sex toys from her magic bag….including the Hulk. I was dying when she described it. I actually laughed so hard that BK wanted to know what I was laughing at. When I told him, he just looked at me and went “ooookkkaaayyy”.
The Dragon High Council really were in rare from this book. From framing the Iron Claws to beating Penelope down and bombing her lab, they were really bad guys. But the bad can fall and I really can’t wait to read the last book!!
The ending was great. Alec and Penelope’s story ended and the Puff killing people storyline was ended (thanks to Alec and Penelope) but the Dragon High Council storyline is still there. I cannot wait to see how this series ends!!
How many stars will I give Her Hacker Dragon: 5
Why: While the sex was great, it was the transgender storyline that made this book.
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Sex, violence, language
**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**