It isn’t a big secret that this might actually be my favourite urban fantasy series of all time. I mean… what’s not to love about it? It’s basically the Ultimate in queer urban fantasy1. Like. Look: this story has an Indigenous MC and a mixed Asian (two different kinds of Asian) ’trans’ MC. This is sooooo fucking gay. In the queer way. Lmao.

This is also my favourite book in the series so far. One of the very few books I read during the Great Distraction (that period of time when sustained reading was basically impossible because of concentration issues). And I read it several times. It’s also the only book in the series that I’ve read, like at all. The rest of the books I’ve listened to in audio format, but never actually read. This is how much I love this book, alright?

Basic synopsis: we have (ultra cute and soft) Zarrin, a dragon descended from the great Dizhen. She bought out a large portion of forest land from white people ruining it and founded the town of Everlasting. She bound the land to her (and, thus, her ancestors). The book has Zarrin finding his inner core of strength to claim her treasure as his own. We also have Joe, an artist who’s been ill-treated by the town (and kind of life in general). He learns how to be just a little softer (soft enough to let love into his life).

I think this book works so well because, in it, we finally see a maturation of Cooper’s writing and intentions for the series (insofar as we can discern authorial intent anyway). The book balances out many of the elements that were emphasized in previous books. Elements like the problems with stereotyping (Some Kind of Magic). Or of finding worth in the unexpected (A Boy and His Dragon. Or of the problems caused by miscommunication (particularly as it concerns cross-cultural concepts) (A Beginner’s Guide to Wooing Your Mate). Or of the damage caused by abuse (Little Wolf). Or maybe the more political implications of this wonderful world Cooper has created (A Dandelion for Tulip). Treasure for Treasure has all of these elements but they are deftly (and perfectly, imo) balanced. Individual aspects of these in previous books could be a little… heavy-handed.

It really, really works because it allows us to really focus on the romance and the satisfaction we get as all of these narrative obstacles are overcome. In other words: we get to enjoy the journey just as much as its happy conclusion. I did not find this to be as true in the preceeding books in the series (see my Little Wolf review.

Considering all of this, it really makes me wish that we had a different narrator for the audiobook. Dominic Carlos did a reasonably adequate job but… it was kind of disappointing after having Chris Patton for His Mossy Boy2. This isn’t to say I’d have preferred Robert Nieman. I guess I just wish that the audiobook had a great narrator so it’d be just as enjoyable to listen to as read. Above all, this is really a personal gripe and shouldn’t deter anyone from getting the audiobook. Dominic Carlos really did a good enough job (defined as: his narration neither added nor detracted from the book itself).

Grab the ebook from Dreamspinner Press and the audiobook from Audible.

  1. And, yes, I’m using ‘queer’ intentionally here. This is a slur I’m allowed to reclaim. But I’m also using it in the traditional/political sense as a way to mark a distinction from typical gay homonationalism. Last, I’m using it in the context of literary criticism, in which ‘queer’ is the exactly right word. ↩︎

  2. The audiobook for His Mossy Boy came out before Treasure for Treasure. ↩︎