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By Azure Drache

Summary:
We return to the adventure of our favorite black dragon and his also cute and fluffy pegasus mate- TBD and Danger 'Fluffy' Do! Where does the adventure begin for book three? Why just about where we left off, Fluffy pregnant and about to have the cutest baby ever! In this third book in the series (counting the one done by Azure's editor, Schatten) we follow the early years of TBD and Fluffy's first child, and all the excitement new parenthood brings with it!

Note 1:
I am still retired as a reviewer for this group but have come back for this review as a favor for Azure. (Whenever book '3' is finished, the one that is currently being updated, I'll probably be back for that too.) Besides that, just here for a guest review. ^.^
Note 2:
As this is a '3rd' book in the series (if counting the midquel written by Schatten) there will be spoilers from the first two, so go read them first if you don't want to be spoiled! (Both are awesome reads!) Probably a few spoilers from the actual one being reviewed here too, but those I will try to hide behind spoiler tags. Now, onto the review!

First Reactions;
Like the books before it, this one is adorable and full of sweet, fluffy, goodness that you will just eat up. I am a big fan of series, especially ones with such relatable and loveable characters that I want to see what happens next in their lives. These stories by Azure absolutely fit in that category! Often when children are brought into the picture for a series, the quality seems to degrade as the focus changes from the original concept, but, I don't see that problem here. The focus might have changed, but the quality sure hasn't! Much as I love my changeling stories, a heartwarming dragon story like this is just as close to my heart and well-loved. <3

Did I like it? YES! With our extended cast of characters from Schatten's midquel, and finally meeting Big Softy's parents in this one, among other new characters, we had a lot of new ground to cover and experience. Azure does well with the emotions of his characters, and they feel relatable to me. Of the three books, this one is probably the highest on the cuteness scale, thanks to the adorable baby and the chaos that comes with her being born an azure kirin, with all the fun new powers of said species! There were even times I teared up with how emotional this story got me, and I'm sure many of you know by now how I seem to love a good story that can make me cry (in a good way of course) and there are parts here that could likely do the same to many readers.

What I didn't like:
Like the ones before it, the main thing I didn't like was the spelling/grammar errors, though I do believe Azure and Schatten are improving on those, as they were not as distracting as in the previous two, there is still room for improvement. This one might not have been as adventurous as the first one, but it had its own mode of adventure, the adventure of parenthood, which while I might prefer a good standard adventure story, one with cute new additions to the story is not bad either. So super minor to that extent.

Characters:
Azure is great at making me feel for his characters, to want to know what will happen next for them, be it good or ill, and always eager to see what shenanigans they get up to next. This book in the series does not fail in that regard. All his characters, new and old, feel me with that glee to hear more.
It is especially nice to finally meet Big Softy's parents, and see for ourselves how adorably much Big Softy is like his father when it comes to cute and fluffy things (as in our dear Fluffy Pegasus), along with his mother's regal self, just as one would expect from an azure dragon, given they are the dragon nobility after all. Both are wonderful additions to the line-up and I love being able to see more into Big Softy's side of the family.
Danger Fluffy Do's family returns once more as well, all just as well done as in the midquel Azure's editor, Schatten wrote to introduce them. I still love them all, even Danger's brother, Never, who was a lot more annoying at times in the midquel, gets his time in the spotlight to redeem himself in my eyes.
Of course, there is our favorite couple as well, Big Softy and Danger 'Fluffy' Do, who grow so much since the first story as they take on parenthood in this book. They are certainly one of my favorite OC couples, as they put into reality how hard it can be to raise a kid, especially one that is as special as their little one! They feel so real, I can almost expect to see them walk around the corner of my home- if I lived in Equestria at least that is- XD The character growth for not only them but the others above that we have seen in previous stories is well done.
We have one canon character that is there for a good portion of this book, (not counting Daring Do) and that is Autumn Blaze the Kirin! I feel Azure adapted her character very nicely to keep her as canon as possible, but also able to fit into the situations for this story. She is just as delightful, positive, and exploding in happy energy as she is on the show, keeping her a big fan favorite both in the show and here.
Last, but not least, for the characters I want to talk about, is the true star of the show- story- Fluffy and Big Softy's Daughter, Fiery Leadership, an adorable azure kirin! She might just be a baby/youngster for this book, but she has just as much character as anycreature! She lives up to her azure heritage with a commanding attitude in her adorable baby way. She is spunky, delightful, and for sure a hoof or clawful at times for her new parents. Either way though, she is a great addition to the cast and I just want to snuggle her until she squeaks -but that would be dangerous for a changeling Queen, as she also inherited the kirin powers of turning into a flaming nirik, and I don't particularly want to be a roasted buggy thank you very much~! Many bags of emeralds for these great characters!

Heart:
Easily a high scorer here, how can one not be with such an adorable baby! <3 The love, charm, and caring feelings of familial love are strong in this book and help it feel relatable to the common Equestrian. No matter if one is hooved, clawed, pawed, or somewhere in-between, this can be a favorite for all and a good story about family and the journey of new parenthood. Not only on Big Softy and Fluffy's side but also for both their parents as they become grandparents and experience having such a unique grandchild. Everyone coming together- dragon, pony, and kirin, and accepting each other's differences and what makes each species special and worthwhile. Though at first some do not agree and argue, they learn to accept each other and become the great family they can be.
As mentioned earlier, there are even points in the story that made me tear up and cry a bit, (no spoilers on that as I don't want to ruin too much for you new readers!) I love a good story that can make me love the characters and story so much that it can make me cry when something happens, be it wonderful or dreadful. So, many more kudos and gems on making me feel so much!

Spelling/Grammar:
As in the other two in this series, this is the point where I have the most trouble. While I love the story and can really submerge myself in the tale as I am reading, there are times where the immersion is broken by a misspelled word, wrong homonym, or other grammar and spelling issues. Take note that neither Azure nor Schatten are native English speakers (and I'm sorry I bring this up every time you two! *hugs*) and as such, I do give them a break on this. Even more so, as they are improving with each story, and in this reviewer's eyes, that is what really matters. We all have our problems in the things we write, and if we all work hard at it, we can improve on the parts we have trouble at. If some grammar/spelling errors are the biggest thing to worry about here- which even there is not as bad as some other stories I have read by far- then that is a lot to say for the quality of a story.

Story/Concept:
Adding children to the mix in many forms of media, not just the written novel- is often very cliche and a sign the writers are out of ideas for their characters or the characters have finished their story, and the writers are just trying to milk the cash cow of their devoted fans. THIS is not so for this story. With Azure's stories, a child was planned from practically the start. We found out Fluffy was pregnant at the end of book one, and as such, the child concept is a large part of the plot of the series. Book two/1.5 was all about meeting Fluffy's parents and announcing their - Fluffy and Big Softy's- relationship to them and getting ready for the baby. So now, we come to the next arc of that, the actual birth and early years of said child and the chaos having a young one brings to the home. So, while it has been done before, here it is done in a promising way, unlike many similar stories, which gives it that extra charm.
This also deals with the second half of the 'meeting the parents' concept story, where we meet Big Softy's parents. Though both may be concepts used often, there is nothing wrong with that and Azure puts a good spin on them to make them entertaining and keep the magic of the story intact, with extra fluffy love!

Final Thoughts:
Like its predecessors, this story was a great read. Charming, loveable, full of strong emotions that keep one turning the pages to find out what happens next. I was greatly happy to finally meet Big Softy's parents, especially his father who loves fluffy things just as much as him! Was also a treat for the baby to finally be born and find out she was a kirin! All the joys of child-rearing, *chuckles* as well as the hard times that come with it too. The detail is always so vivid and I feel like I am right there with the characters as they go through all the turmoils and insanity of life. The ending (of which I won't go into much, as spoilers!) will leave you eager for more (of which there is now hehe, at least the first few chapters at this time) and with a good happy feeling at an entertaining book well-read. Give it a chance and I am sure you will not be disappointed!

Characterization/Voice: 9/10
Heart: 9/10
Spelling/Grammar: 7/10
Story/Concept: 9/10
Total: 34/40 0r 8.5/10

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Thank you very much for this favor Chryssy! I love this awesome review of yours And about part 3 (you got me very confused for a moment about telling this book 3 already) at the moment everycreature just waits for my pre-reader to does the pre-read thingy, by happenstance I hired the awesome QueenChrysalisForever for that job

I love this review, it is putting a smile on my face and makes me giggle at some points Also, uhm, *looks left and right, then whispers* Schatten still is a native speaker, like I told you the last time too This poor guy! You can't believe how much effort it takes me to make enough spelling and grammar errors that he doesn't catch every single one of them Nah, seriously, you read my unedited chapters while pre-reading, you know how bad my english can be sometimes After all, I am the non native speaker🐲

About the content of the story, you summed that up perfectly, love, tolerance, problems and fluff, lots of fluff! It was what the readers had demanded and turned out to be a lot of fun to write it. 

Again, many thanks for this awesome review!🐉

Oh, just one thing, I helped writing the guest story of Schatten since he asked me to make sure it will be canon and Fluffy's parents are designed by me Schatten is responsible for Holly and mostly Never in the guest story though! It is awesome to have such an great editor that not only writes a complete guest story, but also creates reasonable characters to expand the universe! Thanks Schattendrache!