#Review - Flamebringer by Elle Katharine White #Fantasy

Series: Heartstone Series # 3
Format: Paperback, 368 pages
Release Date: November 12, 2019
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Dragons & Mythical Creatures

Monsters, manners, and magic combine in this exciting final volume in the Heartstone Trilogy—an exhilarating blend of epic fantasy and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice—in which a fearless healer and her dragon-riding husband must stop a reawakened evil from destroying their world.

It starts with the inconceivable: Wydrick, sworn enemy of the Daireds, is back from the dead, possessed by a ghast that grants him immortality and inhuman strength. From the isolated northern mountains, Aliza, Alastair, and Akarra chase him into the dangerous Old Wilds, realizing too late that he’s led them into a blizzard. Before he vanishes, Wydrick utters a warning: A terrible, ancient evil has awoken, hungry for blood, and is headed their way.

The danger is closer than they know. The Tekari—sworn enemies of humans—are openly roaming the kingdom and are headed towards the capital, Edonarle. Then unexpected news arrives: riding like a dark dragon on the winds from the south, an ambassador from the Silent King of Els, has left the shores of the distant desert kingdom for the first time in centuries. 

Unknown enemy? Or unexpected ally? Plunged into a dangerous world of royal intrigue and ancient grudges, Aliza and Alastair soon realize it will take more than steel and dragonfire to save their kingdom. For the silence of Els hides a secret that could shake House Daired to its foundations, and the time has come to settle accounts.
Silence, it seems, is about to be broken.

Flamebringer is the third and final installment in author Elle Katharine White's Heartstone trilogy. This series started out as a homage to Pride and Prejudice but has become more of an epic fantasy novel. The story picks up almost immediately after the events in Dragonshadow. Having been warned by former Ranger Tristan Wydrick that a terrible, ancient evil has awoken, hungry for blood, and is headed their way, Aliza & Alistair Daired, along with Akarra the Dragon, attempt to fly thru a deadly blizzard only to end up stranded in the Rushless Wood.

The visit is marred by trees that have heartbeats, and a warning by a returning character from the previous novel, Johanna, who claims that the Daired's are cursed by darkness that is apparently following them everywhere they go foretold by a defeated Worm in the first book. Having had some deadly experiences in the previous installment, the Daireds and Akarra quickly make their way to Dragonsmoor Mountain where they attempt to convince the Dragons there to join in the fight against the growing darkness and the war to come. 

Aliza learns a history older even than the dragons themselves, as well as more about Alastair's family that sends Alastair himself spiraling. This really gives Aliza a chance to stand and deliver and prove that she's no longer a nakla (non-warrior) when it comes to being a Dragon Rider. Weary and battleworn from constantly having to fight for their lives, the Daireds head home for the first time in a month, only to find that the danger has followed them home. After protecting Aliza's sisters (Moira & Leyda) and her parents, they quickly travel to the capital of Edondale only to discover that things are even more disconcerting than previously thought.

Ghastradi have taken over key members of the High Court, places that store dragonhearts have been targeted, Ambassadors from the Garhad Islands and the Southern Principalities are eager to be joined by the Elsian delegation and hope for a trade agreement, and the secretive Shadow Minister, the Silent King of Els, arrives in pomp and circumstance and things soon move quickly towards even more danger for the Dragons, the Daireds, and the Riders. An enemy has waited 600 years to organize rebellious oldkind, discontented humans, traitors and those who have been betrayed.

The ancient enemy seeks vengeance, and it is the Daired's entire family that is targeted for extinction including Catriona, Edmund, Alastair, and Julienne. With the danger escalating putting everyone who Aliza loves in danger, she must join with a unique group of characters, including her own sister Anjey, to fight back before the city falls. The author isn't afraid to kill off key characters giving a bit more gravitas to the situation that Aliza and her allies find themselves in. For me, I think the ending fourth of this story was the best in the book. The action quickly escalated, Aliza had to move quickly on her feet to collect allies, and she never wavered in her determination to save those she loves. 

For the past 2 books, the romance between Aliza and Alastair was the main focus. This book focuses more towards the political aspects of the world that is quickly moving towards a war that nobody has answers as to stop it. This is a world of Arle is filled with beings like the Tekari who are hostile to humans (Nixies, Ghouls, Direwolves, Banshees, and Valkyries), Idar who are indifferent to humans (Trolls, Pixies, and Hobgoblins), while Dragons and Wyverns are called Shani since they are friendly to humans.   

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#Review - Dragonshadow by Elle Katharine White #Fantasy

Series: Heartstone Series # 2
Format: E-Galley, 400 pages
Release Date: November 20, 2018
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Epic

The author of Heartstone once again infuses elements of Jane Austen’s beloved novels with her own brand of magic in this addictive fantasy that brings back sparring lovers Aliza and Alastair: fierce warriors who match wits, charm, and swords as they fight an epic war to save their world

The Battle of North Fields is over—or so Aliza Bentaine, now a Daired, fervently wants to believe. But rumors are spreading of an unseen monster ravaging the isolated Castle Selwyn on the northern border of the kingdom. When she and Alastair are summoned from their honeymoon by the mysterious Lord Selwyn, they must travel with their dragon Akarra through the Tekari-infested Old Wilds of Arle to answer his call.

They are not alone on this treacherous journey. Shadowing the dragonriders is an ancient evil, a harbinger of a dark danger of which the Worm was only a foretaste, and soon Aliza realizes the terrible truth: the real war is only beginning.

 

Dragonshadow, by author Elle Katharine White, is the second installment in the authors Heartstone series. If you haven't read the first book, Heartstone, I do suggest you do so. The author infuses elements of Jane Austen’s beloved novels with her own brand of magic that brings back sparring lovers Aliza and Alastair: fierce warriors who match wits, charm, and swords as they fight an epic war to save their world. Picking up several months after the Battle of North Fields, and the War of the Worm ended, Aliza Bentaine nee Daired is on her honeymoon with Alastair Daired, Rider, House of Pendragon. 

She fervently hopes the war is over for good, and that her nightmares can finally come to an end. But, rumors are spreading of an unseen monster ravaging the isolated Castle Selwyn on the northern border of the kingdom. Things are apparently dire at Castle Selwyn and they need Alistair and his dragon companion Akarra to come help deal with some dead Idar (magical creatures who are indifferent allies to humans) and a missing girl. Refusing to be left behind, Aliza joins Alastair and Akarra on the journey. 

Aliza, Alastair, and Akarra must fly through the Tekari-infested Old Wilds of Arle to answer his call. The journey to Castle Selwyn proves to be difficult for the trio leading them to believe that something may be following them in the shadows. It’s all too clear that an unknown evil is plaguing Castle Selwyn in the northern border of Arle. The evil seems to target only the Idar like trolls, centaurs, and merfolk who are indifferent to humans. The Tekari, Gryphons, direwolves, valkyries, sirens, and sea serpents aren't all that impressed with humankind and thus have been left alone. 

Dragonshadow expands the world, characters, and fascinating creatures including the ghastradi, a human possessed by a kind of powerful, magical spirit. Aliza’s mindset is one of struggling to understand her place within House Pendragon, and the fact that Alastair was gravely injured in the previous novel and isn't up to full health yet which puts both of them in jeopardy. Aliza is still looked upon as a nakla, a non-warrior, as well as being a Daired and all the history surrounding the name. 

While Aliza is clever and makes herself useful throughout the journey, both as a healer and investigator, the author makes it clear that her lack of fighting skills is a definite liability. There is an underlying conflict between Aliza and Alastair that takes a great chunk out of this story. However, things seem to resolve themselves in the end, but with some interesting twists to come with the third installment.

Dragonshadow really pushes the series into a new and very interesting direction, exploring new territories. One of the more interesting characters in this book is the Dragon Akarra. I absolutely love her. She is unequivocally the most fascinating character outside of Aliza and Alastair, and she is also someone you don't want to mess with on a regular basis. The series is inspired by the Regency novel Pride and Prejudice, but without all of the balls and shenanigans. The series feels more like a medieval one than a Regency one.

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#Tuesday Review - Heartstone by Elle Katharine White #Epic #Fantasy #Retelling @HarperVoyagerUS

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Release Date: January 17, 2017
Publisher: Harper Voyager

Source: Edelweiss
Genre: Epic, Fantasy, Retelling

A debut historical fantasy that recasts Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice in an imaginative world of wyverns, dragons, and the warriors who fight alongside them against the monsters that threaten the kingdom: gryphons, direwolves, lamias, banshees, and lindworms.

They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want of a monster to slay—and Merybourne Manor has plenty of monsters.

Passionate, headstrong Aliza Bentaine knows this all too well; she’s already lost one sister to the invading gryphons. So when Lord Merybourne hires a band of Riders to hunt down the horde, Aliza is relieved her home will soon be safe again.

Her relief is short-lived. With the arrival of the haughty and handsome dragonrider, Alastair Daired, Aliza expects a battle; what she doesn’t expect is a romantic clash of wills, pitting words and wit against the pride of an ancient house. Nor does she anticipate the mystery that follows them from Merybourne Manor, its roots running deep as the foundations of the kingdom itself, where something old and dreadful slumbers . . . something far more sinister than gryphons.

It’s a war Aliza is ill-prepared to wage, on a battlefield she’s never known before: one spanning kingdoms, class lines, and the curious nature of her own heart.  Elle Katharine White infuses elements of Austen’s beloved novel with her own brand of magic, crafting a modern epic fantasy that conjures a familiar yet wondrously unique new world.

Elle Katharine White's Heartstone is a story that reimages Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. This is a world where there are two types of beings exist; Tekari, sworn enemies of humans, and Shani, friends of humans. There is something dangerous coming, and nobody quite knows what it wants. Instead of using zombies to tell her story as in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, White uses a variety of beings from gryphon's, gnomes, wyverns, hobgoblins, & dragons. 

23-year old Aliza Bentaine, her three sisters (Moira, Angelina (Anjey), Leyda) and her parents, Moira & Robert, live in Merybourne Manor on the small island of Arle. As the second oldest daughter, and one who doesn't take her own beauty as something to strut around and preen about, Aliza has been trained as a herbmaster and healer under her Uncle Gregory. She is also a fairly talented artist who loves to indulge in woolgathering. Due to ever increasing attacks by gryphons, and the loss of Aliza's youngest sister Katarina, Lord Merybourne hires hunters to come in and rid the island of the gryphons.

The Riders, as they are called, are led by Alastair Daired. Daired belongs to the House Pendragon which has an impressive history of Riders & their Shani. Daired's Shani is a dragon named Akarra. Each of the riders are attached to what are called Shani. Nobody is supposed to ride someone else's Shani. After eliminating Arle of Gryphons, everyone seems to relax. They even start to have parties, and Aliza travels a bit to see her Aunt & Uncle. 

That is until Aliza meets a mysterious hooded man with a warning. That is until something even more dangerous rises up and threatens to devour everything and everyone its path. While Arlean's, Riders, and Rangers battle for their very lives, Aliza must make a life or death choice to save the man she has fallen hard for. There is also romance between Anjey and another rider named Brysney, while the youngest daughters are as different as fire and ice. Leyda wants an adventure, while Moira is the book smart know it all on almost all subject. I actually found myself connecting to Moira's character because she is a social wallflower just like me. She rather read books, than socialize with others.  

Heartstone is told in the first person narrative by Aliza. One could say that Aliza is this story's Elizabeth, while Daired, the dark, handsome, grouchy, & arrogant male protagonist, can be compared to Darcy, but with his own Dragon. While there may be an eventual connection between Aliza and Daired, they are separated by his family, his duty, and his not so intentional cruelty that puts her off. Heartstone takes some unusual roads to the finish line. A finish line that will see the most socially awkward proposal ever.  

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