Heartstone
Ratings7
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings7
Average rating3.6
Jane Austen meets dragons in this epic historical fantasy debut as a willful young woman and an arrogant warrior battle for each other’s heart. 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 the people of Merybourne Manor scrape together the funds to hire a band of Riders to hunt down the horde, Aliza is relieved her sister will soon be avenged. 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 haunts them from Merybourne Manor, with its roots running as 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 . . . In Heartstone, Elle Katharine White infuses elements of Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice with her own playful brand of magic. Filled with wyverns, dragons, and the warriors who fight alongside them against the monsters that threaten the kingdom—gryphons, direwolves, banshees, and lamias—this is an epic fantasy that conjures a familiar yet wondrously unique world.
Featured Series
3 primary booksHeartstone is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2017 with contributions by Elle Katharine White, Saffron A. Kent, and NOT A BOOK.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book has a strong headed female POV character who just happens to be a little but if a badass...and she doesn't even realize it. The book is also a romance with three leading couples. The plot and setting give us castles and dragons...and other fierce creatures.
Pros: fun characters, great romance
Cons: minor issues
Aliza Bentaine's life at Merybourne Manor changes when gryphons invade the nearby wood and kill her youngest sister. It changes again when the Riders they hired to hunt the gryphons show up and include the handsome but arrogant Alastair Daired. But more than gryphons stalk the land, and other mysteries darken Aliza's world.
This is a close retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in a world where monsters roam and dragons fly. There's no recycled dialogue and the motivations for why characters act as they do have been adjusted to fit the realities of this world. I found that Aliza's reasons for disliking Daired were more substantial here, making their eventual reconciliation a bit harder to accept. The ending has several major deviations from the source material, which I enjoyed. I especially liked that Gwyn (Charlotte in the original)'s marriage is for different, more mysterious reasons and that their marriage seems better matched. I did wish the mystery regarding her father had received more of a resolution though.
The addition of a wide variety of monsters was fabulous. I didn't always know what creatures were, but it was fun seeing new and lesser used beings intermixed with the more familiar gnomes, wyverns, and dragons. The use of monster heartstones as engagement/wedding tokens was interesting. I also liked that different creatures spoke different languages, and not all humans understood all languages.
If you like Jane Austen and fantasy, it's a fun retelling.
[b:Pride and Prejudice 1885 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320399351s/1885.jpg 3060926] retelling - Yes.With hobgoblins? Still with you.And Dragons? Alright, probably something to like here.Except, it was all just, there. I kept reading simply because of my love of Pride and Prejudice. Granted, I haven't read the book, no, I watched the BBC show, with my Grandma, when I was 10-ish. I absolutely love it. Hrm, maybe I should give it(the book) a go, I was always worried it would ruin the show for me. There were things I liked, Aliza is still headstrong, Lady Catriona is the matriarch of the Daired family, and I did appreciate the differences in her. I loved the dragons, they talk, they have personality, they bond with their riders. Whats not to enjoy! There are hobgoblins, they are a little interesting, and then there are the Heartstone's. You'll have to read through this book to find that out. 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.This is part of why I didn't love this book, I wasn't feeling the romance. It was romance light. It was almost non existent. And the second reason why I wasn't loving this book as much as I could have, was probably because it was a P&P retelling. The world EKW surrounds you with is beautiful, with creatures, a decent plot, and characters that are interesting. I just was expecting such and such to happen, and it did, so I kind of was going through this whole book with no surprises.
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