Review: The Heartstone Trilogy: Heartstone, Dragonshadow, Flamebringer
Elle Katharine White's YA Heartstone trilogy draws to its dramatic conclusion this week with the release of Flamebringer. Here I review all three books.
Heartstone by Elle Katharine White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.75 Stars
Any lover of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is both intrigued and wary of books with the novel as its inspiration. From books purporting to be sequels, to those claiming to recast the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy (from Seth Grahame-Smith's awkward adaptation Pride and Prejudice with Zombies to Mary Robinette Kowal's artful Shades of Milk and Honey Glamourist Histories) one can only hope that the author catches Austen's tone and a sense of period. Yet Elle Katharine White has managed to take the plot and some of the tone of Austen's story and recast it without the window dressings of the Georgian period, opening up the possibilities of creating a fantasy world inspired by, but not constrained to, Austen's creation. It's a clever move and pays off. While there are aspects of the story that I didn't enjoy (animal cruelty on the part of the Wickham/Wydrick character) there are other changes that White has made that I heartily approve of, including that White's Lady Catherine (Lady Catriona) is more concerned about Aliza's loyalty to Alaistar Daired (White's Darcy) than about some misguided or inconvenient society rules, since the Daireds are so powerful they pretty much make the rules.
A lovely audiobook, well voiced by Billie Fulford-Brown. All things considered, an enjoyable read, though I'm curious to see where White takes the story since the couple wed at the end.
I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Dragonshadow by Elle Katharine White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4 Solid Stars
Okay, full confession: I received the ARC of this novel from the publisher last year and ended up backlisting it because I was afraid of what might have been done to Austen's creation in the first novel and wondered where on earth White would go in a sequel. Well, my bad. I ended up reading Heartstone after getting the concluding book in the trilogy (Flamebringer) and basically promising I was going to read and review the third book which meant I was honor-bound to read the first two. And after finding the first in the series, Heartstone much better than I had feared, I was really curious to move on to the second book. How would White handle the possible departure from the Pride and Prejudice template?
Dragonshadow finds White no longer constrained to the Pride and Prejudice plot structure, though she keeps the tone of the era. While flies full-dragon ahead into fantasy territory, with Lady Aliza Daired and her husband Alastair lured into... a selkie story!? Sure there are other elements here, like revenants called ghastradi who take the form of new characters or... shudder... old characters we loved to hate, and the usual direwolves, wyverns, and nixies. But this is also a surprising story in a number of its elements. Like the evil old woman/must be a hag who turns out not just to be good but to be kind and a leader, and other trope-breaking characters. The women White writes continue to be strong partners and sisterly affection lasts beyond death. Plus, you just can't beat Akarra the dragon for her sarcasm and fondness for Aliza. All in all, I enjoyed this one even more than the first.
An enjoyable audiobook, narrated by Billie Fulford-Brown.
Content Warning: a graphic and very sad miscarriage in this plot may be troubling for those of us who have suffered miscarriages.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Flamebringer by Elle Katharine White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.75 Stars
Elle Katharine White brings her Heartstone trilogy to a dramatic conclusion in Flamebringer. Her protagonist Aliza finds that she has married into a Fireborn family with a mysterious history and that the younger generation of the family is being held to account for events that took place centuries before. Wydrick is truly back (though not alone in his being back...) and there are others, like Rookwood, from Aliza and Alastair's past who have returned to plague them. Aliza's sight (a kind of foresight) has been her greatest strength, other than her powers as a healer. In this instance, it is her resolute nature and loyalty to the family that she married into that will save the day. We also see her reunited with her beloved sister Anjey, and her much loved sister in law, Julienna. The Silent King of the Els is a part of this dark story and when he starts speaking everyone will have to try their hardest to survive his wrath.
I'll update about the audiobook when I have a chance to listen to it but have no reason to think that there will be a difference from the two excellent prior installments.
A fitting conclusion to this YA series, it will be interesting to see where White goes next. Is more epic fantasy in her future plans?
Content Warning: The protagonist ends up with disfigurement/permanent damage.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
View all my reviews
Heartstone by Elle Katharine WhiteMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.75 Stars
Any lover of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is both intrigued and wary of books with the novel as its inspiration. From books purporting to be sequels, to those claiming to recast the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy (from Seth Grahame-Smith's awkward adaptation Pride and Prejudice with Zombies to Mary Robinette Kowal's artful Shades of Milk and Honey Glamourist Histories) one can only hope that the author catches Austen's tone and a sense of period. Yet Elle Katharine White has managed to take the plot and some of the tone of Austen's story and recast it without the window dressings of the Georgian period, opening up the possibilities of creating a fantasy world inspired by, but not constrained to, Austen's creation. It's a clever move and pays off. While there are aspects of the story that I didn't enjoy (animal cruelty on the part of the Wickham/Wydrick character) there are other changes that White has made that I heartily approve of, including that White's Lady Catherine (Lady Catriona) is more concerned about Aliza's loyalty to Alaistar Daired (White's Darcy) than about some misguided or inconvenient society rules, since the Daireds are so powerful they pretty much make the rules.
A lovely audiobook, well voiced by Billie Fulford-Brown. All things considered, an enjoyable read, though I'm curious to see where White takes the story since the couple wed at the end.
I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Dragonshadow by Elle Katharine White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4 Solid Stars
Okay, full confession: I received the ARC of this novel from the publisher last year and ended up backlisting it because I was afraid of what might have been done to Austen's creation in the first novel and wondered where on earth White would go in a sequel. Well, my bad. I ended up reading Heartstone after getting the concluding book in the trilogy (Flamebringer) and basically promising I was going to read and review the third book which meant I was honor-bound to read the first two. And after finding the first in the series, Heartstone much better than I had feared, I was really curious to move on to the second book. How would White handle the possible departure from the Pride and Prejudice template?
Dragonshadow finds White no longer constrained to the Pride and Prejudice plot structure, though she keeps the tone of the era. While flies full-dragon ahead into fantasy territory, with Lady Aliza Daired and her husband Alastair lured into... a selkie story!? Sure there are other elements here, like revenants called ghastradi who take the form of new characters or... shudder... old characters we loved to hate, and the usual direwolves, wyverns, and nixies. But this is also a surprising story in a number of its elements. Like the evil old woman/must be a hag who turns out not just to be good but to be kind and a leader, and other trope-breaking characters. The women White writes continue to be strong partners and sisterly affection lasts beyond death. Plus, you just can't beat Akarra the dragon for her sarcasm and fondness for Aliza. All in all, I enjoyed this one even more than the first.
An enjoyable audiobook, narrated by Billie Fulford-Brown.
Content Warning: a graphic and very sad miscarriage in this plot may be troubling for those of us who have suffered miscarriages.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Flamebringer by Elle Katharine WhiteMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.75 Stars
Elle Katharine White brings her Heartstone trilogy to a dramatic conclusion in Flamebringer. Her protagonist Aliza finds that she has married into a Fireborn family with a mysterious history and that the younger generation of the family is being held to account for events that took place centuries before. Wydrick is truly back (though not alone in his being back...) and there are others, like Rookwood, from Aliza and Alastair's past who have returned to plague them. Aliza's sight (a kind of foresight) has been her greatest strength, other than her powers as a healer. In this instance, it is her resolute nature and loyalty to the family that she married into that will save the day. We also see her reunited with her beloved sister Anjey, and her much loved sister in law, Julienna. The Silent King of the Els is a part of this dark story and when he starts speaking everyone will have to try their hardest to survive his wrath.
I'll update about the audiobook when I have a chance to listen to it but have no reason to think that there will be a difference from the two excellent prior installments.
A fitting conclusion to this YA series, it will be interesting to see where White goes next. Is more epic fantasy in her future plans?
Content Warning: The protagonist ends up with disfigurement/permanent damage.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
View all my reviews
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