Week 46 Reviews: Heartstone, Dragonshadow, Flamebringer

From Goodreads:
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. 

From Goodreads:
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. 

From Goodreads:
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. 

My first review of Heartsong, Dragonshadow
My second review of Heartsong
My Review:
Oh, wow, it was just so great to read these books! I Just love this series, it's so fantastic, and it started off as an excellent retelling of Pride and Prejudice but with dragons and monsters, and just great from there! Such wonderful, enjoyable books to read!

Even though it's my 3rd time reading Heartstone, I just enjoyed it so much. There's the familiar story beats of their relationship, in the facets of their characters, as well as new storylines from the fantasy side that are just so great to read!

Dragonshadow, I remembered a lot what happened in it, which was pretty fantastic. Watching everything come together, it was a bit bittersweet, knowing what was going to happen, but just so fantastic to read!

Flamebringer, I just couldn't put it down! I started it just after midnight, and finished around 4 am. Yeah, I just devoured it, I loved exploring more of this world, and just what the secret of Els was! Oh, how it all came together, it was so fantastic to read!

Loved these books, and I can't wait to read more from Elle Katharine White!

Author: Elle Katharine White
Series: Heartsong #1, 2, 3
First Read: January 23rd, 2017, November 22nd, 2018
Second Read: February 20th, 2018
Read: November 12th, 13, 14th, 2019
Source: Bought
Reason Why: Rereading, and they're 2019 Retelling Reading Challenge Books, Historical Fiction 2019 Books, and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Books! And Flamebringer is a End of Series 2019 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Harper Voyage
Published: January 17th 2017, November 20th 2018, November 12th 2019

Heartstone:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Dragonshadow:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Flamebringer:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 32 Review: House of Salt and Sorrow

From Goodreads:
Get swept away in Erin A. Craig's mesmerizing House of Salt and Sorrows. As one by one her beautiful sisters mysteriously die on their isolated island estate, Annaleigh must unravel the curse that haunts her family. Be careful who you dance with. . . .

Four of Annaleigh Thaumas's eleven sisters have returned to the Salt, the brackish water that surrounds their lonely island home, their lives cut short, each more tragically than the last. Whispers throughout the Highmoor estate say the girls have been cursed by the gods. 

When Annaleigh finds out that her sisters have been sneaking out to attend glittering midnight balls and dance until dawn, she's not sure whether to stop them--or join them. And when she begins to see a series of horrific, ghostly visions and more sisters die, she realizes she must solve the mystery--with the help of Cassius, a sea captain who knows much more about her than he should--and unravel the Thaumas curse before she descends into madness or . . . it claims her next. 

My Review:
Wow, this book was a fantastic read! I enjoyed the world and the characters so much! I love the fact that it's a retelling, maybe not of a classic, well known story, but the 12 Dancing Princesses, which was done by the Brothers Grimm, it is a fairy tell, making this a retelling!

I really enjoyed watching Annaleigh investigate the mystery of her sisters deaths. It's not a typical mystery, since it's an aim of Annaleigh, but there's also a lot going on. And when we get to the reveal, oh, I wasn't expecting that!

This world was pretty fascinating to be in. There's the different gods, and where this book is set, they worship the god of the Sea. There's others, and I enjoyed learning about it, though I would love to learn more, in a companion book or something, because I think Annaleigh deserves a happy and content ending, and I think she got that in this book!

One part of this book, near the end, is the question of how much of what we saw was real, and how much of it was added by the powers of the bad guy? And how much was taken away? It's a bit of a mystery to me, especially the mention of the fairy shoes. Even if they weren't going to balls, wouldn't they still be worn out from all the dancing they were doing?

Loved this book, it was a really fantastic read!

Author: Erin A. Craig
Read: August 7th, 2019
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a 2019 Retelling Reading Challenge Book, DAC Book, SAC 2019 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: August 6th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 26 Review: The Evil Queen

From Goodreads:
Classic fairy tales are turned on their heads as strong heroines take charge and save the princes and the world in this magical action and romance-filled trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Everlife novels and the White Rabbit Chronicles, beginning with a teen prophesied to become the Evil Queen from Snow White who refuses to be pigenonholed into her destiny.

Far, far away, in the magical realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm, and fairytales are real. Except, fairytales aren't based on myths and legends of the past—they are prophecies of the future. Though Princess Everly Morrow was brought to the mortal realm as an infant, she knows she's destined to rule a kingdom in Enchantia, thus fulfilling a beloved fairytale. But which one?

At seventeen, when an ability to commune with mirrors manifests, she begins to suspect the truth, and it's more sinister than anyone ever realized…

She is destined to be Snow White's greatest enemy, the Evil Queen.

With powers beyond her imagination or control—and determined to prove herself good—Everly returns to the land of her birth, smack dab in the middle of the creepiest forest of all time. There, Everly meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed. As bits and pieces of the prophecy unfold, Everly faces one betrayal after the other, and giving in to her dark side proves more tempting every day. Soon, she will have to choose. Be a hero and walk away, or become the queen—and villain—of her dreams.

The battle between good and evil is on!

My Review:
Oh, man, this book was so fantastic to read! I absolutely loved this retelling, that the fairy tales were prophecies, and how people had characteristics of the different players in the tale, and so there were multiple people who could be the different players.

We have the beginning which is set slightly in the future, and so we knew what was going to happen. And as Everly went on her journey, I kinda cringed inside, because like Noel and Ophelia pointed out, it takes heat and pressure to make diamonds.

One thing that I really enjoyed about Everly was her habit of nicknaming people by their initials. Like Snow White and the Evil Queen became SW and EQ. Just a little piece, but I noticed it and I enjoyed it!

I guess Nicolas really is a bad guy, but you think he'd not put his dead lady love's child in harms way. Like, what would she think of his actions? But I guess since he's evil, he doesn't think like that, or doesn't care. Which isn't a good kind of love.

So I'm really looking forward to the future books. Because I think we'll get to explore the other kingdoms, as well as go through other fairy tales. Plus there's Nicolas plotting out there. And maybe Farrah will feel the regret and could work things out with Truly, though she definitely has a lot to make amends for, she had some true Evil Queen moments!

This book was so fantastic, and I can't wait to see where the series goes from here!

Author: Gena Showalter
Series: The Forest of Good and Evil #1
Read: June 28th, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded good, and it's a 2019 Retelling Reading Challenge Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Published: June 25th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 13 Review: Spelled

From Goodreads:
Somewhere over the rainbow, all spell is about to break loose…

Fairy Tale Survival Rule No. 32: If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your Prince Charming to save the day.

Yeah, no thanks. Dorthea is completely princed out. Sure being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks—like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the charming brooding prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.

Talk about unhappily ever after.

Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called "Kansas." Now it's up to Dorthea and her pixed off prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse…before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story.

My Review:
This book was a lot of fun to read! I didn't really like Dorthea at first, she was pretty selfish and oblivious to everybody but herself. But as she goes on this journey, she learns more about herself and becomes a better person, which is really great!

This world of stories coming to life, in another world that is affected by storymakers from our world, yeah, it's been done a time or two before, like Once Upon a Time, but it's not something that I read before, and the puns and the story-fied versions of things we have, it's just so hilarious!

Dorthea was something of a brat in the beginning, There were times where I wanted to non-violently knock some sense into her. But as she goes on this unwanted adventure, the situations that she got into gave her that.

That ending was pretty awesome. It took a lot of what she'd learned with everything that happened to them, but they worked it out. Unfortunately there was the whole thing with the water that is going to bite them in the butt in the future! I can't wait to read it!

Really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read more of this series!

Author: Betsy Schow
Series: The Storymakers #1
Read: March 28th, 2019
Source: NetGalley/Library
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a 2019 Retelling Reading Challenge Book and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book!
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Published: June 2nd 2015

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars