Book Review: Heartstone by Elle Katharine White

Heartstone
Author: Elle Katharine White
Series: Heartstone (Book 1)
Publication: HarperAudio (September 20, 2022)

Description: A debut historical fantasy that recasts Jane Austen’s beloved Pride & 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.

My Thoughts: This was an excellent fantasy with lots of romance. When Merybourne manor is invaded by gryphons, the local lord gathers together enough money to hire a group of Riders to clear them out. While Aliza Bentaine is grateful to the riders, one of them, Alistair Daired, just rubs her the wrong way. She first meets him when he kicks her hobgoblin friend Tobble and calls him vermin. Daired is rude, arrogant and haughty. A romance does bloom between one of the other Riders and Aliza's sister Anjey though which delights Aliza and Anjey's social climbing mother who wants nothing more than to marry her daughters off to Riders.

After the gryphons have been defeated, most of the Riders leave and when the king calls, the rest leave too. Anjey and her Rider promise to write to each other every day, but no letters arrive. Aliza is angry and sad for her sister. Time passes and Aliza travels to visit her best friend who has married and is living near a Daired family home. There she meets Alistair again whom she blames for sabotaging her sister's relationship by intercepting the letters. He denies it and confesses his love for her in a somewhat tactless manner. She rebuffs him but can't seem to get him out of her thoughts.

When a terrible lindworm surfaces endangering Aliza's home and all the Riders, she learns what her true feelings are for Alistair Daired. I loved the slow building romance. I loved all the various creatures especially Tobble and Alistair's dragon partner Akarra. I liked the world building. I liked Aliza's adventure to save her love.

Fantasy fans who like some romance in their stories will enjoy this first book in a trilogy. 

Favorite Quote:

If there is such a thing as magic in the world, I was convinced it existed in the simplest comforts: hot bathwater and clean clothes. 

I bought this one from Chirp. You can buy your copy here.