Heartstone

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.

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. "The summons comes for the House of Edan Daired. Debts must be paid." Tristan Wydrick, sworn enemy of House Daired, is back from the dead. Possessed by a ghast and sharing its shadowy unlife, he commands not only the soul-sucked ghastradi, but also the monstrous Tekari forces bent on Arle's destruction. As their enemies begin amassing, desperate Arleans look to their greatest defenders. But Aliza and Alastair Daired, along with their dragon Akarra, are far from home, trapped in the icy northern wastes by Wydrick's treachery. Fighting their way through blizzards, haunted forests, and their own growing fears, the Daireds find a new battle awaiting them in the capital, for the Tekari and ghastradi are not the only forces converging on the heart of the kingdom. Another moves toward Arle, riding the winds from the south: an ambassador from the Silent King of Els. Unknown enemy? Or unexpected ally? Plunged into the 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 silence, it seems, is about to be broken.

"White's 2017 debut, Heartstone, fused epic fantasy with the manners of Jane Austen so perfectly, she basically created a whole new sub-genre. The sequel picks up the charm offensive where the first book left off." – B&N Sci-fi & Fantasy Blog The author of Heartstone once again infuses elements of Jane Austen's beloved novel 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. And 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.