Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. Despite some uneven pacing, White’s latest offers readers another fun foray into a land of dragons and mystery.

Add the reappearance of an old enemy who should be dead and a mysterious wedding present that proves impossible to leave behind, and there are more than enough puzzles to be solved. Rumors say a very old, very dangerous power has returned, and the mystery deepens when the Daired party arrives at Castle Selwyn. With strange reports of attacks by “unfamiliar beasts” and mysterious activity taking place in the old tunnels beneath Alastair’s castle, it’s clear someone, or something, is up to no good. Despite Alastair’s misgivings, Aliza joins the mission with the backing of Alastair’s dragon partner, Akarra. Healer Aliza and her new spouse, noble dragonrider Alastair Daired, must abandon their honeymoon plans when Lord Niall Selwyn asks Alastair to help find a murderer. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Pride & Prejudice is a literary titan of love stories. And silence, it seems, is about to be broken.Dropping the Jane Austen homage of her first book, Heartstone, White delivers another warm-hearted tale of romance and fantasy adventure. Review: Heartstone, Elle Katharine White by Although Heartstone may be a retelling of Pride & Prejudice, just with mythical creatures and in a slightly different realm, it works quite well as a novel. 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. 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. Another moves toward Arle, riding the winds from the south: an ambassador from the Silent King of Els.

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. But Aliza and Alastair Daired, along with their dragon Akarra, are far from home, trapped in the icy northern wastes by Wydrick's treachery. As their enemies begin amassing, desperate Arleans look to their greatest defenders. 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.

Debts must be paid.? Tristan Wydrick, sworn enemy of House Daired, is back from the dead. ?The summons comes for the House of Edan Daired.

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.

Heartstone elle katharine white