Tuesday, July 20, 2010

"Heartless" Book Review

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Heartless
Bethany House (July 1, 2010)


by


Anne Elisabeth Stengl

MY REVIEW:
I love a good speculative fiction book, this particular book I would even classify as allegorical. It is original and unique. The characters are a parade of contradictions and exaggerations and the setting is a very interesting world. I really liked Princess Una and her brother Prince Felix along with their father King Fidel, the other characters filled in around them nicely. The story started along very nicely with Una turning 18 and accepting suitors, then it got a little long in the middle when I was trying to figure out the allegorical respect of everything (sometimes I think a little too hard) but then pulled together very nicely for the last part when all the pieces fell right into place like a beautiful puzzle that suddenly deserves a frame. A nice fantasy book and it will be interesting to see where Anne takes the series from here.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:





Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys her profession as an art teacher, giving private lessons from her personal studio, and teaching group classes at the Apex Learning Center. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. Heartless is her debut novel.



ABOUT THE BOOK



Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon be married. She dreams of a handsome and charming prince, but when the first suitor arrives, she finds him stodgy and boring. Prince Aethelbald from the mysterious land of Farthestshore has traveled far to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be approaching Parumvir.



Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer--and ignores his warnings. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir, and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in grave danger. When Una makes the wrong choice, catastrophe ensues for the princess and her family, and love, courage, and trust are needed when darkness engulfs the kingdom.



Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.



There are some delightful things and scenes: the Twelve-Year Market that appears in its own good time and sells fairy goods; a clever blind cat who is invariably underfoot and has, of course, a secret!



If you would like to read the first chapter of Heartless, go HERE.

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