Heartless (Tales of Goldstone Wood)

At the beginning of Heartless, you kept wanting to tell Una to stop stringing everyone along and speak out instead of just whining. I am happy to say that it did improve as the story moved on. You were kept guessing about what was going to happen next. all in all, a good read.

The love between the faerie prince and princess Una seems too contrived with no true foundation. Really,why does the prince love her. She is nothing but an ordinary undeveloped character.

The dragons and their dark fire is well thought out and the best I've seen. True dragons.

i absolutely loved this book and i started the second right away. I recommended it to my mom, and now she's reading it. I am currently on the fifth book now and i can't wait to start reading the last one!
GO FAERIE!!!!!!!!!!

( I LOVE the Prince of Farthestshore!!!!)

The story is different in direction than most. There were perhaps too many facets at the start to keep my attention. I found that I had to get further into the book to want to keep reading it. But when I got to that mid point, I did enjoy the book.

This series is awesome! You get pulled into the story right away and become immersed. The stories are all well written and have a great theme throughout. LOVED the entire series! Can't wait for the next one to be published!!

I absolutely loved this book from the first time I found it, and re-read the book frequently. I would recommend is book to anyone who likes adventure, mystery, fantasy, and the thrills of a good book. By far, Anne Stengl is an inspiration to writers!!!

I absolutely loved this book from the first time I found it, and re-read the book frequently. I would recommend is book to anyone who likes adventure, mystery, fantasy, and the thrills of a good book. By far, Anne Stengl is an inspiration to writers!!!

I love love this book. Simple but strong. It keeps you reading on and on until you finish the whole book. This is the classic/ancient kind of falling in love. It speaks of what love really is. No bounderies.

While this book started off okay, it ended up forgettable.

Una's vapid for a heroine, and there is very little development of her character. Other characters that should have had some major supporting roles just never seemed to be fleshed out. The reasoning behind actions of most of the characters was never really explained either. Overall the plot and characters left me confused, it was like the author wrote the story without really thinking about the personalities, motivations, and background of their characters.

The redeeming feature of this book were the imaginative settings, like the market. The downside is that there would then be entire pages of text that contributed very little to the actual plot line.

It is difficult to find fantasy books with strong female leads for younger girls, but I would never recommend this to any of my nieces or their friends. I'd send them some thing by Patricia Wrede or Jessica Day George instead.

Wow! I must say I was completely pleasantly surprised by this book. It was an absolute delight of a story, filled with descriptive imagery and stunning world building. When I saw it billed as "romantic fantasy/allegory" I was expecting...something else. Something bawdy and perhaps a little cheesy, but this was sweet and steadfast instead. I found myself completely charmed and looking forward to Stengl's next book. Brava!

Great book. I really enjoyed it and all the suspense it offered. I did have a few questions about one of the characters, but those are the sort that could easily have been saved for a sequel. I definitely would want to read more of the world created in the book.

Read This Book!!!

No sex, just a great fairy tale filled with action, romance and with a happy ending (with some interesting twists). I will say though that the girl was a little annoying at times but you get over it to enoy the imaginary world written within these pages.

For a free book...this book was wonderful. The imagery was astounding, beautiful, and even dark at times. It was easy to live in their crazy world. To feel their emotions. Their fear...their joy...their pain....their love. A fast and fabulous read!

Congratulations to Ms. Stengl on a very promising debut! As a huge fan of Shanon Hale and Megan Whalen Turner's style of fiction, I was so impressed with the craftsmanship of this new fantasy! I am usually a critic of both style and content, but this young adult fiction will top my list of recommendations this year. In a market too often glutted with pulp fiction of mediocre writing (are you reading this Ms. Meyer?), this is a breath of fresh air! I can't wait for the next one!

The story begins with Una and her brother Felix playing near the Goldstone Woods on the Old Bridge. It is here that Una finds Monster, the big, old, gold-colored, blind cat with the plumy tail, and takes him home to live with her.

Princess Una is a romantic at heart. When she comes of age, she petulantly longs to be courted and married. In her eagerness to begin courting, Una questions her nursemaid about her father’s efforts to encourage qualified suitors, her nursemaid tells her she has no business worrying about such things, because in his own time Una’s father will take care of everything. Una patiently puts up with all the history, tapestry, dance and other lessons and educational classes and tutorials on proper etiquette that a princess must endure so that she will know how to behave while she is courting and then married.

The excitement, magic, and unfolding of the story begins when the faeries arrive in the kingdom of Parumvir heralding the beginning of the Twelve-Year Market. On the first day of the Twelve-Year Market, peculiar things begin to happen. Una’s personality changes after she visits a rather ugly fortuneteller who lets her see a vision in the surface of a dragon scale, although Una cannot recall the image in the vision after she leaves the fortuneteller’s shop, her personality is irreversibly altered.

Aethelbald, the Prince of Farthestshore is the first suitor to seek Princess Una’s hand in marriage, but she will have none of it. He is not romantic or good-looking enough to suit Una’s image of what her future husband should be. With Una’s personality affected by the vision in the dragon scale she held during her prophecy in the fortuneteller’s tent, she responds in a harsh, disapproving way to Aethelbald’s presence and to any conversations they have.

Una falls in love with two (one at a time) pretty shady characters in the story and then blames Aethelbald when these relationships do not develop into the love she is anticipating experiencing in a betrothal and eventually marriage.

When the kingdom of Parumvir is invaded and the king (Una’s father) is overthrown, Una, her brother Felix and their father Fidel encounter, suffer through and eventually triumph over a number of violent life changing events. Along the way, they meet some unique and unforgettable characters and visit some enchanted, magical, and memorable realms.

This was a first class read for lovers of the fantasy genera. There are dragons, faeries, goblins, and plenty of other magical folks and creatures in this fantastic story.

Fracturing fairy tales has become common in modern-day story telling. It seems like TV shows and movie where spins and twists are put on fairy tale and folklore stories are pretty frequently put out. Of course, one gets a steady diet of that from Disney, but they are far from the only practitioners.

“Heartless” is, in many ways, another modern take on fairy tales, but one that is different from some of the others I've come on, and one that I like rather a lot.

A lot of the expected elements are in it. There are princes and princesses, strange places where strange things can happen, dragons and warriors, heroes and villains. There is love and loss, heroism and cowardice, selfishness and sacrifice.

But maybe the big difference between this fairy tale and the classic kind, a difference that I think may make “Heartless” more suited to a more grown-up reader than the kiddie version of fairy tales popular nowadays, is that most of the people in it are not larger than life. With a couple of exceptions, they are not paragons of virtue, nor are they dripping in evil and villainy.

Una is not the stereotypical fairy tale princess, Felix is not prince charming, and Leo is not a knight in shining armor. They are, in a sense, only as large as life. They act like how we act, they do the things we do, they act selfishly and rashly, they make shallow decisions, and they hurt those around them in profound ways. They aren't the stereotypical sympathetic characters, they are in fact rather frustrating. Just like we are.

One of the biggest parallels I saw between this story and Christianity is this—Una is loved by the fairy prince even when she treats him badly and as an enemy. This was a reminder to me of how “God showed us His love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

Overall, this is a work of creative and imagination, as well as well thought out and fairly sound in it's allegorical representations of Christianity. I can recommend it very strongly.

I didn't know what to expect going into Heartless, but I was surprised to find that I was actually hooked fairly early on in the book. My inner princess loves stories of kings and castles and princesses and coming of age and suitors. I just love reading about this stuff. And what's better than all of this PLUS DRAGONS?!?!?!?! (I totally don't read enough stories about dragons these days. Need to rectify this.)

However, I hit a snag about 35% into the book. Things started to slow down for me, and Una, our main female character, left me wanting. She likes the wrong things/people. She does the wrong things. But I'm finding that so often we need to really see how far a character needs to come in order to appreciate the journey and where the character ends up at the end of the story. This was totally the case with Una.

Symbolism abounds in the latter half to quarter of this book, and I really enjoyed and appreciated it. I don't often highlight in my Kindle while reading, but I found myself highlighting away. (This is changing, I'm becoming a highlighter!) The symbolism was pretty evident to me which was nice because when I studied literature in high school I was terrible at picking it out, so it's nice to see that I've improved in this area. And symbolism isn't always a key proponent of the type of books that I read these days, so it was nice to have this included.

Because of the symbolism, I learned to appreciate Una's character and the growth and change that she went through in the process of this book. Of course there were other characters that need to be touched upon. Prince Aethelbald--what a horrible name--was, of course, my favorite character in the entire book. There's Felix who I imagine we'll be seeing more from in the other books in the series because he has challenges ahead of him that were set up in this book that remain unresolved. We can't forget Monster the cat who's more than just a cat. I found Monster to be an appropriate character for Anne Elisabeth Stengl. After doing an author interview with her for the release Starflower (book 4 in this series), I found out that she has several cats and fosters them too. It's no wonder that there would be more to Monster than meets the eye. And of course, we have Una's other suitors, the Dragon, and various other dragons who contribute to the cast of characters, among others.

In the end, Heartless was an enjoyable read filled with much more than meets the eye. While I didn't love the main character, Una, I understand her completely and feel as if she was perfect for the story Anne Elisabeth Stengl was trying to tell. I'd definitely give Heartless 3 Stars and look forward to coming back for the other books in this series.

For more reviews, check out Somewhere Only We Know - [...]

I actually very much enjoyed the story the first half of the book. I liked the voice, and even though some reviewers found Una bratty, I didn't. I loved Monster, too.

The problem hit about half-way through. The plot suddenly began to wander, and the voice seemed to change. Una did become unlikable, but that's not what bothered me the most. Things went from unique to predictable, and it started to feel like the author was forcing allegory and forgetting story.

By about 3/4 of the way through, I started skimming, and about 60 pages from the end I realized I just didn't care how it ended.

I wish the voice and style from the first third to half had continued through the whole book.

Anyway, I would normally give a book 2 stars if I don't finish, but I got pretty far with this one and could see real skill in the first have of the book. I don't think I'll read more of this particular series, though--however,if the author started a new series I would definitely give it a try.

Heartless is the first book in the Tales of Goldstone Wood series. I read Veiled Rose not too long ago, and while I loved it, I realize now how much more I would have gotten out of it if I'd read Heartlessfirst. It took my appreciation of the series to a whole new level. Even though Veiled Rose goes back in time, I highly recommend Heartlessfirst!

Heartless is a perfect fairy tale filled with dragons, fairies, knights, and a princess. Since I mentioned knights and all, I do want to point out that I wouldn't label this series as a romance in any kind of way. While I like reading romance, I do appreciate that this series isn't one of them. I've "met" a great deal of people through the blogging world that either don't or can't read romance books. If you like fantasy at all, I do recommend this series, either way. Despite the girly covers, which I love, I think these are great for boys, too.

I still haven't completely figured out Prince Athelbald's character. It seems like there was a great deal of symbolism going on with him, but I couldn't really figure out how parts of it worked together. I know that's really vague, but I don't want to give anything away. You should be able to read this series and come away with whatever you decide, so I don't want to alter that opinion in any kind of way. His character did leave me a bit confused, though. It's one of those stories that have stuck with me. I keep randomly pondering the characters and plot. I enjoy books that do that!

Lord willing, I am planning on re-reading Veiled Rose before Moonblood releases in April. I'm SO excited! :)

Heartless
Tales of Goldstone Wood
by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Una is princess of Parumvir and she is anxious to be sought by nobility who desire her hand in marriage. But all too soon Una gets her heart's desire in the form of three very different suitors. But little does Una realize that her choice will determine not only her future but also the fate of her very soul.

When Prince Aethelbard of Farthestshore declares his love to Una and his desire to marry her she refuses him. Then Prince Gervais of Beauclair seeks her hand, as does her father's old childhood acquaintance the Duke of Shippening. But only to Leonard - Prince Lionheart of the Southlands does she give her heart. But Leonard is a prince in hiding and only to Una does he reveal his true identity.

Having touched a dragon's scale Una and the kingdom of Parumvir are in danger, but Aethelbard's warnings fall on deaf ears. When the very dragon they were warned of comes upon them unaware King Fidel and Prince Felix may lose their very lives trying to save Una from her fate.

But love is the only way to save Una, a sacrificial love. But whom among Una's suitors would be willing to die for her and to give up their heart so that she might be saved? Or will Una be Heartless for the rest of her life?

Heartless is a lovely allegory of love and sacrifice. True love is only true if it is given for no personal gain.

If you don't like books with Christian allegory in them, then this book isn't for you.

If you don't like books written in the fairy tale style, then this book isn't for you.

If you don't like books written in third-person omniscient point of view (like Charles Dickens), then this book isn't for you.

If you don't like books where the heroine isn't some hot, tough, plucky, butt-kicking, warrior maiden, but a teenage princess who is only a little pretty, not very brave, a bit spoiled, naive, stubborn, full of ideas for what romance should be like (much like any teenage girl), then this book isn't for you.

If you don't like books where the hero isn't a handsome, charming, witty, romantic, macho guy, then this book isn't for you.

However...

If you don't mind all of the above...

If you're looking for a book full of meaning, a tale of undeserved grace and love...

A tale of a Savior who is always there for us, even when no one else is...

Then this book is definitely for you.

Heartless is the first in the fantasy series Tales of Goldstone Wood written by Anne Elisabeth Stengl.

I got the chance to read the sequel of Heartless (Veiled Rose) before this, which gave me an interesting perspective. I'd recommend reading it in order - but if not, it worked this way too. It has an overlapping story that influences the other in a lovely way - either way you read it.

Princes Una of Parumvir is of age and is ready to begin being courted. Her father, the King, hasn't allowed any suitors before her eighteenth birthday - but now it's time to start welcoming them to the palace. The first one that arrives, however, is not the sort of prince she dreamed of. His name is Prince Aethelbald and he's sovereign over the strange and mysterious kingdom of Farthestshore - a place of magic and non-human citizens. But yet he has come to declare his love for Princess Una - before she's even tried to get over his ordinary looks and less than overtly charming personality.

Una finds herself much more attracted to another suitor. He's good looking and charismatic and everything she hoped for. But as she's being wooed by this more traditional suitor, Prince Aethelbald speaks to her father about danger. There is a dragon on a rush of terror, overrunning a far-off land, and Aethelbald warns that he may be on his way. He warns that Una may be in danger.

Yet the King sees no such danger, and Una is too taken with her new prince and irritated with the old to pay any attention...

Though soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir - and now it may be too late...

When writing out a summary like that, I find that Heartless sounds far more generalized than it actually is. Stengl has created an original fantasy fairy-tale for the 21st century - something weaved so well that it has an inherent magical and mystical tone.

It has an allegorical side to it, but though when I recognize it, it is amazing - I don't recognize it all that often. I'm more swept away by the story - which was genuinely surprising and intriguing with a complicated, yet delicate, plot that begins to roll out in a lovely, understated yet powerful way.

Plus, the overlap of plotting between Veiled Rose and Heartless convinces me thoroughly of Stengl's extensive intricacy of planning - I was wowed and fascinated with this detailed tale. These two novels give us two distinct tales, yet they enrich each other and provide so much unbelievable character depth and perspectives it was incredible to see.

The characters have a realism to them. At first, Una's immaturity and obsession with the more superficial love can be a little off-putting - but it's realistic and understandable. This is a story that allows her to grow and mature. The other characters are just as true-to-life with flaws and strengths - yet more proof that fantasy can be grounded in excellent, believable writing!

There is an enchanting melancholy to Heartless - a subtly and beauty to Stengl's gentle prose that can be heartwrenching and suspenseful as the danger and evil of the Dragon is exposed further. We follow this kingdom in peril and at the hands of a terrifying, inscrutable enemy - which can be as psychologically frightening as it can be physically.

A dreamy, trancelike state quickly morphs into a nightmare as Heartless takes darker turns. I was truly shocked at the twists - and delighted to be so! This is a romantic fantasy that is epic in size and scope! I am now utterly convinced that I will be scrambling for the next book in the Tales of Goldstone Wood - I'm not ready to give up learning more about these multilayered characters and the beautiful fantasy and magic their tales are told among!

*I received a copy of Heartless from the Bethany House Book Reviewers program. Their generosity in no way influenced, nor sought to influence, my opinion of the novel.

*To read more reviews from the Bibliophile Support Group or comment on them, simply click on my the store profile and find a link there. For some reason the reviews never allow me to post the URL in the review. But I'd love you to check out my blog, where I post new reviews every Monday and Friday.

Original review on Book Whispers.

Genre: YA Fantasy (Classic Fairy Tale)

Fairytales are the timeless joy of the fantasy genre. Readers thrive off of them, whether it's retellings or variations of our favorite stories. What gets readers into more of a frenzy then the classic Fairytale? Why, an original tale that is clearly worthy of the classics. That is exactly what Heartless is.

The beauty of Stengl's writing style will please fantasy fans who hunger for the kind of quality found in Robin McKinley's books. For those who find McKinley's style too harsh and a bit hard to sink into, Stengl's softer style will be a relief. The landscapes just flow up majestically and the emotions that consume the reader make the characters feel real. The story and plot sweeps across the page with a timeless grace.

Una is definitely a classic fairytale Princess. She needs to be rescued, and there are enough warnings given to her before hand that she shouldn't have fallen victim. Then again--that's life--everyone has bitten and choked on the apple at some point. Una's downfall is of the heart, a modern and historic story of how someone can give their heart to the wrong person. In Una's case it's a terrible price she pays for the nativity of her emotions. Unlike the classic princess, Una is strong and willful. She has enough spirit to make up her own mind, and in the end find redemption--even learning from her mistakes. (Of course Prince Charming still get to ride in and save the day.)

Dragons never quite get the attention they deserve in most fairytales. In Heartless the Dragon(s) finally get that time to shine--even if they are quite the villains. Anne has created a dragon mythology that sent my head spinning into giddiness. They're like vampires in the aspect that they must be invited into a dwelling, and that they can turn other humans into dragons. It's breath taking, and terrifying, all at the same time. Heartless is such a tease as it reveals enough to get you there, but enough is left out to keep you crawling after the next book!

This is a win-win for Fairytale lovers! Dragon lovers will be smitten by the new mythology of the dragon. Princess Una will frustrate readers with the paroles of love, and have readers rooting for her (or wanting to smack her upside the head). This book deals with the modern day heartbreak on a grander scale only a Fairytale can exploit. The ending is just as practical and sweet as a Happily Ever After should be, so HEA readers should feel content. Keep an eye out for more by this author as there's more world--and dragons--to enchant readers.

Sexual Content: Really clean. A few kissing scenes, some blushing, and some very vague sexual humor. Definitely good for the kiddies.

Rating: 4/5- Great! Really enjoyed it.

Let me first start off this review by saying that I do not normally read fantasy at all. I just cannot get into the story. And I found myself having that problem with this book. Even though the characters were very intriguing and the story line more interesting than most fantasy books I have attempted, I just found myself not wanting to read the book. I would only read 2-3 chapters at a time before I put it down and read something else. In fact, there would be days where I completely ignored it in favor for other books. Then one day, I decided it was now or never that I sit down and read this book in one sitting. And I found myself really enjoying the story.

While all the traditional elements of a fantasy novel are here (mythical worlds, dragons, names I cannot pronounce), Stengl manages to create Una into a character I could very much relate to. Also the entire world didn't seem so distant like other fantasy worlds seem to be. That is the reason why I never can get into the story, because I don't understand their world.

The story started off a little slow for me but once Una falls in love with Leonard, I felt the story really picked up from there. That was the point where I couldn't stop reading and it just kept building up from there. There are dragons, people in disguise, jilted lovers, daring rescues - it just doesn't get any better than this. Seriously, the writing was top notch with lots of drama, plenty of action scenes and a love story.

Being as this is from a Christian publisher, I can sort of see some sort of allegory references in here. But to be honest, they weren't very clear to me and all I read was just a GOOD story. Therefore, this is a book I can recommend to any YA fantasy reader, whether they read Christian or general market books exclusively.

I'm not going to lie. While I ended up really liking this book, I am going to pace myself before reading the next book in the series. If it's about any of the characters in this book, especially Una and Aethelbald, then I will be more inclined to pick it up. However, if it's about new characters or different parts of the world, I might hold off. Stengl's writing is absolutely lovely but I'm still dipping my toes barely into the genre and am working my way in very slowly. If you are YA fantasy fan, you will LOVE this book. And even if you're not, you should still try it. It might just be your next favorite read.

Out of the five finalists for the INSPY Speculative Award for this year, this one was my least favorite. While it wasn't nearly as awful as another book I recently read, it still walked a very fine line between preaching (and the subsequent talking down feel) and storytelling.

I had high hopes - dragons, princesses, strange names - all were in abundance and can usually equal the ingredients for an interesting, if not thrilling story. Instead I got a very tame fairy-tale that seemed to be catering to 12 year old girls and not the adults it appeared to be marketed for.

There are so many issues today with Christian fiction. With the exception of a few authors, most books are like this - watered down stories that instead of conveying a powerful message, instead give a simplified message for fear of offending one of the readers.

Bring on the offense - I crave strong reactions that test my belief and make me constantly examine them to determine whether they are made up by myself or truly beliefs given to me by God.

Plot Summary:

Princess Una of Parumvir has just come of age, and she awaits the arrival of her first suitors with much excitement. Prince Aethelbald of Farthestshore, however, is not quite what she had in mind. With a name like 'Aethelbald' and perfectly ordinary looks, he can't compete with Una's dreams of a dashing prince, and she refuses to hear his offer - or to heed the warnings of a Dragon who is seeking her. When Una gives her heart away to a man unworthy of it, she finds herself heartless and vulnerable before the Dragon King. Who can save her from herself?

Review:

I read this first book in the Tales of Goldstone Wood series after 'Veiled Rose,' the second novel, and found it just as well-written and powerful. The writing is excellent, sprinkled with dry humor toward the beginning that does become less as the darkness of the story grows, and the characters wonderful. I especially appreciated the authoress' ability to weave this book with 'Veiled Rose,' even using scenes from 'Heartless' in its sequel, but from another person's point of view. The metaphors and allegories used are also very apt, and, not to be punny, there is a lot of heart in everything about the book.

I would personally recommend reading 'Veiled Rose' first and then reading 'Heartless,' but the books can be read in either order. However, they should both be read before the reader makes a judgment upon them, for it is hard to fully appreciate either without having seen the way they intertwine. They each add to the other, clarifying some points and embellishing others, and should not be taken separately.

Note: This is the conclusion of the review of 'Heartless' from the website "Squeaky Clean Reviews." The full review may be found there.

The story line is a younger version reflecting imaginary story telling akin to CS Lewis. For those with eyes to see, the story echos an eternal prince who loves and pursues people who think they are unlovable still today.

This book is an easy read. I’m hoping the follow on books develop the other characters who are peppered through book 1.

Readers can approach the book as a nice story or settle in and get a deeper feel for how Jesus loved in the parallels to the long suffering prince.