Pride and Prejudice and Dragons

So you may recall that this cover caught my eye a while ago, and then the other day I stumbled on this review by Thea James of The Book Smugglers:

They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want of a monster to slay—and there is no shortage of bloodthirsty monsters in the countryside estate of Merybourne.

Well, that’s unexpected. I saw this and thought: fantasy, with dragons! But I didn’t guess about the Pride and Prejudice thing. In some ways that could be a plus, in some ways a minus. For me, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was unreadable. The joke was stale by the end of the first chapter. This dragon one might be fun, though.

The cool thing is, Heartstone manages to break with Austen in a few key areas: the addition of mortal peril … and the incorporation of sentient dragons. Yes, you read that correctly: sentient dragons. Easily my favorite addition to the P&P-world, talking, reasoning, regal-and-slightly-terrifying dragons play a pivotal role in this story. I love the choice to involve the dragons as characters (as opposed to magical non-talking beasts without will or say) and was very pleased with the ways that Elle Katharine White manages to change the Austen-analog with the incorporation of these magnificent beasts.

Of course, the other thing required of any novel trying to mimic Austen’s most beloved classic is nailing the Elizabeth Bennet-Mr. Darcy romance—and on that front, I’m happy to report that White succeeds. Aliza and Daired are true to their namesakes, and their chemistry is volatile and powerful. I can’t complain.

I don’t know. I SO disliked P & P & Z, but maybe I will give this one a try, in the hope it is a real book that tells a real story, rather than one endless joke about dragons. It does seem like dragons probably lend themselves more to telling a real story than zombies might, given you’re starting with a P & P homage.

If any of you have read this, what did you think? And if you decide to go check it out, it’s “Heartstone,” one word, despite how it looks on the cover, so keep that in mind when you search for it.

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