Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer -- and ignores his cautions with dire consequences. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in his sights. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.
My thoughts: To be honest, when I first saw this series on Goodreads I was more interested in Veiled Rose (the second book) than this one. A girl with a secret, living in the forest, who becomes friends with a boy and helps him hunt for a monster? Yes, please! This one sounded as if the emphasis was more on romance, so I was inclined to buy the other one first, until I saw that this one was free. Yes!
I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. The story has an old-fashioned beginning that takes time to build up. When the Dragon King finally breaks into the castle it gets pretty intense. You might suspect, with how many times dragons have laid waste to kingdoms in stories, that this would be clichéd, but oh, it's not. The Dragon is interested in more than just killing and maiming, more than just treasure. . . he wants Una, and what he wants to do with her is terrifying -- he wants to turn her into a dragon. He's so powerful, that they can't keep him out of the castle, and he succeeds. That's the point when the story really becomes a fairytale, Grimm-style. I had dreams about it for days, and I had to start my own story to help myself think about it. Books that are thought-provoking like this are the best kind.
I definitely liked Felix better than Una. The scenes where Aethelbald helps him learn swordfighting are wonderful ones. Una drove me crazy with her silly dislike of Aethelbald. He wasn't romantic enough for her? But he came from the faery realm! How could she care about his name being hard to pronounce?! *cough* She really should have known better. Of course, I can't say for sure that I wouldn't have been a sucker for Leonard too. I might have been as bad as Una. It made me wonder: would I have told Aethelbald about the horrible nightmares and asked him for help, if it was me? Or would I be just as foolish?
Speaking of Aethelbald, I felt like partway through the story, when he started searching for Una, the symbolism in him was a little too close to the surface and it threw me out of the story a bit. A passing thing, but worth observing. I don't know if I would feel the same way on a second read.
I can't finish this review without mentioning Monster, Una's mysterious blind cat. He came to her from Goldstone Wood, so of course there's much more to him than he appears. He can pass under the gaze of the Dragon without being noticed. He guides Una and tries to help her, and helps Felix and the others find their way when they're lost and fleeing. The fourth book, Starflower, is going to be about him and Dame Imraldera, and I can't wait to read it!
Also: isn't the cover beautiful?
Recommendation: I'd recommend Heartless to anyone who likes fairytales or fantasy stories with a mysterious, eerie atmosphere. It's still free on Amazon and B&N, so check it out!
Author's website: Tales of Goldstone Wood
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