Their relationship’s growth and conflict mirror the entire arc of the murder mystery. This seemingly simplistic scheme plays into the novel’s central mystery-without spoiling anything, the story’s twists go to interesting and surprising places.Īs a whole, dragon and human (and valkyrie!) relationships keep the beat-to-beat energy going, but they are ultimately in support of White’s primary story: the relationship between the newly married Alistair and Aliza. White builds out her fantasy world naturally, setting pieces into categories: bad guys, good guys, neutral guys. Upon arriving at Castle Selwyn, the Daireds find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery, complicated by ancient grudges and secret avengers. The core conflict in White’s world is a direct result of an ancient pact between humans, wyverns and dragons, who fight together against the other dangerous magical creatures that opposed the pact. Sequel to Heartstone, which was a magical retelling of Pride and Prejudice, White’s latest book finds Alistair and Aliza Daired (her Darcy and Elizabeth avatars) happily married and called upon to defeat a mysterious monster threatening the castle of a powerful lord. In Elle Katharine White’s Dragonshadow, the landscape of her Austenesque fantasy world drives each conflict.

However, some authors choose to step away from the industry standard, creating a separate, distinct experience. Conventional fantasy settings (often Tolkien-inspired landscapes) can be useful for establishing easy-to-understand lines between good and evil, or to skip the onboarding process of learning new systems and races.

City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender