⋆.ೃ࿔࿐ྂfaith & fantasy⋆.ೃ࿔࿐ྂ discussion

Hey everyone! I sincerely apologize for the lateness of this thread. I have been very busy lately and am trying to catch up with my F&F duties. <3

In light of this, I have decided to extend this Book of the Month through August so that all who wish to read Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl may have a chance to do so.

Thank you for your understanding, and I look forward to reading this one with all of you!

Book Blurb:
The Dragon King seeks his princess—who dares to stop him?

Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon marry. She dreams of a charming prince, but when her first suitor arrives, he's not what she'd hoped.

Prince Aethelbald of mysterious Farthestshore has traveled a great distance to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger.

A dragon is rumored to be on the hunt and blazing a path of terror.

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.

Heartless is a standalone allegory/Christian fantasy novel.

Other Threads
✩ Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl Activities
✩ Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl Reflection Questions

I started this one with my sisters, and we're all loving it so much!

P.S. Heartless is currently free on Kindle Unlimited. :) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "I started this one with my sisters, and we're all loving it so much!

P.S. Heartless is currently free on Kindle Unlimited. :) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..."

I am enjoying it to! And I am reading it on Kindle Unlimited.

This is one of my most favorite books and I am SO excited to talk about it.

Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "I started this one with my sisters, and we're all loving it so much!

P.S. Heartless is currently free on Kindle Unlimited. :) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..."

Ahhh, I'm so glad you're reading it! I was thinking I had to come up with some complex argument to get you to. XD I hope you like it lots!

Helena wrote: "This is one of my most favorite books and I am SO excited to talk about it."

Me too!! It's been really exciting so far, and I'm having tons of fun reading it out loud.

Wonderful! I'll check it out now!

Hope wrote: "Wonderful! I'll check it out now!"

Awesome! I love your full Goodreads name, btw! ;)

I’ve just started reading it today! Loving the writing style so far✨

Sophie-Mae wrote: "I’ve just started reading it today! Loving the writing style so far✨"

Same here! It's definitely not a style everyone can pull off, and I'm pretty impressed.

What do you guys like best with the story so far?

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "I started this one with my sisters, and we're all loving it so much!

P.S. Heartless is currently free on Kindle Unlimited. :) https://www.amazon.co..."

Me?? Why?? Just because I am argumentative? 😅

Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "I started this one with my sisters, and we're all loving it so much!

P.S. Heartless is currently free on Kindle U..."

No, I just really wanted you to read it, haha!

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "What do you guys like best with the story so far?"

It's quite imaginative. I like how she is building the world. (I am not far enough in to say much more. 🤷‍♀️)

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "I started this one with my sisters, and we're all loving it so much!

P.S. Heartless is currently f..."

A book that I can talk about with people?? Sign me up! I 💜LOVE💜 BotMs!! No arguing or arm twisting required.

Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "I started this one with my sisters, and we're all loving it so mu..."

Ahaha, got it! I'm so excited to talk about this book more too. (I think your daughter might really like this one, too! I don't know her personally, though. What do you think?)

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "I started this one with my sisters, and we're all ..."

I need to get further in to decide. She needs a book that starts right off with the action. Who needs world-building?😉 So far, I think she would.🤞

I won't be reading Heartless this time. Since Helena praised it so highly, I am eagerly following your conversations on the book. :)

Stephen wrote: "I won't be reading Heartless this time. Since Helena praised it so highly, I am eagerly following your conversations on the book. :)"

I'm glad Helena recommended it!

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I won't be reading Heartless this time. Since Helena praised it so highly, I am eagerly following your conversations on the book. :)"

I'm glad Helena recommended it!"

I almost always enjoy Helena's recommendations!😊

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Hope wrote: "Wonderful! I'll check it out now!"

Awesome! I love your full Goodreads name, btw! ;)"

Thank you very much! It used to be Hope (taylor's version) because I'm a huge Swiftie, or I was before I started cutting out secular music. I liked the format, though, and I want to be God's version!

Yay, this book has been on my TBR for years! Maybe now I'll finally get around to reading it!

Hope wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Hope wrote: "Wonderful! I'll check it out now!"

Awesome! I love your full Goodreads name, btw! ;)"

Thank you very much! It used to be Hope (taylor's version) bec..."

Ah, got it! I have been seeing a lot of "Name" and then "(Blank's Version)" around on Goodreads. Do you know how that originated?

Mary Emma wrote: "Yay, this book has been on my TBR for years! Maybe now I'll finally get around to reading it!"

This does sound like a good opportunity to do so. I hope you join in! :)

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Hope wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Hope wrote: "Wonderful! I'll check it out now!"

Awesome! I love your full Goodreads name, btw! ;)"

Thank you very much! It used to be Hope (taylor's..."

I have wondered the same thing!🤔

Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Hope wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Hope wrote: "Wonderful! I'll check it out now!"

Awesome! I love your full Goodreads name, btw! ;)"

Thank you very ..."

Glad I'm not the only one!

Yes, I do!

Long story short, it originated as only (Taylor's Version), referring to the secondary title of Taylor Swift's first 6 albums, which she is rerecording, titling (Taylor's Version), because she now owns the music and albums (Long story, which I will explain some other time if you are interested).

Anyway, because of this, people started putting (Taylor's Version) on their usernames, both as a way to say listen to the rerecorded versions, and as a way to say she 'owns' them, (aka, they really really love her). After a while, people started to use this term with people (mostly fictional characters) other than Swift. hope this was helpful!

Mary-Therese wrote: "Yes, I do!

Long story short, it originated as only (Taylor's Version), referring to the secondary title of Taylor Swift's first 6 albums, which she is rerecording, titling (Taylor's Version), beca..."

Oh, I suppose that does make sense! I'd known about Taylor fighting to get her albums back but hadn't connected the two things. Thank you!

Mary-Therese wrote: "Yes, I do!

Long story short, it originated as only (Taylor's Version), referring to the secondary title of Taylor Swift's first 6 albums, which she is rerecording, titling (Taylor's Version), beca..."

Mary-Therese, you are a fount of information. Thank you.😊

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Helena wrote: "This is one of my most favorite books and I am SO excited to talk about it."

Me too!! It's been really exciting so far, and I'm having tons of fun reading it out loud."

Which book are you on?

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "What do you guys like best with the story so far?"

Pretending that I'm starting the book...
I love how it starts off with a brother and sister playing in the woods. It's calming and it draws you in. Makes it put yourself in their shoes since it starts so simply!

Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I won't be reading Heartless this time. Since Helena praised it so highly, I am eagerly following your conversations on the book. :)"

I'm glad Hel..."

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I won't be reading Heartless this time. Since Helena praised it so highly, I am eagerly following your conversations on the book. :)"

I'm glad Helena recommended it!"

Stephen wrote: "I won't be reading Heartless this time. Since Helena praised it so highly, I am eagerly following your conversations on the book. :)"

Aw, thank you all!

Helena wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Helena wrote: "This is one of my most favorite books and I am SO excited to talk about it."

Me too!! It's been really exciting so far, and I'm having tons of fun ..."

Book 1! Around 175 pages through. :)

Z.C wrote: "I'm finally starting it lol, had to sweep out some of my other books to make room for it :)"

I know what you mean! I love doing the BotMs with this group, so it was worth it.😊

Z.C wrote: "I'm finally starting it lol, had to sweep out some of my other books to make room for it :)"

YAY! Happy to have you join us!

Ok, I've got questions for you folks who have read the entire book. I just finished, and I loved it, but I am confused about a couple of things. Putting them behind spoiler tags so I don't ruin it for any of you who are still reading.😊

For those of you on Samsung phones (maybe all androids??) I warn you not to read beyond this!! (Since those apps ignore the spoiler tag for some reason.)

🚨🚨🚨🚨Spoilers🚨🚨🚨🚨

In no particular order, here are my questions:

1. (view spoiler)[So I get that Aethalbald is like CoN's Aslan in this story--meant to represent Christ. But I am confused as to how he could be marrying Una and calling her his one and only, when there are clearly more people he has saved and cared for in the past. He is not marrying everyone, so is Una supposed to be different in some way--like represent the church as a whole? Am I just taking the allegorical relationship too far? (hide spoiler)]

2. (view spoiler)[Was Una's mother's ring special to the plot in some way? For the whole book I thought so, but then the dragon just ended up with it and it did not seem connected to anything plot-related. Toward the end, when Aelthalbard gives her an opal ring with a fire within it, I wondered if it was even the same ring. (hide spoiler)]

3. (view spoiler)[I did not understand Aethalbald's love for Una. Like, ok, he chose to love her before he got there, but did he have any prior knowledge of her? Any reason for romantic love? I kept expecting to find out that he had been watching her for years without her knowledge or something like that, but it just seemed to be his unromantic 'choice' to love her. In Jesus Christ, I get that, and I know that we, as the collective Church, are the bride of Christ, but He doesn't chose one of us to love romantically. I don't know, the romance fell a little flat for me because of his lack of a reason to have romantic feelings for her. Help me out--maybe I missed something?? (hide spoiler)]

4. (view spoiler)[Why was the dragon searching for Una and only Una!?! I thought there was going to be a big explanation of what made Una special, and why he particularly sought her out. It seemed like he won some sort of game or something, she was his reward, but he lost her and couldn't find her. Or something like that. I might be able to figure this one out better on reread, but any insight you have and want to offer would be appreciated.😊 (hide spoiler)]

Thanks to any and all who choose to respond with insight. This was a wonderful story, and I loved the spiritual allusions, but some parts were confusing to me. I can be painfully literal!😅

I'm not finished with the story yet, but to answer Question 1, I think you're right that Una is supposed to (view spoiler)[represent the church as a whole (or, rather, to represent each reader and Jesus's love for them). (hide spoiler)] It would be difficult to tell a personal story without a main character, and because the main character can still be representative of more than just herself, I think that's why the author focused on Una and Aethelbald specifically.

Sharon wrote: "Ok, I've got questions for you folks who have read the entire book. I just finished, and I loved it, but I am confused about a couple of things. Putting them behind spoiler tags so I don't ruin it ..."

I hope I can answer this well!!

1. Lily answered this really well. (view spoiler)[I hadn’t thought of what you said as comparing her to the church, which I think is a lovely allegory and I’ll remember that.. This is where we get into flexible allegory territory, because it’s easier to picture his love for Una without thinking of him as God. But Aethelbald’s love for everyone else is more like a fatherly sort of love. (hide spoiler)]

2. (view spoiler)[It was. She gave it as a token to Lionheart, and the Dragon took it for him to use it as proof to Una that he betrayed her. It’s assumed that Aethelbald gave her the original ring since he killed the dragon. It’s significant because since it’s so important to her, it emphasizes how readily she gave her heart to Lionheart. (hide spoiler)]

3. (view spoiler)[Aethelbald is a faerie, and all faeries can change into an animal, or rather that’s their second nature. Aethelbald’s is the wood thrush, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. If you remember from the beginning when she’s playing with Felix, a wood thrush sings. It’s assumed that Aethelbald watches over her throughout her childhood. He is probably much older than her, but again, artistic license. After reading Starflower, I thought he might be more like God the Son in particular. :) (hide spoiler)]

4. (view spoiler)[Yes, he did “win” Una (not from Aethelbald, never him) and this will make more sense after Veiled Rose. Since Aethelbald is his enemy, he wanted to corrupt his beloved. (hide spoiler)]

Answers to one and three might still not make sense, but like I said, that’s where the allegory doesn’t need to be perfect (like LotR allegory, not an exact match so that you can imagine it in different ways).

Helena wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Ok, I've got questions for you folks who have read the entire book. I just finished, and I loved it, but I am confused about a couple of things. Putting them behind spoiler tags so I..."

Thanks, Helena and Lily! That was super helpful!

1. (view spoiler)[It is helpful to think of Aethalbald's love for her as romantic and his love for other's as fatherly. I prefer an author choose either a stright-up allegory or a flexible one and not mix the 2 styles in one story, but it's ok. The story was lovely, so all's forgiven.😉 (hide spoiler)]

2. (view spoiler)[So the ring Aethalbald gave her had some sort of fire inside it, while the ring her mother gave her did not. Did the fire come from the dragon, then? That's why I had this nagging doubt about it being the same ring, while my head was mostly telling me it must be the same ring.

I get that part about her giving her heart away so easily. It was seen even more so in the beginning--I cannot remember his name, but the dude who just wanted her to cover his debt. Yikes!😬 (hide spoiler)]

3. (view spoiler)[Oh! Yes, I realized he was the wood thrush, but I forgot that he sang in the woods while they were playing there as kids. Got it! He still should NOT have proposed in front of the court on the first day he met her. I would have turned him down too!🙄

I see him as God the Son in this book too, since he is the prince, not the king, and he says his father sent him to win her. (hide spoiler)]

4. (view spoiler)[Ok, I reread that part last night, and I see now that the Lady is not her mother. For some reason, I thought she might be Una's mother, so I was expecting her to come into the plot more. Indeed, since the ring would get so tight on her finger during those "dreams", I thought it was her connection to the ring making that happen. I also thought the woman in the painting might be her. I have to reread the description of the painting again because I still don't get that. And if Una does represent the Church, then it makes sense that the Dragon would want to own her. (hide spoiler)]

So helpful! Thanks again! I am on to Veiled Rose. As he was my least favorite character in this book, I guess I am about to see a redemption arc take place in VR in regards to him. You know I love a good redemption story!😊

You're welcome! :)

2. (view spoiler)[Opals actually look like they have a natural "fire" in them, like a little flame.
(hide spoiler)]

3. (view spoiler)[He is a King, too! He is the Prince of Farthestshore though, or at least that's his title. (hide spoiler)]

4. (view spoiler)[I think that the painting is just a battle scene. I thought that the ring tightened because it would feel that way if her hand burned, but I never really questioned that. (hide spoiler)]

The full redemption story doesn't happen until Moonblood so make sure you stay for that! 😁

Helena wrote: "You're welcome! :)

2. Opals actually look like they have a natural "fire" in them, like a little flame.


3. [spoilers removed]

4. [spoilers removed]

The full redemption story doesn't happen un..."

So for number 3, (view spoiler)[Is he shown to be King in Heartless? I totally missed that, if he was. Especially since he has a father who sends him for Una. (hide spoiler)]

Agh, I hope I am not disappointed, then, in VR. But--thank you for the heads up. Having that info will keep me from getting too frustrated.😉

(view spoiler)[Only in the way that his knights refer to him. He has many different names in the series... Prince of Farthestshore, Lumil Eliasul, the Song Giver, The One Who Names Them, Eshtakan... (I think I definitely spelled that wrong). It might come together a little better after you read more. (hide spoiler)]

It's still a very, very good book! My least favorite in the series, but I still love it. (Well, maybe Goddess Tithe is my least favorite but that's just a novella.)

All those spoiler threads, lol! I'll be saving them for after I finish the book.

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "All those spoiler threads, lol! I'll be saving them for after I finish the book."

Hurry! I want to hear what you think!😁

Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "All those spoiler threads, lol! I'll be saving them for after I finish the book."

Hurry! I want to hear what you think!😁"

Haha, I'll try!

I need to get this!!

Ellie ~ The Elliephant ~ :D wrote: "I need to get this!!"

Yep! It's really good! 😊

Awesome!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know really quickly that our discussion thread for the Book of Romans is now up!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

If you have been struggling with staying consistent or would simply like some new inspiration in your Bible reading, please consider joining us this month! We'd love to have you.

I just got it! :D Can’t wait to start!