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

1. Who was your favorite character?

2. Who was your least favorite character?

3. If you could change one part of the book, what would it be?

4. What did you think of the ending? (spoiler tags, please!)

5. What was your overall opinion?

Other Threads
✩ Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl General Discussion
✩ Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl Activities

1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and I love her. You don't see too much of him in this particular book, but I love Eanrin as well.

2. Who was your least favorite character? The Dragon AKA Death in Life. Also the Duke of Shippening is BLEH

3. If you could change one part of the book, what would it be? Not a single thing. It's perfect.

4. What did you think of the ending? IT'S PERFECT.

5. What was your overall opinion? IT'S. P E R F E C T. My review is here! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and I love her. You don't see too much of him in thi..."

So we've got Helena's opinion:

"perfect"
"PERFECT"
"P E R F E C T"

Perfect! Can't wait to get further in.😊

Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and I love her. You don't see too much of him in thi..."

UGH, that Duke of Shippening is such a coward! And the Dragon is so gross, haha; I also hate him! Before I researched this book, I as actually under the impression that Una was going to marry him, which isn't completely off, but still. I thought he was going to be a good guy. XD

Sharon wrote: "Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and I love her. You don't see too muc..."

LOL, iconic!

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and I love her. You don't see too muc..."

I haven't gotten there yet. I am somewhere in chapter 9. I was wondering when he and the dragon were going to come on stage.

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and I love her. You do..."

Sharon wrote: "Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and I love her. You don't see too muc..."

Hehe, what can I say, it's pErfEcT

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and I love her. You don't see too muc..."

He is. He's even worse when you read Veiled Rose. Oh my, that would be awful... XD

Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and..."

Technically the dragon already has! You won't see him in person until after midway though.

Helena wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una i..."

Yes, I see what you mean.😊

Helena wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Helena wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character? Aethelbald is a character you have to love throughout the whole series, no questions asked. Una is relatable and..."

Yeah, I know. XDD

Ok, so I must admit--I moved on rather quickly to the second book in the series before writing a review or answering these questions. Sooooo, my answers might be a bit muddled with the next couple of books. (I couldn't help myself! This series is amazing, and it just keeps getting better and better. Heartless isn't even the best book!)

1. Who was your favorite character? The Prince of Farthestshore, but Monster and Una's father were great too!

2. Who was your least favorite character? Other than the obvious bad-guys, Lionheart

3. If you could change one part of the book, what would it be? If I don't think of it as an allegory, nothing to speak of. But I guess I could say I was a bit confused here and there and needed Helena's and Lily's help to parse some things out.

4. What did you think of the ending? (spoiler tags, please!) (view spoiler)[I liked it a lot, but I felt like the romance aspect lacked, well, *romance*.🤷‍♀️ Una's feelings and Aethalbald's (sp?) could have been explored more. I loved the allusions to dying to sin, and being made alive in Christ, though! I could have read the entire book just for that! Beautiful! (hide spoiler)]

5. What was your overall opinion? Amazing, but I am now on the 4th book, and I can honestly say they just get better and better.😊

Sharon wrote: "Ok, so I must admit--I moved on rather quickly to the second book in the series before writing a review or answering these questions. Sooooo, my answers might be a bit muddled with the next couple ..."

Waaaaht, the fourth book already?! You're crazy in a really amazing way! 🤗

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Ok, so I must admit--I moved on rather quickly to the second book in the series before writing a review or answering these questions. Sooooo, my answers might be a bit muddled with t..."

I've had a lot of "bus-time" lately. And, yesterday, I walked somewhere 25 minutes each way, and read almost the whole way.😅 Good thing there weren't any major defects in the sidewalks!

Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Ok, so I must admit--I moved on rather quickly to the second book in the series before writing a review or answering these questions. Sooooo, my ans..."

Haha, that's like a whole new superpower! I wish I could read while walking 😭, but it's like trying to read while on a road trip!

Unless you can do that, too. XD

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Unless you can do that, too. XD"

When I was walking my dog one day, I watched a lady walk down my block reading a physical book, and I was inspired.🤩

I am very happy to say that I CAN read while riding in a car now. I never used to be able to, but for some reason, for which I am very grateful, I can now! I get a lot of reading done while my husband drives. (It also keeps me from criticizing his driving left and right.🤦‍♀️)

I used to read while I walked my dog! I was used to the route and my dog knew where to go so I let her lead me. XD

Helena wrote: "I used to read while I walked my dog! I was used to the route and my dog knew where to go so I let her lead me. XD"

We're just making good use of our time.😊

Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Unless you can do that, too. XD"

When I was walking my dog one day, I watched a lady walk down my block reading a physical book, and I was inspired.🤩

I am very h..."

That is truly amazing.

I can only do audiobooks on walks and in the car, but that's still okay with me! I know some people really don't like audiobooks, though.

Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Sharon wrote: "Lily - Books by Starlight wrote: "Unless you can do that, too. XD"

When I was walking my dog one day, I watched a lady walk down my block reading a physical book, and I was inspired..."

I usually have an audiobook for when I am doing the driving and when I am making dinner or cleaning. They are usually classics from Librivox. (I like free!) Otherwise, I prefer reading to listening.

Z.C wrote: "1. Who was your favorite character?
I Loved Felix (I identified with him the most lol, his love for his family was amazing ❤)

2. Who was your least favorite character?
Una, Because she Annoyed me..."

Aw, I sure hope you like the following books. Veiled Rose is good, and I don't think the MCs will drive you *as* crazy as Una did. Moonblood (#3) has been my favorite so far.

I get that. She had such a strong personality that I didn’t relate to her much either. I related more with the struggles of other characters in the books after Heartless. I love how Stengl really develops the struggles we as Christians deal with in our journey to Christ or journey with Christ. She makes it very realistic in a fantasy vehicle.

Yes, Fidel was amazing. Loved his wise words on trust imparted to an, as yet, unwilling Una.

In the rest of the series the struggles of the characters are more specific which is why we might feel as if we relate to them more. Una, however, represents everyone. No one goes through life without shutting God out at least once, or feeling unworthy of him. Una's character might be strong, but that's because she's the main character and it needs to be strong to show us how we relate on a smaller scale.

If she's annoying? Yeah, she's annoying. How is that different from us in our spiritual lives? We focus on things that don't matter, we confuse God's voice with something that we think we want, we stumble and fall and still insist we don't need help. We think we're unworthy and because of that lie, we convince ourselves we should stay in the mess that we are in.

But there's more to Una than that, just like there's more to that in all of us. We are immeasurably loved, and we have the capability to see it and listen. He will accept us at anytime and any time we wish to shed our dragonish skin and follow Him, He'll help us. How many of us can be like Una, really? Sure, she was bad, but she repented and follow Aethelbald in the end. Some do not even come close...

Allegory aside, Una's still a great character. If you read the following books, you will see the whole thing with Una and Lionheart from his perspective, and she really is kind to him. She's cares for her brother and father, and feels things deeply (or else she wouldn't be a poet ;) ) We can't be too hard on her, her heart was broken, she was forced to live in an abandoned castle with a dragon watching over her, I mean how many of us would stand a chance in that? XD Not to mention that (view spoiler)[when she becomes a dragon she doesn't destroy anything, contrary to most dragons. (hide spoiler)]

Hey everyone, I’m Josiah! The author of the Christian novel The Theatrical Tragedy. I wrote this novel when I was 15, and after a few contracts, we decided to publish with the indie Publishing house Koehler Books. My book is about the consequences of sin, and a Portrayal of how sin takes hold of people, how far it will take them, and how long it will keep them if one doesn’t repent. Here’s a brief back cover description Doctor Akel Rose is a genius, but he feels like he’s already learned everything. Subjects that once interested him have become dull, and all the doctor wants is for life to have color again. After discovering a dusty old Bible in his driveway, the doctor’s fascination with the world is rekindled. And when otherworldly spirits contact the doctor, his passion for power is ignited, and his thirst for knowledge becomes unquenchable. Finding a new interest in sorcery, a demon that keeps him on his toes, and intentions of creating a world free of evil, the doctor sets off on a mission with his newfound power- but will it be enough? The Theatrical Tragedy will take you headlong into a new fight between right and wrong and the consequences of choices as it traces the rise and fall of a man who claimed to be a god on a quest that questions the morality of human virtue and the ideology of justice. If anyone would like to give advice or reach out, I’d love to chat! My email is under this message! Also, the pre-order Barnes and Novel link is underneath! God bless you all! And thank you



Sincerely,



Josiah Posey

JojoPosey536@gmail.com

Josiah wrote: "Hey everyone, I’m Josiah! The author of the Christian novel The Theatrical Tragedy. I wrote this novel when I was 15, and after a few contracts, we decided to publish with the indie Publishing hous..."

Hi Josiah--
We have a topic thread just for authors. If you want your post to get seen by more people, I recommend posting it in that thread.

Took me awhile to get to answering these, but here I am!

1. Who was your favorite character?

Probably Felix or Nurse.

2. Who was your least favorite character?

Una! (I hate saying that about the main character, but judging by other reviews, I'm not alone.) Or that duke—he was super annoying.

3. If you could change one part of the book, what would it be?

I'd make Aethelbald state one logical reason for loving Una. (I know, I know, it's meant to be allegorical. But it still bugged me. XD)

4. What did you think of the ending?

It was pretty good. Kind of predictable, but that's due to the allegorical elements.

5. What was your overall opinion?

Even though I didn't LOVE Heartless, I did enjoy it! I'd like to learn more about the world of the series, and hopefully see more of Felix.