The best novel in this richly entertaining series . . . History never seemed so real., New York Times

Dragonshadow is the not the sequel I expected to Heartstone, a book I read mainly because it was a Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Although I thoroughly enjoyed Heartstone, I expected Dragonshadow to continue in the same vein as many P&P sequels- mainly romance and usually disappointing. Imagine my surprise and delight when Dragonshadow did not follow that path! In this installment (of what I hope is a fully fleshed out series), Alastair and Aliza are enjoying a few weeks of honeymoon after the events of the Battle of North Fields. However, their honeymoon is cut short when a contract is brought to them from the north, where something is killing the Idar. Aliza, refusing to be left behind, joins Alastair and Akarra, the dragon, as they journey north to stop whatever is killing innocent creatures. Shardlake and Barak embark on their road journey south and experience all sorts of indignities and challenges along the way. Shardlake is resolute in his determination to uncover the mysteries of what happened to Ellen and to the Curteys children. He faces major obstacles from those with vested interests in concealing the truth. His detective instincts take him all the way to Portsmouth, where he becomes enmeshed in the mighty efforts to do battle against the enemy. He sees at first hand the English flotilla of warships, including the King's favourite vessel, the Mary Rose. The novel's plot is filled with unexpected twists and turns, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The narrative is further enriched by the unique perspectives offered in the hot chapters, providing a deeper understanding of the characters and their relationships. Queen Catherine Parr. How long will she remain in King Henry VIII’s good books? For that matter, how long will King Henry VIII remain – period? He is on his last legs, literally. This moment, I’m pleased to say, was not wasted. With retellings you always run the risk of readers having preconceived notions of how your characters should think and act, using their familiarity with the original work as a template. However, Elle Katharine White immediately leapt to the task of making these characters her own. The attention is shifted to more serious matters, now that the honeymoon period is literally over. Every marriage comes with its own unique problems, and Aliza is trying to figure out her new role as a dragonrider’s wife, knowing she has certain traditions to uphold. However, she also has her own hopes and dreams for the future and is reluctant to let Alastair shoulder all his responsibilities without her, a thread of conflict that runs though much of this book. That said, their love for each other remains unshakeable, and romance still plays a prominent role in this book, only now it feels even deeper and more meaningful.Sansom’s latest virtuoso twisting together of Tudor history and mystery is set in 1545, when Henry VIII’s fraught nation faced imminent invasion by the French. Amid a tour de force re-creation of that jittery time (culminating in terrifically atmospheric scenes aboard the pride of the king’s war fleet, the Mary Rose), a cunningly crafted whodunit plot irresistibly bristles with skulduggery, suspicious behaviour and sinister deaths. -- Peter Kemp, Sunday Times Culture the pace and tension hot up splendidly as Shardlake’s inquiries take him to the Hampshire home of a family with a great deal to hide. A wholly unexpected twist takes us to a superb denouement aboard the doomed warship Mary Rose – terrific stuff, for both fans and newcomers to the series. -- Laura Wilson, The Guardian In Lamentation, the sixth entry in the series, lawyer Matthew Shardlake is older and grumpier, the losses he experienced in the previous volume haunting him, compounded by domestic imbroglios at home and inevitable troubles at work. His current case involves a litigious, viciously antagonistic brother and sister, showing us how even in Tudor times, people sued each other over the silliest of reasons - in this case, a mural painted on a childhood home wall, which has the siblings at each other's throats, the sister in particular prone to strident accusations of heretical leanings and malevolent hints of a dark secret in her brother's past. Shardlake finds the entire case wearying, as well he should, but his life is about to get a lot more complicated when he's summoned to court by Queen Catherine Parr's brother to serve the queen once more. That aside, having them go through the trauma of losing a child (piled on top of everything they’re going through) was just plain cruel: they didn’t need that to rekindle their relationship or because they were stagnating...they had barely started working on how to live as a couple!

I enjoyed this sequel very much. It wasn't as amazing as book one was for me, but it was still a fantastic story. I do miss the amount of humor and fun from book one, as that's part of what made me fall in love with the characters and writing- but I do understand that the tone of this book fits the plot. Elle White did a great job at writing eerie scenes and building tension for the brewing war and about what unknowns the characters have yet to face. While I did love the romance between them now that they're finally a couple, there were some moments I really wanted to slap these characters at the start of the book. Werewolf's Heartsong" explores several themes, including rejection, marginalization, and empowerment. The narrative follows the journey of Alora Heartsong, who, despite facing immense suffering and rejection from her family, manages to overcome her traumas and lead a new, independent life.Meanwhile Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr. Asked to investigate claims of "monstrous wrongs" committed against a young ward of the court, which have already involved one mysterious death, Shardlake and his assistant Barak journey to Portsmouth. Dragonshadow is the sequel to Heartstone, following Aliza and Alistair after they've been wed. Alistair takes a contract to help find the murderer of a child, and Aliza forces herself to go along with him. But there are sinister things happening behind what they find, and a dead man's face is haunting them.

There is also a marvellous immersion in Tudor culture. (This was not as strong for me in this book as it has been in his previous novels, but is still an attractive feature of the book.) DRAGONSHADOW is a spellbinding tale of love withstanding all sorts of difficult trials. I love how the author’s writing style transported me to this fascinating world. I cannot wait to read more of Alastair and Aliza’s perilous adventures. Barak's character has evolved and aged, and we see he and Tamasin preparing for the birth of their second child after the loss of their first in Revelation. Though he is settling into married life, Barak still has his fighting spirit that leads him into trouble at times. He and Matthew are the perfect pair.Now that I have read this book I am up to date with this series. I’m not sure if there are going to be anymore. I’ve not heard or seen anything to suggest either that this is the last one or if another will be written and published eventually. If one does come out then I will certainly read it. I will say though that the epilogue of this book seems to end the series quite well. It was rather bittersweet and brought so much change for Shardlake and those he loves. I am definitely satisfied if that epilogue is the last of we see of Shardlake and his life.

You know, unless you want our child’s second language to be Low Gnomic you really should start teaching me Eth.” The writing maintained the same quality of the first book: it’s practical, easy to understand and read through while still maintaining the structure and semantics of an historic context. On and on it goes; well established characters like Barak and Guy develop not at all, even Shardlake was more interesting as a crabby, short-tempered at times unpleasant lead. Now he is decidedly soppy. There is so much political and royal intrigue in this that I hesitate to delve into it. It’s enough to say that it is a fascinating look at the times for someone like me who enjoys history, historical fiction, and a good story. The cast of characters is enormous, of course, but the author does a good job of reminding the reader of where they fit, and there is even a list.

Miscarriage. It broke me into a million pieces. I know this doesn happen in real life but Aliza better be pregnant in the next book to make up for it. I don’t care. If you are going to add a miscarriage scene you better give a freaking baby on the next book’s epilogue. Aliza and Alastair were so happy 😭. An abridged audiobook on CD, narrated by Anton Lesser, was released by Macmillan Digital Audio in 2010. [4] An unabridged audiobook, nearly 23 hours of narration performed by Steven Crossley, was released in 2011. If you’re into folklore at all, you’ll probably figure out the deal with Cordelia—I did—but there were still twists in the book that I didn’t anticipate. I’m not sure I liked all of them, but I did enjoy the book, especially how the last part felt like a gothic mystery.