The Last Dove

Enira, a region encircled by the mountains of Aeir, is home to ferocious warriors and devoted clansmen who all share one special ability - that of the Change. The Change allows them to shed their human form and assume an animal one based on their clan’s heritage. But peace is not theirs; the feuds between clans are becoming steadily more intense, and each clan has their own ambitions for the future of their country.

In this time of impending civil war a girl named Bria, whose own shapeshifting abilities still have yet to manifest, runs away from the cruelty of the village she grew up in. As she travels across Enira she becomes embroiled in a generations-old plot, and discovers secrets about her past and the past of her country that soon force her to decide who to trust - and who to love - even as she becomes the unexpected keystone of a revolution that will affect all of Aeir.

The Last Dove is the first book in the Trilogy of Aeir, a Young Adult High Fantasy trilogy by Elizabeth Suzanne Hines (ES Hines). The second book, The Black Panther, is set to come out sometime this summer.


 * Animorphism: Everyone can turn into some sort of animal or another.
 * Capital Letters Are Magic: Pretty much everything that's magic is capitalized, but the Change is the most Egregious example.
 * Care Bear Stare: The doves' power. Queen Vasi united all of the clans by defusing the tension between them with this power.
 * Death by Origin Story: Queen Vasi,
 * Everything's Better with Princesses:
 * Fake Defector:  for about two days to keep from being captured.
 * Farm Boy: A rare female example. Bria grows up in a hospital, but it's in a rural town.
 * Flat Character: Because of the way the story is told, few of the characters have any traits beyond the few that define them, and the small amount of backstory shown isn't there to justify their traits but to set up the conflict.
 * Funetik Aksent: Roth has this, but it's a very readable one that only leaves out a few consanants.
 * The High Queen: Queen Vasi
 * Hope Bringer: Bria, who they think will be able to bring peace to Enira by
 * Interspecies Romance: The reason the Doves, the Boars, and the Deer died out.
 * Subverted with Adrian and Bria because she
 * I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: Darius controls the council by capturing someone close to each member and threatening to kill them if the council members don't do his bidding.
 * Meaningful Name: Adrian means "dark one."
 * Missing Mom: Uh, she's  and she's dead.
 * Mysterious Parent: It's pretty obvious from the beginning that Bria is the orphaned daughter of
 * Purple Eyes: Bria is the only person anyone has ever seen with that color, which makes her identifiable as . Specifically, they're "sparkling amythyst-purple eyes that have silvery flecks throughout the color."
 * Rags to Royalty
 * Raised by Natives: Bria, in the bird people village
 * Rightful King Returns: Queen, actually
 * Rousing Speech: Bria gives one to the council before Adrian
 * Said Bookism: Mostly sticks to said and asked, but almost always has an adverb alongside.
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Bria with Adrian. Though he appears menacing in the beginning, he's more "all bark and no bite."
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome: Played straight with Adrian. He also wears black. And can turn into a wolf.
 * This Was His True Form: Not when they die, but most of the shapeshifters tend to sleep in whichever form they are more familiar with.
 * Trick Dialogue: Bria, when confessing her love for Adrian, finds out that he's wasn't actually asleep and could hear every word she said.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: No one in Bria's village will talk to you if you can't do it.