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Tag Archives: kelly walker

Review: Second Stone (Souls of the Stones, #2) by Kelly Walker @KWalkerWrites

14 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by Elisabeth in review

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

fantasy romance, kelly walker, review, souls of the stones, young adult

18306035

You are only a pawn if you don’t know the game you are playing.

In the second installment in Souls of the Stones, the stakes are higher, the romance is hotter, and Emariya’s power as a Cornerstone is growing.

DETERMINED TO MAKE SENSE OF THE BETRAYALS, lies, and her undeniable attraction to Torian, Emariya and her prince begin the journey to Sheas to confront her uncle and bring her father home.

Only days after leaving the castle, devastating news threatens to tear Torian and Emariya apart. Overcome by guilt, Emariya wants to repair the rift between them but first she must answer one important question: why can’t she wake up?

A DEADLY FORCE HAS COME FROM THE SEA to claim its daughter, and if Torian wants to save Emariya, he’ll first have to find a way to forgive her…and himself. That’s easier said than done when both his sister and Emariya are counting on him at two separate ends of their world and the only people who might know how to help him are hiding in exile.

TO WIN THE BATTLE FOR THEIR LIVES, they will first have to win the battle for Emariya’s mind. Only then can she rise up strong enough to face what she has to do.

Blurb and cover from Goodreads

4 out of 5 stars

So, Cornerstone was a bit of a long and winding road in the beginning, but I really wanted to know what would happen, hence I downloaded the next two books. And I had a blast! The world needs more Epic Fantasy Romances. It just does.

The plot:

These books are marked as Romance and this one does more living up to that label. Still, there are plenty of dangers, battles, political considerations, and magical entanglements that keep it true fantasy. There is more exploration here of the Stones and what they can do and Emariya’s gifts, as well as an unexpected twist as to who Reeve’s accomplice is. This plot moved along faster than the previous book’s and I dove straight into the final installment after I finished.

The characters:

I liked Emariya. I honestly did. But at the same time she drove me nuts. I don’t expect her to be a warrior princess, but she kept getting into fixes because she was headstrong and then had to be rescued. I really wished she had been quicker to realize that, just maybe, she should listen to Torian and Garith. But oh well.

Torian is reeling from the loss of his sister and understandably angry at Emariya. All the same, he still protects and watches out for her and is willing to do whatever it takes to save her when she falls into a magical illness.

Garith—oh, the poor lovable guy. I can’t get over his selfless devotion to Emariya. It’s just so damn sweet and a tad masochistic. I was passionately hoping he’d get his HEA in the end, even if it didn’t involve Emariya.

The full scope of Reeve’s treachery comes to light here as well as the fickleness of the Warren’s Rest nobles. We also get to see an interestingly different side of Reeve when he meets Terin.

This is a series I am very fond of and, despite knowing that the novellas will end in tragedy, I do mean to read them. This series is perfect for people with a passion for high fantasy and romance!

Find Second Stone on Goodreads

Find Second Stone on Amazon

Find Second Stone on BN.com

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Friday Freebie #14 Cornerstone (Souls of the Stones, #1) by Kelly Walker

07 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Elisabeth in friday freebie

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

epic fantasy, fantasy, friday freebie, kelly walker, romance, souls of the stones, ya, young adult

18306031

Epic Fantasy combines with Young Adult romance in this stunning new adventure set in a richly developed medieval world.

When Emariya Warren learns enemy forces have captured her father, she’ll do anything to save him. Anything. Even marry a mysterious prince she knows nothing about in order to rally the strength to arrange a rescue. During her journey to Torian’s foreign castle, Emariya comes face to face with her mother’s killers–and a deadly secret.

Not only does Emariya possess a powerful but unexpected magical gift passed down through each of her families, the prince she’s promised to marry possesses a third, and an ominous prophecy has warned the three gifts must never be combined.

If she breaks her promise to marry Torian, she won’t be able to save her father and if she keeps it, she may bring a curse upon everything she holds dear. Determining which choice is best won’t be easy, but when she meets the gorgeous prince who may desire more than just her heart, she realizes she will have to fight just to have a choice at all.

Her heart wants him desperately. Her head begs her to run. If she doesn’t want to share her mother’s fate, she’ll have to find a way to untangle the truth from the lies in time to save herself.

Discover the heartbreaking betrayals, fascinating magic and fated love of Cornerstone.

Blurb and cover from Goodreads

Read my review of Cornerstone here

Download Cornerstone for free here! (perma-free)

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Review: Cornerstone (Souls of the Stones, #1) by Kelly Walker @KWalkerWrites

24 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by Elisabeth in review

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

cornerstone, epic fantasy, indie book review, kelly walker, review, self-published, the souls of the stones, ya, young adult

18306031

Epic Fantasy combines with Young Adult romance in this stunning new adventure set in a richly developed medieval world.

When Emariya Warren learns enemy forces have captured her father, she’ll do anything to save him. Anything. Even marry a mysterious prince she knows nothing about in order to rally the strength to arrange a rescue. During her journey to Torian’s foreign castle, Emariya comes face to face with her mother’s killers–and a deadly secret.

Not only does Emariya possess a powerful but unexpected magical gift passed down through each of her families, the prince she’s promised to marry possesses a third, and an ominous prophecy has warned the three gifts must never be combined.

If she breaks her promise to marry Torian, she won’t be able to save her father and if she keeps it, she may bring a curse upon everything she holds dear. Determining which choice is best won’t be easy, but when she meets the gorgeous prince who may desire more than just her heart, she realizes she will have to fight just to have a choice at all.

Her heart wants him desperately. Her head begs her to run. If she doesn’t want to share her mother’s fate, she’ll have to find a way to untangle the truth from the lies in time to save herself.

Discover the heartbreaking betrayals, fascinating magic and fated love of Cornerstone.

Blurb and cover from Goodreads

4 out of 5 stars

I’m fairly certain this book was on my currently reading shelf for months. The fact is that I found it a tad slow and felt that the whole journey and traveling sequences took far too long and I was waiting for something to happen. Then I finally decided it was time to bite the bullet and just finish it already and I actually enjoyed it toward the end, so much so that I went and bought the rest of the trilogy (which I do not do lightly).

The plot:

There was actually a lot that went on through this book, I was just waiting, waiting, and waiting some more for Riya to actually meet this reportedly über-nasty prince. There were kidnappings, attacks, fights, rescues, and chases—meanwhile I was tapping my fingers, wanting to meet Prince Ahlen and see if he really was as bad as we were being led to believe. I probably should have put aside my impatience and forgotten about His Highness, but me and my idea of how the story should go got in the way.

The characters:

Riya means well, I’ll give her that. She’s willing to do whatever needs to be done for the sake of her people and was exceptionally courageous. She was a little sheltered and didn’t realize when she was being used, but became a tad wiser by the end and certainly grew over the course of the book.

Garith is the blacksmith’s son who has been in love with Riya since childhood, but has been tragically friend-zoned. He still faithfully protects her with his life and his loyalty was admirable, even if he could be misguided at times.

Jessa is Riya’s handmaiden and best friend. While a minor supporting character, she had a key part to play. I mostly thought of her as breathing baggage, but have to admit she showed pluck when it was needed.

Here is where I usually talk about the villain. But I can’t because, well, that would be breaking the book review blogger’s code of no spoilers, so I’ll just say if I hadn’t cheated and read the blurbs of the later books, I never would have seen it coming.

I really didn’t like the middle of this book, I’ll admit. But I adored the beginning and I adored the end and I dove into the sequels with a gusto and was not disappointed at all. I do recommend this series, but don’t wait for Prince Ahlen, because he doesn’t show his face until we get to the end.

Find Cornerstone on Goodreads

Find Cornerstone on Amazon

Find Cornerstone on BN.com

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