Review: Beautiful Second Instalment.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 25, 2013
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Kelly Walker, All Night Reads, and Netgalley.)This is the second book in the `Souls of the Stones' series, and kicks off where book 1 `Cornerstone' left off.**Warning - some unavoidable spoilers for book 1 - `Cornerstone'.**Emariya and Torian have admitted their feelings for one another, and have decided to wed, but only if uniting the stones will not cause death and destruction the way the prophecy says it will.There is also another proviso on their union though, Emariya wants to find her father Oren so that he may be at the wedding ceremony, and Torian agrees with this.A spanner is thrown in the works when it seems that Emariya's brother has tired of waiting for her to bind the stones, and has kidnapped Torian's sister, planning to do it himself. And even more worrying is the fact that Emariya has fallen into a sleep that she won't waken from.Where is Emariya's father being held? Can they rescue him without bloodshed? Why is Torian suddenly experiencing visions? Why has Emariya fallen into a sleep that she can't be woken from? Does Emariya's brother mean to harm Torian's sister? And one whose side are the people of Warren?This was a great second instalment in the series, and while it was a fairly typical middle book, with a lot of travelling and not much action, the finale more than made up for it.Emariya continued in her quest to rescue her father in this book, and I loved how she was accompanied by Torian, and how very much in love they were. Emariya continued to be strong in the face of adversity, and continued to do what she felt was best for her people, and the people of Thalmas, even when that meant going against her own brother.I liked the storyline in this book, although on reflection it was what I would call quite typical of a middle book in a series. There were some skirmishes, and quite a lot of discussions over the prophecies and tactics, but most of this book was spent travelling with Emariya and Torian as they attempted to rescue Emariya's father, Oren, from wherever he was being held. We did learn more about Emariya and her gifts though, and more about Emariya's family, and there was also a development with regards to Torian's sister.While this was as fairly typical middle book, I did enjoy it. I love the way that the author writes, the prose is just so flowing and beautiful, and the sweet glimpses of romance that we got in this one were lovely. I also have to say that the author did a brilliant job of keeping this one easy to understand and keep track of. It's so easy for these fantasy books to become so complex that I get lost, but I didn't get that with this book at all.I also really liked the ending to this one. While things were far from wrapped up, we got a beautiful ending to this part of the story, and were left with a feeling of hope more than anything, which was a really great way to end this second book in the trilogy.Overall; a beautiful second instalment in this fantasy trilogy.8 out of 10.