Broken Stone by Kelly Walker

Broken Stone (Souls of the Stones #3) by Kelly Walker

YA Paranormal/Fantasy

Rating: 3 Stars

UNABLE TO AVOID HER DESTINY ANY LONGER, Emariya has become the leader her mother always envisioned. Before she can focus on embracing her gifts to unify her three lands, she must first stop her own land from dissolving into civil war. Spurred by her brother’s devious policies and thirst for power, the people of the Uplands have surged into revolt. If Emariya cannot convince her own people to stand down and follow her, she will never convince her uncle she can lead all three lands. And he’s only given her half a year to do it.

AS SHE TRIES TO WIN HER OWN PEOPLE'S HEARTS, the love of her life, Torian Ahlen begins to lose his mind. While Torian is driven into a dark depression by his visions of Terin, Emariya realizes the only way to bring him back from the brink is to confront her brother once and for all and rescue Torian's sister. Unfortunately, because of the pull of the stones, his sister isn’t sure she wants to be rescued.

IF EMARIYA IS TO HAVE ANY CHANCE AT SAVING TORIAN'S MIND and his sister’s virtue, she will have to go directly to the source, those that bestowed the gifts (or curse) in the first place. But will whoever is waiting at The Cradle Of The Three be willing to help her? Her only chance to get Terin away from Reeve will be to nullify the pull of the Stones, accepting whatever changes that may mean for her and Torian.

My Thoughts:

Finally, the war. That is the kind of action I have been waiting for. Only it wasn’t as fantastic as I was hoping. Everything was fast and it ended before you knew it. Where is the action packed fighting and adventure? If there is a war then there should be a big drawn out war. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book and a good series but it’s not the greatest. Everyone lives happily ever after and we all are happy with the ending, just not how it got there. I am a young adult author and reader but this book is more of a book for younger teens. It’s a bit childish. The only part that isn’t appropriate for that age is the love scenes but what teenage book doesn’t have loves scenes? The point is, it was too calm. We needed action and emotion and I was left disappointed. So, to end my reviews of this series I have to say that this series is a good series for twelve year olds. Good luck Kelly Walker, I hope your other books are a great improvement from this series. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up reading some of your other books.

Cover: 4/5

Writing: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Overall Score:

Second Stone by Kelly Walker

Second Stone (Souls of the Stones #2) by Kelly Walker

YA Paranormal/Fantasy

Rating: 3 Stars

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.

My Thoughts:

This book was definitely better than the first one. You the twists keep coming but this time they were actually more developed. There is nothing better than forbidden love and then betrayal. This betrayal is worse than any kind of betrayal because it’s against family. You never really expect family to stab you in the back like that. The difference between this book and the first one is that the events leading up to the climax were actually developed better and the action is presented better. Overall, this second book is in a totally different category than the first. I am actually glad because usually when the first book is bad the ones that follow get worse but it looks like Kelly Walker improved as she continued the story. It gives me high hopes for the next novel. Even though the book was substantially better than the first one, I still found myself bored. There could still be some improvements to the writing of the novel.

Cover: 4/5

Writing: 3/5

Characters: 4/5

Overall Score:

Cornerstone by Kelly Walker

Cornerstone (Souls of the Stones #1) by Kelly Walker

YA Paranormal/Fantasy

Rating: 2 Stars

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.

My Thoughts:

This book had a lot of twists and turns. I was a bit confused on who the bad guy was at first but that could have been intentional. I really liked this novel but it was a bit annoying though. The author set up events for actions but I ended up disappointed. Each time something happened to her I felt like we were let down a lot by the author. Emariya was a very likeable character and she was fully developed, the story just wasn’t. I actually had given up reading this book and started a different one but when I got a deal on reading all three through NetGalley, I came back to it. The book has great promise and is a great idea but it’s not enough to have a great idea. You have to actually work to make it fantastic.

Cover: 4/5

Writing: 2/5

Characters: 3/5

Overall Score: