Title: Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone (Book 1 in the Stonewiser series)Author: Dora Machado
Publication Date: December 9, 2013
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Blurb:
Between truth and deception, between justice and abuse, a stonewiser stands alone with the stones. Or so begins the stonewiser's oath. But what happens when a rebellious stonewiser discovers that lies have tainted the stone tales?
In a world devastated by the rot's widespread destruction, only the tales preserved in the stones can uphold the truth and defend the Goodlands. In this world, stone truth is valued above anyone's word, and stonewisers are the only ones capable of retrieving the tales from the stones, the only link between past and present, order and chaos.
Sariah is the most gifted stonewiser of her generation, but her talent does not atone for her shortcomings. A survivor of the Guild's brutal training, she is curious, willful and disobedient. Yet not even Sariah is prepared for what she finds when she steals into the Guild's Sacred Vaults: A mayhem of lies and intrigues that shatters her world.
Hunted, persecuted, and betrayed, Sariah must make an unlikely alliance with Kael, a cynical rebel leader pledged to a mysterious quest of his own. The fate of their dying world depends on their courage to overcome centuries of hatred and distrust. But not even the grueling journey has prepared them for what they are about to discover. Because nothing is really as it seems, and the truth is more intricate and devastating than they ever suspected....
In a world devastated by the rot's widespread destruction, only the tales preserved in the stones can uphold the truth and defend the Goodlands. In this world, stone truth is valued above anyone's word, and stonewisers are the only ones capable of retrieving the tales from the stones, the only link between past and present, order and chaos.
Sariah is the most gifted stonewiser of her generation, but her talent does not atone for her shortcomings. A survivor of the Guild's brutal training, she is curious, willful and disobedient. Yet not even Sariah is prepared for what she finds when she steals into the Guild's Sacred Vaults: A mayhem of lies and intrigues that shatters her world.
Hunted, persecuted, and betrayed, Sariah must make an unlikely alliance with Kael, a cynical rebel leader pledged to a mysterious quest of his own. The fate of their dying world depends on their courage to overcome centuries of hatred and distrust. But not even the grueling journey has prepared them for what they are about to discover. Because nothing is really as it seems, and the truth is more intricate and devastating than they ever suspected....
Kayla's Thoughts:
Sariah has always thought that stones were pure in judgement. That only the truth was held throughout their natural substance, and on that supposed truth lies the very fate of the lands. But what happens when that truth is hidden or changed to submit to one, or even many, who does not want the true truth to come out?
When Sariah finds a terrible tale within stones she finds in the Guild's Vaults, a tale that was not meant to be found, and is almost killed because of it, she begins a journey that will take her from the Guild into the real world outside of it. A journey that will show her how strong she must be in order to throw away all she believes in order to realize the truth: that there is a rot infiltrating the very recesses of the world she thought to be protected from such things.
Throughout this journey, she will pair up with a group of New Bloods, and one in particular, Kael, seems to hold a slight animosity toward her, because she is at first unwilling to admit that the Guild might be part of the disease, and possibly even her kind. But thankfully this does not prevent him from protecting her when trouble comes calling. And, believe me, it will come calling a lot.
Verdict:
This book is different from a lot of the other fantasy books I have ever read. They way the characters speak, the beautiful descriptive writing, the storyline behind the whole thing, everything is intricate and intimate and so wonderfully put together. It is definitely worth the read, and I absolutely adored this novel.
Author's Bio:
Ramona Dora Machado is the award-winning author of the epic fantasy Stonewiser series. She holds a master's degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in history from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan and grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a preference for history, and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long and winding walks, traveling, and connecting with the amazingly clever reader who share in her mind's adventures. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats.
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