Starting where The Queen’s Wing left off, Anthaeus is trying to rebuild after the devastating attack unleashed by the Gravians and the Mechas. Bel and Con are trying to start their life together as future husband and wife and hope for no more surprises – but life doesn’t always go as planned.

A new threat means it’s a new hero’s time to shine – and shine Petra does. Petra is strength, she is loyalty, she is heartbroken, she is headstrong and she is unconditional love. Petra is the hero that I aspire to be and I loved following alongside her as she attempted to tackle every obstacle put in front of her.

I enjoyed seeing the strength in vulnerability being explored in this story and the strength of friendship, love and companionship. The Rondet were also strong characters in this installment and I would love to see even more.

I was delighted by the follow up novel and it held the same magic that I was experiencing when reading The Queen’s Wing. There is so much more that can be explored within this universe and I hope Jessica has plans to venture into other stories?

*thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Stone’s Heart picks up right where The Queen’s Wing left off and because of this I would highly recommend you read book one to fully understand the characters and background to this story.

In the aftermath of the Gravian attack, Anthaeus is slowly recovering and rebuilding. Bel and Con are finally getting married and the Rondet are free.
Things seem to be looking up but for General Petra Kel, her best friend’s wedding is not without its challenges.
Crown Prince Lysander, is the only man Petra has ever loved and she left him without explanation. Now that her and Zander are unexpectedly thrown together will they be able to put aside their feelings or will being together again reignite an old flame?

This was another fun, fast paced read with plenty of action and adventure.

Petra is the main protagonist and the story is told from both hers and Bel’s POVs. This time Petra finds herself tangled up in a love triangle whilst desperately trying to do her duty.

There were a lot of common themes between both books. Both female leads are strong, independent woman trying to prove themselves in a male-oriented world, living in the shadows of their families and trying their best to balance their duties against their own ambitions and desires.

Again as with book one, the character development was well thought out and felt genuine. The supporting cast of characters each brought something different to the story. I particularly liked the introduction of some of the new characters like Zander and Teel and would be interested in to find out more about their history (hopefully in book three).

Great ideas, fantastic storytelling and likeable characters make this a compelling read that I didn’t want to put down.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Stone’s Heart will be available from 19th February 2019.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Bookouture) for providing a copy. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

I have really mixed feelings about this book. The world building is great. The story itself is interesting. I like most of the characters. But just like the first book this one took a really long time to get going. I had to really push myself to get through the first 30%, and it wasn't until almost halfway through that it really got interesting. My other main issue was Petra. I didn't feel her voice was distinct enough to really distinguish whose POV the reader was hearing. As both Bel and Petra are young female protagonists there really needed to be something to set them apart. And to be honest I wasn't all that fond of Petra. Lastly, and I know this is a YA title and I'm definitely outside of that demographic, but most of the twists and turns were projected far in advance, with few true surprises. Despite all that I will still be on the lookout for more in the series.

#TheStonesHeart #NetGalley


The Stone's Heart by Jessica Thorne was one of my most anticipated books for this year and it didn't disappoint! I honestly didn't pay much attention to Petra in the first book but with the book being written from her point of view and Bel's point of view it was so neat to have a better perspective of what was going on! I loved the obstacles and relationships that came from, or were strengthened from them. I like how some of the characters you couldn't tell what their intention was, and some of them were not even clear at the end of the book. This is a great book, but you should read The Queen's Wing first.

I received an advance reader copy from Bookouture and NetGalley for a fair review.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to friends and family.

This was a wonderful fantasy. It was book 2 of the series, and just as captivating as the first book. This author has an epic way of storytelling that sucks you in immediately!

Thanks to NetGalley, I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

After overthrowing the Gravian attackers, Bel finally takes her place as leader of her new world. With the help of General Petra Kel, they have new threats creeping in from every direction.

I received a free copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in The Queen's Wing series, and I highly recommend you read it in order, because this jumps straight in where the last book left off, and there's a lot of background knowledge needed.

Bel continues to be one of the narrators, but this second book sees Petra Kel become a lead narrator (in place of Con, Bel's fiance).
Petra is a great character. She's a more Vairian version of Bel, a warrior and a general, she is entirely confident in her own capabilities. She would rather train and spar, than have to deal with court and politics, but she is Bel's right-hand-woman and is incredibly loyal.
Petra is completely business-focused, and it really pushes her out of her comfort zone when her royal ex, and a mysterious noble guy turn up, to play with her heart.
I really liked Petra - her narratives definitely felt stronger, and the story came alive in her scenes.

Bel continues to be a good, likeable character, as we continue to follow her story. After the disastrous first attempt in the first book, she finally gets married to Con.
The event draws a lot of attention from the Empire, who are keen to assert control in any way they can.
Bel's narrations were a little slower than Petra's, as they are initially concerned with politics and stabilising their new government.
Mid-way through the book, Bel becomes something of an unreliable narrator, for reasons that become obvious; but I found these sections difficult to follow and they just gave me a headache.

Mirroring the pattern set in the first book, the second half of The Stone's Heart kicks off, and definitely makes up for the slack.
This book didn't grip me immediately, but I ended up really enjoying it, and I am looking forward to the next pert of the series. I hope to see more Petra!

Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to review The Stone's Heart, by Jessica Thorne, through NetGalley!

This second installment picks up shortly after The Queen's Wing left off, and you definitely need to read that one first. Bel and Con are now approaching their new wedding date, but this book is really more about Petra. She makes a fine and worthy central character. The book is told through a first person dual point of view between the two women - which is great except that without context and the chapter header, I could not have told who was talking. Their voices and structure are practically identical, and a little more variance would have been better.

My only true question is: Petra and Bel are both vividly described with black hair, and I am assuming Petra is on the cover.....although both titles have clearly brown haired women?

Anyway, a very, very old sentience is awakened in Antheus and to put it mildly, all hell breaks loose for everyone. The book is SO fast paced, with so many events and ambushes and exes and twists, right up until the very last page. I almost wish there was a lull or a wind down phase at the end for the characters, but more things just kept happening. I will 100% attest that I could barely put it down. At times though I would set it down for a few hours and let my brain catch up, otherwise I was feeling like I missed things.

That is a possibility though. There were so many layers of intrigue and political machinations, and sometimes when the characters would get deep into scheming and planning I would feel like I either missed or was supposed to be able to infer something, and couldn't, but for the most part things were eventually explained.

And this time, Petra was the one finding herself in a love triangle! I wish she had picked a man and ran with it, I get why she couldn't but she is so much stronger than that!!

The writing is short phrased and not too complicated, it made for a good story but I didn't have to break out the dictionary. This is a good example of the way the book flows, quoted mind you from the ARC version:

"He stares at me for a long moment and I know he’s trying to gauge if I am up to this or not. I’m not. I could tell him that if I was feeling like being honest. Which I’m not. I don’t think I have to anyway. He knows. But what choice do we have? In the distance, we hear footsteps. ‘They’re coming.'"

In summary - I couldn't put it down, and I liked the story. The writing style isn't my favorite and the characters felt a little similar. The first book was the stronger in my opinion but still a good read. Recommend for fans of sci fi, space opera types with romance and betrayal twists 😁 I do feel like a third book is brewing and if so, I will be keeping my eyes out for it

This is such a sweet, fun series. After the events of book one, book two brings us a dual POV narrative told from Bel and Petra’s POVs. This really works in my opinion. Petra is a great character and I like that she has a voice here. There is plenty of action and romance, and new characters are introduced. This a wonderful light fantasy with a touch of sci-fi. Definitely recommend.

This book was just okay. I have mixed feelings about it, especially because I loved The Queen's Wing when I first read it last year. To me, there are a lot of missed opportunities here (such as a missed opportunity for a polyamorous relationship dynamic). I wished it was more space opera than fantasy because that had a lot of potential. There's an Empress bent on controlling the galaxy and I thought that angle could have been explored more and better. I liked Petra but Zander, not really as much. Valentin Teel had so much potential however and I wished his character arc was explored more and we got to see more of him. Overall, I'd give this 3 stars.

I got an ARC from Netgalley. I really enjoyed The Queen's Wing, so I was delighted when the second book in the series came out. I loved Petra Kel anyway (who wouldn't!?), so I was glad that there was quite a lot of her point of view in this one. Bel still there, though. Hers is the second narrative voice in the book.
Bel and Con are finally going to be married and Bel's brother Zander is coming to the wedding. Bel asks Petra to 'babysit' him while he's there, which isn't ideal because he and Petra have past. In the midst of all that, something nasty is stirring in the heart of Anthaeus.
Lots of stuff happens. It's a twisty, turny rollercoaster ride. I honestly didn't know whom Petra could trust at one point.
The characters are fun, the world building is meticulous and the story is amazing. I really enjoyed reading this.

I think this might be worth 3.5 stars? I don't know how but the books in this series always manage to somehow make me cry like a little baby.

At the end of The Queen's Wing I wasn't that excited about Petra and Zander, but I ended up loving their relationship so much! Petra especially was something else, I adored her.

This series is also full of bad things happening to the characters. Not once have they caught a break. They think they're safe but nah, here's some pain and anguish. But that ending was so sweet!

A great sequel to The Queen’s Wing.
Thorne is a compelling story teller and creates a sci-fi world like no other.

This was just as fab as the first one. It was great to have all the characters back and I loved it that this one showed us more of Petra as she was a favourite character of mine from the first in the series. It had a great story line and kept me hooked. All the added details make you feel like your really there in their world. I can’t wait for the next installment to see where else it is going to go. I was so excited to be offered the arc for this one as I thought the first in the series was amazing.

I hate love triangles. And unfortunately, this author loves them, so we have some conflict there. I really liked the first book, in spite of the love triangle, because it was pretty clear cut how everyone felt. However, in this book, the author decided to basically leave the reader confused for the entire book about how everyone felt about each other. You had...

Love Interest #1 - Lysander - maybe bisexual, not sure - maybe loves Petra and Teel, but again, not sure
Love Interest #2 - Petra - loves Lysander but has a crush on Teel...maybe
Love Interest #3 - Teel - pretty certain he's bisexual - maybe had a past relationship with Lysander, maybe wants a relationship still - maybe wants a relationship with Petra

And throughout the book, Lysander and Teel kept saying they would explain to Petra the nature of their past relationship, but they never did. There was a bunch of blushing, innuendo, and shade going on, and I never got a good understanding. I can guess, and my guess would be that Lysander and Teel used to be intimate, and now they still have feelings for each other, but Lysander loves Petra more. Maybe. It was all a giant MAYBE, and it drove me nuts. I can't enjoy a book when the romance is so vague.

If the love triangle theme continues in the next book, I'm out. I don't have the patience for it.

I didn't read the first book in the series, and I think that hindered my understanding of The Stone's Heart. It's a well written thoughtful story. I liked the characters. They were likeable and entertaining. I recommend reading the first book in the series! Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

*I received a free ARC of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

3.5 stars.

Although I liked this book, it didn’t quite measure up to its predecessor. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoyed reading it, and it continued the story nicely. It was engaging and not always easy to put down when I should be doing other things. But it just fell short in a few ways.

I had mistakenly assumed that the first book ended with Bel and Con on their way to be married; in fact, that event doesn’t take place until a few days into this book. Everything is complicated by a sleeping sickness that is befalling people all over Anthaeus. The introduction of a group of religious zealots (the Greymen) and their creepy, mind-controlling stone (the Coparius) drives the rest of the book, along with the presence of an Imperial delegation that followed Zander from Cuore, where he was being held by the Empress in an attempt to control Vairian (and possibly Anthaeus) by controlling him. Though the plot revolving around the Coparius is resolved, I don’t feel like the issue with the Empress is. And this book ends rather abruptly. It was almost as if the author had a word limit, realized she was quickly approaching it, and wrapped things up as speedily as she could.

I’m curious if the series will continue with another book. Yes, there is some closure in this book, just as their was in <I>The Queen’s Wing</I>, but I still think there’s room for the story to go on. Not everything has been wrapped up (the Empress, for example). I would continue reading if another book were written.

This book was narrated by both Petra and Bel. I admit their voices weren’t particularly distinct, and I sometimes found myself unsure whose chapter I was reading when I picked the book back up. It didn’t take long to figure it out (either from the context or by glancing back at the chapter’s start). I’m glad that even though this book is mostly about Petra, Bel and Con still play major roles in it. I would have missed them.

I do like Petra, make no mistake. She’s loyal and honorable and fierce, though she’s also vulnerable and carries a lifetime of shame over her father’s reputation. It colors every major decision she makes, and some of the smaller ones, as well.

But I have a confession to make: I’m not a huge fan of Zander. As Bel’s older brother, sure I think he’s good. But as Petra’s main love interest (yes, there are two)? No, not so much. From what others have said about him, he’s not the most upstanding character—he was known for frequenting brothels and indulging in other vices, even as recently as just before this book begins. Honestly, why would Petra want someone like that? Why would anyone, for that matter? Add to that the “history” with Valentin Teel (oh yes, he’s Petra’s other love interest), and I just don’t get it. (By the way, both Zander and Valentin told Petra that at some point she’d need to hear their “history,” and yet it is never explained. Not even a little. It irks me.)

So overall the characters are well written. The remaining Rondet (Rhenna, Favre, and Aeron) have a larger part in this book, I think—or at least a more active part—and their personalities become more evident. Val is one of the more complicated characters, and I’m still not quite sure I understand him or his motives.

As with the previous book, there were quite a few editing errors, but I hope they were corrected before the final publication. One thing that drove me crazy through the duration of both books was the use of “which” at times when “that” should have been used, as well as the lack of a comma prior to “which” when it was needed. Not every use of “which” was incorrect, but I would say the majority of its uses in this book were.

Note: A little swearing. A weird love triangle.

This is book 2 in Jessica Thorne's Queen's Wing series and if you've read book 1 you are going to love book 2. I was a little apprehensive going in because the sample preview at the end of book 1 was written from Petra's point of view and I was nervous. I loved book 1 and Bel and Con and I was afraid this book was going to leave them behind. I needed have been, The Stone's Heart is told in both Petra and Bel's point of view, and it is done brilliantly.

This book, I dare say, is better than book 1, and it really does pack a punch. We didn't get to learn much about Petra in The Queen's Wing, but she comes into her own and shows her strength and determination as Bel and Con battle a new force that threatens their world.

We get to meet new characters, and I have to say I'd love to see a book 3 in this series and find out more about Teel and what happened to him. I loved finding out more about Zander, Bel's brother, and seeing the relationship between Bel and Con blossom against so many odds. The Rondet and great in this book too.

I actually don't have anything negative I can say. I loved every minute of it. The only negative emotion I felt was when it ended. I was sad to have to leave the world behind and come back to reality.

This book is filled with action, adventure, and romance and it will have you at the edge of your seat so many times. There were things I never saw coming and I held my breath on numerous occasions as I prayed for things to go the way I wanted them too. I was deeply invested in all the characters, and I can't wait to see what is going to happen next in this series. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. It's advertised as a sci-fi & Fantasy, and initially, I thought I wouldn't like sci-fi and I imaged a story about space and aliens, but boy have I been surprised. This book has everything a fantasy reader will love and for those who enjoy sci-fi you'll love the spaceships, the inventions that con comes up with, the battles, and everything else, the author manages to pack into this series.

If I could give more than five stars I would. I absolutely loved it and will be waiting not so patiently for book 3.

This book was quite entertaining and enjoyable.
It's a bit slow at the beginning but after the first chapters the pace gets faster and it becomes full of twists and turns.
It's well written, with interesting and engaging characters.
I liked the world building and I liked the story being told by two different point of view.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC

As the preparations for Bel and Con's wedding get under way, Petra, General of the Queen's Guard, must deal not only with a delegation from the Imperial Empress, but also with the only man she has ever loved, but walked away from, Bel's older brother Zander.
But as the court intrigues deepen, an ancient alien creature is unearthed/awakened and Petra and Bel find themselves fighting for the survival of their new home, and questioning whether love or loyalty is more important.
A fantastic read that kept me guessing and reading right to the very end, and a series I plan on rereading as soon as possible.