Cover Image: Lady of Stone

Lady of Stone

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Member Reviews

3.5 stars

A slightly different genre taking me back to my early days. The story was well constructed and well written with two great main characters. If I could have asked for more, I would have asked for more depth, although the length of the novel also seemed appropriate so perhaps my ask would need some magic to deliver.

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Unfortunately this book didn't work for me. I was slowly going into a reading slump and I had to DNF. I do think a lot of people are going to enjoy it, the writing and the plot are interesting and the romance from what I've read is pretty good.

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Review excerpted from my blog post over at Pan/Cis LGBT2SQ+ Romance Reviews (https://pancis.wordpress.com/2020/11/30/lady-of-stone-by-barbara-ann-wright/)

Overall Rating: 3.0 stars

Library recommendation: Not recommended for public library LGBT2SQ+ romance collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.


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Number of titles I have read by this author: 2

Love story speed: Insta-attraction; medium burn

Relationship dynamics: The High-Ranking Noblewoman (h1) / The High-Ranking Wielder of Magic (h2)

Sexual content: Some; on-page, but very vaguely described. Some sex is ritualistic

Gender Identity: Cis (h1) / Cis (h2)

Sexual Identity: Neither are self-declared, but lesbian is implied for both

Triggers: If you are claustrophobic, there are parts of this book that will make you very uncomfortable

Acceptance Rating: 5.0 stars

Acceptance Rating Explanation: Love is love; while there is parental estrangement, it is not due to identity.

Grammar/Editing: Minor typos but, otherwise, this was a fairly clean ARC.

Review: This was a fairly slow-paced book for me, although it picked up toward the end. That being said, the world building was good – it was obvious that the author has spent a lot of time in-world. I read this book without having read the others and could follow along easily, for the most part. I did read the synopses for the other books in the series, but it was not clear to me how this book fits in – this may be more obvious to those who have read the other selections.

The main characters in this book are Sylph and Thana. Their romance is incredibly tentative and feels very “new adult” in tone. I found that the couple dynamics were not to my taste – they bicker constantly and neither really gives way. While we receive cues from the supporting characters about what we should be feeling at certain points in the story, I didn’t find that I was witnessing the same relationship that they were seeing. I was honestly more invested in the action of the novel than the romance and finished the book for the plot resolution rather than the happily ever after.

Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I'm not normally a fantasy reader but I enjoyed this book very much. I hadn't read the previous books in the series so I was a bit confused at first as the world the author has built is quite complex, but I settled into it a few chapters in. The universe itself was well built and the concept of magic being a peasant thing was an interesting one. The two main characters weren't as multi-faceted and well developed as I would have liked, and the supporting characters weren't particularly likeable, but the plot was so action-packed it carried the story forward without much character development or much of a romantic storyline. I hope to be able to read the rest of the series at some point.

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trigger warning
<spoiler> child neglect, trauma </spoiler>

In a world where the nobles pride themselves on not having the magic they think beneath them, one noble discovers she has unexplained abilities and tries her hardest to keep them hidden.
The royal pyradisté realises this and is torn between her duty to her employer and feelings toward a fellow magician.

Let me start with the strongest point of this: The character's queerness is not a problem. I repeat: Queerness is not a problem!
This doesn't mean there are no problems, simply that it's not important what is hidden under the finery of your crush. For example, the queen is unavailable for most parts of the book as she has a new female paramour, and it's okay as long as she won't marry a person that may be in for power and money.

Our main characters come from different worlds and upbringings and thus have different abilities. Both are shown to have strengths and weaknesses, and overcoming prejudice is something both have to do.

The magic system took a while to get used to. The mages have pyramids from a special crystal that allows them to focus their intent and their abilities. Pyramids can be tuned for different kind of jobs, a light pyramid makes light, a mind pyramid is usefull for poking into people's thoughts. And the term pyradisté... yeah, not the most creative but that makes it believable as something that would be used.

Apart from that, it's pretty standard high fantasy fare. Courtly shemes that have to be stopped because threat of magic, bigger than the opposition knows. Travel is exactly as quick as your horse can run.

It's quite sad, really, that queerness in characters is enough to make old stories very appealing, but it is how it is.

My only critique so far would be that the views shared by a monk of the gods of love and beauty felt ace-exclusionary. You know, the kind of sex positivity that only is for people who do have sex and excludes everyone who simply has no interest.
Please work on that. I like sex positivity, but not if it makes my particular brand of queerness a problem.

Apart from that, full recommendations.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

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This is going to be a bit of a weird review. Lady of Stone is a book that a lot of people will love - it's full of fun tropes, a unique magic system, and a sapphic, noble x peasant romance. I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to, but the reason I didn't is heavily linked to my reading preferences. I'd recommend checking out the author as she writes a lot of amazing high fantasy sapphic books, and we always need more of them.

The book is a prequel in the 'A Pyradiste Adventure' series. Lady Sylph is a Baronness to be and she shouldn't have magic. Yet, somehow she has the most powerful magic they've ever seen. As she desperately tries to conceal it, the royal pyradiste offers to help train her. Thana doesn't have much in the way of magical ability, but she's trying to uncover a mystery involving magical pyramid explosions. The two women will have to work together to protect the kingdom.

The worldbuilding and magic system in Lady of Stone was incredibly original. The magic users in this world are known as Pyradiste, and it's a power only the peasantry can access. These Pyradiste are mostly stripped of their rights and face a lot of outright hostility. Even Thana, the Royal Pyradiste experiences this, and she's in the most privileged position possible.

Magic is amplified through pyramids, made by the Pyradiste to achieve certain tasks. One of my favourite examples is the pyramids in the castle that will only power up when sensing a threat to the Royals. You can create light, alter people's very minds, or disintegrate everything around you. I've never seen a magic system similar to this, and it was one of the major highlights of the book.

However, as this is a prequel to the main series, which I haven't read, some detail was lacking. It took me quite a long time to understand how pyramids functioned, and that was mainly due to the training Sylph required. A lot of elements remained mystifying even once finished. I imagine the series explains these things in a lot more detail, so people who are interested in reading that might have a better time.

I liked Thana's character, but I didn't connect to Sylph. Their relationship is heavily based on miscommunication and arguing, which doesn't fizzle out until right near the end. I guess you could consider it softly enemies-to-lovers, but it was frustrating after a certain point.

Lady Sylph is described as pretty much perfect. She's not like the other nobles, in that she doesn't want to kill people for power, and she doesn't hate the peasantry. She's also the strongest Pyradiste anyone's ever seen, and consistently performs feats thought to be impossible. Thana is the one who has to work to understand her. Thana is the one who is lectured for being biased about nobles and told to get over this bias. Thana, the person who belongs to a class of oppressed peasantry. I get that Lady Sylph is different, but Thana has the right to be apprehensive, Sylph needs to prove herself, not the other way round.

My major issue with the book links to this. I can't turn my political brain off. I want to point out I'm not saying the author has bad politics, I am only talking about the way this book functions. I love books about revolution; I love books that challenge the status quo; I love books that are heavily linked to real-world issues. This book didn't work on those fronts.

As I said, Thana is part of the peasantry, oppressed for their magic and not granted full rights. The other Pyradiste are suspicious of her, believing her to side with the royals against them. There have been a lot of cases of Pyradiste attacking people recently, and the Queen has executed everyone who is even hinting about causing trouble.

The book is told from a noble-positive point of view. We spend our time with the good upper-class who would never hurt anyone for political gain. They don't even think the peasantry should worship them! Other nobles are painted more negatively, but it's seen as a personal fault, rather than an issue with the entire ruling class who are upholding this system. This is why Thana needs to get over her bias, instead of being proved wrong, because nobles aren't bad, there are just bad eggs. That's something I don't agree with.

The books main plot focuses on making sure these bad Pyradiste don't start a revolution and overthrow the monarchy. Of course, they couldn't do that without noble leaders, because the peasantry can't do anything for themselves. It's a book that celebrates preventing a revolution, preventing a change to the status quo. Everyone gets to go back to where they belong, except for a few changes necessary for the series, and we can ignore pyradiste oppression for a little while longer.

This is a light-hearted book; I'm not asking for a deep analysis of power relations or anything like that. I just wish that there was a bit more nuance, that people understood why Thana might not like nobles, that people understood why the Pyradiste might be rebelling. Even if it ended exactly the same. I understand you can't do too much in a prequel, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

I also 100% recognise that most people can turn their politics brain off occasionally. I think I would have enjoyed this book if I had read it without thinking about those aspects. I'm still really interested in reading more of Barbara Ann Wright's work, as I need more sapphic high fantasy in my life, this book just didn't work for me.

Recommend for: People who want to read a high fantasy peasant x noble romance, people who want to read a book with a lot of longing, people who want to read a grumpy allies to lovers romance, people who are able to read books where revolution isn't on the table.

(Thanks to NetGallery and Bold Strokes Books for providing an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review)

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I realize this book is a prequel to the series, though I do wish a little more world building was added before laying out some very important facts about the story world. Overall liked the relationship of the leads, seemed a little rushed but I’m privy to a slower burn. Overall I enjoyed the book, the characters were relatable in their struggles to not being able to speak out and to leaning more to lashing out at times. It felt very natural too, to just fall in love so easily without question of ones sexuality, enjoyed that part immensely.

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A prequel to her Pyradisté Adventures, Lady of Stone is a perfect introduction to Barbara Ann Wright’s world of fantasy and magic. Even though it’s been ages since I read The Pyramid Waltz, and I’ve yet to catch up with the other 3 books in the series, I had no trouble settling in and familiarizing myself with the world and its magic.

The first thing that struck me about this is just how quickly Wright defines the classes of her world, and just how powerfully she outlines the prejudices between them. As a result, we have no trouble understanding Lady Sylph’s horror at being caught with magic, or her awkwardness in being forced to accept the secret tutoring of a pyradisté peasant. Her entire world has been flipped upside down, her entire future put into question, and compounding matters is her attraction to Thana, something upon which it would be entirely improper to act. Thana shares that same problem of impossible attraction, chafing against that class barrier, but she has the added awkwardness of envying Lady Sylph the effortless strength of her magic – something the noblewoman wants only to hide and suppress.

This a story I would describe as a plot-driven fantasy first (with violent scenes of explosive action) and a character-driven romance second (with passionate scenes of frustrated longing), but that mix does shift nicely in the second half. There’s a fascinating mystery regarding magic going awry, one that’s compounded by acts of treason, and being thrown into those conflicts, both magic and mundane, is what slowly brings Lady Sylph and Thana together. Two strong, independent women with real depth, there’s no question they are the primary appeal here. As much as they frustrated me at times, had me cursing at them for not telling each other what they were thinking or how they were feeling, I understood them . . . I understood their distance . . . and, because of that, I appreciated their gradual bridging of that powerful divide.

Interestingly, as much as this world is divided along lines of class and magic, it’s wonderfully open and inclusive of gender and sexuality, complete with a very open love affair between Queen Earnhilt and Lady Lucia that delivers some early moments of ribald humor. In restricting the attraction between Lady Sylph and Thana to something forbidden solely because of class, not because of gender, Wright allows the story and the romance to progress without any sort of secret, closeted angst. As for being the Lady of Stone, that’s both a reference to Lady Sylph’s personality (which does soften and crack) and her magical affinity (which involves very different breaking down), two aspects that play off one another nicely.

Yet another stellar read from Barbara Ann Wright, Lady of Stone is a wonderful blend of magical fantasy and lesbian romance that had me eager to find out how it all ends, and yet reluctant to have it end.

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I don’t usually choose to read Fantasy stories, but I kept hearing wonderful things about Barbara Ann Wright’s fantasy novels, so when Lady of Stone became available, I decided to give this book a try. It is the fifth book in her series, The Pyradisté Adventures, but it is a prequel to the stories, so I figured it would be fine to read it out of order. I’m happy to tell you that I totally enjoyed the book, and had no problems understanding this fantastic universe Ms. Wright has created.

This tale takes place about two hundred years before the first book in the series, and involves two young women from very different stations in life. Lady Sylph is the daughter of a Duke and in line to inherit the title, lands, and wealth that comes with it. Thana is a peasant and the royal pyradisté to the queen. Only peasants are supposed to be pyradistés (able to perform magic using special crystals). When Lady Sylph realizes that she has not only pyradisté powers, but unusually strong ones, she asks Thana for help, and thus begins a fantastical adventure that could end with the destruction of the entire kingdom if things go wrong.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The setting of this tale is a universe that has already been created for four other books, so it is obviously well developed. I connected with the two main characters immediately, even though Lady Sylph is very much an ice queen to begin with. I quickly realized why she was that way, and enjoyed seeing her character develop through the book. There is a beautiful and dangerous romance that develops between Sylph and Thana on top of everything else that they’re facing. The story is well constructed and exciting, I was hooked right away and was kind of sad when the book ended. I wanted more. It’s a good thing I have four more books to read in this series.

If you like romantic fantasy, then try this book. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

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Excellent fantasy novel. Magic, nobility. Rich-poor action-packed romance. Set as a 200-years before prequel to Wright's Pyramid Waltz series. I have not read the original series and highly enjoyed this book. It definitely can be read as a stand alone.

Lady Sylph is languishing under her father's thumb, but she is terrified of the secret she holds: she is a nobel pyradiste. She can work pyramid magic, and her kind should not exist - pyramid magic is for peasants only. Thana is the royal pyradiste - pyramid magic practitioner to the royal family. But things are not right in the kingdom or in the pyradiste world. Something is amiss.

As Sylph's magic threatens to explode, she and Thana for a (initially reluctant) partnership to keep Sylph safe. But safety is not an option and soon the two must work together to try to stop new magic, a coup, and the unleashing of an all-destroying Fiend.

**I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

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I absolutely loved this FF romance! I’ve read a few of her fantasy romances and I’m never bored. The characterization is always great and I love seeing the different worlds she builds. Both Sylph and Thana are very dynamic characters from different social classes and this inevitably causes conflict for the two but is a great way to develop their romance. Since this is also technically a prequel the world building is actually really great. This is a strength for Wright. I really needed this book after reading a very very heavy and depressing book. Great starting point for this author if you’ve never read her before.

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I picked Lady of Stone to read because it is in a genre that I typically don't read. I found Lady of Stone to be similar to the other books I have read in this genre. Over all Lady of Stone turned out to be an okay read, but I admit I struggled to understand what was going on throughout most of the book. Maybe I needed to read some of the others but not sure if that would have helped me. Lady of Stone started out slow for me. I did find that I enjoyed the ending of this. I just feel that Fantasy romances aren't really for me. I have a hard time getting into them.

3 stars.

This arc was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

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This book takes place about 200 years before Pyramid Waltz (the first of four books in a series about the love between Katya and Starbride). I prefer to read books in the order that they were published, but there are no spoilers that would ruin the rest of the series if someone accidentally read this one first.

The story focuses on two women from different social stations. There is no surprise that they argue about everything, because each of them have been shaped by their upbringing. However, magic brings them together and gives each women insight on how the other side lives.

This book has adventure, magic, fiends, and budding love. Easy read. Nothing stressful. PG-13 romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This is an excellent return to the world of the Pyradiste for Wright. Usually, she's a pretty solid fantasy/ sci-fi writer that leans very heavily into either high fantasy or hard science fiction. Very few lesfic authors do this, so I always check her stuff out if I can.

This story is set about 1,000 years before the story told in the arc starting with The Pyramid Waltz. I honestly don't remember much of those first books, but with this book, the magic users are usually discriminated against. So, when the Lady Slyph finds out that she has magic, she turns to the only person she can, the Queen's pyradiste, Thana. Thana is torn, though, because while she has privileges being the Queen's pyradiste, she is often bullied and looked down on in the court. It's made more difficult because of Sylph's reticent behaviors. But once a treasonous plot is uncovered, can Thana and Slyph work together?

I enjoyed reading Slyph and Thana. They are very layered characters that helped make a pretty generic uncover-the-traitor-and-save-the-day plot much more enjoyable. Slyph is very reluctant to show her feelings (or even really understand them at times) because of her upbringing, and despite her being part of a powerful noble family, her powers would make her a pariah. She'd lose her standing and her freedom if her powers came to light. Thana is proud of her powers and knowledge, but is still not very respected at court. She feels the resentment, and is understandably angry at her treatment. It doesn't stop the attraction between the two, and some of the conflicts that arise when they have to work to empathize with each other.

There are some lovely parallels with Slyph's affinity for stone, and her taciturn appearance. I also liked that this helps readers along who have not read the original novels, with a healthy bit of understated world building. There are some call backs to the original series, but some of the references might be a little difficult to decipher if you haven't read those books.

I enjoyed this read, and it makes me want to go back and check out the other books from this series - I have most of them, but they are pretty deep in my backlog of books. I also love a solid lesfic high fantasy, and this fits the bill perfectly.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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The story unfolds in a world where magic is dismissed as a “peasant” occupation and where nobility disapproves of everything and anyone magic-related.
Lady Sylph is the quintessence of this type of noble, as her father wishes her to be, but problems begin when she discovers to have the power of the Pyradistes. A LOT of power. She is even more gifted than the Queen’s Pyradiste, Thana.
Sylph needs to learn to contain her gifts so as not to be discovered and disowned and seeks Thana’s help. And that has nothing to do with Thana being gorgeous and dark, and kind, and…as I said, nothing to do.

I liked the dynamic between Thana and Sylph. As you can tell there is an immediate attraction but I liked how it collided with their different status and most of all with the fact that Sylph refuses her great gifts, greater even than Thana’s and the envy that Thana feels for it. I liked this dynamic so much that I wished it had been developed even more, but I felt it was resolved too quickly.

The magic system is brilliant and truly fascinating, nothing like I have read before. The magic is conveyed trough an actual pyramid made of some type of mineral that serves multiple purposes depending on the magic the magician intends to use.

I really enjoy fantasy books with a well-built world and characters and this one is no exception but I have to say it relies a lot on the others of the same series. I wouldn’t say it’s mandatory to read the other books before reading Lady of Stone but sure would have helped because at first I was confused by terms and names which are kind of took for granted since are not explained very well.

My final thought is that is a very good fantasy, but one in which the romance perhaps steals too much of the spotlight from the untapped potential of character development.

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When I was 12 and voraciously consuming teen fiction featuring fantasy with romance subplots, this is the kind of book I was looking for. No, it’s not perfect. I found both Sylph and Thana irritating in their own ways, as they could have had more depth to their personalities. Their relationship was really cute, though, and I liked the overall storyline. Four and a half stars.

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well, this book is a very good fantasy, i liked it, but the only thing that bothers me is that this is the part of a series of books that I casually haven't read, so all I say is that this was a very good, entretained book

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In a world where magic was dismissed and associated with peasants, the story opens up with a royalty who seemed to be endowed with magical powers but desperate to shun it.

Attempting to run from her powers, Lady Sylph sought the help of the Queen’s Pyradiste, Thana, to coach her on ways to contain her gifts. The story took off with a life of its own, entrapping readers into the realm of magic and fantasy.

I am not an avid fan of fantasy but the book captured my interest. Fans of the genre can expect to be charmed on the variety of pyramids, their functionalities and be treated to an intriguing plot while following on the trails and adventures of Sylph and Thana. With the class divide between the two main leads, master and protege, there is also no lack of angst in the romance department.

I just reviewed Lady of Stone by Barbara Ann Wright. #NetGalley

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This was a good read. Intrigue with mix of magic and romance.

Lady Sylph is going along with the plans her father had made for her she doesn’t really mind because she never needed anything.

Sylph is surprise when she starts to possess magic ability that she isn’t suppose to have. Thana who exceed with great knowledge of magic hope no one have need for her help especially the royals.

Thana is called upon when things at the palace starts to get out of control on top of that she needs to help Sylph with her magic and she start to wonder if this is all connected to what happening.

I won’t spoil it which I tend to do sometimes especially when the books deal with magic. I like Sylph even though she wants to do what her father wanted she started to see she can be her own person I like how she struggles with magic and afraid what that means for her. I like Thana how she was patience’s even when she was frustrating.


I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

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