STONE is a story of grief, how we process it and how we try to hide from it.

I really enjoyed how it explored the desperate desire not to confront grief, how it affects our emotions and can make us act irrationally. But the book also looks at how friends and family and professionals can support us and help us get through it and heal.

There is magic in the book, other worlds that can be glimpsed through a stone. To me, it never felt clear whether the magic was real of just Sam's subconscious dealing with his grief, manifesting it as a way to give him a chance to have closure, that connection with his dad and patch things up.

I liked that uncertainty. I'm sure everyone would have a different opinion on whether it was real or not, and I think I'm coming down on the side of grief rather than magic. However, the uncertainty allows for different interpretations, to let everyone explore grief through Sam's eyes in their own, personal way.

It's a short and sweet (though in some ways bittersweet) tale that wants to be read in one setting to immerse the reader in all the emotions at once.

I absolutely loved the first book witch and the second did not disappoint.

Writing is lyrical and pulls you in with its thought provoking prose full of sorrow. Preferred the first one but Stone was a lovely follow up.

This is the second book I have read by Finbar Hawkins, the first being the enthralling Witch which I loved, so I was very excited to read this second book; Stone and I wasn't disappointed, even though I don't think it had the same magical quality about it what Witch did, I was still hooked by the elegant and compelling narrative.
If anyone reads the previous book Witch then you will easily fall into this one, as it runs along the same themes only this time we follow Sam as he goes on a strange and mythical adventure and I have to say that I was hooked from the moment he set off.
I was instantly invested in Sam's story, the journey he and the reader go on is one full of legends and magic, but more than that it's emotional and engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed every step!
A definite must-read!

I enjoyed Witch and although I liked this book but it wasn’t as good. I didn’t engaged with the characters. It starts as the story of a boys grief but turns into one about obsession. Again, like Witch, it has supernatural undertones. However, II feel here they are maybe just a hook to keep you interested.

There is a noticeable improvement in Hawkins writing from his first book while still keeping his voice atmospheric and wistful, it’s more poetic, which fits this books exploration of grief. Loved how it tied back to Hawkins first book. As with his other work this book helped me feel connected to my Irish heritage in such a comforting way.

Wow! I loved this book. I didn’t know what to expect from the title and cover but I was not let down.
Beautifully written.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

Fantastic, well researched and passionately told historical non-fiction looking at the lives of Medieval women who shaped history but were struck from the record. This is one for anyone who was told in a school history class that there were exactly three or four historical women including Elizabeth I. An outstanding piece of work.

Having previously read and adored Witch, I was excited to get my hands on this second novel by Finbar Hawkins. Stone absolutely delivered - it's atmospheric and portrays grief in an honest, deep way. The relationship between Sam and his father was beautifully written, and Hawkins expertly wove elements of myth and benign magic into the path to healing. An absolutely perfect read for the spooky season that will touch you..

I enjoyed it as the author is a talented storyteller but I cried bucket as it's poignant and entertaining at the same time.
Great characters and storytelling, a well plotted story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Starting at a party on the even of his father’s funeral, Finabar Hawkin’s novel tells the story of Sam. A troubled teenage boy who comes into contact with the supernatural when he finds a stone.

I have to say that this is my first encounter with Finbar Hawkins’s writing and when I was introduced to this book by Head of Zeus (for which I am grateful for both introducing me to Finbar Hawkins’s books and giving me access to this story via Netgalley) I thought it sounded interesting. Particularly due to the concept of the White Horse, because I have always had a bit of a fascination for these gigantic chalk figures that litter hillsides in southern Britain.

Now whilst I am not the intended target for this young adult book, I have read a few throughout my reviewing career, and I think that this ranks as the best ones that I have read.

The story handles the subject of grief really well, interconnecting both the real world and the fantastical to provide a cathartic feeling of acceptance of the situation. In some ways reminding me of a Monster Calls, particularly in its stark portrayal of grief in a young boy.

Hawkins does not shy away from the fact that teenage boys are not the most logical of beings and the way that Sam handles the situation at times, whilst not being very commendable is true to life. Yes, believe it or not teenage boys make bad choices and this is initially illustrated by the fact that Sam goes to a party the night before his father’s funeral. He doesn’t spend the time contemplating the time he spent with his father, he wants to forget the pain that his death has caused him.

I liked the interplay between the fantastical and the mundane. How both celtic and norse mythology become intertwined with the everyday.

Stone is a refreshingly human book despite the fantasy. We see Sam reach acceptance by actually talking to people and working through his grief. Yes you could say that we have a existential journey through Kubler Ross’s stages of grief, but we see it through the eyes of a teenager, and we see how it affects both him and those around him. With believable characters, Finbar Hawkins’s book Stone is an emotional and enjoyable story of grief and loss.

Being a teenager there are always going to be so many firsts to navigate. Rebelling against your family; first love and our first encounter with death. Few of us have to deal with the death of a parent at that age but to experience such an event and how that would impact a teenager is the subject explored in Finbar Hawkins’ emotionally powered YA fantasy Stone. This is the subject delicately handled and I think very successfully with an exploration of the power of myth too.

Sam has just lost his father who was a soldier in Afghanistan and his family is bracing itself for the funeral. At the same time a new girl at school named Oona keeps crossing his path while his worst school bully has taken even greater interest in making his life a misery. But Sam finds a strange smooth white stone that appears to give him strength and speed; he seems haunted by the ravens and wolves that his Dad’s favourite mythic god often told him tales about. Are the worlds touching? Sam needs to work out this mystery to help his future.

What struck me the most of this story is I found Hawkins really captures the feelings of being a teenage boy. The strange mix of awkwardness, frustration, bewilderment, and stress of discovering that this world is so much more complex than you ever realised. Sam our narrator feels amazingly normal but at the same time his explanation of the shock, pain, and anger that grief and also guilt causes is extremely well delivered. It is also refreshingly a story where Sam learns the benefit of actually talking about his problems be it with his best friend, Oona, his sister and also a grief counsellor. There is a really solid and refreshingly non-adversarial relationship with his sister Beth and a compelling bonding with a pensioner also in pain named Bill – a reminder that death impacts everyone in hard ways. These human relationships really worked for me and gave Sam a very low key but very important arc to navigate.

In terms of plot, we have a human and a more fantastical storyline overlapping. We explore the closeness of Sam’s relationship with his father and start to understand why Sam feels so terrible about what has happened. But alongside this is the mysterious stone and the area that he lives near with a long history of magic suggests some form of thinning of worlds and time zones is in the offing. Very subtly we have the potential magic of the area and also Nordic legend that suggest something is aiding Sam for some unknown purpose. You could easily read this as just Sam’s trauma having a psychological impact on his imagination but I’m always on the side of the magic. There is no magical reset button but this ultimately a story about acceptance and moving on.

Stone was a really enjoyable and powerful read with relatable characters and a delicate handing of a serious subject. A strong reminder YA Fantasy covers so many stories and can cover a large range of emotional topics some that adult fantasy still tends to steer way clear of. Stone is well worth a look.

This book starts off with the death of Sam's father and the first few chapters are all about the immediate after of that, and how Sam, his mother and his sister are dealing with that. Then we join the family, mainly Sam, in how they deal with the after of it all and regain some normality. However, when Sam finds a strange stone things become very far from normal. As well as dealing with standard teen things, like liking a girl, dealing with bullies and so on. He also has to deal with the grief of losing his father and a mystical stone which seems to link to the mythology his father so loved.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance at reading this book! I really enjoyed and will definitely be picking up the authors debut, Witch, at somepoint as well!

As always I want to start by saying that I was given an e-ARC of this to review. My review is honest and left voluntarily. Thank you to @headofZeus and @Netgalley

I absolutely adored Finbar Hawkins debut novel Witch when it first came out. The prose was beautiful, the story amazing and the characters memorable. So when I had the chance from Head of Zeus to review Hawkins’ newest book I was incredibly excited. Add into this the reference to Odin and I was sure this would be amazing. Thankfully, I wasn’t wrong.

Stone follows Sam a young teen who is grieving the death of his father. When he finds a silver-flecked stone that is ice-cold to the touch strange things begin to happen in his life. Combining magic, myth, legend and witchcraft Hawkins weaves a tale centred on an hillside where a chalk white horse has galloped for centuries.

The first thing I want to say is Sam as a protagonist did make some rather infuriating choices and was not always likable but I honestly feel that was the point. Sam is a teenage boy, dealing with all the issues teens deal with and on top of this had the crippling grief and loss of his father during these years. He is far from perfect but he is most definitely human. He also does progress throughout the story learning and healing with his grief and internalised guilt. In short he is not always likeable but he was the perfect protagonist for this story.

Secondly I was not prepared for how heartbreaking and heartwarming this book was going to be. Grief is a terrible thing that most of us will face. It breaks us down and Hawkins captures this perfectly from Sam and his family to the old man Sam befriends, Bill. We see how it continues to live with us but how slowly it becomes something we can live with. It was heartwarming to see Sam and Bill bond and Sam slowly come to terms with his grief. Not that it made the loss easier but it began to heal.

The third thing I adored was how Hawkins manages to combine the world of myth and magic to a ‘normal’ world. The strange and eerie experiences Sam has have no logical explanation but Hawkins manages to build in a world of myth and magic where they do become acceptable and make sense. This was added by the inclusion of Oona, with her bewitching ways who is able to help and guide Sam with her tarot.

Without spoiling the book I will say it was one I definitely will be recommending and re-reading. It contained all of Hawkins trademarks of beautiful prose, believable characters who are far from perfect, melding magic and the real world and a wonderful story all while dealing with tough topics like grief and loss in a believable and respectful way.

As an admirer of Finbar Hawkin's previous book "Witch" I was keen to get my hands on a copy of his latest offering, Stone.
With a more modern setting than Witch, Stone is the story of a young man named Sam who along with his mother and his little sister Beth is mourning the loss of his father, a soldier who did not make it back from his last tour of duty in Afghanistan. The book opens on the eve of the funeral and emotions are running high, so Sam tries to escape by going to a party, where he finds himself drawn to mysterious new girl Oona. After the funeral Sam visits a site that was important to him and his dad because of their shared interest in mythology, and there he finds a strange stone that seems to connect him to another realm beyond the vale while causing him to black out in this one. Along with Oona and new friend Bill Sam tries to come to terms with his father 's death by understanding the visions the scrying stone sends.
This is a book that tackles some very heavy subject matter with its obvious themes of death and grief, but it does so in a beautiful and novel way. The book is very atmospheric and the reader is drawn into the setting of the story in a way that is rare in books aimed at this age range
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I adored Finbar Hawkins' debut novel Witch last year so I was excited to see what his new book was like. It did not disappoint. The supernatural element is still very much present in this story but Stone is far more powerful in terms of the emotions it brought out of me as a reader. The relationship between Sam and his father is so beautifully written- even the friction between them at the end- and it was an amazing story to bring to life on the page. Sam's journey from anger to the expression of his sadness and hurt and subsequent acknowledgement and release of his grief in a healing way was superbly handled by Hawkins. Sam's relationship with his little sister was very moving and I loved the inclusion of the older man Bill and his faithful little dog. Bill and Sam's friendship brought a tear to my eye on a number of occasions as they share a bond in grief.

Sam is realistically portrayed and although not the most likeable of the characters, his emotions and his obsession at times with everyday teen issues shows the reader Sam's struggles to cope with something so immense as the loss of his father and his best friend. Stone is a truly memorable read and a book that I will be recommending to young people who have lost a family member and might be able to relate to Sam.

Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the arc. Stone will be released on the 1st of September.

So I can't remember why I requested this book, I am not sure if it's because I reviewed witch or not. But again this author has a way with words. I loved the magic in the way he writes and the story that it told. Thank you for researching the topics as well as it shows great respect

I loved how the story started, with a little bit of information and a little bit of mystery. It was good, it made me keep reading. But then it was like this book lacked of something. I felt nothing for the characters or the story itself. I couldn't connect to the story.

This some what dark tale, which deals with the intensity of grief, is superbly written. The raw emotion at the loss of a loved one and the associated guilt that we have is so strong, it almost oozes from the pages. Stone is a powerful and immersive read. Sam, the main protagonist, is reeling from the death of his father, a serving soldier in the British Army, who is killed whilst on deployment to Afghanistan. On the day of the funeral, he finds a silver-flecked stone, ice-cold to the touch, and strange and eerie things begin to happen. Adlibbing the publisher's own words, Sam experiences remnants of the past- myths, legends, magic and witchcraft and as Halloween draws close, Odin gathers brave, fallen warriors to his side. Only the new girl Oona can heal Sam's heart.
The raw emotion of Sam as he deals with his grief is deeply profound. He is a character that needs empathy, love and understanding and Finbar's words capture Sam's grief, despair and guilt beautifully making this a truly memorable read.
Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for this early read.

Didn’t disappoint another, wonderfully written story, an easy, atmospheric read. I recommend witch to many and will do the same with Stone.

I enjoyed the book, parts were well written and I liked the idea behind it. I wouldn't rush to reread but I'd recommend to others to try