This is the first book of a series and it is a great start to it. It is a very interesting read and it keeps you wanting more. I'm curious to see what will happen in the next books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks/Bloom Books & Leia Stone for a digital galley of House of Ash & Shadow in exchange for an honest review.

Fallon has been cursed with unbearable pain any time anyone touches her. She goes through life knowing she will never experience things as others do. That is, until her father gets sick & she breaks into the Gilded City where she finds Ariyon, a fae with healing power, to come heal her father. Not knowing yet of Fallon’s curse, Ariyon touches her, but she never feels the pain that she normally does. However, after Ariyon finds out about her curse, he turns on her and turns her into the powerful fae who mean her harm. It is then that she is put into a magical academy where she discovers her family history and the dark magic that is inside of her.

This is book #1 in the Gilded City series and was a super strong start to the series! I have been on a fantasy kick lately & this one was fantastic. I am already ready for book #2!

Of course, Ariyon is the off-limits, tough hottie we are all going to love. Fallon was a bit annoying, though.

I will admit that I tend to stay away from YA that appears to be too juvenile. Unfortunately, this one snuck in on me. It was definitely written VERY juvenile, but I still enjoyed the story.

As long as you can look past the juvenile writing (if you’re an adult), I think it would be enjoyable. Further, I think 10-12 year olds would love it.

4 Stars, but I likely won’t promote on my IG.

I loved the build up and characters of this story, very easy to follow along and entertaining! This fantasy was easy to devour and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

3 stars ⭐️

House of Ash and Shadow, the first book in the Gilded City series, tells the story of Fallon Bane. Cursed since birth, any touch inflicts excruciating pain on Fallon. Isolated and lonely, she lives a secluded life with her adoptive father.
When her father is injured, Fallon ventures into the magical city seeking a healer. There, she meets Ariyon who breaks the rules by touching her – but to Fallon's surprise, it doesn't hurt. This encounter unlocks a new world for Fallon, as she is pulled into the magical city and learns a lot about family, friends, love and magic.

Overall, I thought the storyline was super unique and Fallon's curse and the fact that Ariyon can touch her without consequences was pretty interesting. I loved to see the story unfold and find out more about this curse and Fallon's heritage. A lot of enjoyable tropes like enemies to lovers and a love triangle can be found in this book.
Nonetheless, I felt like every chapter was super fast paced and rushed, so that it kinda felt like everything was happening all at once. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and not enough time to get to know each and every one better. For me personally, the love triangle just did not work out due to Ayden's lack of character. We don't really get to know him at all, his only personality trait is being the nice brother.
The modern day elements (like the brothers being in a band and playing guitar and organizing house parties) felt like they did not belong in this magical, fantasy world.
I realize that I don't really belong in this author's target audience but I can imagine young readers really enjoying this book.

Thank you to NetGalley & Leia Stone for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

wow. this book was so amazing!! i can't believe netgalley let me read this early .thank you so much! it was amazing and wonderful and fun and the characters were just so so so great!!!

I had absolutely no idea what was happening in this book. I understand that authors want to start off with some action to hook readers, but there does eventually need to be some worldbuilding involved. None of the characters were fleshed out enough for me to care about, so that didn't help either.

Solid YA fantasy full of dark magic, curses and enemies to lovers. I loved the writing style and House of Ash and Shadow is definitely one to add to your TBR if it's not on there already!

Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read and review. Onto the rest of the series I go!

I've read the Kings of Avalier so I kind of knew what to expect when I started House of Ash and Shadow. I've got to say though, I definitely think this is better. Whilst I didn't find the book itself holding my undivided attention, the ending has quite the cliff hanger so I'm holding onto the hope that the groundwork has been set, the wind up is motion and book 2 is going to be a winner.
I'll get back to you on that one before I make a verdict on this book and the series as a whole!

3.5/5

After reading this book, I think I have to conclude that this author just isn't for me. I've read one other by her that also didn't connect, but I know that she's wildly popular with some so I wanted to give it another shot.

However, I quickly found myself struggling with the overall writing quality. Even for a young adult novel, it felt very juvenile. The vocabulary was limited and the style and structure of the prose was uninteresting. Worse, I very much struggled with the strange mixture of more formal, older-style language right next to extremely modern slang. Not only was this jarring to read (the slang in particular was not good, definitely of the sort that will age quickly and poorly), but it threw into question the entire world-building of the book. How exactly do these very different styles of speaking and word choice co-exist?

I also struggled with the main character. She seemed incredibly passive and rather weak throughout much of the story. Of course, not all leads need to be "strong women" in the conventional sense, but she seemed to be the worse example of the other end of the spectrum, especially given that I didn't see a lot of character development over the course of the book.

The plot and the romance were also incredibly straight forward and predictable. I guess I would recommend this to YA readers who are devoted fans of fantasy romance stories and who enjoy modern slang in their fantasy worlds, but even then, I feel like there are better books out there than this one.

This book is so easy to fall into and get lost in. After reading I immediately had to read the authors other works, as a bookseller I would recommend this book to people who have read SJM and the shatter me series.

This was a great start to the series. It had what I enjoyed from leia stone. It had a great young adult feel to it. And I love the gilded feel of this.
You'll obviously it had the magical fae elements to it, and I love the romance going on. It had a really interesting concept and kept me wanting to read from beginning to end. I'm excited to see where the sequel will go, and where will go next with Leia Stone.

Thank you to Bloom, Leia Stone, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of House of Ash and Stone in exchange for my honest review.

Leia Stone is truly a master at crafting a whole new world. While readers only get to experience a small portion of said world, it is apparent that a lot of the world could potentially be explored. Even better, the worldbuilding is done in such a wonderful way. It does not feel as though the information is being rushed in the first few chapters but rather is spread out. I appreciated how the main character only knew a little about the fae world, and as readers, you get to learn about the world alongside her. It feels natural in so many ways.

A House of Ash and Stone follows Fallon, a 17-year-old girl who is cursed. Any time someone touches someone, she experiences tremendous pain. However, while desperately trying to save her father's life, she discovers that there is one person who can touch her, Ariyon. The thing is, when Ariyon learns about Fallon's curse, he immediately hates her. From there Fallon's world is upended as she is forced to attend a magical academy in an attempt to stop her from turning evil; though the fact that she is going to one day be evil is news to Fallon. What I love about Fallon is that she sticks true to herself as she learns and grows. Her reactions not only feel normal for most people, but they feel appropriate to her character. From the first chapter, I became invested in Fallon and all the other characters in this book. There is so much more I want to know. I want to know where Fallon will go next and how she will continue to evolve. I want more information and more scenes with the characters from Fallon's life prior to the magical academy, and most importantly, I want to know what happens next.

Loved everything about this book; the writing was flawless, the story was fast paced and crazy gripping, the characters were amazing and the ending was just insain. I can’t wait to read the next book!

Sadly, this one wasn't for me! I had hopes for the concept, but the writing itself was honestly too juvenile for me. DNF around 25%.

Still very grateful to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the arc!

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book definitely reads YA. The idea is interresting, we have dark magic and curses as a theme with enemies to lovers as a trope. It wasn't as intense or in depth as it could've been but I was nonetheless entertained.

I really liked the idea of the plot, I was intrigued about what was going to happen next the whole way through, however in saying that I did think it was very rushed, straight to the point and some of the wording a bit juvenile. There were so many loose ends that weren't explained which I think if they were it would have given the reader more of an idea on some characters. Like Hipsie, she was introduced right at the start then basically forgotten about for the rest of the story. She seemed like she was a close friend to Fallon. I did love the love triangle between the brothers and that Ariyon was dark and moody. After saying this, will I read the second and third? Absolutely. I need to know what happens next!!

*3.5*

House of Ash and Shadow had the potential to be a 5 star read. The storyline was intriguing, but the execution was not the best. The writing was not the best, but I was able to ignore it to enjoy the book. I think this is a good book for those interested in getting into the fantasy genre. It’s interesting and fun, while being quick and easy to read.

Starting with what I enjoyed, the characters! The characters and story were probably the only thing that made me keep reading. Yanric was the best character, his murderous personality was very funny. Fallon was a great character, but I understand why some would call her whiny. However, I get why she is that way. She’s been forced to live a very isolating life, I’d probably be whiny too. Eden is such a good friend to Fallon and I enjoyed their friendship so much.

I’m not big on love triangles, especially with brothers. It just doesn’t appeal to me. I also feel like it was very unnecessary here??? Like we all knew there was only one choice and it was very obvious.

The ending left me feeling conflicted. On one hand, I thought it was such an interesting concept. On the other, it was so confusing. I will be reading the next book since I actually enjoyed this one and cannot wait to see how this story plays out.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Got into this book very quickly. Supper fast read. Loved the world building and story. The romance was quick and fun. Could have done without the love triangle but it didn’t bother me to much. All in all great book. Can’t wait for book 2.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloom Books for a chance to read House of Ash and Sorrow by Leia Stone. This was a new author for me, and the reasons I requested it was the book cover, and the summary...A girl that cannot be touched and must endure excruciating pain with even the lightest touch. House of Ash and Shadow is the 1st book in the Gilded series, a YA paranormal fantasy that just hit me in the right spot! There is a bit of everything in this book, a cursed girl, Fallon; a grumpy hero, Ariyon Madden, the only person who seems to be able to touch Fallon; a teenage love triangle, Fallon's new bestie Eden; and a hilarious sidekick! Of course, this ends with a cliffhanger, but I was expecting that. Luckily I have the 2nd book to start!