The Ruins on Stone Hill

Thanks, Netgalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read!
This was such an enjoyable read. A little light-hearted compared with the heavy dark fantasy books I happened to read recently, but once I started reading, I discovered I needed that. The gang of main characters is unique and awesome and the story feels like watching an animated fantasy series. It's not too bloody or filled with gore and horny scenes. Instead, it focuses on the relationship between the main characters, their tries to master their own abilities in order to protect the innocent. It also contains enough action, adventure, fantasy elements, and mystery in order to keep you reading!

Rating – 4.5/5 stars

Recommended for – fans of high fantasy fiction (*winking at Lord of the Rings fans*)

Disclaimer – A review copy of this book was provided by Netgalley. All opinions stated here are my own.

The first thing to catch my eye was the gorgeous cover. Anyone else reminded of Legolas? As a fan of the LOTR series myself, after reading the blurb I was pretty psyched to get into my reading groove. The ‘About the Author’ page mentions the LOTR influence on the author and boy, that’s almost an understatement. In the very first chapter, we have an elf, a halfling (similar to hobbits I’m assuming), a gnome (can’t draw a parallel with dwarves though, that’s a separate race in this world), and a human. Battling orcs.

And before I get too ahead of myself excitedly pointing out all the similarities to LOTR, I should state that there is original worldbuilding in this book. One such original plot point would be the inclusion of arcane magic into this high fantasy world. And it is a lot more lighthearted and much less impending doomsday than LOTR.
The story revolves around our merry band of heroes: Glolindir, the elven wizard; Seth, the halfling ninja; Aksel, the gnome cleric; and Lloyd, the human warrior. These young heroes (young, relative to their race, of course) meet up on the road to the Barony of Ravenford and agree to band together to form a questing group of mercenaries-for-hire. They get introduced to a delightful bunch of side characters in Ravenford and embark on their first quest to, as you might have guessed from the title, the Ruins of Stone Hill. And we get to accompany them on the journey of mystery and intrigue that ensues…

The book is mostly narrated from Glolindir’s perspective with occasional switches to the voices of the other characters. I found the flow of the story to be quite smooth and none of the transitions of the POVs was jarring or out-of-place. The narrative is engaging, and we get endearing looks into the minds of our main characters. Did I mention already that the heroes are young, and this is sort of their coming-of-age story? We get glimpses of the ambitions, fears, motives, and loves that drive our heroes, and they will resonate with any newly-adult, branching out and finding their wings age group, and leave the already-adulting-for-some-time group with feelings of nostalgia and sympathy.

The worldbuilding is gradual and thankfully there are no info-dumps that make your eyes glaze over. My mind only somewhat wandered in the very first few chapters before I got hooked into the story (hence, why the deduction of 0.5 points from the rating). And once I did get into the thick of it, I had a hard time putting the book down. Pretty much devoured the book after that if I’m being honest. And I’m very grateful that this book was released in 2014 and I only caught on in 2021 because it looks like the rest of the series are already out in the world. I’ll be adding them to my to-read list.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this wonderful book.

This is an engaging fantasy about a group of unlikely but lovable characters and reminiscent of the Hobbit.

We follow this group on multiple adventures to battle the dark forces that threaten their town. I found myself rooting for the characters as they learn to develop their skills while each quest became more difficult. Some even learn humility.

These inked pages or electronic words (in my case) are perfect for younger readers that love fantasy.

This was SO much fun. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect book that mixed in two of my favourite genres, sci fi and fantasy. This was amazing and of course everything I’d want in a book. I really did enjoy and love this and will for sure continue to seek out books from this author. The characters were genuinely perfect and funny and I had so much fun being with them and reading about them. 5 out of stars!

A fun book that heavily reminds me of all the D&D games I've played. All the characters have their own defined personality. The worldbuilding was nice and was spread out as little tidbits rather than chapters or paragraphs of dedication (which I personally like). Knowing this is the first book in a series, I definitely will be picking up the next book.

I never found myself bored and sometimes fantasy authors tend to ramble. Never in here did I find myself skimming a chapter and everything was easy to understand.

Thank you for letting me review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This book instantly drew me in, I got to explore through the eyes of our main character and this is always my favorite way to discover these details of the story and, it was done very well in this book. I really enjoyed this book and the plot. This author did amazing. I loved the writing style.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book for review.

This world is fantastic. It feels both old and new at the same time. It has some classic fantasy tropes with a unique twist that I don't feel very often.
The different types of fantastical characters really made each character feel unique. I think that the relationships between the characters was also super well developed. It really felt like it built into something great instead of starting weak and suddenly becoming strong.
I will diffidently be reading the next books in the series.
If you want an endearing book with an amazing adventure pick up this book.

The first chapter grabs you immediately with a cool fighting scene. The author does a big description of the world and fights by using a lot of adjectives that paint a good picture of the world it comes a bit annoying and repetitive.
This novel reminded me a lot of the Dragonlance series on the D&D based story and action so i think this book is perfect for someone who likes and understands a book based on D&D but for a high fantasy, fan could be full of plot conveniences and other elements that would be a let down for me it was enjoyable with the right point of humour!

This book might have the most gripping first chapter I've read in a long time. As an epic fantasy you immediately get thrown into the action of an orc ambush, while also getting introduced to: Glolindir, an elf who does magic; Seth, a halfling and ninja; Aksel, a gnome and healer; and Lloyd, a human and spiritblade.

"All things with heads, from animals to men, need blood to reach their brains. Open those channels and the life will pump out of any foe."

F.P. uses a lot of adjectives to describe everything. You will easily be able to paint a picture of every landscape, fight and place they visit. This should be annoying, but it's somehow not.

Felt like reading Lord of the Rings, and I loved every action packed moment of it. The adventures never stop and in the last couple of chapters we learn some interesting things, the glimmer of which makes wanting to read the sequel so enticing for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the early release copy and review opportunity.

#netgalley #TheRuinsonStoneHill #highfantasybooks #ireadhighfantasy #bookdragon #readthisnow #mustread2021

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Ruins of Stone Hill!
Sorry it has taken so long for my feedback.
I've recently began playing dungeons and dragons after years of wanting to learn and this book was perfect for my new addiction.
An awesome party like adventure with high fantasy and real problems.

First of all the COVER??? Stunning. If your looking for a perfect fantasy, adventurous read with the perfect amount of found family and action then this book should be up your radar. Honestly this is one of the reasons I’m in love with fantasy!