A galley was provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op.

This is Baril's debut novel and first book in an ongoing series. With inspirations by Piers Anthony, Terry Brooks and Terry Pratchett, I certainly had to give this one a shot. Plus, I like to support new authors whenever I can.

The premise is simple enough, and Baril wastes little time getting our protagonist into the thick of things. The story is full of puns as well as pop-culture Easter eggs, all of which are welcome with this reader. By the halfway point (chapter 13), I could definitely see the heavy Xanth influence on the Heartstone.

The first half of this short novel sticks to Arwin's POV in plot that does a solid job at making social commentary on our own world. The second half is where Yaz comes in, and the POV shifts more in that direction. I was okay with a dual POV, but then we get flashback scenes from other characters' views as well. That was a little jarring. Also, sadly, at several points the story cuts away (requiring a website visit) to some spicier scenes - and I could not find them on the author's site. That was a little disappointing. For me as a writer, if I am committing to certain elements then they should be in the book or just worked around entirely.

This first book ends on a major cliffhanger, encouraging the reader to pick up book 2 which is slated for release very soon. I suspect the story might have been cut at this point as the next book maybe might have made the combined two a bit too long? Won't know until that one drops.