Title: Cornerstone (Souls of the Stones #1)
Emariya's life was nearly over before it started. Hidden under the floorboards while her mother died above her, she escaped a brutal death then—only to go racing toward it now, sixteen years later.
After learning her father has been captured, Emariya is desperate to save him, no matter who she has to turn to for help. Oblivious to her potential gifts and the secrets surrounding her dual heritage, Emariya makes a bargain with the prince of a rival land, Torian Ahlen. In exchange for her hand in marriage, he agrees to send his forces to rescue her father. With the arrangements made, Emariya embarks on a tumultuous journey through two kingdoms as different from each other as the families that rule them.
Before long, Emariya comes face to face with her mother's killers, and learns of an ominous prophecy: her and Torian's bloodlines must never be combined. Armed with this frightening new knowledge, Emariya begins to fear the handsome prince may desire more than to steal her heart, and it will take all of her newfound skills to survive. -Goodreads
Author: Kelly Walker
Genre: Fantasy
Pub. Date: October 22, 2012
After learning her father has been captured, Emariya is desperate to save him, no matter who she has to turn to for help. Oblivious to her potential gifts and the secrets surrounding her dual heritage, Emariya makes a bargain with the prince of a rival land, Torian Ahlen. In exchange for her hand in marriage, he agrees to send his forces to rescue her father. With the arrangements made, Emariya embarks on a tumultuous journey through two kingdoms as different from each other as the families that rule them.
Before long, Emariya comes face to face with her mother's killers, and learns of an ominous prophecy: her and Torian's bloodlines must never be combined. Armed with this frightening new knowledge, Emariya begins to fear the handsome prince may desire more than to steal her heart, and it will take all of her newfound skills to survive. -Goodreads
That's what I expected, once I found out that the main character feels love instantly her and the love interest set eyes on each other. You'd think I'd hate this book's guts, right?
Wrong.
The author knows readers hate this, unless you're a 12-year-old. She set in place an interesting explanation for this, an explanation that actually made sense and didn't cause me to pull me hair out in frustration.
The concept of the three Stones is actually quite fascinating. The "three kingdoms on the brink of war" part of the plot is not very unusual for a fantasy, and to be honest, this book isn't very different from other fantasy stories, so I can't really bring myself to say that this book is especially unique.
With much loyalty for her kingdom, Riya, the main character, is easily likable and admirable. Strong in her own way, and willing to do whatever she can for her land.
Many may be confused by the sudden plot twist at the end. I appreciated this part. It caught me wholly off guard.
There was fantastic world-building, and coupled with the surprisingly good writing, made a well-written first novel. Admittedly, I caught myself dozing off a few times, whether it be from the lack of action at times or the overly-detailed descriptions.
While this book didn't blow me off my feet, it was still entertaining to read, and can even be considered a very fluffy read for its genre. It sets the base for future novels while leaving questions unanswered to keep our interest. I am thoroughly impressed.
3/5 Stars
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