Afternoon readers hope you’re having a lovely day in the sunshine. I am currently reading in my pyjamas and yes I know its midday but as it is a Sunday I think I deserve the extra time relaxing. There are lots of reviews scheduled for next week so if you are still waiting for one don’t panic yet as it is on the way, I promise. I have been reading faithfully for weeks now but haven’t got round to sorting them all out so they are sat waiting in my book review journal ready to be written and posted up for you to read. Hope you enjoy this one, of a book written by the lovely Mishka Jenkins.

The bond of love can conquer all, but only if it is accepted. Prophecy states that three champions imbued with the best virtues of the mortal race: heart, strength and soul, will be the ones to save them all from an enemy which threatens to steal the life from their world and those who live upon it. These three, along with their scribe, his bond mate, and an overly sarcastic oracle, must set off on a journey which will take them through forest, city, swamp and mountain. On this quest they activate the magical stones, which charge the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Tildar and his cult of Dwell. Yet the closer they draw to journey’s end, the more it seems that it is not the evil which will be their downfall, but the fear of a champion unwilling to accept the bond of their destiny. Prophecy of Stones is a story of adventure, love and magic.

I really enjoyed reading this YA, classic fantasy adventure although the core of the novel is set in the romantic genre, the mix between the two creates a interesting read and although I’m not a huge fantasy fan I really enjoyed this. The concept of the book revolves around three souls of the prophecy who together are needed to save the world. Although this sounds a little clichéd I must admit, the character profiles, the twists and turns and the journey that they take along the way really helped to mix up this seemingly tired storyline. I enjoyed the way that the characters are seemingly ‘reluctant’ heroes and I took pleasure in the way that they change and grow extensively through the book however they still continue to be consistently humorous and interesting. I really liked the way the author fully-fleshed out the characters by looking into their pasts, their stories, their personalities and making them as original and unique as possible. This also helped to mix up the storyline. The group of characters consists of Riff and Milana, bonded couple Otto and Cosmas (who are writing the account of the journey) the Oracle Sindrin who occasionally has vision and Kai. The group must go through some incredibly tough times including being attacked by the Tildar and his Dwells. The journey the little group takes includes action, magic, prophecies, and love.

The differing locations throughout helped to create dramatic contrasts adding to the storyline; I liked the mix between dangerous forests and scary creatures and bright, pleasurable cities. Throughout the story, a number of the characters make big sacrifices and I liked that some of these sacrifices brought both good and bad consequences. The choices they made weren’t perfect and the conclusions to these choices are also not perfect. It made it all so much more believable and made me really invest in the storyline more fully. There is also a burgeoning love story throughout and it is very well written and doesn’t display any clichés, which I loved! Milana has seen what has happened to her sister and therefore she doesn’t want to get herself in the same position. Riff respects her in this sense and the feelings between them take a while to grow stronger. I felt for him as a character, knowing that they are in danger and she doesn’t want to be hurt but he also wants to show her his feelings.

This is a fun and easy read with a real understanding of the fantasy genre. I was a little sad in some cases however the ending is strong and the writing style flawless; definitely worth a read!