Reviews

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison

Only show reviews with written explanations

meghaneelizabeth's review

1.0

Picked this book up because the description sounded so interesting. Unfortunately, I was left feeling extremely unsatisfied. This book was marked as “sci-do fantasy” in my local library; however, it felt more like a drab small town story where the characters happened to be goblins, elves, etc. The character names are insufferable and unnecessarily long and complex. Same for the old-timey and proper language the author uses. It feels forced; like a teenager using British slang in her first Wattpad story.

I tried so badly to give this book a chance, but had to DNF after several more painstaking chapters. Needless to say, I’m happy I got this from the library and didn’t waste my own money.

If you are looking for a better story about a main character contacting deceased murder victims, I would suggest reading “The London Seance Society” instead.

thegoblinempress's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

4.0

karandipity's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

chibs86's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

theeverglow17's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

kitsuneheart's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I was OVER THE MOON to get an ARC of this to review. I devoured "The Goblin Emperor" years ago, and had somehow sat on book 2 since it's release, only held back by my cripplingly large TBR. But getting an ARC got me in gear, and I listened to "Witness for the Dead" AND "The Grief of Stones" over a 3-day period. And such a wonderful 3 days it was!

This second Celehar-centric book focuses a bit more on the fantasy and politics of the world. We begin by learning about the more mortal, physical evils of Amalo. Orphaned children, blackmail, murder, and crimes more heinous. And the real-world thrusts Celehar into fantasy peril, and in these books, that means the dead. This book has the most perilous fight of the whole series, and that's saying something, when the first book is all about the emperor and people trying to assassinate him!

I was delighted to see a bit of Celehar dancing around romance with his opera-director friend. Addison has me hooked on this relationship. They're so tentative, but there's this comfort and obvious longing for fulfillment that has me already wanting the next book.

Really, the whole thing has me wanting the next book. For a mystery series, it's not so much a spoiler to say that we're set up for a new book of crime and justice, but Addison gave a really compelling ending. One that promises a lot more fantasy (and gay pining) in Amalo book 3.

I need it NOW.