Reviews

The Stone Key by Isobelle Carmody

katesio's review

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Book 5 of the Obernewtyn series done!
I listened to The Stone Key as an audio book across two weeks and enjoyed it. There's no hiding this is a huge, thick, long book but I found it wonderfully engaging.

There were several moments I felt shocked or felt a huge stab of pain for.
When Malik knew more of what happened to Rushton and the effects on Elspeth than anyone else - the hate in me rose so high. 
When we found out Ariel's null was Domick, that what heart-breaking. Please no. Not Domick! When the beforetime medical unit was not able to cure Domick, again this hurt so much.

The constant cold hateness of Rushton towards Elspeth. The cold comments. It was so toxic, I don't know how Elspeth managed being on the same boat as him.

When Rushton charged Elspeth in the labrynth beneath Ariel's house. Ariel even forced him to wear a demon-band so Elspeth could not reach his mind. This was painful. 

But when Rushton was himself and full of love in Sador - the warmth and enjoyment I felt. Can we please have more of this!


I think the Obernewtyn series so far has been fantastic. I have heard many people saying to read the first 4 books and stop there, but I think this is ridiculous. I found the Stone Key to be more engaging and wonderfully written than the fourth book, The Keeping Place. I would encourage those to keep reading, you are going to want answers to Domick and Rushton. 

I started re-reading the Obernewtyn series in late November 2023 and have thoroughly enjoyed it!
Onwards with book 6, The Sending.

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knitswithbeer's review against another edition

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5.0

The journey continues and thd tales unfolds. I love the language in these books, the words live

thelauramay's review against another edition

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5.0

This is where I was up to years ago; it's all new from hereon out! (And so far, the following book is killing me.)

gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review

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challenging dark emotional tense 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? No

4.0

I cannot believe that this is already book five of the series. There is so much that is happening in this book I cannot wait to see it unfold over the next two books.

I am blown away with Isobelle Carmondy's ability to keep writing such long books that don't feel like they are constantly dragging on. The pacing is great and each book builds upon the secrets of the past and the current world. We are constantly introduced to faces old and new, that keep the world feeling alive.

I cannot wait to see what the next two books hold for this series.

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charlmax's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

roxyc's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

4.0

caitie95's review against another edition

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4.0

Finally, I got round to reading this!
Certainly can feel the plot moving on, introduction of more 'Beforetime' technology and resolution of some earlier plot threads.
Not as much tension except for certain parts as in previous books in the series, but interesting to read.

squishies's review against another edition

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3.0

Whenever people see how thick this book is, they can't help but crack jokes about needing a forklift to carry it around. It is quite thick and I'm not sure it really needed to be that long.

It seems that there's a lot more premonitions that happen to help things get done - a lot more than the other novels. Hmm. Sometimes it just seems a bit too convenient.

Also, I kind of got annoyed by the message left by Kasanda. I mean, if you know you don't have that much time to say what you need to say, but did you really have to explain (or make vague references to) why the laptop works after so long? Or offhandedly say stuff about eluding time a couple of times in her life? And after saying all that, wouldn't you know it, the computer shorts out just before Kasanda could say something important. *aggrieved sigh*

Gah. Despite all that, one reviewer (Choupette) said: "She's got us all by the balls [...:] because I just freaking want to know what happens at the end." It's so true.

jessie_f_s's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25