Heart of Stone (Alice Worth, #4)

by Lisa Edmonds

[stacey_is_sassy]

I fell under the spell…and nearly gave up on Alice

I started reading Heart of Stone and I thought that this story could be the turning point. I was already starting to compose (in my head) my email to Lisa Edmonds apologising for not being able to review her latest instalment. I was a bee's whisker away from DNF’ing…and it was all because I fell victim to magic.

See, dear old Alice Worth has been putting up barriers from the very beginning. At first, it was to protect herself from harm. Then, as the people closest to her broke down her barriers a smidgen, she started pushing them away to protect them. I got it. Well, I got it as much as I understood her hesitations. But, eventually, it started to annoy me as much as it was annoying the people around her.

Come on Alice, we’ve learnt already that you are not the only one with the power. You are not the only one who’s faced baddies and survived. You are not the only one who regrets their past. So, when dear old Alice AGAIN started pushing everyone away including SEAN, I decided enough was enough. How could she not see that something was not right?? If Sean and I could...even Malcolm knew. My dearly beloved Sean didn’t deserve this anymore. I nearly gave up…

Luckily, I gritted my teeth and carried on.

I should have realised that Lisa Edmonds was just playing with her readers. Heart of Stone ended up being the turning point but just not in the way I originally imagined. If anything, instead of feeling like I need things to be cleared and finished up, I need more. I had an hour left to read and I was literally twitching in my seat. I needed to see the fight play out, but I was also dreading Heart of Stone coming to an end.

We meet some new characters in this instalment, and I can tell they are quickly going to become favourites. Secrets have finally been revealed and I loved having that burden removed from my shoulders…I mean Alice’s shoulders. Alice finally comes face to face with her past and I was pretty proud of her standing her ground and not giving in. I was a little frustrated with the attacks she faced because of her relationship with Sean. It was even more frustrating that we didn’t get to “see” Sean go berserk on them.

Heart of Stone was pretty long and at times felt a little too long. I really couldn’t tell you a single word that I wanted to remove to make it shorter, though. Each battle, discussion and introduction were crucial to the storyline. My heart was pumping numerous times with all the emotions I felt throughout. I was extremely frustrated at Alice…then at the pack…then at Charles… Valas… Delila… Lily… Moses… Darius and NORA!!!!! If you didn’t get my emotions from that last one…I WANT TO SEE NORA DEAD! Sorry, about my extremely emotional outburst, but she really needed a bloody fire mage to scorch her to kingdom come.

I ended up loving Heart of Stone and I may even go so far as saying that it was my favourite in the series. Lisa Edmonds is a master of her craft and I loved every word she wrote. I’m emotionally attached to her characters and every battle they face, I feel like I’m standing right alongside them.

If you’re looking for an entertaining story packed with magic, paranormal characters you can't help but fall in love with, and a sigh-worthy romance, you can’t look past the Alice Worth series. I highly recommend and suggest…you need to start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.

Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.