Book: Daughter of Stone by B.A. Pepper
Reviewed by Halliday in the Books
Non has always known about the magic that runs in her family. Unfortunately, it seems to have skipped her. When she came of age, she spectacularly failed her test to demonstrate powers. In all the years since then, nothing has manifested, even as her best friend died slowly of cancer. It means she’s vulnerable, and can’t stay with her magic-wielding relatives. To hide her, they isolate her. She copes with her disappointing reality as best as she can, and not always in the healthiest of ways. Then, the bar she’s working in explodes. The life that she’s created goes along with it.
Her grandmother comes swooping back into her life to probe her for powers all over again. She whisks Non back to the family’s ancestral home. Despite her intentions, this lands Non straight in the middle of traditional, deadly magical trials to earn the favor of the gods. Non doesn’t expect to survive, let alone earn any godly favor when she can’t even gain the favor of her own family. However, a rival clan leader is looking upon her much more fondly…
I liked a lot of the concepts in this one. Calling upon Welsh mythology for this deity-fueled magic system was an uncommon angle that felt fresh. It’s also got a dark atmosphere, which I enjoy, and plus-sized main characters. On top of that it has tons of positive LGBTQIA+ representation, and the male main character is extremely loveable.
Unfortunately, the execution let down the narrative. The end result feels unfinished. Another intense round of editing could have made a world of difference. There were far too many characters to keep track of without stories of their own, and too much exposition. At a number of points, the grittiness was overplayed to the point it almost sounded satirical. Likewise, the instant attraction between the two leads was so outsized that it became unbelievable. No explanation has been given.
That “unfinished” effect was cemented by the cliffhanger ending. A cliffhanger can be a great way to increase readers’ excitement for the next installment in a series and there’s nothing wrong with spreading a plot over multiple books. However, they tend to be most effective when there’s some sort of resolution and we see a new part of the story opening up. That was not the case here, so it felt more like a story cut in half at an arbitrary point of tension close enough to the middle.
I think this writer has some great ideas. It may be that she needs more time to develop her voice or is still looking for an editor with the perfect fit. I don’t believe she’s reached her potential yet with this debut.