Book: Bride of Stone by Lisette Marshall
Reviewed by Weird | weird.reads.books
Rating: 4.5/5
Who knew so much emotion could be packed into a novella? After The Death-Made Prince became my introduction to Lisette Marshall, and made me fall entirely in love with her writing, I couldn’t wait to dive into this prequel. Set about 30 years before TDMP , Bride of Stone is the absolute perfect way to hold readers over until The Thorn-Marked Witch releases.
Marshall has a gift for prose that tells a stunning story without ever over-explaining. The small, subtle actions of our FMC, Gon, stem directly from her rigid, traumatic upbringing and make complete sense for her character. I love how Marshall truly trusts her readers to connect the dots.
As for the romance, the forbidden dynamics were fantastic. I am always a sucker for a good princess x bodyguard story with just the right amount of angst. Watching the MMC, Errik, observe Gon’s actions and slowly realize her cold exterior is just a facade made for an incredible journey as they break down each other’s walls.
I devoured this novella in a single afternoon. You don’t need to read TDMP first to enjoy this prequel, making it a great entry point if you're curious about the world but short on bandwidth for a full-length novel. If you've already read TDMP , you will devour this and love every single moment.
Thank you to Lisette Marshall and Pages for Ages LLC for the eARC. All opinions are my own.