Publisher: Atria
Published: June 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1476778099
Genre: Paranormal
Format: Print
Obtained via: Publisher
Reviewed by
name and email address: Gina Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com
FOUR HEARTS
Opaline Duplessi has a talent, a very unique talent. Through the jewellery, the talisman, she
makes, she is able to hear the voices of the dead. In the time of war, mothers
and lovers find their way to her to have her create a piece, a talisman, that
will connect to their loved ones, the deceased soldiers, so they find, in some
fashion, a bit of peace or resolution. When
a Madam Alouette comes to her Opaline is drawn to the woman and her story. As Madam Alouette tells her story Opaline
realizes she knows of her son, Jean Luc.
She has read his news column, and most especially his Ma Cher, love
letters written from the front to his love still at home. As Opaline begins to make the talisman she
begins to hear a voice, a voice unlike any she has heard before—it is the voice
of Jean Luc. It is not long before she
finds herself turning more and more to a man who is no longer in this
world. As strange as she believes this
is, she finds comfort, solace and hope in her conversations with him.
At the same time, Grigori, the son of Opaline’s mentor in jewellry
making, Monsieur Orloff, pursues her in his own way. Despite telling herself over and over that
Grigori is flesh and blood, alive, she cannot warm up to him. And the more time she spends in her connection
to Jean Luc, the harder it becomes to spend time with Grigori. When Orloff sends her to England on a special
mission with Grigori she wonders of her connection to Jean Luc will be severed—the
days leading up to the trip he seems to be fading from her and this breaks her
heart. But this mission is far too
important for her not to go and once there a great secret is revealed.
The above synopsis barely begins to cover the breadth and depth
of M.J. Rose’s latest story, THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF STONES. At 320 pages here are three separate stories
woven into one neat package. There is
the ongoing story of Opaline’s lineage, that of her “gift” and how it brings
about her relationship with Jean Luc and the mystery of her mission for
Monsieur Orloff. A sub-set of stories
joins the three into a book you simply cannot put down once you begin to
read. Despite being the second of Rose’s
La Lune series, there is little of book 1, THE WITCH OF PAINTED SORROWS with this
one. There is the family tie, but the
story is purely and completely Opaline’s.
There is no need to read the books in order to be enthralled and
understand each one. More than a
connection between the two, there are strong elements of Rose herself in the
story. In some ways it is perhaps her
own story—or a piece of it.
Each character in this book is compelling in his or her own
way. Each has their own story to
tell. And each has his or her own intrigue
that combines with Opaline’s. Rare for
me when reading M.J. Rose’s books is that I had a hard time getting into it in
the beginning. It seemed flat with a lot
of unneeded information. It wasn’t until Jean Luc’s character began to fill the
pages I really got into the story. When I got to the end though, when the
secrets were revealed, I was glad I stuck with it. Once again Rose caught me off guard with not
just one but two jaw dropping revelations—startling enough to have me reading
it through again because I know I missed some wonderfully plotted clues.
Definitely one you do not want to miss.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of
this book.
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