100 Pages A Day.... Stephanie's Book Reviews
  • Blog Tours
  • Historical Fiction
  • Sci Fi & Fantasy
  • Thriller & Horror
  • Non-Fiction
  • Middle Grade & Children's
  • Literary Fiction and Other Genres
  • Challenges
  • Promo's
  • Product Reviews

Stone Circle

12/8/2017

3 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
About the Book: ​

​Stone Circle
by Kate Murdoch
Publication Date: December 1, 2017
Fireship Press
eBook & Paperback; 286 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance/Fantasy


Is the ability to read minds a blessing or a curse?
When Antonius’s father dies, he must work to support his family. He finds employment as a servant in the Palazzo Ducal, home of Conte Valperga. Sixteenth-century Pesaro is a society governed by status, and Antonius has limited opportunities.
When a competition is announced, Antonius seizes his chance. The winner will be apprenticed to the town seer. Antonius shares first place with his employer’s son.
The two men compete for their mentor’s approval. As their knowledge of magic and alchemy grows, so does the rivalry and animosity between them. When the love of a beautiful woman is at stake, Antonius must find a way to follow his heart and navigate his future.

Praise for Stone Circle
“Murdoch presents a delightful romance, feathered with light touches of fantasy. The development of her love triangle is gratifying, and even secondary characters offer stark dramatic moments…” –Kirkus Reviews

“Kate Murdoch’s characters are so greatly human, that it’s easy to sympathise with them: to cheer them on during hard times and to admonish them for being foolish. Her characters’ interactions with each other and their individualities helped shape the book into something wonderful; at the same time she excels at pacing the story with her characters, all within a framework designed to help readers understand the world of seers and alchemy she has created.” -Readers’ Favorite (5 Stars)

“Kate Murdoch’s STONE CIRCLE is a stunning historical fantasy debut set in Renaissance Italy, packed with rich imagery, well-developed characters, and an enthralling plot. The execution of the love triangle is both captivating and refreshing, weaving love, jealousy, and rivalry into a complicated but realistic story of one young seer’s journey into alchemy and adulthood. I can’t wait to read more by Kate Murdoch.” -Madeline Dyer, author of the Untamed series

Review:
In Renaissance Italy in the village of Pesaro, Seer Savinus is looking for someone who shares his talents for divining the future so he is able to cultivate the next generation and Seers.  Savinus' daughter, Guilia is talented, however, women in the trade are simply not respected.  Savinus decides to hold a competition.  One of Pesaro's noble family's son, Nichola Valperga competes as well as a servant in the Valperga household, Antonious.  Antonious has far more ability in the field and is recognized right away by Savinus.  Nichola has limited ability, but Savinus agrees to apprentice Nichola as the secondary apprentice out of respect to the noble family.  From the start the two young men are at odds, Nichola can not stand that a servant has a position above him and Antonious can not understand Nichola's haughty nature.  Tensions rise as Giulia's affections towards one apprentice emerge and jealousy leads to violence.  

Stone Circle immersed me into 16th century Italy and the alchemy practices of the time.   I was surprised to learn the esteemed role that Seer's played in the society and that they were often employed by nobles to learn the best time for special events to take place and even who they should marry.  Savinus was my favorite character, wise and conscientious in his choices, helped along by his psychic abilities. Antonius and Nichola were typical young men, but their strained relationship demonstrated the division between classes at the time.  I was waiting for one of them to compromise on their differences as so many of the adult characters suggested.  Guilia was an interesting character for me, I really wanted her to take a more prominent role in her father's practice rather than simply be a love interest; however she did show insight and grow as she realized the apprentices true nature.  Jealousy was a theme throughout the story, and it was one that had dire consequences.  It was interesting to see that even with magic and alchemy all of your problems could not be fixed.  Overall, an engrossing story that mixes history, magic and romance. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Picture
About the Author
​

Kate Murdoch is a Melbourne-based writer and artist. Her short-form fiction is regularly published in Flash Fiction Magazine, Eunoia Review, Sick Lit Magazine, Ink in Thirds and Spelk Fiction. She also writes for her blog at https://kabiba.wordpress.com/.

Kate’s first novel is Stone Circle, a beautifully imagined work of historical fiction. An earlier version of Stone Circle was widely-acclaimed on the HarperCollins UK website, Authonomy, where it was chosen by the editors as the “one to watch” and ultimately ended up ranked 16th out of more than 10,000 manuscripts.

For more information, please visit Kate Murdoch’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Stone Circle
Picture
3 Comments
Amy Bruno link
12/12/2017 11:46:16 am

Thanks so much for hosting Kate's Blog Tour, Stephanie! Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway.

Amy
HF Virtual Book Tours

Reply
Kate Murdoch link
12/15/2017 10:47:22 pm

Thanks very much Stephanie for your kind review and for hosting me :)

Reply
Stephanie
12/16/2017 07:57:10 am

Thank you for stopping by, Kate! I loved reading Stone Circle :)




Leave a Reply.

    Follow at Bloglovin!

    Author

    Hi there! I'm Stephanie and I obviously love reading.  As, the title suggests, I read at least one hundred pages a day.  I enjoy most book genres; however, my favorites are historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, horror and YA.  I also read a lot of non-fiction science and gardening books for my occupation.  I enjoy reviewing books and as always, any book that I receive for free is read in return for my honest review.  

    ​https://share.simonandschuster.com/stephanierhildreth

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Picture
    Challenge Participant
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Reading Addiction Blog Tours
    Xpresso Book Tours
    b00k r3vi3w Tours
    - See more at: http://b00kr3vi3wtours.blogspot.com/p/collect-badges.html#sthash.R4DGlIHF.dpuf

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Pump Up Your Book

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.