The Rose Stone

Artist Jessica Stone’s days are numbered. An inoperable brain tumor is attacking her body and threatening her ability to paint. But when things seem darkest, one of Jessica’s paintings somehow transports her to a mysterious, alternate world called the Commonwealth of the Rose, which is under attack by an evil and vicious darkling. Saved by a guard captain named Griffin, she finds herself waging battle on the darkling and her tumor as she is dragged between this dream world and her reality. At home she is offered a slot in a clinical trial with experimental medicine which forces her to question everything. Are the people in the Commonwealth real and can she help? Or is it all a hallucination brought on by her tumor? To save herself and everyone else she must figure it out before the darkling breaches the Commonwealth for good or her tumor kills her.

A vibrant and absorbing story, “The Rose Stone” is a blend of sci-fi and fantasy that grips the reader from the beginning and sends them and Jessica on a journey that delights and surprises until the end. Jessica’s battle and journey can be taken either literally or figuratively, but the attraction between Griffin and Jessica is full of sweet sparks from the beginning, and their relationship manages to walk the line between insta-love and sincere. The numerous humorous moments bring a natural levity to a story that could easily be much darker and make it ideal for those who enjoy triumph over world ending destruction without drowning in the horror. Although the explanation for how the darkling and the rose stone work is mostly left up to magical science, it still brings the story to a feasible conclusion with some added twists to keep the reader guessing through the end. Overall, fans of fantasy, sci-fi, romance and adventure will want to add this book to the top of their to-read lists!

Sarah E Bradley