Jaded Stone

In Cornerstone, Valencia Roth died to protect her daughter. In Jaded Stone, she'll live for her.

Twenty years before the events of Cornerstone, Valencia Roth is the Crown Princess of Sheas, as lonely as she is privileged. She wants for nothing, except a clear path toward peace for her land. She’s always known personal happiness might not be in The Three’s plan for her. As the future ruler of Sheas, and a Cornerstone, her life belongs to her people.

But when Valencia meets the charming Reid Hendel, she dares to believe love could be within her reach. That is, if they can both survive long enough for it to blossom. A new threat prowls the land, and she’s their primary target. Armed with stubborn pride and all the resources of Sheas, she fears nothing—until her brother leads her intended directly into the fray and at least one of them doesn’t return.

Burdened with grief, Valencia must carve her own path forward. From the forge of chaos, a new era will be born.
from goodreads.com

Beth says 4 Stars...
I need to come clean and say that I haven't read the rest of this series, but since it's a prequel I figured it wouldn't matter too terribly much (plus the cover is all sorts of awesome).  Although I might have missed some details, Easter eggs, or intricate plotting, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.  I'm hoping there was more information about the Stones and the history of the three kingdoms in the other novels, because I felt it was lacking in this book.  The mysterious curses and prophecies were never really explained and that detracted a bit from the story.  I enjoyed the court politics that were at play because I'm a sucker for political intrigue coupled with magic.  I thought the book had a few pacing issues; the middle could have been compressed a bit and the final chapters would have worked well if they'd been expanded.  I did really like how the chapters started off with bits of character diaries; they gave nice insights and complimented the ongoing story.

Valenica was awesome.  Strong and determined, but still possessing flaws and the need for growth.  As the book progressed Valencia learned more about her position in Sheas and did some major maturing.  The secondary characters weren't anything special, but it really was Valencia's book.  She definitively formed the center of the story and maintained her importance throughout.  Since I read it as an ebook I can't quite tell how long it was, but it felt short to me, which is another reason the secondary characters lacked significant subplots.  There was a significant romance component, which mixed nicely with Valencia's struggles over duty to country versus individual desire.

This was a lovely little read.  I will be on the look out for the other books in the series.  If you want a light fantasy with a hint of darkness this is for you.  Plus, there are already more books out if you can't get enough!
ebook from publisher