Nests of Stone: A New Fairytale

by Hannah Birss, Kelley York (Editor)

In a kingdom by the sea, twins Nell and Bryn set out on a daring journey to save their dying mother—and their home. Nell has the courage of a knight, while Bryn puts his trust in books, maps, and clever thinking. They venture into the wilds, and climb Stonecrop Mountain in search of the legendary gryphons, ancient foes of their people, but they'll quickly learn not all stories they've heard are true.

Lost, hungry, and far from home, the twins must learn to accept their differences and play to their strengths as a team. Nests of Stone is a new fairytale about courage, family, and understanding.

Genres: Fantasy

102 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 19, 2026

Reviews

[Autumn Aria · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

A story told in the style of a fairy tale, it tells of twins Nell and Bryn who go on a quest to save their beloved Queen and kingdom from death and destruction.

Along the way they encounter numerous obstacles and difficulties while their differences break them apart. In the face of true danger, differences are not always bad and sometimes it works better together than apart. An enjoyable tale all round.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy.

[A Dreaming Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with an eARC.

This was a really fun fantasy novella. I have read a lot of other works by Hannah Birss, especially horror and really enjoyed it. This one has the same nice writing too. In such a short story, all the elements that are required to make a good story were included. This was really really wholesome, especially the friendship between the twins and the Gryphons. And who would have thought that baby Gryphons could be so cute. The final resolution was also done very well and resulted in a smooth ending. I will definitely be picking up the other novella in this series as well and so should you. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in a short cozy fantasy, this is also suitable for middle graders (might even be the target audience).

[Sawyer Czlapinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to netgally for sending me the ARC of this book. First off, I love this for the whole book. Then we got the character development, the writing, and the plot, just amazing!

[Omiai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great, quick read. It cut out a lot of the messing around a lot of authors put into their books, for example, I've read books where right at the start the main characters decide they need to go on some quest, but by a quarter of the way through, they've only just gotten themselves together to go on said quest. In this book however, the two young protagonists decided they needed to go on a quest and within the first few pages, they'd left. No shade to other authors, sometimes the details are wonderful, but sometimes there's a lot of faffing about, when really they could be getting on with things. I suppose some of this comes from children being more impulsive, which fits well into this whole book.
I loved the morals that were in this book too, and all the lessons that were learned by not only our main characters Nell and Bryn, but by the adults later on. Some of it was a bit on the nose, but it is a children's book, there is a limit to how subtle you want to be when teaching children to be kind and understanding etc.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it's characters and the illustrations were beautiful too. Highly recommended!

[Moth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was absolutely adorable - I really like to read middle grade fiction now and then, not only so I can recommend it to people, but because sometimes there are some real gems hidden in the age range, and Nests of Stone was one of them.

First of all, this has an absolutely stunning cover, which perfectly captures the tone of the book, and would look adorable in a children’s book collection.

The story itself isn’t complex but is engaging, and features a believable set of siblings; I find sometimes people can struggle with writing children believably and without making them too annoying, and I feel that the author did a good job with this pair. They are both very competent in looking after themselves and each other, as well as figuring out how to climb up a mountain together.

And, the key draw of the book, the cherry on the top - the gryphons!!! Very much a ‘I have known this creature for 5 minutes and would fight an army to protect them’ vibes. I do not want to spoil them, so please just go read the book to enjoy their adorable-ness!!

A great read, really works as a new fairytale, and I would really recommend it!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first of Hannah Birss' New Fairytales series and it delivered exactly what I hoped. It is definitely more suited for young readers getting into chapter books, with its characters defined by one main interest/trait, and a very direct moral lesson. I however still found great enjoyment in Nests of Stone as a grown adult who loves whimsy.

Our twin main characters, Bryn and Nell, acted more grown up than they should have given their age, but they more often than not came across as young kids trying to be brave and save their mom and kingdom. Anyone with a sibling will relate to their arguments stemming from their differences. They continue to love each other and recognize when they may have gone too far, and are quick to apologize and forgive. Themes of acceptance, understanding, and not judging someone before meeting them run strong throughout the narrative, and we do get a happily ever after in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a copy for review. I'll be sure to check out more of Hannah Birss' works in the future.

[Y.N.]

Thank you to Netgalley and Hannah Birss for the eARC

Cute story about two twins setting on an adventure to save their mother and their kingdom. The story resolves a great deal around their differences (one being more into fighting physically, the other being more intellectual) and how they have to understand that they have to play both their strength. Usual altercation and meeting back to progress into the story, with helpful animals counseling them.
I admit that the twins sometimes sound a little more adult that I was prepared for, but it gives the book a kind of wise tone than should do well with kids.

[tarungaleela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

Geared towards a younger audience, Nests of Stone follows royal twins Nell and Bryn on a quest to save their mother, the queen and the failing wards threatening to destroy their kingdom. They face multiple trials and setbacks throughout their journey that force them to set aside their differences and prejudices to join forces with some very unlikely allies. The story had some very fun fairytale aspects, but there were some modern words and phrases used that pulled me out of the story. Overall, it was very cute and magical.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing and hannah Birss for this advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

[Giniro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cover art, Incredible! Gryphons, EPIC!!! There is more chapter header art that matches the stories and it's amazing too!

I am completely biased because Gryphons are my FAVORITE mythical creature and I am feral for stories.

Lovely story about twins. it's a perfect bed time story or middle grade book club potential! The tone and themes are simple in appearance but can raise so many questions in anyone's mind. I can see a child loving this book and coming back to it later in life.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nests Of Stone is a middle grade fantasy adventure story with a very classic fantasy style. It was a fun read, and I loved all of the magical creatures we met during this story, plus our two main characters were likable and easy to root for.
Given that this book was aiming for a more classical, timeless writing style, there were several more modern phrases sprinkled throughout the story which felt really jarring, and just a bit more world-building and time meeting our characters at the start would have made this story just that bit more inspiring.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc!