Stone Cold

by Sarah Humpherys

In a kingdom where emotion is punished by death, Princess Syona is forced into a marriage alliance to stop a thirty-year war. She must choose between her duty to the kingdom or the boy she truly loves.

In the Kingdom of Ashlon, emotion is considered a weakness and a danger. To help their society run perfectly, the king has ordered everyone to wear enchanted stones that take away emotion. However, there are some people, Malopaths, that are not affected by the stones and are hunted down and executed. The princess of Ashlon, Syona, is a Malopath. She becomes antisocial and stays in the shadows, afraid of her secret being exposed. When her brother dies, Princess Syona becomes the heir to the kingdom and must try harder than ever to fake being emotionless. As crown heir, she must navigate a marriage alliance with an enemy kingdom, political conspiracies, and a love triangle between her betrothed and her childhood friend and guard. Stone Cold shows that emotions are what make humans human and that people shouldn’t be afraid to be themselves. Read along as Princess Syona breaks out of her shell and navigates the trials and tribulations she faces throughout her journey.

Genres: Fantasy

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2022

About the author

Sarah Humpherys lives in Lehi, Utah and is a die-hard fantasy nerd that can’t stop talking about dragons and anime. She is trying to get through high school by burying herself in Japanese TV shows and creating her own worlds and characters. She does make friends, but only with people who can stand her habit of constantly
talking during movies to critique the plot, her memorization of the How to Train your Dragon Wikipedia page, and a monologue explaining why
Doctor Strange is obviously the best avenger.

Reviews

[Kathee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princess Syona lives in the Kingdom of Ashlon, where emotions have been banned by her father the King, and everyone is forced to wear stones that negate emotions entirely. Except - Syona is not affected by the stones and can still feel emotions, which they call being a Malopath. Being a Malopath is punishable by instant death, so Syona is trained from infancy by her Aunt (also a Malopath) on how not to show emotions.
This debut novel from teenage author Sarah Humpherys is full of intrigue, suspense, teen angst and even a love triangle. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to the sequel!

[K Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out very well then I'm afraid popular themes took over. The rich introspection switched into unbelievable character trait shifts and love drama that didn't stay true to the established characters. The idea of the stones is intriguing and I look forward to seeing where the story goes.

[Zee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a few months ago and honestly forgot to review it as I didn’t find it terribly memorable. That said I did lend it to a friend’s 13 year old who found it much more captivating. Usually even as an adult I read PLENTY of YA but this felt truly more geared to the 13-15 crowd so, that in mind, my view is definitely skewed by being more familiar with the grown-up lens in which I view concepts like romance. Wish I could give it half stars as I’d probably put it closer to 3.5 stars. The concepts were original just not quite there yet, Sarah’s story was refreshing and I’d love to see how it progresses and the dynamics improve. The pacing was slow at times but overall never really lost me as a reader. I think this book could open some really interesting discussions up in classroom and young adult book club and I think if I’d have found it at 13 probably would have been a lot more into it.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need her to end up with Crevan like I’m so serious. If she picks gerrand I am going to become a supervillian

[D.L.F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this was my first venture into the teenage-romance genre, I found Ms. Humpherys’ fantasy novel both delightful and intriguing. I completed reading it in only two days. In my view, the Author has a marvelous gift for describing her imaginary world with interesting phrases, painting vivid images in my mind as the story moved along.
The Author creatively introduced the emotion-numbing enchanted stones as a mechanism for exploring a core theme of the novel, i.e., is it better that our emotions be expressed or suppressed if we want to relate well to other people or to make the world a better world. And she invites us into the emotional turmoil within the mind of the teenage heroine, Princess Syona. The love triangle the Princess falls into was woven into the story in such a way that kept me guessing as to how it might be resolved.
On the technical side, I was less than pleased to encounter what I consider to be examples of “modern” phrases in the dialogue or descriptions in what is supposed to be an historic setting. I also was concerned that the lowest class of Ashlonians were only able to buy one of a variety of enchanted stones, and so should have been less impacted by their use of stones, and, thus, they should have been less susceptible to being controlled by their rulers. (I might have made the stones universally available to all of the inhabitants of the Kingdom.)
Nevertheless, I found the novel entertaining and entirely recommendable, and I congratulate the Author on what I hope is only the first of many more literary offerings.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

For this being a first novel of a young author I was impressed. The writing was good, the descriptions were good, and the pacing of the story was good. It didn't start to get really good and exciting until the last 7 or 8 chapters though. I kept thinking that some big conflict was going to arise as I approached the middle of the book, but it never really did. There was a conflict and a climax at the last 7 or 8 chapters, which was good because I wasn't sure where some of the story was going throughout some of it. I kept reading because I was intrigued and was hoping and also guessing that something big was going to happen. I predicted some of the ending and wasn't super surprised when certain things happened (for the sake of spoiling it I won't say specifically what), but still found the end of the book exciting and good. I hope Sarah writes a second one because it is definitely open for a sequel. I would be interested in finding out what happens to Syona, Akilah, Gerrand, and both of the kingdoms. I hope Sarah continues writing and works to further improve her already pretty good writing. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a fun, good, clean, and mostly exciting read. It's one I would reread.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The concept of the emotion stones is not something I’ve heard before. Definitely written for the YA group but still has its appeal for the older generations as well. Reads smooth and easy and always has something to keep the reader interested.

Of course there’s a love triangle! A good coming of age story always does. A very traditional take on the “love triangle”. Not necessarily my favorite part but does have its importance.

With a kingdom at war I was expecting more of a fight scene. This time period is usually open to that so I was a bit disappointed. But a silent war from the inside has its perks as well. I’m very curious to see how this story progresses and if Syona becomes the queen and revolutionary that she’s been thrust into.

I’m super impressed that this lovely story was written by a 16 year old. A very sweet girl with an amazing imagination and talented story telling abilities. Bravo!

[Lauryn Clemmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

So amazing this was written by a teenage author!

I love the concept of this story. Such a unique and intriguing storyline. It’s a quick read and perfect for preteens/teens.

I would have loved a little more character and relationship development. Maybe more detail on Gerrand and Syona’s bond when they were kids, Cyrus’s relationship with the King, Akilah’s family, etc. It felt like there were details of the story I was craving to know more about. What did Cyrus know about the attack? What was Mareena’s childhood like? Why did Syona hear buzzing in the stones when Mareena couldn’t? And a few other questions. I get that would have adjusted the length of the story and extended it to multiple books…but I think the story could really flourish!

All in all, such an awesome idea for a story. Original and exciting. And still so impressed it was written by such a young author. I see some major success in your future Sarah!

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarah's concept of emotion stones and those who cannot be manipulated by them was an exceptional concept that intrigued me. An awesome change that was not expected. I hope that the utilization of a better vocabulary than most young adult books will be a perfect chance to challenge other young adults to expand their own vocabularies. While many of the reviewers finished reading the book quickly, I was not captivated enough to finish as quickly as others. I felt it was a slow read. Sarah Humpherys has potential as a young adult author and I truly hope this is just the first of many books for her.

[Aaren Humpherys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't typically read YA fantasy but from the first chapter I felt captivated and pulled into the story, the characters, and needed to find out what happened so I kept reading, and reading. I was amazed at the story telling, the detailed descriptions, and the unsuspecting plot twists. I even felt captivated by the love triangle and found myself choosing sides. For a story about removing emotion, I certainly felt plenty of emotion (and shed a few tears as well). It's amazing Sarah wrote this at age 15.

[Amilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah tells a very good and original story. At first the lack of emotion the characters were supposed to living by in the book crept into the reading for me. I couldn't feel anything for the story or connect to it, but I am grateful that I continued to the end as Sarah was able to draw me in and end on an incredible high note. She was able to bring me into the story and make me want to know more. I look forward to more of the story or for more work by Sarah Humpherys.

[Charity · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun book! I loved the element of emotions being viewed as undesirable and having a way to completely remove them. It really made me think. I enjoyed the personality shown in the main characters and the complete plot twist at the end.

I would recommend this book to any teen girl, young adult, or adult female who wants a new clean romance.

Reading this book made me late for an appointment because I had to finish the last couple chapters!

[Kayla Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story! The conflicts she faces, while in a fantastical situation, are very relatable and realistic. Her internal battle between what she wants and what she needs brings the reader closer to the characters, and you can't help but feel frustrated for her when things don't work in her favor! Can't wait for the sequel!!

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah’s debut novel “Stone Cold” captured my attention from the first page. Her writing style is very easy to read - great for early teens and older folks alike. I read the book in about two days and appreciated Sarah’s descriptive writing, character development, and the overall fascinating premise of the book itself. I can’t wait for the sequel and for the many other novels I’m sure are to come.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is so good and so fresh, a premise that I haven’t seen before and it had me captivated!
This young writer is finding her voice, and while I think there’s some serious editing that needed to be done to smooth out the writing, the compelling story kept me turning the page! Can’t wait to see what’s to come from this amazing lady!

[Shawna Beall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It kept my attention from beginning to end and now I will have to patiently wait for the next one to complete the story. Such an interesting story with a twist I didn’t see coming. Very impressed with this teenage author!

[Rebekah Webber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in this fantastical world created through vivid and articulate wording. It was a fun, quick read and a new type of fantasy than I have ever read before. Plus it included a few twists that were very unexpected.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful and Riveting

Hard to believe this was written by such a young author! Loved the overall premise. This novel utilizes a better vocabulary than most YA books—-a refreshing change. All in all, a clever plot with likable characters and fast-paced action.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real page turner, read it in a few days. Thank you for rekindling my excitement for reading! I haven't read in a while. This was lovely, and what a nice surprise to see it was written by a young writer! So refreshing :) thanks again!

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

everything was way too easy in this book. i don’t think syona actually went through anything challenging until like the last 20 pages. everyone loved her way too much. everything felt superficial especially the characters in this book. there was no depth and i was bored. a good idea though.

[Temple · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe a teenager wrote this book. I’m only half way through bu I love the way she describes Syona‘s experience. I feel like I’m right there with her. A very creative and captivating story.

[Jessica Wigington Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So impressed that this was written by a teenager. I loved the plot and the beautiful way she described things. Looking forward to her next book!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story with interesting characters and concepts. I couldn't put it down. Looking forward to the rest of the story developing. 😀

[Julie Widtfeldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I don’t usually read teen books but I am so glad to have found this one. It kept my interest throughout the entire book and I can’t wait for a sequel!

[Brigitta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I loved this book! I read it in 1 day. It had such a great storyline, romance, twists... can't believe its written by a 17 yr old

[Bethany Whetstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting concept. The plot twist I guessed miles away but still a good book.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing book! I finished it last night and am wanting to start it again. I loved the story and the ideas behind it. I’ve been recommending this book to everyone.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally got to read this and oh my goodness it was very well written kept me captivated the whole time and was truly enjoyable to read I'm hoping for more!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read! Unique storyline, imaginative, and entertaining. You’d never guess it was written by a teenager. Can’t wait to see what she might write in the future!

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book!! It has excellent characters and an intriguing storyline. I’m excited for the sequel!