In a world where the Stone-Hearted get their powers when they are 18, Princess Sabeara Aigoviel of Aveladon watches her sister’s Granting ceremony, while anxiously awaiting her own. After the ceremony, the party is attacked and Sabeara is kidnapped, which opens a door to Sabeara that she never thought was possible. As she learns about her kingdom, love, and most importantly, a curse that is due to spread throughout the land, Sabeara must find out for herself how much she is willing to give up and how hard she is willing to fight to save her people.
Granted is the first book in a series that is already proving itself to be fast paced and interesting. The world building was very well done and there is a great deal of set up that will hopefully be elaborated on in the other books in the series. The descriptions of each castle were especially beautiful. One day I really have to find a castle to visit since it’s not actually possible to jump into a book.
Sabeara, the protagonist, has satisfying, believable growth throughout the novel, which is a feat not all books can achieve. During the events in the beginning of the story, her character felt self centered and a bit whiny. I was afraid that she would be added to my ever growing list of unlikable characters. Thankfully, I was proven wrong and Sarbeara grew in a very realistic way. Through her experiences she became stronger and more well rounded. The number of characters who start whiny and stay whiny throughout the novel is far too high.
The magical system was fantastic. The concept of the Stone-Hearted people and the fact that their powers are related to the colors that glow from within their hearts is fascinating. The Granting ceremony allowed for a bit of an info dump that didn’t feel like an info dump, which is always nice. I quickly grew more and more invested in the story and how Sabeara was going to contribute to this magical kingdom.
The romance was the only part where I found myself slightly disinterested. While the tension was great, it grew old to watch the same back and forth happen again and again. However, this leads back to the fact that Sabeara is still young and inexperienced so this can be easily overlooked and doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the novel as a whole. Sabeara’s room for growth is exponential at this point.
I am so excited that this is only the first book in a series because its such a fun world and I can’t wait to read more!
4.5/5 rounded up because it is evident on every page how much love was put into writing this book.
The Novel Llama 