Melting Stones (Circle Reforged Series #2)

Not what I was expecting...

I've been a Tamora Pierce fan for over 10 years, and I'm always eagerly awaiting her next novel. Like many authors who write over an extended time span, Ms. Pierce just keeps getting better with age.

When I read The Will of the Empress, the hints of what happened to Briar, Evvy, and Rosethorn before their return to Summersea had me dying for the whole story. Of course, when I heard there would be a follow-up on Evvy (Melting Stones), I assumed that my prayers had finally been answered. It was my mistake that I took the story's plot for granted and never tried to look up what Melting Stones was really about...

When I realized that Melting Stones wasn't the story I thought it was going to be, I was sorely disappointed. However, I love all of Tamora Pierce's works... so I was sure I could still enjoy Melting Stones.

It makes me sad to say there's finally a Pierce book I honestly don't like. I barely made it through this one.

The book's plot is solid; however, the storyline itself falls far short of my expectations for a Pierce novel. The story's events seemed disjointed and anticlimactic, even at the height of the adventure, and the characters were wholly unappealing. There was little to no character development during the entire duration of the story. I hated Evvy throughout, and frequently wished I could reach inside the pages and slap her upside the head. For a main character, she was quite annoying (a problem I've never had when reading from the protagonist's standpoint in Ms. Pierce's books). I also thought the interactions of Evvy's "companion" Luvo were just flat-out awkward.

My final complaint of Melting Stones is that Briar is nowhere to be seen. I am so used to his personality being right in the middle of everything (both with Rosethorn, especially, and then with Evvy later on in Street Magic) that it felt like Melting Stones was lacking a crucial character... even if Evvy was the main focus of the story this time. Maybe she would have annoyed me less--I'm not sure.

Anyway.

Melting Stones is a decent read for young adults, but it's not up to snuff as far as the average Tamora Pierce novel goes. It's a must-have for fans and collectors... Otherwise, I would say it's not worth a second read; you can put it on your shelf and forget it. You're much better off with one of the other Circle books, or something from the Tortall universe.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

New nook

Amazingly Awesome!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Took a chance on catchy title

I'm already a huge fan of Tamara Pierce. This title caught my eye. And although I didn't want to begin another series just yet -- after reading this well written, fast pased tale, I'm ready for more. I want to know "the rest of the story" and will continue with this author wherever she may go. Yes, I said I was already a huge fan!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Crucial Misnomer

I enjoyed this book, but it should not be listed as a part of the Circle Reforged series. It has little to nothing to do with Sandry, Tris, Daja, and Briar.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Anything by.........

If Tamora Pierce has written it, than I, my husband and our grandchild will love it. She has yet to write a mediocre book, let alone a poor one. I highly recommend this author to everyone of all ages over 10.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Back in the Circle (And happy to be there!)

This book is another win for Tamora Pierce. It took a little longer to get engaged in, perhaps due to the strong attachment I formed to the original characters (Sandry, Daja, Tris and Briar); the book revolves around Evvy, and helps the reader understand more fully some of what the author briefly hints at happening to Briar in Yanjing (The Will of the Empress). I really appreciated Pierce going back into the Circle universe, and especially showing how the characters have grown. Maybe next we'll have word on Pasco?

<3

I loved this book as anything Tamora Pierce writes but this one stood out to me and remains in my favorites of her books. I would recomend it to everyone!

it was okay

I have been a fan for years! This book was okay, it did seem to lack the normal draw. I had to make myself read it unlike her other books where i couldnt put them dowm. I like the fact that it does continue off with another generation of magic uses but i dont hink it should be put into this seris. I was hopeing for more on the orginal four, or even on what happened during the war or what happens after the will of the empress book. It was an okay book, i wouldnt recommend it to someone if i was trying to get them hooked on Tamora Pierce's books. would be afraid that they wouldnt read the rest.

What happened to Briar?

Wasn't Briar her mentor

Pretty!

It's a fun book. I like it-- it's a shorter story than some of her other ones but it's nice seeing Evvy again. (Could maybe have done with another way of solving the conflict than the almost-literal deus ex machina, though.)

makes you wanna keep going

its a great every day book

Really good-unexpected

Tamora seems to go off on a tangent with this book. I was really looking forward to finding out what happened after the end of "The Will of the Empress" and finding a story that, while very interesting in and of itself, wasn't the continuation of that story was a dissapointment only because it was not what I was looking for. Still a wonderful book and well worth a read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Joan Stradling for Teens Read Too

Evvy left the streets of Chammur four years ago and began training as a stone mage. Now, she's fourteen and on her way to the Battle Islands to help her mentor, Rosethorn, figure out why the plants and animals are dying. Evvy is supposed to listen and learn, but ends up playing a much bigger role when she discovers the real reason for the Island's troubles. With the help of her friend, Luvo (the living stone heart of a mountain), Evvy must find a way to stop the destruction and save the island. Though the plot was somewhat predictable for me, I thoroughly enjoyed reading MELTING STONES because of the characterization. Evvy is a brilliant character I couldn't help but fall in love with, and the ending left me yearning for more. I hadn't read any of Pierce's novels before, but after MELTING STONES, I've added a couple of her other books to my reading list.

Somewhat Disappointing

I'd like to start by praising the rest of the books in this series. They are alsways enjoyable, and as the characters mature, so does both the style of the book and the storylines.

However, I was disappointed in "Melting Stones." I suspect a great deal of that disappointment was because of the first-person narrative, with which Ms. Pierce does not seem as comfortable. It doesn't help that the narrator is the person of Evvy, a young stone mage who is powerful and incredible irritating at many points, which is especially odd as it does not seem to correspond as much to her first appearance in one of the other books. Granted, I don't think that the main character has to be a paragon of viture, but she is stubborn to the point of nastiness, and startling self-absorbed and cold to those not in her immediate circle of friends. The story does have a sort of redemption for her, but it's rather clumsily done and not as believable. I think that if I hadn't been forced to shard Evvy's thoughts, the remove might have allowed me to view her more kindly.

Evvy's friend, a stone bear who the heart of a mountain, tends toward "deus ex machina" at various points, which gets a little tiresome. He also seems to have different viewpoints based on what the narrative requires, which is not enjoyable.

The story itself itself is decent, though not as focused as I would have liked.

All in all, it suffers the most simply by comparison to the rest of the books in the series; "Melting Stones" just can't compare.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I hope we see more of this character

This was a happy find in the B&N store in my neighborhood. We had been waiting for the new Beka Cooper last year and found this book. I like the main character and her quirky friends. The story is interesting and moves along. She has gotten a big tiresome with too many filler pages though. We were hooked on Tamora Pierce after reading the Lioness series and those books seemed to be just right in length and story. I hope she will go back to writing less pages with more content.

Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce

THIS IS AN AWESOME BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS A MUST HAVE, CHILDREN ALL AROUND HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK. THIS IS AUTHOR IS MY FAVORITE IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE TWILIGHT, WELL I'M OK WITH THAT BUT IF THEY READ THIS BOOK THEY WILL SWITCH FROM MEYER TO PIERCE AS FAST AS YOU CAN BLINK!!!!!!!!!!!!

A bit of a let down

I love Tamora Pierce, don't get me wrong. All of her books have let me drooling for more. However, when I got this one, I was sorely disappointed. The writing was more simplistic than her's usually was and the overall quality of it was mediocre at best.

An ADVENTURE!

Tamora Pierce with the Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens spins a very adventurous tale-lots of EXCITEMENT!

Evvy and Luvo- BRILLIANT!

Melting Stones

a simply amazing book and a terrific continuation of the series! It's fun to hear more about the character's adventures and gives a little more insight on Evvy and Luvo. I cannot wait untli the next book comes out!

Tamora Pierce

This book was the best Circle of Magic book yet. It may have been an easy read, but it was worth my time! I like the humor in this book, along with the growing peril.