Got into this book very quickly. Supper fast read. Loved the world building and story. The romance was quick and fun. Could have done without the love triangle but it didn’t bother me to much. All in all great book. Can’t wait for book 2.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloom Books for a chance to read House of Ash and Sorrow by Leia Stone. This was a new author for me, and the reasons I requested it was the book cover, and the summary...A girl that cannot be touched and must endure excruciating pain with even the lightest touch. House of Ash and Shadow is the 1st book in the Gilded series, a YA paranormal fantasy that just hit me in the right spot! There is a bit of everything in this book, a cursed girl, Fallon; a grumpy hero, Ariyon Madden, the only person who seems to be able to touch Fallon; a teenage love triangle, Fallon's new bestie Eden; and a hilarious sidekick! Of course, this ends with a cliffhanger, but I was expecting that. Luckily I have the 2nd book to start!

CAWPILE score of 8.00/4.5 stars

I liked the idea of the story and the characters, but the fact that nobody was willing to tell the FMC anything about her heritage at first, while expecting her to accept it was a bit annoying.

The secondary characters were really nice, but I've liked more depth for all characters, as well as more world building and more explanations on the magic system.

SPOILER:
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What annoyed me was the way the romance was written, and while her thinking about spending her whole life with the only person that can touch her makes sense, the fact that we got a love triangle didn't make as much sense, especially considering how much the brothers love each other, I think it could have been settled way faster. Also, the enemies to lovers was dispelled too fast to be plausible

House of Ash and Shadow was my first fantasy book of the year & it did not disappoint! While I could have done without the cliffhanger because I totally need more right now, this book definitely kept me hooked from beginning to end.

The concept of people in a magic world being segregated into those with magic, with a little based on their lineage and with none at all was insane.. I loved the main character & her ability to be thrust into a world that judges her for simply being born & for her mother’s actions.

I swear you all will not be disappointed when it comes to this book.. I know I wasn’t!

4⭐️ read
The story line is fast paced and not a lengthy book . The plot is very YA but still a good read . I feel like it’s setting for the next books left on a cliff hanger. I enjoyed the world building it’s very descriptive in a way that makes it come together for the reader.
Characters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was so good! Absolutely 💯 loved it. Thanks NetGalley and to the publisher for this. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Actual 3.5
House of Ash and Shadow is a fast paced, slowish burn fantasy where Fallon is a poor, magic less girl who is cursed and cannot be touched by anyone without feeling immense pain.... until she isn't.
The premise of the book was interesting, but I found most of the main characters to be so immature and at times really annoying. (To be fair, they are all teenagers, so maybe this is just me being that fair out of touch as a 30-something with what life was like as a teenager, lol.)
The secondary characters was the group that I really thought shined in this book. Yanric, Fallon's dad, Eden's mom, the Queen, Master Clarke - they all brought the depth and dimension (as well as not being stuck in a "I love both brothers and I can't decide between them" perpetual whine that Fallon suffered from).
The spice in this book is non-existent so if you're looking for spice this is not it.
There is however a fast paced mystery about Fallon's family history and the potential of her powers and some potential with restricting of the class system with the population of the Gilded City and beyond that definitely pulled me in and will keep me coming back for the rest of the trilogy!

I cannot wait to get my hands on book two. I flew through this book and enjoyed every minute that I spent with it.
While some of the characters seem too good to be true, - yeah, I’m talking about you Ayden (he really is something special) - we are able to appreciate the friendships that Fallon is able to form once she is forced to live in the Gilded City. Fallon is starved for touch - she is cursed to feel extreme pain with even the slightest touch to her person (hair included). Then comes along Ariyon - the only person able to touch her and he shuts her out as soon as he finds out about her curse. The turbulent relationship between Fallon and Ariyon is understandable due to the familial ties that are revealed, but they just cannot avoid one another and their connection is quite undeniable. Throughtout the book, the reader finds themself rooting for Ariyon to open up his eyes. Eden is a fantastic side character, easy to love. However, it is Yanric that will steal your heart.
The story flows along nicely and the plot twist at the end is sublime. I am looking forward to reading the second instalment of the series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks/Bloom Books for an e-arc of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

The Cursed Girl, Fallon Bane, has never been touched without excruciating pain. But when her father falls gravely ill, she races herself off to the Gilded City for a healer fae, only to find Ariyon Madden. Everything she knows about herself and her curse changes. Because during her father’s healing, Ariyon reaches out and touches her bare skin. She waits for the agony… but it never comes. For the first time in her life, she imagines a new future for herself. When she tells Ariyon, he flees in disgust, reporting her to the Gilded City. Fallon is then swept away to a magical academy, there she learns the terrifying truth about her family history and her dark magic. Her life and the future of fae everywhere hang in the balance.

House of Ash and Shadow is a page turner, right to the very end. Leia has built herself a book that starts off great and get's more exciting as the story goes on. I'm not usually a big fan of books that introduce a lot of people at once, but this felt like heading back to high school and sitting in the quad with a bunch of friends. I do have to say, that Yanric might be the MVP in this! He was a hilarious addition to help lighten what could have been a darker read.

This is perfect for those who love;
- Dark Magic
- Twin MMC's
- Love Triangle (with an end)
- Academic Setting

Thank you to everyone involved for this advanced copy. House of Ash and Shadow is available now.

I tried this author again, hoping that maybe her later series would see a growth in the writing, but this too felt to all the pitfalls of her other book. I had the same issues with this all over again. Although I did like the world-building and plotting much better in this one. And I liked this main character better as well. But the writing style is still enough to really pull me out of the story and contribute to my lack of overall enjoyment. It just wasn't good for me personally. Maybe younger fantasy readers, or those newer to the genre would like this better. Or maybe this author just isn't for me and that's okay too. Reading is a subjective experience. I also DNF'd this book and out of fairness won't be leaving a rating/review anywhere.

I haven't read very many books by Leia Stone however I do enjoy her writing. Fallon is a great character and has much to overcome wtih her curse. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

✨ARC Review✨
📖: House of Ash and Shadow
🖋️: Leia Stone
⭐️: 5 of 5
💬: “I’m a powerful man. Powerful men can be forgiven for loose tongues.”

Tropes, Topics & Themes:
✨Dark Magic
✨Curse
✨Academic Fantasy
✨Enemies to lovers
✨Familiars
✨Twin brothers

From being placed in a basket after she was born with a sign that said “Don’t touch her. Cursed.” Fallon is taken in and loved by a man after he lost his wife.

Growing up she never experienced a hug, holding someone’s hand or even a simple touch from a boy because of the curse.

“Fallon, I was joking! You can’t go and nab a healer from The Gilded City.”

When Fallon’s father become sick and on the verge on death. She runs hours to The Gilded City to find someone that can heal him.

From an accidental touch from the healer Ariyon. Fallon’s whole world changes.

She finds herself mandatory attending a magical academy where she discovers there is more to her curse.

“I want to give you everything you want.”

Will Ariyon allow his feelings to grow for Fallon with her family’s past? Will Fallon ever be able to kiss a boy?

“Yanric Spade, Bane family familiar. At your service.”

“I am an extension of you and I’ve been searching for you for seventeen years. I will only leave you in death.”

Yanric is seriously one of my favorite characters! He had me laughing so much.

This book was so fast paced, the slow burn was intense and I loved every second of it. They way the book ended!😭 I need the second book now so I can find out what happens next!

Thank you, Leia Stone, Sourcebooks Bloom Books, and netgalley for this ARC. As always, my review is my opinion and thoughts.

This was such a good book! I absolutely flew through this book. The characters were so interesting and I absolutely loved where the author took this story. I will be recommending this book to all my family and friends.

I think if I found this book a few years ago I would have loved it so much more. For right now, in my time of life it didn't hit as hard but it was still enjoyable and the vibes, energy and atmosphere it gave off were on par with YA fantasy. If I was a young teen, I would have eaten this up and probably been very obsessed. Given that this is the intended age group, I'd say it's perfect for what it's meant to be!

Wow, what an original and creative story in a unique and incredible world filled with people who have immense power and those who don’t. Filled with many twists you don’t see coming, action, adventure and of course love, you have this impressive story you don’t want to miss reading!! Counting down the days for House of War & Bone!!

Review to be posted January 8th

After having read The Last Dragon King, I was really curious to read this series, as it a Young Adult series (and it is definitely more Young Adult than New Adult in my opinion, as I've heard both). And I have to say, I've enjoyed this book a lot more than I did her other book. I think it has quite an interesting premise, great characters, and I got quite into the story ( I read it in one afternoon).
Fallon was great character to follow, to see her discover the truth of her heritage and curse, but still see her stay true to who she was. And of course, to see her with Ariyon, to see them struggle with their attractions. And of course, who can forget Yanric, who is just one of my favourites. Now, who doesn't want a crow familiar?
Still, one thing that feel odd is the sometimes modern language/slang, which felt odd in the setting of the story. It wasn't too much of a big deal, but it did sometime make me raise an eyebrow at the choice of word. Yet, it was still overall a fun and quick read, and I've already gotten my hands on the sequel.

look...was this good? No. Was it bad? Also no. It's the epitome of Kindle Unlimited fantasy slow burn (no spice yet!!!!!) with a complicated fantasy setting and I'll also admit...I binged it. It is on Kindle Unlimited...but I got this as an ARC (lol) because it's one of the ones that Bloom Books picked up...and they're the ones that have picked up the big names and so I had higher expectations? It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't good...and I probably would've read the next one if it wasn't for the way this one ended that left me going ?!?!!?! (along with the whiplash between the two brothers and Fallon).

This is a really good first book in a romantic fantasy series. The world building is done at a good pace. I’d like how the characters were introduced and developed throughout the book. Fallon is an intriguing protagonist, and I feel for her as she goes through so much because of having something that she’s never asked for the way her body gets. I’m really intrigued to see where the story will move in the next book.

Another lovely YA novel from Leia Stone!

Fallon is burdened with a life long curse that causes pain when she is touched. Forced into town to look for a healer for her father, she finds the one person who can actually touch her. Once realizing her curse, he takes off in disgust while also putting her in danger as well. However, the discovery isn’t wholly good as she’s cast into a school and taught her terrifying family history.

I felt like the book should have been shelved back in the 2000’s in terms of romance, this brings back memories of what I used to read. Needless to say this did come of a bit more teen, rather than YA for me. Between the use of modern slang in a fantasy novel and the fact that it came off as a younger age range for me in terms of writing really left me wanting.

A girl cursed to feel excruciating pain from a single touch finds herself attending a magic school and in the middle of a love triangle between a handsome healer and his brother... as well as discovering her true family legacy. Fallon Bane is a seventeen year old girl who was left in a basket as a baby and cursed to feel pain from a single touch from another person. She yearns to be touched, to kiss and fall in love with someone. Yet when she breaks into the magical Gilded City to find a healer fae that can save her father she runs into the handsome healer Ariyon Madden... whose touch is the only touch that doesn't cause her pain. The next thing she knows she finds out that her mother was a powerful fae who was deadly and now she is being swept into a magical academy as well as a love triangle. This one unfortunately was not for me, I found Fallon to be a boring protagonist, I did not care for the love triangle, and this book really just felt like nothing much happened. I found myself spacing out while reading this and no matter how hard I tried to get into the story, it just seemed kind of boring to me. I didn't care for the romance and didn't really believe it, there really wasn't any chemistry between Fallon with either brother. This might be a case of "its me not you" but I just did not find myself enjoying this one at all. This was advertised as a Holly Black/Sarah J Maas-esque book and it just fell flat of that to me. This one is definitely for younger YA readers and I think they'll have a better time with it than me.

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*