They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but this beautiful glorious cover matches the lyrically stunning words inside. The Secret Language of Stones is the second novel in the Daughters of La Lune series and builds on the world created in The Witch of Painted Sorrows. However both titles can stand-alone and be read separately. While not a romance, there are certainly romantic elements present along with a blend of supernatural and history to create a delightful, unique novel. I’ve also always been a bit of a nerd about minerals, gems and crystals. I used to carry around a little pouch of my favorites: rose quartz, tigers eye, lapis, snowflake obsidian...you get the gist, LOL. So I loved that Opaline’s gift involved stones.

GRRRR... this is one of my favorite authors. This series...not so much! While the story was a great layout, Ms. Rose used a lot of repetition that almost came off as fillers. It got to the point where I almost wanted to develop a drinking game every time I read about where her "pendent" fell. As I had a similar issue with the first in series, I have decided maybe this isn't the best series for me.

Review limited to Goodreads due to feedback

3 stars

THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF STONES – M. J. Rose

A Perfect 10

France – 1918

Opaline Duplessi’s parents want her safe and far away from war-torn Paris where German bombs are decimating the neighborhoods. But Opaline has other ideas, she is distraught that,Timur Orloff, the boy who went off to war wanting her to say she loved him, was killed not knowing if she did. And she is determined to pursue her love of making jewelry instead of following in her mother’s footsteps and studying painting. There is also the fact that Opaline “hears” messages from the precious stones she works with. She feels she owes it to Timur to help in the war effort. Unusually, though, Opaline’s assistance is to the widows, wives, and mothers of those killed, for she can hear messages from the dead. Opaline, like her mother, is a Daughter of La Lune, a long line of women of magick.

Hired by Monsieur Orloff, Timur’s father, to work in his jewelry shop, Opaline is embraced by Anna, Timur's mother, another follower of the occult. Soon Opaline is bringing new business into the store because of the lockets she makes for the grieving families, and her messages of love from their dead sons. The Orloffs are Russian immigrants who have fled their homeland when the Bolsheviks took over. They are aware that anything they do to openly support the Romanovs, Russian royal family, may be observed by Bolshevik spies. Adding to that scenario is the fact that the Germans have their own network of spies which are using the secret underground landscape of Paris.

One day a grieving mother appears in the shop begging for Opaline to help her connect to her late son. Opaline is saddened to learn that her son, Jean Luc Foret, a noted Parisian journalist was killed at the front. Jean Luc was especially noted for letters he wrote from the front to his (fictional) fiancée. As Opaline works on the locket for his mother, she is suddenly aware of a voice trying to communicate with her. It’s Jean Luc.

In the meantime, word reaches the Orloffs that the Russian emperor has been shot and killed. No one knows anything about the rest of his family. The emperor’s mother is in exile in England. Monsieur Orloff’s oldest son from his first wife, Grigori, has returned from the war, wounded and rebellious. He refuses to follow in his father’s footsteps, instead he collects and sells antiques. He and Opaline have a tepid, but physical relationship, although Opaline isn’t interested in pursuing it any further. Grigori and his father are continually at odds, and their clandestine meetings with other Russian royalists is a topic of debate.

With Paris in an uproar and not knowing whom to trust, it’s a dangerous time for anyone associated with the Russian royal family. Opaline’s growing relationship with the ghostly voice of Jean Luc takes her further from Grigori. Can someone love a dead man as emotionally as Opaline does? And what dangers will the Orloff family put Opaline in as they try to find out what happened to the rest of the Romanovs?

THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF STONES is a mesmerizing tale that had me as spellbound as Opaline’s relationship with Jean Luc. Magical moments between the two, as well as the background of a dangerous pursuit of answers by the Russians kept me glued to this book. There are plenty of surprises, and a growing mystery of who is meeting in the caverns beneath the jewelry store. I highly recommend this beautifully written book.

This story didn't quite achieve the lushness of the first in the series. I also just find the heroines a bit on the petulant side and Opaline had a tendency to grate on my nerves. I'm also not big on the "ill-fated lovers" thing. Still, it had some great moments.

Free copy given in exchange for an honest review.

The second in M.J. Rose's La Lune series is just as good as the first. Here we have Sandrine's daughter, Opaline, whose magic manifests itself through gemstones. As usual, Rose provides a clever, suspenseful story woven through with romance, tragedy, and magic. I look forward to the rest of the La Lune stories!

I love everything M.J. Rose writes and this novel is no difference. It's one of those stories that you can reread and find new little things you didn't find the first time you read it.

Opaline DuPlessi, daughter of Sandrine LaLune(Witch of Painted Sorrows). works in a jewelry store called La Fantasie Russo in Paris' Palais Royal She is emploed by Pavel Orloff and his family- Russian emigres. The war has changed life in Paris, and Opaline now makes mourning jewelry for surviving families of lost soldiers. It is because of her magical gifts with stones, that she communicates with the ghost of Jean Luc Foret. At great risk to herself, Opaline travels from Paris to England to meet with the Dowager Empress Romanov of Russia to give the Empress jewels that have been kept safe by the Orloffs until they were needed for the Russian cause. Jean Luc is instrumental in keeping her alive during her adventure....but how? He is a ghost!

Opaline Duplessi, a young woman in Paris during World War I, works as a jeweler creating mourning jewelry in a fantastic Russian jewelry store. Descended from La Lune, one of sixteenth century Paris’s most famous courtesans, Opaline has a gift that makes the stones speak to her, passing on messages from soldiers who have passed on. Then one day, the stones speak to her. Opaline is grief stricken and fascinated by the voice talking to her from beyond. As she reaches out for his family, danger quickly presents itself.

I've read a lot of MJ Rose's books and this one was by far the most magical for me. I loved the jewelry making and Opaline is a great narrator. The reader is quickly pulled into her world. The plot is twisty, which kept me on my toes. Its a really great read. Highly recommended.