The Book Junkie's Reads . . .: Virtual Tour - The Secret Language of Stones (The Daughters of La Lune, #2) by MJ Rose

The Secret Language of Stones

The Daughters of La Lune, #2

by M.J. Rose

Publication Date: July 19^th 2016

Atria Books

Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy

From The Book Junkie Reads . . . The Secret language of Stones (The Daughters of La Lune, #2) . . .

Historical fantasy that will take you on a adventurous ride, almost dream state during World War I and Europe. Opaline wanted to give a single gift to comfort and console never thinking that it would go beyond just that simple act of kindness. I was transported to a romantic gesture from one soul working to correct past mistakes to that of those she touched. It difficult to sum it up in a few words. You would need to visit the pages yourself to get the deep connection that was made on a level that could almost be spiritual. I would pick this one up again

MJ Rose has given me a read that will stand the test of time and connect with many that have loved and lost someone. Those that wish they could have just one simple connection to that loved one and carry with them forward in life. Thank you.

**This advanced copy was provided via Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.**

BLURB

As World War I rages and the Romanov dynasty reaches its sudden, brutal end, a young jewelry maker discovers love, passion, and her own healing powers in this rich and romantic ghost story, the perfect follow-up to M.J. Rose’s “brilliantly crafted” (Providence Journal) novel The Witch of Painted Sorrows.

Nestled within Paris’s historic Palais Royal is a jewelry store unlike any other. La Fantasie Russie is owned by Pavel Orloff, protégé to the famous Faberge, and is known by the city’s fashion elite as the place to find the rarest of gemstones and the most unique designs. But war has transformed Paris from a city of style and romance to a place of fear and mourning. In the summer of 1918, places where lovers used to walk, widows now wander alone.

So it is from La Fantasie Russie’s workshop that young, ambitious Opaline Duplessi now spends her time making trench watches for soldiers at the front, as well as mourning jewelry for the mothers, wives, and lovers of those who have fallen. People say that Opaline’s creations are magical. But magic is a word Opaline would rather not use. The concept is too closely associated with her mother Sandrine, who practices the dark arts passed down from their ancestor La Lune, one of sixteenth century Paris’s most famous courtesans.

But Opaline does have a rare gift even she can’t deny, a form of lithomancy that allows her to translate the energy emanating from stones. Certain gemstones, combined with a personal item, such as a lock of hair, enable her to receive messages from beyond the grave. In her mind, she is no mystic, but merely a messenger, giving voice to soldiers who died before they were able to properly express themselves to loved ones. Until one day, one of these fallen soldiers communicates a message—directly to her.

So begins a dangerous journey that will take Opaline into the darkest corners of wartime Paris and across the English Channel, where the exiled Romanov dowager empress is waiting to discover the fate of her family. Full of romance, seduction, and a love so powerful it reaches beyond the grave, The Secret Language of Stones is yet another “spellbindingly haunting” (Suspense magazine), “entrancing read that will long be savored” (Library Journal, starred review).

“A spellbinding ghost story that communicates the power of love and redemption through Rose's extraordinary, magical lens.” (Alyson Richman, internationally bestselling author of The Lost Wife)