Synopsis: When Tabitha Stone volunteers to teach music at a children’s summer camp, she has no idea that within days her life, as well as those of her friend Gil, and the children in their care, will be placed in mortal danger.
Convinced a camp teacher is using questionable methods, they investigate only to discover he is not who he claims, and their snooping ends with Tabitha in the hospital.
With the help of her sister and partner, Tabitha and Gil delve further into the investigation, only to have their plan derail, when the reliability of Tabitha’s magic is thrown into question, and they discover an old enemy is hot on their trail.
With danger around every corner, and time running out, will they be captured by the witch hunters? Or against all the odds, will they win this battle, save the children and get out alive?
Books in the series
1 Sophia
2 Tabitha
Review: In Stone Magic Book One, we were introduced to the first of five sisters, namely Sophia. Now with the second book in the series, we get to know more about Tabitha.
And what a ride it is.
First off, I have to mention the beautiful cover, which is as appealing as Sophia: Stone Magic Book One.
It was always going to be an ambitious feat of storytelling to intricately weave the lives of five sibling witches, but Tabitha: Stone Magic Book Two is certainly a huge step in the right direction.
Despite its breeziness, Sophia tried to introduce too many characters at once. In Tabitha, I believe this has been resolved, there are fewer characters, and this makes the story all the more engaging.
The principal characters are Doctor Reed, Gil, and of course Tabitha. Doctor Reed has more than something of the night about him - could he be the sinister head of the La Divinitas, as mentioned in the first book?
What seems clear is that he is Bad Guy Number One, and he means our Tabitha (who possesses such terrific skills like time travel and dream walking) a lot of harm.
Gil, however, is a good guy who is looking out for her, though he has a questionable past of his own. This is what I mean - the characters are well drawn and clearly defined here. I am still having problems with the character of Fritz, who seems as blank to me as in book one. Perhaps that the author's intention, so that Fritz will play a larger, more significant role as the series powers up.
Another example of the author's clear defining of her main characters is the subtle inclusion of the other sisters, without taking the focus off Tabitha (who I have to say is much cooler than Sophia).
Elissa, for example, appears mainly in a phone conversation with Gil, who is at pains to explain exactly where Tabitha has gone to. It's a funny, clever, subtle scene that makes me want to know more about Elissa. It is really well done.
The key for the story appears to be Tabitha's yearning for growth as a witch whilst not being harmed. She's also feisty, but not in a whiny way - she gives her sisters as good as she gets. There appears to be some needle between Sophia and herself, but a middling respect for Elissa.
Then we will move onto book three - Ophelia. This was a name I used in a book of mine - I totally love this name, and well...we don't know too much about her at this juncture.
One thing is for sure, author J New improves with each book she pens.
I loved this book.
