BOOKS | Review: The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison

Name: The Grief of Stones (The Cemeteries of Amalo series #2, The Chronicles of Osreth series #3)

Author: Katherine Addison

Publisher: Solaris

Date published: July 2022

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, mystery, steampunk

Pages: 330

Rating: 5/5

Celehar’s life as the Witness for the Dead of Amalo grows less isolated as his circle of friends grows larger. He has been given an apprentice to teach, and he has stumbled over a scandal of the city - the foundling girls. Orphans with no family to claim them and no funds to buy an apprenticeship. Foundling boys go to the Prelacies; foundling girls are sold into service, or worse.

At once touching and shattering, Celehar’s witnessing for one of these girls will lead him into the depths of his own losses. The love of his friends will lead him out again.

- From Goodreads.

Thara was once again a great choice for narrator in this book, he is a very sympathetic character and you understand his point of view as well as his friends', and he is great at describing what is happening around him. He has good judgement and a wonderful heart.

It was lovely to see his friendships grow with people like Anora and to see him find new friendships with people like his apprentice and to see him admit to actually wanting to stay in Amalo. When we first met him in The Goblin Emperor he was such a lost and lonely character, so sad and heartbroken, and now he's starting to find his place. He's still got a lot to struggle with and in this book he faces more events that brought him heartbreak, but he definitely doesn't have to face it alone anymore.

My favourite relationship in the book is definitely his with Iana, how much the two of them clearly care about each other, how careful they are about respecting each other but how there also always seems the possibility of something more, it's so sweet and tender.

The book was also good at dealing with multiple mysteries and all of them linking together to create a satisfying ending and keep up an exciting pace that made you want to keep reading. I have found this is true throughout all of the books in the world of The Goblin Emperor and I think it shows that Katherine Addison is a very skilled writer, and I look forward to any further books that build on this world and show us more of it.