THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF STONES continues the stories of the
Daughters of La Lune begun in last year's THE WITCH
OF PAINTED SORROWS. This follow-up tale stars Sandrine's
daughter, Opaline Duplessy, a jeweler with an ability to
communicate messages from dead soldiers to those left
behind through the talismans she creates. It's 1918 in
Paris, a city known for its romance turned into a city of
mourning. Opaline thinks of her ability as a curse even if
it brings closure to many, and she's hesitant to explore it
further.
Something different happens when Opaline creates mourning
jewelry for the mother of Jean Luc, a journalist who died
at the front. She starts hearing messages directed to her.
Curious, Opaline explores Jean Luc's life and continues to
communicate with him, developing a strong bond. Is it
possible to fall in love with a ghost? Apparently the
daughters of La Lune have only one true love...
La Fantasie Russie where Opaline works is run by Pavel
Orloff, who left Russia before the Bolsheviks took over, but
never lost the love for his home country. The story
intertwines Pavel and Opaline and Paris and Russia. It
might sound a little outrageous, but for the most part, it
works.
M.J. Rose brings to life the pain of war-torn Paris as well
as she evoked the romanticism of 1890s Paris in PAINTED
SORROWS. Personally, I liked this book better: whether it's
my preference for Opaline over Sandrine or a sentiment for
trying to find the beauty in ruin, I'm not sure. Rose's
lyrical prose brings her characters to life, Jean Luc
almost more than the living characters which still amazes.
For fans of historical fiction with gothic and romantic
influences, give Rose's Daughters of La Lune a try. While
this book can be read as a stand-alone novel, I'm simply
incapable of reading books out of order and think a series
is best appreciated when read from the beginning. I look
forward to the final book in the trilogy.
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).
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