By Emma C. Fox
Owl’s Nest Publishers; 2026
Paperback: $14.99
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Reviewed by Lynn Lamere
It is rare that a sequel is better than the original, but Fox’s second installment, Heart of Stone, in her Serpent and Stone series proves to be just that. Fox includes a plethora of characters to pull her story together, and she skillfully, with lovely prose, fleshes out each character to make them an integral part of the story.
Intrigue begins quickly as the reader meets Lilia who is tagged as different because of her dark hair and green eyes, the opposite of the fair features of her mother and dead father, Stepan. Anya, one of the village girls near Lilia’s age, even threatens, “Stepan Matyevich might have claimed you as his own, but your face proves otherwise. One day we’ll find out your mother’s dark secrets.” Her father had explained any remark about her appearance by sharing his lifelong work in the darkness of the mines and stating with a smile, “Is it any wonder that my daughter has coal-black hair and eyes like malachite?”
However, Lilia has a friend in Dmitri, which is how the story entwines with Fox’s The Carver and the Queen. Some 25 years earlier, Dmitri’s parents, Petr and Lena Nikolaevich, had killed the evil Malachite Queen, Malachinitsa, in magic serpent form by blinding her with fire and stabbing her skull. They had left the sorceress for dead, trapped in a maze of fire.
Lilia’s father’s death is a mystery. Found with his unfired gun by his side, there were two holes in his chest, but no bullets in his body nor any exit wounds through his back. Even more bizarre was that there were emeralds around his body that upon touch, crumbled to dust. Yet, the most peculiar observation was that he died with a smile on his face. It is this mystery that riddles Petr so much that he is drawn to examining the area of Serpent Hill where Stepan died. Dmitri joins his father and upon the climb up the hill, a malachite pendant he had made for Lilia falls from his neck, and as Dmitri reaches out to grab it, his hand is smashed by falling boulders. Dmitri’s hand is irreparable, and his future limited by his deformity.
One of the multiple plots within the story begins when a blind, long-lost aunt visits Lilia and her mother, offering help to make the overdue rental payments to the bailiff. Even more intriguing is how Lilia’s beauty (and perhaps magic) attracts a bevy of suitors, the biggest being Dmitri. However, to avoid any spoilers, the long-lost aunt proves to actually be a very pivotal player in the plot.
The parade of entertaining characters continues with Yuri Chuganove along with his secret fiancé, Ludmila Titovna. Yuri commissions jewelry to bequeath Ludmila at the Harvest Ball and another quest begins to create and deliver the special trinkets. Even the ruler of the underworld, Polov, and the Russian prince weave their way into Lilia and Dmitri’s adventure. Probably the most unique and charming character is a lizard that claims a special bond with Lilia.
The cast of characters in Fox’s Heart of Stone will keep the reader engaged as the twists and turns of the story unfold. Fox’s second in the series once again brings a Russian folktale to a modern audience in a way that proves refreshing and captivating.
Lynn Lamere is a composition instructor at Gulf Coast State College. She grew up in Andalusia, Alabama, and now resides in Miramar Beach, Florida.
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