There are women of mystery, and then there’s Satori Stone. Satori is, in all truth, a mystery to herself. When she makes preparations to pack and sell her mother’s belongings following her death, Satori discovers she isn’t who her mother always made her believe she was.  As the days go by, Satori is hit with a new relationship–the relationship she has always wanted–and a realization about her own abilities.  Soon after the revelation of her own identity, Satori finds her life and that of her daughter, Sarah, threatened by a force she does not recognize. With the help of her friend and mentor, Naoma, Satori learns quickly who she truly is and how to control the gift she never knew she possessed.

Made of Stone, by Desiree Palmer, is a truly unique blend of mysticism, fantasy, and romance. Main character, Satori Stone, is thoughtful and introspective and has all the makings of a stand-out figure for a series. Palmer has begun, with this book, what promises to be a string of books in which readers will be afforded the opportunity to watch Satori grow and prosper in her newly discovered skills.

Satori’s reactions are genuine throughout the book. Palmer writes in a real and raw manner of the heart-wrenching moment when Satori discovers the truth about her parentage. In addition, Satori’s emotional crisis on the plane with what could be the man of her dreams reflects every woman’s self talk and contains highly relatable moments of nervousness and apprehension.

The friendship Satori has with Naoma is unique and enviable. The two are as much family as they are friends, and Palmer does a nice job of dragging out Naoma’s connection to mysticism. Even though I had some notions early on about Naoma, I appreciated the slow reveal of Naoma’s truth and, subsequently, Satori’s truth.

As this is the first book in a series, I am looking forward to seeing the full story on Darvey, Satori’s new love interest. He intrigues me. Palmer has successfully created a character who could easily, down the road, be a hero or a villain. As much as Satori wants him to be the answer to her prayers, I wanted to see a hidden truth in his actions and his questions. He stands as an enigma and, for me, really makes the story more fascinating.

The whole aspect of mysticism is captivating. Naoma’s explanation of the power within oneself is eye-opening. Palmer definitely builds a case for the mystics of the world with the character of Naoma. She, aside from Darvey, is my favorite character in the series thus far.

I didn’t like the speed with which Satori is forced to use her abilities. As the first part of the book has a much slower pace leading up to the reveal of powers, I would like to have seen Satori struggle a bit more to get a grasp on her newfound skills. It felt to me as if the pace picked up quickly and some opportunities for character development were missed. All in all, Made of Stone is a fun read with a compelling story line and memorable characters.

Pages: 203 | ASIN: B07HLHHG7N