
It’s that time of the week where I talk about what I’m looking forward to reading! Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights books soon to be released, the ones we’re excited about but haven’t read yet. It’s hosted by Wishful Endings, and was formerly hosted by Breaking the Spine. Y’all can check out all of this week’s Can’t-Wait Wednesday posts here.

Title: A Quest of Blood and Stone
Author: S. Usher Evans
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: March 8, 2022
Publisher: Sun’s Golden Ray Publishing
Synopsis:
A princess in search of a miracle
A wizard apprentice in search of a stone
A knight in search of his place
In six weeks, Princess Ayla will assume the throne left vacant by her murdered father. But without the magical Pennlan stone, stolen by her evil fae stepmother, Ayla fears her reign may be short-lived.
Cade, her best friend and wizard apprentice, has been tasked to retrieve the stone from the dangerous fae realm. Completing this quest will be the last step toward becoming a fully-fledged wizard—and may just win the heart of his beloved princess. But Cade’s not going alone. Ward, a knight eager to prove himself, has been tapped to escort him – and has his eye on the princess as well.
But as their journey takes them farther from home, a mysterious fae girl begins to follow them, swearing their quest is a lie and there’s more to the king’s death then they’ve been told. And most importantly: she knows exactly where to find the stone.
Full of twists and turns, magical monsters, and a slow burn mystery, A Quest of Blood and Stone is sure to delight all young adult readers of epic fantasy fiction.
My thoughts:
In the interest of full disclosure, I have a shelf dedicated to the works of S. Usher Evans. To say I’m a fan of her work might be an understatement. So I’m already biased in favor of any new book she writes before I read the first word. And this is how I feel about this one:

Thankfully, it releases on March 8, so that’s not long to wait!
Look at that cover! Is it not stunning?! And it’s more than just a pretty face for your shelf. This is a bang-up-good YA fantasy read. (I know this, because I had the opportunity to proofread it.) I’ll be getting myself a hard copy to go with my collection. Y’all can preorder from Amazon (affiliate link) or directly from the publisher here (support your indie authors!).
I hope you enjoy it when you get a chance to read it!
I know I will! S. Usher Evans hasn’t written a book yet that I haven’t liked. And all because my husband picked up three of her books at Geekonomicon in 2015 (I think?) for my Christmas gift that year.