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I read this several months ago and the memory of it has stayed with me, even though I'm late adding my review.
This book is not for the faint-hearted. The author labels this as part of a "Dark Victoriana" collection and dark is definitely the right word. The book is unrelenting - delivering an ominous and claustrophobic feel that never lets up from beginning to end. I'm sure that this will make some people uncomfortable, but the book really is a bleak masterpiece exploring the cracks that hide beneath the surface inside complex relationships. Although not gory, the story shows that horror comes in all forms.
The description of people and places is very minimal, something I typically prefer to long overblown passages, though in this instance I felt a little more might have helped. I also felt that a few "lighter" moments would have helped to break up the oppressive feel.
Not an easy read, but definitely worthwhile.

I found this book to be a very mixed attempt. The main character was okay, not compelling, but reasonable enough to feel some sympathy for him. The alien seemed utterly ridiculous and I felt that the "dialog" between the two was many times nothing more than long piles of exposition tricked out in dubious formatting.
I also felt that many times the author used language designed to try and show how clever he is and forced. Like the repeated use of words such as "coruscating.". There were also several places where there seemed to be a lot of repetition, as though the book hadn't been edited very well.
All that said, I'd have probably been more inclined towards rating this as 4 stars if it wasn't for the ridiculous "end" right in the middle of the action. It feels like the writer just got tired at that point and quit. Novels that do this to me only display the writer's incompetence or blatant attempt to make the reader read the next in the series. There was a point near the end where the story could have been wrapped up fairly neatly, with enough resolution to make it satisfying and still leave an opening for a sequel, but the author chose deliberately not to do that. Books like this lose me completely and I shall not be reading further.

I'm more of a science fiction reader than fantasy, but this book caught my attention immediately down to the wonderful cover artwork.

Fantasy books tend to be one of two things to my mind--epic or forgettable and I'm pleased to say that Crown Of Stones falls firmly into the former of these two. The author has taken the old ideas of a magical world and given them a healthy modern twist that stands far beyond the average.

Character-wise the author draws out the (literally) painful desire and reluctance of the main protagonist and his obsessive yet fearful need to use his magic skills. Yet even in his sometimes dark lust for magic, he is always cognizant of the need to protect others around him from its often deadly powers.

I did find the use of modern strong language a little odd and would probably have felt more comfortable if the author has used old world style (or invented) profanity, but this is just a minor quibble and entirely personal taste.

A sequel is more than well-deserved.

This book is very much aimed at a YA audience. I'm not part of that audience and it's probably fair to say I was never what is considered a "young adult" even when I was :-) Not only that, but my background is from England, rather than North America and cultural differences abound. Because of this, I found the very first part of the book a little slow and hard to identify with the characters at this point. That's not a fault of the writing, just my own personal tastes and background.

What happens then is nothing short of remarkable and makes me so glad that I persevered. Once you get to the "meat" of the story you are dragged in to a helter-skelter ride that takes you into realms that are at once familiar, but also utterly surprising. It's more than fair to say that the opening in no way prepares you for what is about to come!

There is plenty of mystery in here and some adult themes that will certainly get you thinking. The characters are very well delineated and appealing once they start to move through the main part of the story.

The author doesn't pull any punches, but is also very sensitive to the audience, so there are only limited descriptions of certain aspects of the story. This isn't a criticism but rather a recognition of the talent of Ms. McMullen in handling some difficult topics in a way that other authors would simply avoid or gloss over with a lot of hand-waving. Here the author tackles the issues, but limits the detail in some areas in respect of her audience. Personally I think this is commendable, not just for a YA audience but also in general terms in a world where sometimes the "nasty " stuff is glorified for the sake of supposed "shock value" alone.

Definitely a five star read and heartily recommended to anyone, especially lovers of YA fiction.

First a disclaimer. I am not really a "zombie" fan. I thought the older Romero movies were okay for a laugh but the recent explosion of yet-another-zonie-tale (YAZT (tm) ) has gone on far too long in my opinion.
So my approach on reading "Going Green" was somewhat jaded. But boy was I surprised!
It;s not that that this book adds much to the Zombie mythos, but the sheer delight in how the author spins the tale. Some wickedly funny humor and scalpel-precise cultural observations will bring a smile and often outright belly laughs. No apologies here. If you like your zombies green and your humor black you'll love this and I predict that Jaden Winslow will be the next internet Big Thing...
If you love zombies you'll love this. If you hate zombies, you'll love this. If you have a sense of humor, you''ll love this. If you don't... ahhh who cares... the zombies sure won't.

If I had any (very) minor quibble with "going Green" It would be the length of it. It's a little short (which makes it perfect for a quick casual read) and I'd like to see more, if only to enjoy more of the author's delicious wit. Perhaps a future extended version might be in the cards - I very much hope so! As it stands it's also a perfect introduction for those new to the genre.