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The Queen's Opal: A Young Adult Epic Fantasy Adventure (Stone Bearers Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Jacque Stevens (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 65 ratings
He’s inherited powerful magic and a lethal curse. Can he save his people before time runs out?

Elves never use magic or leave the forest.

They aren’t supposed to get sick either, but Drynn’s mother just died from a mysterious illness. When the symbol of the curse—a green stone called the Queen’s Opal—passes to Drynn, his impulsive and overprotective brother drags him out of the forest to search for a cure.

And the oft-diseased humans seem the most likely place to start.

But the opal isn’t all that it seems. Once outside the forest, it shows Drynn visions of a time when the humans and elves lived in peace. Much has changed in the human lands since then. It’s a darker world, ruled by power-hungry wizards who covet any kind of magic. Magic like the opal. Magic like the natural energy the wizards can see inside the elves.

More than healing one illness, Drynn’s visions call for him to restore the world’s former peace, but if the wrong wizard learns about the elves’ innate gifts, even the forest will no longer be safe.

Family bonds will be tested. Friends will become foes. With two kingdoms spiraling into chaos, can a shy bookworm conquer his fears to bring peace to the realm?

The Queen’s Opal is the first book in a new YA high fantasy series set in the same magical and exotic world as The Stone Bearers (2016). If you like unique magical worlds, mythical creatures, and destined heroes, then you’ll love this coming-of-age adventure.

Buy Queen’s Opal to stop a tragic destiny today!

Clean Read. Fantasy violence and a few darker themes. Recommended for young adults and teens twelve and up.

Other Books by Jacque Stevens:

Stone Bearers:
0. The Stone Bearers (2016)
0.5. The Frog’s Princess (2016)
1. The Queen’s Opal (2017)
2. The Queen’s Gift (2018)
3. The Queen’s Heir (2018)
4. The Queen’s Bane (2019)
5. The Queen’s Rite (2019)

Please Note: The Queen’s Opal is Book One. The Stone Bearers is a standalone novel that can be read before or after the full series.

The short story, The Frog’s Princess, can also be read in any order. Find it in The Fantastic Worlds Anthology (2016) or have a free digital copy delivered to you after signing up for my email list at sjacquebooks.com. Those on my email list will receive monthly emails with updates on deals, review opportunities for new releases, and other exclusive content.

HighTower Fairytales:
Winter Falls: A Tale of the Snow Queen (2017)
Cry Wolf: A Tale of Beauty and the Beast (2020)
Depths: A Tale of the Little Mermaid (2020)
Letters by Cinderlight: A Tale of Cinderella (2021)
Robin's Hood: A Tale of Sherwood Forest (2021)
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  1. Reading age
    12 - 18 years
  2. Book 1 of 5
    Stone Bearers
  3. Print length
    406 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    7 - 12
  6. Publication date
    December 5, 2017
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Prologue
Falberain was calling.
The pull of her ancestral home was so strong, Saylee could see its glittering mist surrounding her. The fairy realm of Falberain seemed just as her parents had described--a place so full of magic one could see it, breathe it in. A place where illness and death were so foreign that when her parents entered the human world and her father cut his finger, he exclaimed that he was "leaking," and her mother called the blood "pretty."
Saylee laughed at the thought. Her own pretty, gorgeous blood stained the white rocks under her. Hilarious.
But Alester wasn't laughing. The human wizard pressed the green stone into her hand again, shaking her arm in a desperate attempt to rouse her from her fevered dreams. His violet eyes hovered over her like fresh berries in spring. They were gorgeous, too. Her hand brushed his cheek, feeling the stubble of his shaven face. A human face. Oh, how Marryll hated it. Did that make her love it more? She had always been such a spiteful little thing.
Another giggle bubbled from her throat, coating her tongue with the tang of blood.
That made Alester more upset. "Saylee, you have to heal yourself."
"Keet!" The phoenix, currently the size of a sparrow, squawked his agreement beside them.
Saylee shook her head. She couldn't heal herself, not here. Her brother had stabbed her after luring them into one of the only places where her magic wouldn't work. Besides, her magic didn't heal, it restored things to a former existence--what would that do to the life growing within her?
The baby. Her focus sharpened at the thought. Mouikki, the seer, had promised her a strong son, but Saylee hadn't felt the baby stir since the sword had pierced her through. Darkness and nonsense visions clouded her recent memory, detaching her from the pain.
What if he . . . ?
Her breath hitched. The chill of the wind and frozen ground swept through her veins. "Where is he?"
"Who?" Alester glanced behind him before understanding dawned in his eyes. "The baby? He's fine." The wizard shifted so she could see the answer for herself. "Mouikki has him. We brought you both outside. You can heal yourself now."
"Oh." Saylee settled back on the rock, watching the seer cradle her son a few yards away. The blue sky surrounding them and the green stone glowing in her hand confirmed Alester's words, but she still didn't try to heal herself. "It won't do any good. I failed. I can't kill my brother. Marryll will never let me near him again." The demons he had summoned would destroy everything.
The wind moaned and broke against the rocks. Alester hesitated long enough to confirm her words. "We'll worry about that later. Right now--"
"Right now, we need to protect our people." They couldn't waste time coming up with another plan. She looked at Alester through her amber hair, long curls matted with blood and sweat. "Will you do it?"
Alester pulled away. His cloak fell around him, blocking him off like a wall.
The phoenix also shook his head, but arguing with the bird would be useless. Saylee focused solely on her human companion. "Alester, even if I wanted to heal myself, I'm not sure Atriea would let me." Or rather, Saylee couldn't bring herself to ask after all she had done to fail her goddess. Even Garrad, Alester's cousin and the current leader of the Bearer Council, had seen things better than she. He had told her that Marryll could no longer be reasoned with. Just like she saw the past and Mouikki saw the future, Garrad had the irritating habit of being right about these kinds of things. "We must do this before my death means nothing," she said. "Alester?"
He nodded without looking at her.
Saylee turned her head. "Mouikki?"
"Right here." The dark-skinned islander stepped up the rocks with the swaddled baby in his arms. A sleeping sea snake draped his shoulders and the bracer fastened to his left forearm holding a red stone marked him as the Bearer of Destiny. Bearers showed few signs of aging--his hair had thinned, but the rest of him was the same as the day she met him in the temple to their gods so many years ago. "The baby is fine and the drow have retreated. For now."
Saylee tried not to look at the child. Then she might lose her nerve entirely. Others would have to raise her son, perhaps be called mother in her place. She only needed to know one thing.
"Will it last long enough? Long enough for our people to unite and face him when I could not?" The words caught in a sharp tremor of pain, but there was no reason to explain more.
They had discussed the spell already, a final resort if their other efforts to contain the threat failed.
And failed, they had.
Mouikki's brown eyes flashed red to match the stone in his bracer, and he dropped his head with a shudder. Whatever he saw in the future, it wasn't all pleasant. But he nodded. "Yes. If you do this, the magic will be held by your bloodline until your heir leaves the forest, ready to face him again."
That was a mercy, then. One last chance for redemption. "I'm ready."
And, strangely, she was. Her parents had longed to leave the peace of the fairy realm, have a grand adventure. That decision--reckless and naïve--brought them more pain than they could have possibly imagined, but also more joy. Saylee also enjoyed much of the human world in which she had been born, but as the mist of Falberain drew nearer, she felt almost excited.
Who wouldn't want to go to a place of fairies where things were called into being by a simple thought? A place where her father, the first of her family to die, was already waiting? And where she wouldn't have to deal with the blood and death around her, confident she had done her part to bring it to an end.
Really, her coming fate seemed an easier choice than others she had borne.
Falberain was calling.
Saylee reached for Alester, ready to embrace it all.

About the Author

Jacque Stevens wrote herfirst novel as a stress relief activity during nursing school. Now as afulltime nurse working in mental and developmental health, she continues to write stories filled with elves, fairies, and all things awesome.She lives in Utah so yes, she does have a huge extended family andoccasionally eats green jello, but she does not yet own a minivan.

New friends, enemies, and other visitors from cyberspace can reach Jacque at sjacquebooks@gmail.com and sjacquebooks.com. Sign up for the newsletter to get a free short story and other extras.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B075FBK2KG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ sjacquebooks (December 5, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 5, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6.8 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 406 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1979856567
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 65 ratings

About the author

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Jacque Stevens

Jacque Stevens

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Jacque Stevens wrote her first novel as a stress relief activity during nursing school. Now, as a USA-Today Bestselling Author, she has taken a step back from nursing so she can spend all her time writing stories filled with elves, fairies, and all things awesome. She also is a freelance editor.

Jacque lives in Arizona where she can be found walking the streets with a dark and handsome young man who loves everything about her. He’s a shiba inu mix.

New friends, enemies, and wandering visitors from cyberspace can contact Jacque here: sjacquebooks.com or sjacquebooks(at)gmail.com.

Sign up for the newsletter to get a free short story and other extras.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
65 global ratings

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Enchanting!
5 out of 5 stars
Enchanting!
This is an entirely satisfying and entertaining fantasy. Elvin brothers depart the deep forest to find healing within the human world. The elder, Tavyn, is brash and skilled with his bow and fighting, the younger, Drynn, is shy and somewhat of a bookworm and unable to defend himself. Elves have avoided the human world for hundreds of years, the changes in the human world bring dangerous challenges to the elves and their guide. The brothers get separated and Drynn is very close to being destroyed by the wizards in the human land who'd want to take his magic, magic that he does not know is within him.The supporting characters are incredibly interesting, the guide, the human friend, Kol, among others. I loved how the author created a separate and riveting story around Kol, so interesting all by itself. Kol struggles to survive after his mother is killed. He has great powers he hides from those who work with him and his boss. People showing powers are forced to move to the Tower for indoctrination and training by the wizards, called robes. Kol hates the robes and has no intention of letting them capitalize on his magic. When Kol meets Drynn it takes this story to such an exciting story arch. This book is one that left me with a strong yearning to discover what happens next, especially with some intriguing reveals given to us right at the end. I really loved this book and its amazing cast of characters. The narration was exceptional and carried me through the brief parts that were slow in the beginning. A magical and adventurous story with a lively pace the young and old can enjoy. No sex or swear words, some violence, grievous and dark but not graphic.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Laurie
    5.0 out of 5 stars At last!!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I been hearing about this book for many years and was astounded when I at last got to read it! Wow. The characters are amazing and the story line is not like anything I have read before. Based on this book the whole series is going to be great to read!
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  • Manie Kilian
    4.0 out of 5 stars Losing innocense
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Just mentioning the word "elves" tend to hook me on the spot. The Queens Opal proved it once again.
    A coming of age fantasy, this book will draw you in and carry you along as two young princelings struggle to survive the brutality of the human world. It is also about their losing their innocense as the harsh realities of human contact impact.
    And perhaps therein also lies a problem for me as physical brutality really seems to be the ruling principle in a book clearly aimed at the youth market. Yet violence is nowhere described in graphical detail, but you sure get the idea of being put through a wringer.
    The plot is simple in some aspects, but captivating for all that. And you sure feel disappointed when it reaches a satisfactorily conclusion so soon. Definitely a series to follow.
    Enjoy.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stone Bearer
    Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Great story. It is very well written. Can not what to read what happens next. Really enjoy the characters. The dragonette is my favorute.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer,Yuki
    4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent fantasy.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This follows the adventures of a shy, studious, young, self-depricating elf prince named Drynn and his rash, impulsive and impetuous older brother, Travin.. Their innocence and naiveté in leaving the shelter and seclusion of the woods into the realm of the violent Humans is a great adventure. I enjoyed their learning and developing new skills. I also loved their maturing self confidence. I highly recommend this book to young adults.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Cheshire Phoenix
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is a gem
    Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2018
    Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this in exchange for a fair and honest review. It's going to be a long one, so buckle in and keep your hands and legs inside the ride at all times. For the attention-challenged, the TL;DR is: get this book. It's *really* good.

    I used to spend hours roaming the depths of the TV Tropes website (note: if you go to check out TV Tropes, you will more than likely be there for a *long* time), and there was one meta-trope that was really important to keep in mind. Not BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy), Load Bearing Bosses, or Calls to Adventure, or any of the other tropes that the website claims are "legendary".

    No. The trope that's most important to keep in mind is this: Tropes Are Tools. I won't link the trope itself, because that's something of a faux pas (linking to TVTropes is a trope in and of itself, because it leads you down a Wiki Walk that lasts for hours and will ruin your life), but here is the relevant quote that I had in mind while reading The Queen's Opal: "Tropes are just tools. Writers understand tropes and use them to control audience expectations either by using them straight or by subverting them, to convey things to the audience quickly without saying them."

    The Queen's Opal isn't a groundbreaking book. It doesn't do anything new, or particularly fresh, and the only twist on the standard epic fantasy formula is reversed shortly after it's introduced. Elves are magical, humans are greedy, dwarves are, well, dwarves. There is no monster in the closet, there is no big bad evil guy (there are a few antagonists, but none that I would say qualifies as a BBEG), there is no big world spanning events going on.

    So why do I say this is epic?

    Simple: because it is. There is a problem, and the heroes set out to resolve the problem. Echoing much of YA Epic Fantasy, the adults (although "adults" is a stretch since the protagonists are in their 80s and 60s, respectively, but "elves") are useless, and the biggest problem is that nobody bothered telling the relevant people any relevant or necessary information. It could have saved a lot of time and effort in the end, but then this wouldn't be a book. Sort of how LotR wouldn't be a trilogy if Gandalf had just called the eagles to fly Frodo over the volcano in Mordor and dropped the ring into the caldera - they'd have been home in time for dinner!

    But it wouldn't have been a book, or a trilogy, or really much of a bedtime story at all, for that matter.

    The same sort of situation is seen here. Had the elves simply prepared the protagonists and told them what to expect, they wouldn't have suffered. They wouldn't have been forced to grow, but they wouldn't have suffered. At times while I was reading, I found myself frustrated and facepalming, thinking to myself "why would they be so stupid? Why are they so bloody naive? Why, why, why...?"

    The answer is in the journey. Both of the protagonists grow immensely as people from page one to page ... well, I read it on a Kindle, so page whenever. The brash and impulsive swordsman is forced to become a healer. The shy and retiring bookworm is forced to confront the world. The mouthy sarcastic happy-go-lucky thief is forced to take down his walls. And all of this is written in a way that I, as an adult, can enjoy, and I can see a younger audience enjoying it as well. Because as dark as the dark parts are - and it does get pretty dark at times - there is a thread of humanity running through, almost like a voice saying "shhh. This is necessary, but this, too, shall pass."

    And the dark bits do indeed pass. It doesn't quite ever reach a level that I would call lighthearted or happy, because it deals a lot with the darker sides of human nature - greed, ambition, hunger for power, and selfishness - but for some weird reason I still found it to be a pretty hopeful book overall. Much like Pandora's Box, The Queen's Opal unleashed all manner of horrors, but it also brought forth hope.

    On the downside, nothing in it is really surprising to a genre savvy reader. It doesn't break any molds or push any boundaries, and the plot is fairly predictable. In fact, I bet I can predict the plot of book two already, and the climax to come in book three. That does make the dramatic tension meaningless, but again: Tropes are Tools, and Ms. Stevens has used all of them in the manner in which they were meant to be used.

    Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another book to buy.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Sara
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Magical Elven Tale
    Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2021
    This review is for the audiobook version of The Queen's Opal. I want to mention first that John Pirhalla does a fabulous job with all the voices and I could listen to him read all day. Which is basically what I did when I was listening to this book.

    The story is fantastic. The elven queen dies of sickness, and of course, that isn't supposed to happen because only humans die that way, but she dies. The thing is, she isn't the first to die of this mysterious sickness, although the two princes, Drynn and his brother Tayvin, weren't supposed to find that out. Together, they set off on a quest to learn healing from the humans. But the humans aren't a fan of elves and the brothers are soon separated. But who can be trusted in this new land they find themselves in?

    I loved the characters in this story. They were so interesting and unique. They all had agendas, some darker and more mysterious than others, but it was fun to watch them play out. The story also felt like something entirely new, which caught me by surprise. I laughed aloud on several occasions, and I found myself rooting for many of the characters, wanting them to be good, wanting them to learn from their mistakes, wanting them to not lose their innocence and trust in others. And for the most part, I got those wishes.

    And there are magical creatures too! But I won't spoil what kind.

    I received a free audiobook from the author and have reviewed it willingly.
    One person found this helpful
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