Tamora Pierce’s latest book Melting Stones, which just recently came out in hardcover, is a first-person account by the stone mage Evvy previously introduced in Street Magic. Evvy and Rosethorn traven to the Battle Islands, along with Dedicate Myrrhtide and the talking rock (a.k.a “Heart of a Mountain”) Luvo, to investigate occurances of dying plants and tainted water sources.

When Rosethorn and Myrrhtide fail to find the cause of the problems, Evvy finds out what’s going on: The mountain on the island is about to undergo a volcanic eruption. As you read the book, there are well-laid clues that point to it, such as the abundance of volcanic rocks on the island.

Melting Stones has interesting and lifelike characters, as usual for Tamora Pierce, though the reading level seems a little lower than her past few books’.

Though the book is available in hardcover now, don’t miss the audiobook, which was out for a full year before the print edition. It’s a great full-cast performance.