Secrets Set in Stone by James Haddell, published by Emira Press
Updated: Dec 11, 2022
When James contacted me and asked if I would like to be on the blog tour for the third book in the Tales of Truth and Treasures series, I was unbelievably excited. I have been waiting for the third book to come out ever since I finished the last page of book two.
If you haven't read the first two books in the series, you must. However if you are desperate to just jump into 'Secrets Set in Stone' then worry not. James does a fabulous job in the first chapter of setting the scene and reminding us of all the perilous adventures that Tia, Pisco and Meghan had in the first two books.
I have said before, when writing about James' books that I would love to live in Stormhaven, where Tia and her family live and this is because James' vivid descriptions bring everything to life. I also relish his books, because James' love of history means that his adventures are steeped in historical knowledge and this lends itself wonderfully well to classroom activities.
My one concern about the third book though was that the first two were so good and I didn't know whether the third one could live up to this. Was there anyway that James could develop the mystery any further? How could there be more adventure? Could he still manage to sprinkle magic into the pages of this book? I was worried.
However, I had no need to be as I was hooked as soon as I read these words:
'They didn’t know where to look for the hallows, or how on earth they could ever gather them all, given that one of them was Arthur’s presumably long-dead wife.'
I desperately want to tell you what happened and what I thought of it all but I have been asked to write without spoilers. So instead I will say there were moments I laughed out loud, others where I was on the edge of my seat and still more where I wasn't sure how Tia and her faithful friends would overcome the obstacles in front of them. No spoilers so I won't tell you if they did or not.
Well done James, a fabulous third book in the series. Now, will you please hurry up and write the fourth because I need to know what is going to happen next!
Secrets Set In Stone (Tales of Truth and Treasure) is written by James Haddell and is published by Emira Press. You can buy the rest of the series and find excellent resources to accompany the books here.
The Tiny Voices Talks book is out now - order it here and use the code ITL25 https://www.independentthinkingpress.com/books/teachingskills/tiny-voices-talk/
