Book Review: Capstone (Cornerstone #4)
by Misty Provencher
Today is release day for Capstone the final book in the Cornerstone Series by Misty Provencher. I was so thrilled she asked me to read and review an arc before it was released! This series is truly an example of why independent authors are not to be overlooked!
Capstone (Cornerstone #4) by Misty Provencher
Category: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Publication: September 25, 2013; Independent
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon
It’s supposed to stink. That’s what Cusps do.
The Ianua, Nalena and Garrett’s own community, have welcomed them back by charging them as traitors and chucking them into the Hotel Celare’s slammer.
And outside the fortress walls, it’s no better.
The Cusp is at full-boil as the world finally surrenders to The Fury’s lifestyle. Looting, riots, murders—every kind of crime has become the norm—and The Fury want to make it all permanent. They might even succeed, now that they’ve nabbed all thirteen of the Ianua’s Cornerstones.
To preserve mankind, the only chance the Ianua have left is to beat The Fury to the Earth’s Core and somehow trigger the Reset.
Like that’s easy.
There’s no manual on how to activate a Reset. Nobody even knows if there’s an actual Core to the Earth.
Shoot, it could be one big myth; an epic waste of effort.
But the Addo thinks there is one last hope.
Maybe.
So long as someone is willing to sacrifice everything to be mankind’s long shot.
Spoiler-Free Review:
Let’s start by bringing this party back to the beginning, since this is technically the end I say why not. Thanks to Goodreads, I know that I added Cornerstone to my “to-read” shelf in December of 2011 – but it wasn’t until I was enthusiastically recommended to read Cornerstone, by a book loving friend a whole year later, that I actually picked it up and I devoured it! As well as each and every title since! This is why you should take some recommendations extremely seriously! You never know what diamond in the rough you will find even if the book was technically on your radar. You can visit my very simple goodreads review of Cornerstone. I have also reviewed Jamb, the 3rd book in the series as well as an author crush post where I gush over Misty Provencher!
Now onto the fourth and final book in the series, Capstone. It is just as compelling and enthralling as the rest of the series. I thwarted most of my responsibilities just so I could read it as fast as I could! I wanted to consume it and do it quickly, kinda like ripping off a band-aid, because I knew it was going to hurt me on some fundamental level. I even assembled a preparedness kit of chocolate, candy, wine & tissues to read the last 3 chapters.
Now that it’s been a few days since I finished Capstone, and I took some time to process, I feel like I might be able to review it without getting all verklempt. I guess I am the saddest over the fact that this fantastic series is over. That is where all my feels go – to dealing with that I am no longer going to be reading another Cornerstone installment…I hate letting go. But I know Misty is going to continue writing fascinating books, so that gives us all something to look forward to.
Capstone is noting short of exceptional. This ENTIRE series is beyond words for me. I rated it the rare 6 hearts! (If only other sites would let me too!) It wasn’t what I was expecting for the finale, but it was overwhelmingly satisfying too. I do have one complaint – it was too short. I know what an awful thing to say, because I know it’s just me being selfish and wanting so much more and not wanting it to end…ever. But all good things must come to an end, and Misty tugged at my heart and brain just enough to make me smile like a fool all while tearing up.
The book was full of non-stop action, picking up exactly where Jamb left off. Because that Jamb cliffhanger was a humdinger! Actually Misty does cliffhangers right, aka makes me scream at the top of my lungs and then dies for more! I have never had a worse book hangover like I do when I finish a Cornerstone novel. I am so screwed for a good long while. It was wrong for me to say it was too short, when so much happens and it happens so smoothly that you barely realize the book is almost over! Without giving away the plot at all, let me just say HOLY COOKIES to the rescue!
Every character has a point and purpose in this book. It comes full circle, for many. But let’s talk Garrett & Nalena. Garrett is so perfect. He has always taken his time with Nalena, never pressuring her, never giving her too much information to overwhelm her, because he knows just what to say & when. Nalena has grown so much, but is still very much her. They endure so much together and together they make some of the hardest choices. These two are the perfect couple, I mean they love each other so hard, so real & so deeply. However, they also try to put their responsibilities above themselves, the world is going to hell and they are involved in trying to get the pieces back together. As it is with many YA series I get so attached to the characters that I want them to do things, that as an adult reader expects them to do *giggles* and even though this book is still very PG and still very YA, you do get some amazingly sexy scenes between these two. Sometimes the anticipation is steamier than the act! (Thanks Misty! Whew! *wipes brow*)
The Cornerstone series is hard to pin down, it’s fantasy, it’s romance, it’s a coming of age, it’s paranormal, it’s unique. It is magical & it is AMAZING! This series has some of the most distinctive worlds & characters I have ever read. I love it. Be patient like Garrett and you will get all of the feels, all of them and they will get you too.
I hope you give this series a chance too, as I am that enthusiastic reader that is recommending it to everyone I can!
This review makes me want to run out and read this series asap! Very well done