A review by deinonychusa
The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel

adventurous emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I think this book is a solid continuation to Ayla and Jondalar's adventures. I was enthralled by the first part of the story cause so many new characters and the relationships between them were introduced. At a certain point tho it felt a bit repetitive and boring to have Ayla and Jondalar repeat the same stories that we as the readers already know from the previous books to everyone they meet. Tho I can understand that plot wise it makes sense to have them repeat their adventures to others I feel like the retellings where too long and the author could have described some of the things that happened that were only mentioned instead. I appreciated that there were fewer lovemaking scenes and shorter descriptions of the landscape and the animals. All in all I think it's a solid fifth book in the series, I liked the relationships that Ayla formed with the new people she encountered, and I appreciate that they weren't all positive, but that there seems to be at least one serious enemy in the making. I hope that plotline is developed further in the last book, which I'm really looking forward to reading.