Stone Kissed

Stone Kissed by Keri Stevens

When Delia Forrest talks to statues, they talk back. She is, after all, the last of the Steward witches.

After an arsonist torches her ancestral home with her estranged father still inside, Delia is forced to sell the estate to pay his medical bills. Her childhood crush, Grant Wolverton, makes a handsome offer for Steward House, vowing to return it to its former glory. Delia agrees, as long as he'll allow her to oversee the restoration.

Working so closely with Grant, Delia finds it difficult to hide her unique talent—especially when their growing passion fuels her abilities.

But someone else lusts after both her man and the raw power contained in the Steward land. Soon Delia finds herself fighting not just for Grant's love, but for both their lives...

 

The premise of the book was great but I unfortunately found the romance in this book to be slightly unbelievable, at least on Grant's side. Perhaps unbelievable is the wrong word. A better description would be distant, in that I wasn't really sucked into it. Grant just was too calm and calculating about the whole thing, and it made it very hard to believe that he actually loved Delia. Love is something that is supposed to be all consuming, not something you weight the pros and cons of. I admired Delia's strength and restraint in keeping her heart hidden from him in order to stay an individual and not just another possession in his collection. She fell almost immediately head over heels for him, and while he offered everything she could have dreamed of, she stands strong. Having his heart means more than anything else possibly could, and she wouldn't accept anything less than his love.

Putting the almost one sided relationship aside, I enjoyed the book, especially how well fleshed out the characters and world were. The stone statues were probably the best aspect of the book as they added large amounts of comic relief. The fantasy aspect adds a nice touch to book without detracting from the main theme of romance between Delia and Grant. The book is definitely worth reading just for Delia's side, as she is a very strong and interesting character. I also found the "villain" to be both realistic and a very believable threat. I look forward to reading more from this author as this was a good new entry in to the paranormal romance genre. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a quick, lighter read, with a strong female lead.

(Received from Netgalley)

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Stone Kissed

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