Stone Cold Lover by Christine Warren

 A prominent art restorer, Felicity is more than game to help a friend track down an obscure statue in Montreal. But when "Fil" finds it, she’s taken by surprise at how drawn she is to this statue. Attracted to it in a way a girl shouldn’t lust for a stone gargoyle, she revists it at night, longing to feel its embrace. Little does Fil know, her desire for this stone cold beast is about to heat up a notch.

Locked in stone for centuries, Spar has slept, waiting for when a human would need him. When he is awoken, Spar is taken aback to find that a human female needs his help. A very sexy woman who’s about to be the victim of a cultist attack. Saving and leaving her should be no problem. But as more questions arise, Spar knows that he cannot rest until Fil is safe in his arms.

I have to say that as far as paranormal romance goes I’m surprised there’s not more gargoyle books out there!  This series has been awesome so far, and the gargoyle, I think, makes the perfect paranormal romance hero.

Felicity, or Fil, has been called in to investigate a statue by a friend that was hoped to be one of the guardians.  Upon seeing the statue for the first time, she feels strangely drawn to it.  She can’t stop thinking about it, so she returns one night to have a closer look.  This decision ends up completely changing her life, as she is thrust into the world of magic that she didn’t know was possible.  She also finds a deep connection to her gargoyle guardian and a happiness she didn’t know was possible in his arms.  But, can Spar save Fil from the demon on the loose while at the same time attempting to fulfill his oath to protect humanity from evil?

The absolute best part of this book is Fil.  She is HILARIOUS. She’s so snarky, I just love female characters with gumption that aren’t afraid to voice their opinions or show their awkward qualities. Spar is definitely the stoic man in this team, while Fil is the comic relief.  I found their dialogue fun and interesting, and the chemistry between them also intriguing.  I mean, Spar’s a gargoyle.  He “claims” Fil as his and that is incredibly hot! 

This author really has endeared herself to me because she manages to write books that are not only suspenseful and interesting, but fun to read too.  Not to mention, sexy!  The world building is also excellent in this book, as she manages to seamlessly intertwine the real world with the gargoyle/demon world of good and evil.  I love it when PNR plots are grounded in realism, I think it just makes them that much more fun to read and get into.  She did such a great job of that here.

Overall, I LOVED this book.  Sexy, fun, great dialogue and characters with a plot that is both steamy and interesting.  Great addition to the series and I just can’t wait to read more! 5 stars!

Yes! I have found another author who can write a good paranormal romance with a gargoyle as the hero. Actually, Ms. Warren has written a great gargoyle romance, so I am beside myself with glee. To top it off, she gives readers a LOT of action as Felicity and Spar work together to fight the Darkness and even more action as their attraction to one another is undeniable. And she does it in a full-length novel.

Felicity is a trip. Her inner musings kept me chuckling regularly; even when the situation was intense and frightening, she never failed to make me laugh. She has one of those “larger-than-life” personalities and she needs it to deal with Spar. When Spar wakes up from his gargoyle sleep, Felicity’s assumption that she has lost her mind is just one of the many sources of amusement she provides … that is, after they manage to not die in the explosion. Fortunately for Spar, Felicity has a bit of magic so she is able to accept his existence faster than the average human would. When they realize that she was marked for one of the seven, Spar vows to protect her and ultimately she accepts his protection. Their close quarters ramp up the pull they have for one another and this makes for some rather enjoyable reading when nature takes over; it definitely gives new meaning to the phrase “hard as a rock.”

Stone Cold Lover is the second book in the Gargoyles series and it can easily be read as a stand-alone without feeling lost in the story, at least I never felt lost. That said, I plan to go back and read book one, Heart of Stone, as I would love the backstory on Kees and Ella’s meeting. Ms. Warren has created an interesting world of gargoyles and magic with a great cast of characters. So if you’re a gargoyle fan and you’re looking for an action-packed paranormal romance, give Stone Cold Lover a try. This may be my first Christine Warren book, but it won’t be my last as I look forward to reading more of this series. .

I was very torn on how to rate this book.  It sounded so interesting from the blurb but I just could not connect to the characters. The story was interesting and had action right from the beginning which is usually enough to hook me but for some reason this time it did not.

 I have been reading a lot of books written in the first person and this one was not so this may have contributed to why I just did not feel as connected to the main characters.  While I was interested in the story and the overall outcome I was not able to sink into the world and become the characters, which is what I really look for in a book. Because of this I was only able to give this story a 3 star rating.  Overall the story was good and I will be interested to see if any more books are written in this series.

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