hgranger's review against another edition
3.0
Urban fantasy with a clever twist and a protagonist that doesn’t make you want to cry from frustration. Well done. Margrit is brave, stubborn, and strong. She uses her wits well and is just bull-headed enough to keep her from being a Mary Sue character. The other players are interesting and multi-faceted and the plot twist was clever. There are a few inconsistencies, such as the reveal of Grace suddenly thrown in by name without any realizations by the characters, as well as why Alban would have a cell phone when he doesn’t have interactions with humans. (And how he gets library books - are NYC libraries open at night?) But all in all, well done.
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up to 4.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book as the Negotiator trilogy isn't one that I hear mentioned very often in my book reading circles in comparison to her more popular Walker Papers series. So I was a bit nervous about starting it; wondering if the reason there was no buzz was simply because it wasn't very good. But I have to say that while the book didn't blow my mind, I definitely did enjoy it for the most part. I particularly enjoyed the audiobook narration (so that may have earned it an extra half star) and I do plan to continue the trilogy.
However, it's not without few problems. Firstly, it starts out with one of our main characters, Alban, stalking our heroine through Central Park. Something he has done for the last three years! Immediately this made all sorts of warning bells go off in my head. But then I thought, hang on a tick, this is C. E. Murphy we're talking about, and it seemed unlikely from what I've read of her other work that she would go for anything as insipid as insta-love with some weird stalker dude. So I kept reading, and yes, Alban has been keeping a protective eye on our heroine, Margarit Knight, because she has a habit of being needlessly reckless—running through Central Park alone late at night. So it's done with the noblest of intentions, and I quickly forgave him his stalker-like tendencies. In fact, Alban ended up being my favourite character and the highlight of the whole thing.
It was quite a long book and somewhat slow-moving at times, without ever becoming completely uneventful. But there are long stretches in-between those events and scenes that I felt were unnecessarily long and, dare I say it, dull. Mostly, it was the times when we were left alone with just Margarit narrating for us with no Alban or any other interesting characters to play off, because unfortunately, out of the whole cast of characters, Margarit, the protagonist, was my least favourite. Not that I developed any kind of profound dislike for her or anything, but she was just very ordinary; 100% average Homosapien (and a lawyer to boot) and I could never fully accept how she managed to get herself so quickly enmeshed in the supernatural world and how no one just dealt with the problem of her discovery by snapping her like a twig. I realise she has a way of getting around people using her lawyerly skills, (this is where the negotiator bit comes in) but I'm just not sure I ever fully bought that idea. It seemed just a bit incongruous to me.
What I did love, however, (aside from Alban) was that Murphy, as in her other series, took the road less travelled when it came to which supernatural species' to focus on. Instead of vamps and werewolves we got Gargoyles, Selkies, Dragons, Djinn and...oh yeah there was a vampire. My bad. But he's not the focus of the book so it's okay!
So, to sum up, it was a good read, a really good audiobook experience, and with a few reservations I am heading on to the next book, because I want to finish Alban's story out and I'm hoping Margrit will grow on me.
3.5 Stars ★★★1/2
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book as the Negotiator trilogy isn't one that I hear mentioned very often in my book reading circles in comparison to her more popular Walker Papers series. So I was a bit nervous about starting it; wondering if the reason there was no buzz was simply because it wasn't very good. But I have to say that while the book didn't blow my mind, I definitely did enjoy it for the most part. I particularly enjoyed the audiobook narration (so that may have earned it an extra half star) and I do plan to continue the trilogy.
However, it's not without few problems. Firstly, it starts out with one of our main characters, Alban, stalking our heroine through Central Park. Something he has done for the last three years! Immediately this made all sorts of warning bells go off in my head. But then I thought, hang on a tick, this is C. E. Murphy we're talking about, and it seemed unlikely from what I've read of her other work that she would go for anything as insipid as insta-love with some weird stalker dude. So I kept reading, and yes, Alban has been keeping a protective eye on our heroine, Margarit Knight, because she has a habit of being needlessly reckless—running through Central Park alone late at night. So it's done with the noblest of intentions, and I quickly forgave him his stalker-like tendencies. In fact, Alban ended up being my favourite character and the highlight of the whole thing.
It was quite a long book and somewhat slow-moving at times, without ever becoming completely uneventful. But there are long stretches in-between those events and scenes that I felt were unnecessarily long and, dare I say it, dull. Mostly, it was the times when we were left alone with just Margarit narrating for us with no Alban or any other interesting characters to play off, because unfortunately, out of the whole cast of characters, Margarit, the protagonist, was my least favourite. Not that I developed any kind of profound dislike for her or anything, but she was just very ordinary; 100% average Homosapien (and a lawyer to boot) and I could never fully accept how she managed to get herself so quickly enmeshed in the supernatural world and how no one just dealt with the problem of her discovery by snapping her like a twig. I realise she has a way of getting around people using her lawyerly skills, (this is where the negotiator bit comes in) but I'm just not sure I ever fully bought that idea. It seemed just a bit incongruous to me.
What I did love, however, (aside from Alban) was that Murphy, as in her other series, took the road less travelled when it came to which supernatural species' to focus on. Instead of vamps and werewolves we got Gargoyles, Selkies, Dragons, Djinn and...oh yeah there was a vampire. My bad. But he's not the focus of the book so it's okay!
So, to sum up, it was a good read, a really good audiobook experience, and with a few reservations I am heading on to the next book, because I want to finish Alban's story out and I'm hoping Margrit will grow on me.
3.5 Stars ★★★1/2
snarkymotherreader's review against another edition
5.0
Margrit Knight likes to tempt fate. An attorney for legal aid, she represents those who can’t represent themselves, whether they are innocent or not. At night, she loses herself in the danger of running through Central Park, trusting her instincts to warn her of any danger and silently daring the world to test her.
The test comes in the form of Alban Korund, a pale, beautiful creature accused of murdering a woman in Central Park. He has been watching Margrit run for years, has protected her for just as long, but now he needs her to protect him.
Alban is a member of the Old Races: dragons, djinns, gargoyles, selkies, and vampires being the only five groups to survive into the present. Humans place these beings in their mythology instead of their reality, allowing them to live on the fringe, like the gargoyles, or in the midst of the action, like the vampires. Imprisonment would risk bringing Alban’s existence into the light, something neither he nor his people are ready for. Margrit is drawn to the honor in the gargoyle, intellectually challenged by his predicament and emotionally attracted to his gentle strength and tenderness.
One wronged gargoyle isn’t the only creature Margrit must worry about. Eliseo Daisani, a powerful businessman, and Janx, an underground drug lord, vie for her loyalties in a game they’ve played for centuries. Neither are what they seem, but both are strangely honor bound to deceive Margrit as little as possible. Pulling her in yet another direction is Tony, an on again, of again boyfriend who is lead detective in the case against Alban. If she is to help her gargoyle, she must deceive her detective. If she helps her detective, she may damn the Old Races. No matter which choice she makes, Margrit’s actions will change the course of the lives of all those she holds dear.
I have never found gargoyles particularly attractive, preferring the quiet danger of a vampires stalking his prey or the fierce fire a dragon stirs, but Alban was written with the right mixture of old world charm and loneliness that I fell in love him, rooting for him to clear his name and get the girl even though my heart broke for Tony. A choice between the two wasn’t made in the novel, but the outcome was clear in my hopeful mind.
Heart of Stone is the first in the Negotiator trilogy by C.E. Murphy, a series that centers around a human caught in the ploys of the Old Races. Every character, from the protagonist to the many antagonists to a side character in a bar is illustrated in such detail that I felt like I was directly in the action, watching the plot pan out. It is rare to find such a flawless novel, both structurally and in its ability to rope you into the emotion and make it a part of you.
The test comes in the form of Alban Korund, a pale, beautiful creature accused of murdering a woman in Central Park. He has been watching Margrit run for years, has protected her for just as long, but now he needs her to protect him.
Alban is a member of the Old Races: dragons, djinns, gargoyles, selkies, and vampires being the only five groups to survive into the present. Humans place these beings in their mythology instead of their reality, allowing them to live on the fringe, like the gargoyles, or in the midst of the action, like the vampires. Imprisonment would risk bringing Alban’s existence into the light, something neither he nor his people are ready for. Margrit is drawn to the honor in the gargoyle, intellectually challenged by his predicament and emotionally attracted to his gentle strength and tenderness.
One wronged gargoyle isn’t the only creature Margrit must worry about. Eliseo Daisani, a powerful businessman, and Janx, an underground drug lord, vie for her loyalties in a game they’ve played for centuries. Neither are what they seem, but both are strangely honor bound to deceive Margrit as little as possible. Pulling her in yet another direction is Tony, an on again, of again boyfriend who is lead detective in the case against Alban. If she is to help her gargoyle, she must deceive her detective. If she helps her detective, she may damn the Old Races. No matter which choice she makes, Margrit’s actions will change the course of the lives of all those she holds dear.
I have never found gargoyles particularly attractive, preferring the quiet danger of a vampires stalking his prey or the fierce fire a dragon stirs, but Alban was written with the right mixture of old world charm and loneliness that I fell in love him, rooting for him to clear his name and get the girl even though my heart broke for Tony. A choice between the two wasn’t made in the novel, but the outcome was clear in my hopeful mind.
Heart of Stone is the first in the Negotiator trilogy by C.E. Murphy, a series that centers around a human caught in the ploys of the Old Races. Every character, from the protagonist to the many antagonists to a side character in a bar is illustrated in such detail that I felt like I was directly in the action, watching the plot pan out. It is rare to find such a flawless novel, both structurally and in its ability to rope you into the emotion and make it a part of you.
ac223's review against another edition
3.0
Jeanine Frost rated it a 5, and usually I agree, that's why I always check her ratings. Heart of Stone was a little too slow going to receive a five. A few different twists, Gargoyles can't go out in the sun without turning to stone. Vampires have no problem being in the sun. Grit (Margrit) is a lawyer fighting for the little guys. Her on again, off again bf is a local cop. He arrest them, she gets them out of trouble, part of the reason for some of their problems. She likes to run at night when it isn't safe and knows that it's irrational. She even chants it while running (weird) but never knew she had someone watching over her. When women start turning up dead in the very park where she runs she is caught up in investigation. The main suspect is the gargoyle who watches over her. He asks for help, unknowingly dumping her right in the middle of the supernatural world she didn't even know existed.
debwendler's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
zeezeemama11's review against another edition
4.0
I was already addicted to CE Murphy before reading this book, so my review maybe somewhat tainted. But I love her writing. Female heroine, classic story had a normal life, wasn't quite happy than BAMM - the main character is dragged into some freaky stuff. This is when you say "wow this sounds like a million other books i've read" Murphy sets herself apart from others by her unique characters, and plot twists. She reels you in from the first chapter, with her descriptions and fast pace storytelling. Also it is one of the few books i've found that has feature a gargoyle as a main character.and there are not enough books in the world about gargoyles, this was a nice bit of sci fi fantasy. i would recommend it to anyone who is interested in heroines that kick butt.
sharonskinner's review against another edition
2.0
Heart of Stone is the story of a woman who becomes romantically involved with a living Gargoyle. Great concept, but I had trouble believing the protagonist's motivation and her ambivalence about her own behavior was troubling.
emmafromoz's review against another edition
5.0
Strangely enough, I have just finished (& enjoyed) a gargoyle book with quite a similar plot (& whose title I can't for the life of me remember). I liked it but I loved this. Am a big fan of C.E. Murphy's writing - now that I've dived into this trilogy I can't believe I've put off starting it for so long. On to book 2 :)