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cjmichel's review
3.0
The family is protected by the gargoyles on the building, which turns out to be one only. I was hoping for a bit more than the pages provided.
mackle13's review
1.0
1.5
There's a little part of me - a very little part - that sort of wants to bump this up to 2 stars. This is down to two things: 1) I did sort of care about Stanis but the end of the book. (He's the gargoyle. He's also the only character with any real development.) 2) I still have a hard time using 1-stars for "didn't like" instead of "absolutely abysmal".
'Cause this book isn't abysmal... but it was pretty bad, and I did not like.
The story was pretty standard UF fare, the biggest difference being that the supernatural creature dujoir is a gargoyle instead of the more usual - and, really, that's mostly why I gave this book a chance. I blame my childhood love for the cartoon 'Gargoyles' (which is referenced in the story).
But this gargoyle doesn't turn to flesh, he's always stone - and, no, it's never explained how stone can fly. As my husband says for these occasions, "A wizard did it."
But it's not the predictability of the story which is the problem. It's the characters and the writing.
The first problems with the writing crop up pretty much immediately when we meet the characters, and are given horribly clunky chunks of expositionary dialogue. Here's a slightly hyperbolic example:
"Hello Aurora, my best friend. How are you, you fierce, wee thing, you?"
"Well, Lexi, as you know I am doing an intensive dance program and some other school stuff, and am panic prone to begin with."
"I know this is very true, my best friend Rory - which is what I usually call you."
Yes, it really is that bad.
And the characters are all pretty one-dimensional with their particular things which, of course, become relevant and useful in the story.
Lexi is a wanna-be artist, even though her family is in real estate and kinda want her to be in real estate, too. Of course, when shit goes down, it's her artistic side which becomes important - as one might guess from the whole Spellmason thing.
Rory, as stated, is a dancer and, apparently, this gives her mad fighting skills 'cause, ya know, fighting and dancing are totally the same, yo. (As someone who's done both - no. Just no.)
(She's also completely spastic. One page she's telling Lexi that maybe she shouldn't mess around with the magic 'cause she doesn't know what dangers it could have, and in the next page she's asking why Lexi hasn't been busy making a gargoyle army.)
And Marshall is a D&D geek, who can't say ANYTHING without it being a game reference (which would make slightly more sense if anyone else in the story was slightly into gaming, 'cause then it could be funny in-jokes, but, no, he's just a socially awkward loser who has no point of reference outside of D&D 'cause, ya know, gamers are losers and all). BUT his game knowledge comes in totally useful because he knows what things like alchemy are, and he can instantly memorize the layout of a building from all those years of campaigning.
'Cause, yeah...
Oh, and the parents are the typical emotionally distant and pressurey sort who can't understand why their daughter wants to be her own person instead of following the family business. (But this all works out conveniently in the end, so it's all good.)
And, ya know, I'm glad I wrote this review 'cause I totally remember why I one-starred it.
As I said, there is a saving grace in Stanis, who actually develops a bit through the story (and is the reason for that little half star) - but there are issues with this, too.
For one, he's sort of forced to change as Lexi takes it upon herself to give him back his memories, despite being warned how bad this could be. so he's mostly given back his character more than developing one.
And there are a whole host of other issues, like Lexi never considering that a living piece of stone might have feelings, or ever considering the moral implications of having, essentially, a magically bound slave.
So, yeah...
This is just really badly written. I boggle at the many rave reviews but, then, I'm a weirdo, so there's that.
There's a little part of me - a very little part - that sort of wants to bump this up to 2 stars. This is down to two things: 1) I did sort of care about Stanis but the end of the book. (He's the gargoyle. He's also the only character with any real development.) 2) I still have a hard time using 1-stars for "didn't like" instead of "absolutely abysmal".
'Cause this book isn't abysmal... but it was pretty bad, and I did not like.
The story was pretty standard UF fare, the biggest difference being that the supernatural creature dujoir is a gargoyle instead of the more usual - and, really, that's mostly why I gave this book a chance. I blame my childhood love for the cartoon 'Gargoyles' (which is referenced in the story).
But this gargoyle doesn't turn to flesh, he's always stone - and, no, it's never explained how stone can fly. As my husband says for these occasions, "A wizard did it."
But it's not the predictability of the story which is the problem. It's the characters and the writing.
The first problems with the writing crop up pretty much immediately when we meet the characters, and are given horribly clunky chunks of expositionary dialogue. Here's a slightly hyperbolic example:
"Hello Aurora, my best friend. How are you, you fierce, wee thing, you?"
"Well, Lexi, as you know I am doing an intensive dance program and some other school stuff, and am panic prone to begin with."
"I know this is very true, my best friend Rory - which is what I usually call you."
Yes, it really is that bad.
And the characters are all pretty one-dimensional with their particular things which, of course, become relevant and useful in the story.
Lexi is a wanna-be artist, even though her family is in real estate and kinda want her to be in real estate, too. Of course, when shit goes down, it's her artistic side which becomes important - as one might guess from the whole Spellmason thing.
Rory, as stated, is a dancer and, apparently, this gives her mad fighting skills 'cause, ya know, fighting and dancing are totally the same, yo. (As someone who's done both - no. Just no.)
(She's also completely spastic. One page she's telling Lexi that maybe she shouldn't mess around with the magic 'cause she doesn't know what dangers it could have, and in the next page she's asking why Lexi hasn't been busy making a gargoyle army.)
And Marshall is a D&D geek, who can't say ANYTHING without it being a game reference (which would make slightly more sense if anyone else in the story was slightly into gaming, 'cause then it could be funny in-jokes, but, no, he's just a socially awkward loser who has no point of reference outside of D&D 'cause, ya know, gamers are losers and all). BUT his game knowledge comes in totally useful because he knows what things like alchemy are, and he can instantly memorize the layout of a building from all those years of campaigning.
'Cause, yeah...
Oh, and the parents are the typical emotionally distant and pressurey sort who can't understand why their daughter wants to be her own person instead of following the family business. (But this all works out conveniently in the end, so it's all good.)
And, ya know, I'm glad I wrote this review 'cause I totally remember why I one-starred it.
As I said, there is a saving grace in Stanis, who actually develops a bit through the story (and is the reason for that little half star) - but there are issues with this, too.
For one, he's sort of forced to change as Lexi takes it upon herself to give him back his memories, despite being warned how bad this could be. so he's mostly given back his character more than developing one.
And there are a whole host of other issues, like Lexi never considering that a living piece of stone might have feelings, or ever considering the moral implications of having, essentially, a magically bound slave.
So, yeah...
This is just really badly written. I boggle at the many rave reviews but, then, I'm a weirdo, so there's that.
chelseaj91's review
3.0
An Old Friend of the Family...Alexandra Belarus is a struggling artist living in New York City, even though her family is rich in real estate, including a towering Gothic Gramercy Park building built by her great-great-grandfather. But the truth of her bloodline is revealed when she is attacked on the street and saved by an inhumanly powerful winged figure. A figure who knows the Belarus name…
Lexi’s great-great-grandfather was a Spellmason—an artisan who could work magic on stone. But in his day, dark forces conspired against him and his, so he left a spell of protection on his family. Now that Lexi is in danger, the spell has awoken her ancestor’s most trusted and fearsome creation: a gargoyle named Stanis.
Lexi and Stanis are equally surprised to find themselves bound to each other. But as they learn to work together, they realize that only united can they save the city they both love…
2.5 StarsI loved the premise of this story. I mean, I used to love watching Gargoyles when I was a kid and it had other things that I enjoy: family secrets, hidden guardians, magic (ok, alchemy, but still), bad guys who think they can win. But I had a hard time really getting into the story.
Alexandra intrigued me, I'll admit. She was tough and dealt with all the stuff thrown at her with little whining. But at the same time, it felt way too rushed. Plus, she's expected to take over the family real estate business all of a sudden with no training? I'm sorry, but "family image" or no, how in the heck is that a good thing? And the fact that she suddenly became such a Spellmason expert? Pretty cool that she dove into figuring things out, I'll admit but it just felt like it was way too fast for someone who had no previous experience. She did make some stupid choices (can she just admit that going after any of those stones without Stanis is a recipe for trouble already?), but she was determined to find those stones and help Stanis which I admired. She also did show quite a bit of backbone and (when not stone/Spellmason related) usually made pretty smart choices.
I did have some issues with the writing, particularly Stanis' chapters. I did like watching him start to explore the world, especially as they got the stones back and he started to remember things. He was kind of funny as he tried to learn about the current culture/world. I did have issues with the way he referred to the main characters: for a while he was referring to them only as: "the makers kin" (Alexandra), "the blue haired one" (Rory), and "the male" (Marshall). Then there was one chapter towards the middle where he started switching how he referred to them, started to use their names, but it would usually only be one at a time and it would only be for that particular conversation (or even just that line of the story), then he'd all of a sudden be back to referring to them as the labels he'd given them (probably a minor thing, but it bugged the hell out of me).
I've already mentioned having issues with the sped up timing regarding Lexi's studies, but I also had some issues with Rory. Years of dance training does NOT a trained martial artist make!! While the dancing would definitely help with the movement, there's no way it would make you know exactly how to jump to hit that target or the best way to slide between a target's legs and bring your hands up to inflict damage. I will admit that could also be slightly achieved by some basic knowledge of weak spots, but not it wouldn't make her into the "expert" she'd suddenly supposedly become. However, even all of that would not necessarily make her able to properly wield a polearm!
Devon was a right royal jackass. Even getting the shock that he got, he was still an asshat. I kind of hope the Servants take him apart piece by piece.
Overall, the story held some interest for me. I'll probably look for the rest of the series, especially since I am interested to know how they deal with the way things ended, but I don't think I'll be running to pick it up immediately
acf151's review
2.0
There were a lot of interesting ideas in this book, if paired with better pacing, more developed characters and more research into Christianity, masonry, contracting, etc., it would have been a very good book.
There were logical plot holes that kept throwing me out of the story, The fact of there being no follow-ups to any of the trios' excursions by police, even though security cameras had to catch the whole thing, especially in the museum. The dead contractors that were never mentioned after that one scene, even though they would have been badly missed.
The strong Christianity of the Belarus family and then the utter disbelief and even mockery by the two kids didn't quite ring true, especially since Lexi is otherwise very committed to the family. I feel her parents would have taught some respect and awe for the religion and Deity that would have lingered even into adulthood; disbelief is one thing, mockery another. I know it happens, it's just didn't ring true with what we already learned of the main character's traits.
Oh, and Cathedrals don't have Halloween parties. Certainly not rave-like Halloween parties. That threw me right out of the book, and I had to speed read the rest. Great visuals, but no.
Lot of interesting ides. I liked the historical art tour and the stonemason parts. I'm interested in seeing what happens next, but I would not have preordered it if it hadn't been for the charity drive and the lesser kindle price. I'm hoping the writing gets better.
There were logical plot holes that kept throwing me out of the story, The fact of there being no follow-ups to any of the trios' excursions by police, even though security cameras had to catch the whole thing, especially in the museum. The dead contractors that were never mentioned after that one scene, even though they would have been badly missed.
The strong Christianity of the Belarus family and then the utter disbelief and even mockery by the two kids didn't quite ring true, especially since Lexi is otherwise very committed to the family. I feel her parents would have taught some respect and awe for the religion and Deity that would have lingered even into adulthood; disbelief is one thing, mockery another. I know it happens, it's just didn't ring true with what we already learned of the main character's traits.
Oh, and Cathedrals don't have Halloween parties. Certainly not rave-like Halloween parties. That threw me right out of the book, and I had to speed read the rest. Great visuals, but no.
Lot of interesting ides. I liked the historical art tour and the stonemason parts. I'm interested in seeing what happens next, but I would not have preordered it if it hadn't been for the charity drive and the lesser kindle price. I'm hoping the writing gets better.
wordmouse's review
2.0
This one has all the right elements that usually spell 'instant favourite' to me; strong characters with (mostly) believable talents, mysterious skills coming to light out of family secrets and a strong sense of location.
But somehow it falls flat. I found it hard going to finish and as much as I really wanted to like the characters, I felt like they were a bit wooden and lacking any sort of proper development.
I haven't read any of his other work, and wouldn't hesitate to try it out, but I would hope that the execution of this potentially brilliant idea shows a little more finesse next time around.
But somehow it falls flat. I found it hard going to finish and as much as I really wanted to like the characters, I felt like they were a bit wooden and lacking any sort of proper development.
I haven't read any of his other work, and wouldn't hesitate to try it out, but I would hope that the execution of this potentially brilliant idea shows a little more finesse next time around.
daydreamer0626's review
3.0
Do you want a unique story about magic with a sassy heroine? Or are you a fan of the cartoon Gargoyles (yeah children of the 90's!)? Well if you are then this is a great book for you :)
I found this book at a book sale and thought it sounded really interesting (comparison to the Gargoyles TV show that I loved watching aside). We have our heroine who is forced into her family's business and also has to dodge people who are out to take her life. Luckily, she's got a living gargoyle, Stanis, to look out for her. Brought alive by her great-great-grandfather, he lives for one purpose: To protect the Belarus family. Together, with her hilarious friend Rory and her geeky roommate Marshall, they have to find out who is after them, and why.
I really adore how sassy Lexi can be :) I have a soft spot for funny characters and Lexi and her band of friends managed to make me chuckle a few times. It doesn't hurt that they even refer to the Gargoyles TV show at one point ;) I liked seeing Lexi's relationship with Stanis grow as well and am eager to see how they progress.
The book is told in alternating points of view, which I found kind of confusing, since they were both told from first person. Every time I read "I", I got confused on whose point of view it was referring to. I got used to it after a while, but I just thought maybe third person would be better for a book with alternating point of view chapters.
The book was actiony and mysterious and I enjoyed it very much :) It didn't overly wow me, but it was a descent read and I do look forward to finishing the series eventually :)
I found this book at a book sale and thought it sounded really interesting (comparison to the Gargoyles TV show that I loved watching aside). We have our heroine who is forced into her family's business and also has to dodge people who are out to take her life. Luckily, she's got a living gargoyle, Stanis, to look out for her. Brought alive by her great-great-grandfather, he lives for one purpose: To protect the Belarus family. Together, with her hilarious friend Rory and her geeky roommate Marshall, they have to find out who is after them, and why.
I really adore how sassy Lexi can be :) I have a soft spot for funny characters and Lexi and her band of friends managed to make me chuckle a few times. It doesn't hurt that they even refer to the Gargoyles TV show at one point ;) I liked seeing Lexi's relationship with Stanis grow as well and am eager to see how they progress.
The book is told in alternating points of view, which I found kind of confusing, since they were both told from first person. Every time I read "I", I got confused on whose point of view it was referring to. I got used to it after a while, but I just thought maybe third person would be better for a book with alternating point of view chapters.
The book was actiony and mysterious and I enjoyed it very much :) It didn't overly wow me, but it was a descent read and I do look forward to finishing the series eventually :)
karadarr's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
amdame1's review against another edition
3.0
A fun read about a gargoyle (or grotesque) who comes to life to protect a family spellmason. First in a series, but I probably won't read the others.
jennyninnymuggins's review against another edition
3.0
I think Strout comes up with fun, engaging stories. And I loved the voice of Stanis, but I found I could not connect to the character of Alexandra. Maybe the series is geared to a much younger audience, but I found Alexandra and her friends very young and their dialogue a little stilted.
I'd have been much more interested in reading the entire story from Stanis' point of view. Everything was more interesting from Stanis' standpoint--- dialogue, thought process and his perception of the other characters. Filtered through him, the kids seemed a curiosity to be studied and the world held a bit more depth.
I'd have been much more interested in reading the entire story from Stanis' point of view. Everything was more interesting from Stanis' standpoint--- dialogue, thought process and his perception of the other characters. Filtered through him, the kids seemed a curiosity to be studied and the world held a bit more depth.
reader44ever's review against another edition
4.0
Review after second reading, May 30-June 2, 2016:
Oddly, my feelings for this book underwent a sea change from how I felt about it after my first reading, which you can read all about below. But in short, the first time through it, I really liked Rory and Marshall and found Lexi to be annoying. This second time through it, I really liked Lexi and found Rory and Marshall to be the really annoying ones. lol. . .Go figure, huh? ;-)
I may have been more forgiving of Lexi's little foibles because I revisited my review before starting it for the reread, and so went into it with my eyes wide-open. But I think it's more that I just recognized Lexi as being young, and that explains a lot of her behavior and choices. She's only 22, I think it said. So from my advanced age of 41, I was pretty forgiving. (lol)
Rory and Marshall, on the other hand, annoyed me this time because I didn't like how Rory sometimes acted around Lexi. She was, at times, less than supportive. And she downright bullies Marshall. So. . .not much to like this time through. And Marshall! Him I didn't like because he's the weak-willed one of the three of them. If I were him, I wouldn't be besties with Rory (or Lexi) because they don't understand him and, instead, belittle him at nearly every turn. . .and he puts up with it! Argh!!!
I don't understand how I missed these character traits and faults the first time I read it. I blame it on whatever I read leading up to my first read of this book. This second time, I was still coming off of a major burn-out from reading the entirety of the Jane Yellowrock series. So I was sort of worn-out from (of?) reading, which is another reason why it took me four days (4 DAYS) to read this 290-page book. (The main reason being that I was interrupted by a variety of truly excellent distractions, lol.)
As far as the rest of the story goes, I'll again speak to that in regards to what I wrote in my first review. I said that I was confused by whyLexi's great-great-grandfather Alexander removed Stanis's memories. Well, this second time through I recognized and realized that we were told why: Stanis was pretty much dead from a blow from his father when Alexander saved him to put his soul into what would become his gargoyle form. So it's assumed that Alexander took his memories to protect him from any post-traumatic stress he might have had. So. . .turns out it was understandable after all. :-)
The other, first, two things I sort-of complained about were non-issues for me this second time through. I did wonder howLexi's attacker knew Stanis's name and how that huge room survived the destruction of the building that hid it , but I just read those scenes and moved on this time.
As I did the first time I read this book, this second time I really liked Rory's mother and father. Well, I liked her mother when she showed herself to still be possessed of a spine and I liked her father once he came around and accepted Lexi for who she is, but still. . .they were great characters. :-)
I'm super curious about what's going to happen in book two of this trilogy, since this one ended withStanis walking off with the bad guys to give Lexi time to grow and master her magic. . But this time, I actually have the second book - and the third one - already out from the library. I hope to start them sometime within the next week. I just have two other books to read first, for challenges. ;-)
I need to share how this book actually ended, though - the final lines - so that I can review in case this story fades too much from my memory by the time I'm ready to start book two.
So, in the end, as said a couple of paragraphs ago,Stanis walked off with the Servants of Ruthenia. He told them the secrets to Alexander's magic, the secrets they want, were within him. In other words, he lied and left with them to give Lexi time to review the books and study and master the magic. In the final chapter (Chapter 34), Lexi talks with Rory and Marshall, then with her parents, then she's left again with Rory and Marshall. She tells them,
So that's my second, revised, review. But before I say good-bye, I want to share two "new" annoyances - both minor - that cropped up as I was reading and after I finished this book.
The first is that when Lexireleased Stanis from her family's service in Chapter 33, she just said "I release you" and *poof* he was free. No incantations. No ritual movements. Nothing. Just "I release you" and he was free to go. So that was rather disappointing and highly anticlimactic.
The second is one that occurred to me a few hours after I finished the book. Stanis is a gargoyle, right? Well, have you ever seen a stone gargoyle wearing stone pants? So my second disgruntlement involves the fact that Lexi and friends were presumably palling around with a naked male for the whole book, but no reference was made to his presumed nakedness (or to pants). So is he anatomically correct for a male? Or what? lol . . . This second annoyance in no way impacts my review, it's more that my curiosity was aroused and left unsatisfied. *a-hahaha* ;-)
And that's a nice note to end this review on, don't you think? lol So. . .that's it for my second review. ;-) I feel a lot better about rating this book a four-star read. This is a really good book - a really good story - and I really enjoyed it. :-)
Review after first reading, September 14-17, 2013:
In the end, I really liked this book. :) It had its moments, though. Lexi was fairly annoying, for one: she was too weak-willed for me. Her lack of independence (and lack of fight for said independence) really grated. She definitely was not the kick-ass heroine I've come to expect in female-led urban fantasies. I suppose this is a good thing, though, since expectations are never a good thing to have when it comes to experiencing anything new. And Lexi does have room-to-grow going for her. :)
Lexi's best friend, however, was the kick-ass type. :) Rory was fabulous! I loved her: she was both spunky and snarky, two of my favorite character traits. :)
Another reason I really-liked-this-despite-a-few-things was due to the introduction of a few plot points that were never fully developed in the narrative. :( The first of these was in Chapter Six:How did Lexi's attacker know Stanis ? Their interaction was fascinating and I kept hoping to have the former's knowledge of the latter explained later in the story, but it never was. :(
Another thing I didn't like was introduced in Chapter 18:When Lexi and crew went to the building where Devon died, they discovered a secret room that they figured had played a major part in Spellmason activities in the past . But how it survived the destruction and what that role was were also never explained. :(
And the third and final thing that annoyed me was first introduced when we met Stanis in the beginning, but in Chapter 33I/we finally learned that we weren't going to be told why Alexander had removed Stanis's memories . It was mentioned at some point that this was done for his protection, but I don't understand how he was protected. Did I just miss something? Was it obvious to anyone else? If yes, can someone explain it to me, please?
All in all, though, the above things weren't enough to ruin an otherwise great book. Perhaps this is because I really wanted to like it since it had a gargoyle in it (I've read four (just 4) books with gargoyles in them in 2013, out of the 100+ urban fantasy/pnr books I've read so far). But no matter my rationalizations, I still feel that this was a pretty good book.
Some of the things I especially liked about the story were Lexi's interactions with her father in Chapter Nine:I smiled hugely when she asked him if he had mob connections! :) I also loved her mother in Chapter 10: I was prepared to dislike the mom for her letting her grief over the loss of her son ruin her relationship with her surviving child, but she stepped up for Lexi in this Chapter, showing she still knows her and has her best interests at heart. :)
As I said earlier, I also really liked Rory. Marshall was pretty great, too. I loved his geekiness when it came to his gaming. He endeared himself to me fairly early on (pretty much right from the get-go, in fact). :) Stanis was great fun, too: protective and alpha, but flawed...very likable, in other words. :)
I look forward to reading the next one in the series, especially since this one was rather open-ended and clearly is leading somewhere. I want to know where that somewhere is right now! :)
Oddly, my feelings for this book underwent a sea change from how I felt about it after my first reading, which you can read all about below. But in short, the first time through it, I really liked Rory and Marshall and found Lexi to be annoying. This second time through it, I really liked Lexi and found Rory and Marshall to be the really annoying ones. lol. . .Go figure, huh? ;-)
I may have been more forgiving of Lexi's little foibles because I revisited my review before starting it for the reread, and so went into it with my eyes wide-open. But I think it's more that I just recognized Lexi as being young, and that explains a lot of her behavior and choices. She's only 22, I think it said. So from my advanced age of 41, I was pretty forgiving. (lol)
Rory and Marshall, on the other hand, annoyed me this time because I didn't like how Rory sometimes acted around Lexi. She was, at times, less than supportive. And she downright bullies Marshall. So. . .not much to like this time through. And Marshall! Him I didn't like because he's the weak-willed one of the three of them. If I were him, I wouldn't be besties with Rory (or Lexi) because they don't understand him and, instead, belittle him at nearly every turn. . .and he puts up with it! Argh!!!
I don't understand how I missed these character traits and faults the first time I read it. I blame it on whatever I read leading up to my first read of this book. This second time, I was still coming off of a major burn-out from reading the entirety of the Jane Yellowrock series. So I was sort of worn-out from (of?) reading, which is another reason why it took me four days (4 DAYS) to read this 290-page book. (The main reason being that I was interrupted by a variety of truly excellent distractions, lol.)
As far as the rest of the story goes, I'll again speak to that in regards to what I wrote in my first review. I said that I was confused by why
The other, first, two things I sort-of complained about were non-issues for me this second time through. I did wonder how
As I did the first time I read this book, this second time I really liked Rory's mother and father. Well, I liked her mother when she showed herself to still be possessed of a spine and I liked her father once he came around and accepted Lexi for who she is, but still. . .they were great characters. :-)
I'm super curious about what's going to happen in book two of this trilogy, since this one ended with
I need to share how this book actually ended, though - the final lines - so that I can review in case this story fades too much from my memory by the time I'm ready to start book two.
So, in the end, as said a couple of paragraphs ago,
"And Stanis didn't just hand himself over to save us. He said to prepare ourselves. As Marshall said just a a minute ago, Stanis was both protecting the family and buying us time."
"Time for what?" Rory asked, but I was already picking my way through the books and scribbling down notes and reference numbers to the other books that were part of the grand Spellmason puzzle.
"Time for us to return the favor. To learn what I need to, to save him. To prepare for whatever Kejetan has in store. Mad men of power crave war. We need to be ready to bring him one."
Even though I no longer felt a hint of our connection, I prayed that somewhere out there he felt the hope I was feeling. Much like everything I'd learned so far, this was about the power of will, and right now, I felt like its patron saint." [fin]
So that's my second, revised, review. But before I say good-bye, I want to share two "new" annoyances - both minor - that cropped up as I was reading and after I finished this book.
The first is that when Lexi
The second is one that occurred to me a few hours after I finished the book. Stanis is a gargoyle, right? Well, have you ever seen a stone gargoyle wearing stone pants? So my second disgruntlement involves the fact that Lexi and friends were presumably palling around with a naked male for the whole book, but no reference was made to his presumed nakedness (or to pants). So is he anatomically correct for a male? Or what? lol . . . This second annoyance in no way impacts my review, it's more that my curiosity was aroused and left unsatisfied. *a-hahaha* ;-)
And that's a nice note to end this review on, don't you think? lol So. . .that's it for my second review. ;-) I feel a lot better about rating this book a four-star read. This is a really good book - a really good story - and I really enjoyed it. :-)
Review after first reading, September 14-17, 2013:
In the end, I really liked this book. :) It had its moments, though. Lexi was fairly annoying, for one: she was too weak-willed for me. Her lack of independence (and lack of fight for said independence) really grated. She definitely was not the kick-ass heroine I've come to expect in female-led urban fantasies. I suppose this is a good thing, though, since expectations are never a good thing to have when it comes to experiencing anything new. And Lexi does have room-to-grow going for her. :)
Lexi's best friend, however, was the kick-ass type. :) Rory was fabulous! I loved her: she was both spunky and snarky, two of my favorite character traits. :)
Another reason I really-liked-this-despite-a-few-things was due to the introduction of a few plot points that were never fully developed in the narrative. :( The first of these was in Chapter Six:
Another thing I didn't like was introduced in Chapter 18:
And the third and final thing that annoyed me was first introduced when we met Stanis in the beginning, but in Chapter 33
All in all, though, the above things weren't enough to ruin an otherwise great book. Perhaps this is because I really wanted to like it since it had a gargoyle in it (I've read four (just 4) books with gargoyles in them in 2013, out of the 100+ urban fantasy/pnr books I've read so far). But no matter my rationalizations, I still feel that this was a pretty good book.
Some of the things I especially liked about the story were Lexi's interactions with her father in Chapter Nine:
As I said earlier, I also really liked Rory. Marshall was pretty great, too. I loved his geekiness when it came to his gaming. He endeared himself to me fairly early on (pretty much right from the get-go, in fact). :) Stanis was great fun, too: protective and alpha, but flawed...very likable, in other words. :)
I look forward to reading the next one in the series, especially since this one was rather open-ended and clearly is leading somewhere. I want to know where that somewhere is right now! :)