novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS
"The Pagan Stone had stood for hundreds of years, long before three boys gathered around it to spill their blood in a bond of brotherhood, unwittingly releasing a force bent on destruction... Gage Turner has been running from his past for a long time. The son of an abusive drunk, his childhood in the small town of Hawkins Hollow was tough--his only solace his friendship with Fox O'Dell and Caleb Hawkins. But, aged ten, the boys unleashed evil on their town: every seven years murder and mayhem reign, and each cycle is more extreme than the last. Now Gage has returned home to help his friends save Hawkins Hollow, but a lifetime as a loner has made him wary of emotional ties. And who can make plans for the future when their present is so uncertain? For unless they find a way to use the Pagan Stone against the demonic force, everything they know and love will be destroyed..." (From Amazon)
A fabulous conclusion to this wonderful paranormal romance series. I have been waiting for Gage's story from book one as we get snippets of what makes him a complex character. I liked that this novel ended with his story. I liked how Cybil gets under Gage's skin in a good way and how their romance comes about.
"The Pagan Stone had stood for hundreds of years, long before three boys gathered around it to spill their blood in a bond of brotherhood, unwittingly releasing a force bent on destruction... Gage Turner has been running from his past for a long time. The son of an abusive drunk, his childhood in the small town of Hawkins Hollow was tough--his only solace his friendship with Fox O'Dell and Caleb Hawkins. But, aged ten, the boys unleashed evil on their town: every seven years murder and mayhem reign, and each cycle is more extreme than the last. Now Gage has returned home to help his friends save Hawkins Hollow, but a lifetime as a loner has made him wary of emotional ties. And who can make plans for the future when their present is so uncertain? For unless they find a way to use the Pagan Stone against the demonic force, everything they know and love will be destroyed..." (From Amazon)
A fabulous conclusion to this wonderful paranormal romance series. I have been waiting for Gage's story from book one as we get snippets of what makes him a complex character. I liked that this novel ended with his story. I liked how Cybil gets under Gage's skin in a good way and how their romance comes about.
laurenjodi's review against another edition
4.0
A compelling end to the series although I did not care as much for the leads as much as in the previous installments - particularly Cybil.
ianmcnamara's review against another edition
5.0
Another great book, this was a great end to the trilogy. I have read two of the trilogies by this author know the key trilogy and this one and they were both excellent. She has a talent for writing this type of stuff.
dutchtineke's review against another edition
1.0
This review contains spoilers.
This book was definitely not for me. It was a romance, wannabe horror. It didn't work at all. Because you know, writing horror is seriously different than writing a romance, so use different words, story arcs, characters etc., Nora Roberts!
I don't want to read about a loner mysterious strong man with a difficult past (daddy-issues) he has overcome, who falls in love with a strong beautiful heroine who will heal him. Ofcourse they are all fantastic and ofcourse they absolutely don't want to fall in love and try to downplay it all and ofcourse they have the most amazing mindblowing sex. Everyone is soooo perfect... and I don't want to read about these cliche people, with their cliche lifes and their cliche problems. They have fantastic friends who are copies of the hero and heroine of this book. It got so bad that I couldn't remember which friend had a relationship with which friend. They all get pregnant at the same day. Ofcourse the heroine is afraid to tell our hero, but the hero takes it like a champ and gets from 'I don't want to be stuck in a relationship' to 'I want to show this child the world' in a matter of minutes. Sure, dipshit.
I bet the first book was about couple one and how they found love, and the second book was about couple two and their romance and then came this one....
Just to not make this sound like a standard issue Harlequin the author added in some horror elements. The research the characters did to find out how to beat the demon-asshole, was the same in the whole book and usually described as 'facts, charts, graphs and figures'. Wow, Nora Roberts, now you have really pulled me in the story.
Ofcourse our heroine gets raped by this demon in the form of a little boy and our heroine wonders 'somehow that (being raped by a little boy) was worse. Why is that worse?' Seriously, are you that dumb? Anyway, everyone is broken for like a page or two and then all things return to normal. No mention at all of this horrendous rape for the rest of the book. And oh no, our hero suggests to have sex the day after the rape. She denies, but after they go to the gym she decides to step into the shower with him and have sex.
The end in which our heroes and heroines beat the demon was a major letdown, an anticlimax, no challenge at all. Wow, what a buildup.
As for the way the story was written. I've had enough with all those standard-issue words. Maybe Nora Roberts read a 'How to write a formula romance disguised as a horror, to show how daring/edgy I am'. Words and phrases like: 'cutie', 'sweetie', 'the kiss deepened', 'soft, quiet, the kiss soothed even as it aroused' 'He took her hungrily into his mouth' 'There was the instant thrill, the response, the need.'
Also the f-ing spelling of magickal, with a -k!!! Or the word magicks! What in the hell?!
I'll keep it at this rant. It's probably very clear that I thought this book was shit.
This book was definitely not for me. It was a romance, wannabe horror. It didn't work at all. Because you know, writing horror is seriously different than writing a romance, so use different words, story arcs, characters etc., Nora Roberts!
I don't want to read about a loner mysterious strong man with a difficult past (daddy-issues) he has overcome, who falls in love with a strong beautiful heroine who will heal him. Ofcourse they are all fantastic and ofcourse they absolutely don't want to fall in love and try to downplay it all and ofcourse they have the most amazing mindblowing sex. Everyone is soooo perfect... and I don't want to read about these cliche people, with their cliche lifes and their cliche problems. They have fantastic friends who are copies of the hero and heroine of this book. It got so bad that I couldn't remember which friend had a relationship with which friend. They all get pregnant at the same day. Ofcourse the heroine is afraid to tell our hero, but the hero takes it like a champ and gets from 'I don't want to be stuck in a relationship' to 'I want to show this child the world' in a matter of minutes. Sure, dipshit.
I bet the first book was about couple one and how they found love, and the second book was about couple two and their romance and then came this one....
Just to not make this sound like a standard issue Harlequin the author added in some horror elements. The research the characters did to find out how to beat the demon-asshole, was the same in the whole book and usually described as 'facts, charts, graphs and figures'. Wow, Nora Roberts, now you have really pulled me in the story.
Ofcourse our heroine gets raped by this demon in the form of a little boy and our heroine wonders 'somehow that (being raped by a little boy) was worse. Why is that worse?' Seriously, are you that dumb? Anyway, everyone is broken for like a page or two and then all things return to normal. No mention at all of this horrendous rape for the rest of the book. And oh no, our hero suggests to have sex the day after the rape. She denies, but after they go to the gym she decides to step into the shower with him and have sex.
The end in which our heroes and heroines beat the demon was a major letdown, an anticlimax, no challenge at all. Wow, what a buildup.
As for the way the story was written. I've had enough with all those standard-issue words. Maybe Nora Roberts read a 'How to write a formula romance disguised as a horror, to show how daring/edgy I am'. Words and phrases like: 'cutie', 'sweetie', 'the kiss deepened', 'soft, quiet, the kiss soothed even as it aroused' 'He took her hungrily into his mouth' 'There was the instant thrill, the response, the need.'
Also the f-ing spelling of magickal, with a -k!!! Or the word magicks! What in the hell?!
I'll keep it at this rant. It's probably very clear that I thought this book was shit.
amandaj6's review against another edition
5.0
What a great finish to this trilogy. I loved reading and learning more about Cybil and Gage. And I love those two together. This whole trilogy was excellent.
bdowning81's review against another edition
You know what? Maybe I'm at the bitch-eating-crackers stage of just... the world in general, but after decades of reading Roberts' work, I cannot read the word "female" in place of the thesaurus's worth of words she uses it for any more. Feminine. Woman. Girlish. Soft. Pretty. Organized. Floral. Pleasant-smelling. Pleasant-looking. Dressed well. Is it an adjective? Is it a noun? Is it a preposition? Are there roughly 400 other words more appropriate in the context nearly every time she uses it? The answer to all of these seems to be "yes," and I'm just done. I've accepted it as one of her quirks for a long time, but now that use of "female" instead of "woman" is the identifying tic for your average reddit incel, I just can't any more. Oh and also, I cannot read about one more neurotic "curvy" woman taking a very carefully counted two "tiny bites" of dry salad. I just cannot.
mombietriestoread's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this entire series, and seeing my favorite character finally get a happy ending and realize he deserved more then what he had been giving himself his entire life was amazing!
proffy's review against another edition
Gage, Fox, and Caleb underwent a transformation on their birthday years ago, and ever since, they have been fighting off a demon intent on destroying their town. The Pagan Stone wrapped up a Nora Roberts trilogy, and as with all Nora Roberts books, I loved it. The supernatural, friendship, love, and sex...excellent.
debbiereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0