Scan barcode
A review by j_j_catcrazydragon
Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch
4.0
This should have been a 5 out of 5!
Bar for one, pertinent, glaring issue...
Larissa: so sweet, very real, earnest, likeable, honestly flawed.
A high school history teacher, in a dystopian world, where the human realm and magic realm collided together 26yrs ago. A nerdy (of course beautiful), book worm, action challenged, but smart enough to be honest about it all. Good sense of humour, yay! Not a feminist badass, but neither a damsel in distress. Take away the coolness, beauty, awesome family, lifestyle, success, courage (yeah all that), and she could totally be me. Oh, also the blonde hair, great figure, runners ability ... totally me and all other fantasy readers...
Terak: so sweet, very real, earnest, likeable, somewhat honestly flawed.
Gargoyle clan leader, doing his best to be everything, to everyone. Sometimes a little too perfect.. Could use a few more honest flaws in order to be more than a real fantasy hero, and become the alpha stud as well. Very easy to read, very likeable and sexy, but didn't always simmer. Don't need to be an arsehole, just need to be a little more problematic to be real. It's the flaws that makes the fantasy real. How can you lose yourself in the dream, when there's nothing to overcome, when he's so perfect you wonder where you fit in?
Larissa does have her moments of doubt, brief pauses of insecurity. But she did grow up surrounded by a family of alpha males ( 4 brothers and a dad, all in law enforcement), who love and protect her.
That could help a girl develop a healthy sense of self...
So the oracle (annoying, cool, but too brief character), tells Tarek to protect, she's important to the clan, Thats it.
Introduce the zombies (again too briefly touched on, or detailed).
Tarek to the rescue, and a couple of newbie characters, later to be more fully introduced.
Awesome side characters, that just NEED to have their own stories.
Fallon: Female sword weilding, badass, snarky, sexy, anti-hero, warrior.
Laire: female midget, asian, gorgeous, smart, snarky, hilarious style goddess, mage.
A couple of others, but too brief an appearance to warrant description. I have to say, that this is one other issue, less a complaint, and more a whine. There was so much else that could have been added, turning this into an epic urban fantasy, rather than just a romantic, urban fantasy. The story was already there, the idea's, dialogue, scenes. You could hear and see them, if you squinted jusssst right. I so wanted to read them in this story. Losing myself, being absorbed over days, not just hours.. sigh. Everyones in such a rush.
So theres this big deal over Larissa, all the bad guys want her, with the good guys trying to protect her, and nobody knows why? It's a mystery.
Vampire bad guy, big dangerous orcs (so needed more detail, especially the car scene), mention of dire wolves and goblins (you know what my whine is again)..
Action scenes are good, simply brief, with little detail to truly place you in the scene. Good if you hate those drawn out scenes where punch after punch, fall, slam, you name it, they get back up.. Not so great if you want to know whats happening over there?
What does it smell like, what does it feel like, what makes it real and not just words to an exciting idea?
This sounds negative. It's not meant to. It was so fun, so easy to read, I wanted to know what happened next, wanted to keep reading, really enjoyed myself. I just simply know, it could have so easily been more, with more time, detail, and side bits.
The author is clearly talented, capable, you just can't figure out why she skipped so much?
Then comes the big moment, the loss of a full star! WHY, WHY, HOW?
Okay, its hard, scary, mind boggling, but no, she just caves. Now maybe you think, hey she's a teacher, she just can't deal with the loss of the snarky, idiotic, bitchy teen girl.. Some say fair (not me).
But, as soon as the stone menace is revealed to be in fact, the love of her life! Well now she has to fight, has to win, cause no ones getting between her and her stone penis, ah prince.
Yep, really, couldn't come up with a better way of creating angst and climax, other than turning her into every romance drivel inspired, weak willed, hormone driven, damsel who can't think, live, or be worth anything without her 'man'. !!!!!ARGH!!!!
Everything else I could forgive, but not this! Lose WHOLE star! Not happy Dan!
I still desperately want MORE! Give me more, so much more detail, story, background, world building, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! I'll be nice I promise.
The next book-story, I can't get here in Aus except in Audio, only available in the US..
Bar for one, pertinent, glaring issue...
Larissa: so sweet, very real, earnest, likeable, honestly flawed.
A high school history teacher, in a dystopian world, where the human realm and magic realm collided together 26yrs ago. A nerdy (of course beautiful), book worm, action challenged, but smart enough to be honest about it all. Good sense of humour, yay! Not a feminist badass, but neither a damsel in distress. Take away the coolness, beauty, awesome family, lifestyle, success, courage (yeah all that), and she could totally be me. Oh, also the blonde hair, great figure, runners ability ... totally me and all other fantasy readers...
Terak: so sweet, very real, earnest, likeable, somewhat honestly flawed.
Gargoyle clan leader, doing his best to be everything, to everyone. Sometimes a little too perfect.. Could use a few more honest flaws in order to be more than a real fantasy hero, and become the alpha stud as well. Very easy to read, very likeable and sexy, but didn't always simmer. Don't need to be an arsehole, just need to be a little more problematic to be real. It's the flaws that makes the fantasy real. How can you lose yourself in the dream, when there's nothing to overcome, when he's so perfect you wonder where you fit in?
Larissa does have her moments of doubt, brief pauses of insecurity. But she did grow up surrounded by a family of alpha males ( 4 brothers and a dad, all in law enforcement), who love and protect her.
That could help a girl develop a healthy sense of self...
So the oracle (annoying, cool, but too brief character), tells Tarek to protect, she's important to the clan, Thats it.
Introduce the zombies (again too briefly touched on, or detailed).
Tarek to the rescue, and a couple of newbie characters, later to be more fully introduced.
Awesome side characters, that just NEED to have their own stories.
Fallon: Female sword weilding, badass, snarky, sexy, anti-hero, warrior.
Laire: female midget, asian, gorgeous, smart, snarky, hilarious style goddess, mage.
A couple of others, but too brief an appearance to warrant description. I have to say, that this is one other issue, less a complaint, and more a whine. There was so much else that could have been added, turning this into an epic urban fantasy, rather than just a romantic, urban fantasy. The story was already there, the idea's, dialogue, scenes. You could hear and see them, if you squinted jusssst right. I so wanted to read them in this story. Losing myself, being absorbed over days, not just hours.. sigh. Everyones in such a rush.
So theres this big deal over Larissa, all the bad guys want her, with the good guys trying to protect her, and nobody knows why? It's a mystery.
Vampire bad guy, big dangerous orcs (so needed more detail, especially the car scene), mention of dire wolves and goblins (you know what my whine is again)..
Action scenes are good, simply brief, with little detail to truly place you in the scene. Good if you hate those drawn out scenes where punch after punch, fall, slam, you name it, they get back up.. Not so great if you want to know whats happening over there?
What does it smell like, what does it feel like, what makes it real and not just words to an exciting idea?
This sounds negative. It's not meant to. It was so fun, so easy to read, I wanted to know what happened next, wanted to keep reading, really enjoyed myself. I just simply know, it could have so easily been more, with more time, detail, and side bits.
The author is clearly talented, capable, you just can't figure out why she skipped so much?
Then comes the big moment, the loss of a full star! WHY, WHY, HOW?
Spoiler
we have the angsty, romance, drama moment.. I can deal, it's a little obvious, but okay. But, then our smart, real, capable MC has a TSTL moment. All sulky and heartbroken, she gives in to the bad guy, cause, if she can't have her hunky love blocky, why should the rest of the world get to exist. Even the bad guy is shocked by how easily she gives in. Yep, sacrifice everyone to save a kid we know will be killed once the bad guys win anyway ... huh?Okay, its hard, scary, mind boggling, but no, she just caves. Now maybe you think, hey she's a teacher, she just can't deal with the loss of the snarky, idiotic, bitchy teen girl.. Some say fair (not me).
But, as soon as the stone menace is revealed to be in fact, the love of her life! Well now she has to fight, has to win, cause no ones getting between her and her stone penis, ah prince.
Yep, really, couldn't come up with a better way of creating angst and climax, other than turning her into every romance drivel inspired, weak willed, hormone driven, damsel who can't think, live, or be worth anything without her 'man'. !!!!!ARGH!!!!
Everything else I could forgive, but not this! Lose WHOLE star! Not happy Dan!
I still desperately want MORE! Give me more, so much more detail, story, background, world building, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! I'll be nice I promise.
The next book-story, I can't get here in Aus except in Audio, only available in the US..