Review: Stone Kissed by Keri Stevens

Title: Stone Kissed
Author: Keri Stevens
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: December 27th, 2010
My copy: NetGalley

From GoodReads: When Delia Forrest talks to statues, they talk back. She is, after all, the last of the Steward witches. After an arsonist torches her ancestral home with her estranged father still inside, Delia is forced to sell the estate to pay his medical bills. Her childhood crush, Grant Wolverton, makes a handsome offer for Steward House, vowing to return it to its former glory. Delia agrees, as long as he’ll allow her to oversee the restoration. Working so closely with Grant, Delia finds it difficult to hide her unique talent—especially when their growing passion fuels her abilities. But someone else lusts after both her man and the raw power contained in the Steward land. Soon Delia finds herself fighting not just for Grant’s love, but for both their lives…

I was blown away by Keri Stevens debut novel, Stone Kissed. The quality of the writing and of the story are on par with experienced, best-selling authors. Initially, I downloaded the eBook with some trepidation. The blurb sounded like the book had potential but that it could have gone in either direction (i.e. good or bad). My doubts were quickly put to rest as I was engulfed by Delia and Grant’s amazing story.

Delia is a witch, but not your average kind (if there is even such a thing!). She has one main skill: she’s able to talk to statues. This seemed like an odd talent to me at first but the author quickly convinced me of its merit. Many statues have been around for centuries keeping watch on the human world as it changes and evolves. Imagine the tales they would tell if they could talk! All the things that they’ve been witness to; all of the secrets they could reveal. My mind was buzzing with all the possibilities. I’m going to look at every statue I cross paths with in a new light from now on! Being a statue does have it’s drawbacks though. For one, they can’t move (or can they?) and two, they are somewhat detached from the living. They’re like the stone that they are made from: cold.

Stone Kissed is a love story at its core. Delia has had a childhood crush on Grant ever since she can remember. When their paths cross as adults this innocent love develops into something more. It’s quite the process though. Lots of back-and-forth and indecisiveness on both of their ends. It reminded me a lot of my own love life, minus the paranormal and enemies of course! I found this aspect of the book to be very relatable and real. It illustrates how relationships don’t always start off on the right foot but with enough time and effort they can grow into something more. This novel had me almost screaming at the pages out of frustration sometimes. “Can’t you see that you’re meant to be together?! Get off your high horses! Gawd!” When a book gets me that emotionally involved I have to give it high marks. I think that it’s a sign of great writing.

Now, it’s time for me to talk about the nookie! It was plentiful and definitely swoon worthy. There’s no repetition and the descriptions are impassioned. The reader can literally feel the heat between the two main characters. I tend to read anywhere/anytime an opportunity presents itself. Not always a good thing when you’re reading a book as scorching as this! If my coworkers only knew where my mind goes when I read during lunch! This book is great for paranormal and/or romance fiction enthusiasts.

Originally, I had given Stone Kissed four paws out of five but seeing how this is Keri Stevens’ debut novel, I’m bumping it up to five! There were a number of missing words / spelling errors that I’m guessing will be corrected before the official release. But that’s really the only negative feedback I have on this book. The story is inventive, the characters are engaging and there are plenty of toe curling moments. I recommend this book to anyone in search of a remarkable read with a nice balance of depth and diversion.

Goodreads
Keri Stevens’ Website
Pre-order on Amazon

       

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