Sunday, June 19, 2016

Bookish Thoughts: Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch

Jack Miller aimed his shotgun at the monster's grey-skinned head and pulled the trigger. ~ Opening of Stone Guardian 


Stone Guardian (Entwined Realms #1) by Danielle Monsch
Romantic Geek Publishing, 2013
Fantasy (Urban); 374 pgs
Source: NetGalley

Gargoyles would likely not make my list of romantic interests in a paranormal novel, but Danielle Monsch finds a way to make it work. I mean, if women the world over can be drawn to cold blood-sucking men and furry hot-blooded alpha men who growl . . . Well, why not a winged stone-like man too? I really enjoyed exploring Danielle Monsch's world in Stone Guardian. Imagine two parallel universes colliding and humans and supernatural creatures must find a way to co-exist in the aftermath.

Larissa Miller is a history teacher, but seems pretty clueless about the supernatural beings that inhabit her planet. She's pretty well-sheltered, living in a human only city and surrounded by over protective brothers and a father who is a police chief. She's drawn the attention of quite a few creatures, including Terak, the leader of the Gargoyles. A cryptic prophecy has led him to her, and he has been watching her for months. His doubts that she is really in any danger prove true when she is attacked on the street. Terak and Larissa join forces to find out who is behind the attack and why Larissa is the target.

There are a lot of reasons why this novel should not have worked for me. Larissa is a history teacher and yet knows so little about the world outside her supposedly safe human only city. The argument that she is ever curious and always wants to learn new things and yet stops questioning because it upset her father when she was younger isn't very believable. She's very much the damsel in distress (although she isn't one to take unnecessary risks, which is always a relief), always needing the hero to save her. There's also the fact that I had trouble buying Terak as a leader of the Gargoyles at times.

Despite all that, I had such fun reading this book. I was wrapped up in the story, and wanted to know how everything would play out. I thought it was a good story. I liked both Terak and Larissa, despite my reservations, and felt they were well matched. I especially liked the secondary characters and the world outside Larissa's door. It's definitely one I would like to explore further. 

To learn more about Danielle Monsch and her work, please visit the authors's websiteShe can also be found on Goodreads and Twitter.


© 2016, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

18 comments:

  1. I'm with you about the gargoyles not likely make the list of romantic interests; I mean they're fascinating and intriguing characters in paranormal but I just couldn't imagine them as love interests. Still, this sounds like an interesting read and I'm glad you'd fun reading it, Wendy.

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    1. Melody - I can see the appeal of Terak in this novel, but it would have been hard to picture before hand. :-)

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  2. Sometimes we love a book that makes no literary pretensions just because it is fun! That a pretty good reason. :)

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  3. I like characters that don't take unnecessary risks. That always drives me crazy and makes me want to reach into the book and give the character a good shake. We do not confront murderers or bad guys on our own without telling anyone! I love a fun read and the gargoyle character is definitely something I haven't come across before. I've been wanting to try urban fantasy and this looks like it might be a fun one to start with.

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    1. Katherine - Me too. Larissa doesn't fall into the TSTL category, thankfully. This really was a fun one, and I hope you like it if you decide to read it!

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  4. This sounds like fun! I can picture a gargoyle being romantic if he sheds his cement or porcelain outerwear and has skin :) Otherwise, ouch!

    Thanks for sharing a new-to-me author. I'm very picky about my epic and urban fantasy, so I don't read much of it.

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    1. Rita - Fortunately, he really wasn't made out of stone or porcelain in this case. :-)

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  5. Good to know. I like gargoyles...the stone ones in Paris most of all... but never thought of having one come to life in a story. Might have to give this one a try. :)

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    1. Lark - I read a short story last year in which the gargoyles came to life (it was really good). It wasn't anything like this though. And definitely not anyone's love interest. :-) I had fun reading this one.

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  6. A gargoyle as a romantic interest? I have to say that's unusual and intriguing.

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    1. A.M.B. - Very unusual. At least in my reading experience. :-) It was interesting. Of course, the way the author did it made it much more easy to imagine than it might have been otherwise.

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  7. Interesting how many kinds of supernatural creatures have been turned into romantic interests. This one does sound good, plot wise. But I am bothered by the damsel in distress character so this may not be for me.

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    1. Athira - I imagine there isn't a supernatural creature that can't be in some way, depending on the author. Zombies are love interests nowadays. I still don't know what I think about that. :-)

      Larissa isn't capable of much against a horde of zombies and other supernatural beings, so it's good she has others around willing to protect her. She does prove her mettle towards the end of the book to some extent, if that helps.

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  8. I assume this is the gargoyle book you mentioned on my blog and how funny because I also have this one and have been meaning to read it lol. I think any supernatural creature can be made sexy if the author tries hard enough, haha. I'm not sure I'll like Larissa from your description, but I still plan to read it anyway. And that's good that they were at least a good match for each other. I'm glad this was a fun read for you!

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    1. Kristen - Yes, this is the one. :-) I hope you enjoy this one if you do read it. I'm anxious to try some of the author's other books set in this world. Who knows? You might like Larissa. I liked her in spite of my issues with her. :-)

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  9. Stone Guardian looks good. I'm digging the whole gargoyle thing, why not? It's different. Great review!

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    1. Naida - It was a fun one! The gargoyle romance is different, which is partly why I wanted to read this one. :-)

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