Book Review: Locked in Stone by Tory Michaels

Locked in Stone is a paranormal romance and the first book in the Hearts of Stone series by Tory Michaels. Rose Johnson's adoptive mother has been murdered, and Rose could be next. She may be the last gargoyle in the world—the last being who stands between this world and the evils of Otherworld. Sentinel Cal Levesque never forgave himself for failing Rose's family years ago. Seeing Rose alive is shock enough, until the stunningly beautiful gargoyle attacks him upon sight. As they strike an uneasy peace, and unexpected and escalating attraction, Cal knows he'll have to tell Rose who really betrayed her family. And with Rose's life in greater danger than ever, Cal has a chance to make up for the past, as long he doesn't fall in love.

Locked in Stone laid the ground work for an interesting new series. Rose is an interesting character. Her combination of suspicion and blind trust in her adoptive mother got a smidgen repetitive in the end, but was consistent with what she had been through. Cal was riddled with guilt and attended to honor and duty a bit obsessively. However, again that was in line with his history. I found the story as a whole a good read, but I was immediately a little frustrated with the main characters on occasion. I will say that I did greatly enjoy the world building and and very interested to see where the story goes from here. I will be giving the second book a look.

Gargoyles are rarely featured characters in paranormal romance, I can thing of few other series that have them as romantic leads, and do it well. It was good to see another gargoyle series that seems to offer a new take on the species and enter new ground. 

I would recommend Locked in Stone to readers that enjoy urban fantasy and paranormal romance that is a little different. The world building and ground work for the rest of the series is very well done. There is a lot of promise in this book for the new series.