"A fascinating new shapeshifter/gargoyle series begins"

As a young girl, Rachel Vandermere saw her parents brutally murdered by a monster. Everyone thought she was making it up as a way to deal with her grief, but she knew better. That creature was real and she dedicated her adult life to proving it.

Nathan Cross is one of an ancient cursed race, sworn to protect innocents from evil for all of eternity. He is a gargoyle, immortal and hating it. Born again and again over the centuries with memories of all that came before, he is weary of this life and agonizing over what is lost. When he meets Rachel, all his pain is before him again.

Rachel knows something is different about Nathan the first moment she sees him. Little does she know just how different. When she starts to investigate a murder to which some of the gargoyles were witnesses, she must track them down to get to the bottom of things. He is sworn to protect his people's secret at any cost, but his passion for her consumes him. But what will happen when she discovers he may hold the key to her parents' deaths? And how will she react to discover he is one of the very monsters she seeks?

This is one fabulous story that will keep readers turning those pages all the way to the end of the book. This reviewer never would have considered a gargoyle as a sexy and stirring tortured hero but it sure works here. This is a very unique premise for a story and that in itself would be enough to keep one interested. The characters are compelling and the background on the gargoyles is fascinating, which also adds to the reader's desire to see what will come next.

Nathan is a driven man. He is torn between his desires to leave behind what his people expect of him and his longing to belong to something. He's a loner, having broken tradition by trying to modernize the gargoyle society. When he meets Rachel, his desire for her goes against everything he thinks he wants. The fact that she hates his people, without knowing anything about them makes his relationship with her quite rocky.

Rachel has seen and survived horrors no one would believe, and that has colored everything she thinks and feels. Her drive to prove the existence of monsters could, and has, made her an object of ridicule with many people. She is strong willed and full of passion in her beliefs, which make her a very intriguing person. Her whole world is knocked off kilter with this latest case and sets things in motion for the shocking discovery she makes towards the end of the book.

Carved in Stone is the first book in a new series by the newcomer Vickie Taylor. If this story is anything to go by, future books by this author will be just as impressive. This is an author to watch as she is bound to become a future star.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, June 2005. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Kelley Hartsell
Courtesy Love Romances
Posted August 24, 2005

A new paranormal romance that breathes life into the ancient gargoyles.

Summary

Sophia has worked her whole life to exact revenge on the demonic winged creatures who killed her parents. Then she crosses paths with handsome Nathan Cross. The attraction is mutual, but if he ever dares reveal himself to her, it would spell disaster.