Review: Very Steamy, but I could have done with more story and world building
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 8, 2012
Mace is a firefighter, who after a double shift is on his way home when he almost runs over an old man wandering in the middle of the Kentucky mountain road.  After stopping and getting the man into his truck to get to help, he can't help but notice that something about the old man isn't quite right, and against his better judgement allows the old man to insist he be taken home instead of the hospital.  When he finds the place the old man says he lives, it seems to be some sort of hippie compound, with lots of people running around naked around a bonfire.  Though tired as he is, he seems to be taking it all in stride, though the non-answers they keep giving him are a bit frustrating.  When he decides to stay because he's too sleepy to drive home, he meets Luc, a massive beast of a beautiful man who takes his breath away and has a raw confidence and sexuality that stuns him.  He's smitten, and much more very quickly, even when it all starts to hit the fan.I had a few problems with this story.  It's not what I think a lot of people complain about Mary's stories (the perfect men, etc.) because I'm quite used to that and find it charming most times now, but more that there's actually very little of the world ever given until a somewhat info dump near the end.  Also, while I noticed there was care not to be insta-love, in the sense that Mace finds it very important not to give his heart away so quickly and insist on a slower romance, he does seem to fall quite quickly and his actions seemed contrary to his words, so I'm not quite sure I wouldn't label it insta-love.  That however, is a matter of opinion from reader to reader.What I did like about this story was the unusual world and creatures -- gargoyles -- which was quite interesting though I would have liked to learn a lot more, especially with so many questions unanswered.  Most of all, the chemistry between Mace and Luc, which is completely sexual and didn't seem very romantic to me, personally, was HOT HOT HOT.  Completely scalding, which was very nice to read and I enjoyed that immensely.  I ended up feeling that this was mostly an erotic read with a nice world around it.  I needed more story for it to feel really romantic to me, or for there to be an organic relationship grow between the two.  But I was okay with that, such as it was.  It didn't make the story wonderful to me, but it was definitely interesting and pleasing to read.I'm a fan of Mary Calmes, a pretty big fan, so I really liked this story where some readers might find more fault with it.  Or, at least, they might find that those faults weigh more.  I suppose what I'd really like would be to read a sequel, where we learn more about the world and perhaps get to know some more of the characters.