Review: Stone Kissed by Keri Stevens
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 28, 2010
Delia has a very distant relationship with her father, but that doesn't mean she isn't devastated when her childhood home, Steward House burns in a fire. Her father is left in a coma as a result. Not having much money, and knowing she will have substantial medical bills in the near future for her father, she decides to sell Steward House to Grant Wolverton. She has had a crush on Grant since childhood, but he doesn't remember her. Very wealthy, Grant who deals in antiques and art, offers to restore Steward House, and Delia reluctantly hands over the deed for a great sum of money.Delia herself is a stone conservator - but that is not where her special abilities end. She can also communicate with the stone statues. They keep her company but they have also made her the town outcast. Stories have been swirling about her odd behavior in the small town she is from. Now that she is back in that small town, gossip starts again. Afraid to let Steward House go completely, she offers to take over the remodel. Grant agrees - and neither can quite let go of the attraction that is building between them. But the question of who set the fire is still unsolved and there is another woman in town who has her eyes set on Steward House and Grant.Stone Kissed is an odd little book. I say that because it is different - and I really wanted to like it. But I had some problems. It starts off rough and the first third of the book I had a really hard time with. The sentences and changes from scene to scene were jerky and not smooth. I didn't understand Grant and had a hard time with the intense attraction Delia feels for him. About halfway through things start to settle down and I became more immersed in the story. It is a dark book. Delia has an awful relationship with her father who is now comatose so she has guilt in that area. She had to give up her home which she feels a great connection to, and she has to figure out these intense feelings for Grant. I had a hard time buying into the romance. The actual sex scenes are very sensual, but I didn't get Grant's love for Delia. Delia herself has had a crush on Grant for years, so her side makes more sense. But for most of the book, Grant thinks Delia is delusional for her claim to talk to statues and he thinks she is a thief for taking his statues from him. Yet he still falls in love? I buy into the fact he lusted after her and likes her in his bed, but not love.I liked the statue aspect and how they interacted with Delia. I also think the villain in this story is well done - nothing is held back in terms of the evil emanating from her. But the overall tone of the book is so dark and depressing. I tend to like darker books, but there wasn't anything to grasp onto as we waded through the serious stuff. I never quite understood Delia and Grant. And when I don't believe in the love between the hero and heroine, I can't be satisfied by the story.