Review: Unusual and Interesting
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 6, 2014
I just finished reading "Written in Stone", and I have to say it's one of the more unusual books that I've read.  In a number of the reviews I read, the reviewers mentioned that they enjoyed this book even though it's historically set, and that they don't usually read that genre.  That's probably because, although this is supposed to be a historical romance book, it has a very modern feel.To be honest, I'm not even sure in what period the story is supposed to be set.  It's a time when travel was by horses and carriages, but then are words such as tuxedo, bowtie, and the like, and at one point Angie is remembering having been given an injection.  That coupled with a few other clues led me to believe that this story is set some time in the late 1800's to early 1900's...I figured it can't be much later than that, otherwise a man as rich as Gavin would have been driving an automobile.  But even for that time, the story still feels a bit too modern.Despite this drawback, I enjoyed it very much.  The book is fairly well written, but IMO the characters were a bit two dimensional.  I liked Gavin and Angie well enough, but I could not connect with either of them.  There is also a part of the story that seemed a bit contrived.  ***SPOILER SPOILER***  Gavin roams the slum areas of the city rescuing children from the vile proclivities of pedophiles.  Subsequent to vanquishing a few of these sickos, Gavin is arrested for murder.  That part of the plot very quickly got resolved, and IMO added nothing to the story.  ***END OF SPOILER***Gavin is a young man, only son and heir to a HUGE family fortune.  As such he is pursued relentlessly by marriage minded mamas and their charges.  Angie is a young widow, who lost her husband and unborn child in an accident, as well as her ability to walk.  When Gavin meets Angie he is instantly smitten.  I don't have any problems with romances that involve instant connections, especially in stories such as this one where there is a paranormal element.  However, I have to say that in my experience, few authors can carry off a romance that includes the "instant connection" aspect.Unfortunately, the same is true in this book.  I was completely okay with the instant connection; however, I wasn't quite so accepting of the way the relationship between Gavin and Angie unfolded.  In my opinion it just went too quickly...I mean this is supposed to be a romance novel, so why are we rushing over the romance?I also did not like the fact that Gavin bound Angie to himself without first revealing his true heritage...yes she said she loved him and wanted to be with forever, but still forever to a mortal means something completely different than it does to an immortal.  I have to be honest, by the time the story reached this point I was ready to rate this book 3 1/2 stars. However, once Gavin started telling Angie the history of his family, from that point on the book got so much better!If you've read some of the other reviews and wondered what those vague references are to this being almost like two stories in one, the reason is this...the story Gavin tells Angie about his family's history is a long one and progresses over four chapters of this book.His family's history begins in Scotland, 463 A.D., and is the story of his several times removed great grandparents Muredach and Bettina (I loved these two characters!)  Muredach and Bettina's story is a beautiful romance and quite touching.  I loved their story so much that it greatly increased my enjoyment of this book, hence the 4 star rating.Overall I really enjoyed this book.  If you're looking for something a bit different and like historically set romance books with a paranormal element you might like this one.FYI there are a couple of love scenes that are quite graphic and described in all their glory with the use of some explicit language.  Furthermore, if you're a historical romance purists, I'm not sure how you'll feel about the story.  My preferred genre is historical romance, and I do like them to be as authentic as possible; notwithstanding, I would not describe myself as a purist.  Consequently, the modern feel of this story did not detract from my enjoyment of it.I would recommend this book as a good read, not great, but good.