A Life of Stone

by Rebecca Maeve Hartwell

Frozen in stone is torture beyond imagining. Returning to life is worse.

Demitria has been sleeping in stone for two and half thousand years. The centuries pass, barely noticed, until someone touches her with a spark of familiar warmth, and her blood quickens beneath her skin of marble. Her desire to live pulls her on, even as the trials of her past—and the fears of her future—push her to stay safe, cold, and solid.

Nikolaos is forced to set aside the revenge that has driven him into the life he now leads when he sees a familiar face at an auction. Not among the sea of wealthy bidders, but on an implausibly lifelike statue. He becomes its caretaker when his employer purchases it, both men hoping it will bring their dreams to life.

When the man who holds them in his unforgiving fist demands what he cannot have, chaos tears through the beautiful facade of the isolated world he rules. Will Demitria and Nikolaos overcome their ancient wounds, finally claiming their own destinies? Or will they lose everything to the hard fate the Gods—and other magic users—have dealt them…

181 pages, Paperback

First published February 21, 2023

About the author

Rebecca Maeve Hartwell has always escaped into make-believe and fiction. Stories have helped her survive and even thrive after the darkest chapters of her life, and now she writes her own in the hopes of doing the same for others. Her first series, Unlocked, delves deep into dark romance, immersive magic, and high-stakes adventure. Her characters are complex and troubled, stitched together with heartfelt themes of healing and personal power. Her background in theater, reenactment, and the strong oral storytelling traditions she was raised with are all noticeable in her elegant story-telling and rich, captivating worlds. Rebecca lives in Maine with her two cats. She enjoys Lindy Hop swing dancing, sewing costumes, and long drives in the dark with just the right music playing.

Reviews

[Kyla Sixkiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly, such an amazing story. I loved all of it. I didn’t want to put it down. The emotions that a riddled within this book are deep and meaningful. The FMC stand up for her beliefs and even that will trump her love for someone, if she believes that they are reacting poorly or worse than their enemies did. It was quite the exciting read and the story and plot were so well written. The ending is perfect, with just the right amount of “what ifs” to think about and how their story may continue (if it does.) I loved the lore they put into the story and the way the magic works in it.

[LadyAReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was short and sweet. I wanted it to be longer and to tell me what comes next for Niko and Demetria.

[Kat Crumb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, such an unusual story. It's intriguing and mysterious. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series

[Tabetha Slade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the story was well-written, however the characters were just not great. I was intrigued by the premise, but then Demetria was very hypocritical and manipulative and that just pulled me out of the story. I was more spite reading by the end, which wasn't really that great either - it felt very like 'and they all lived happily ever after' mixed with a bit of 'I was done with this story, even though I have left it open to have so much potential'. I know it was sort of a pre-cursor to the series itself, but it wasn't really written in a way that said it would be continued and I don't remember those characters turning up in the series. It's sort of a side-story that has no real impact on the main story and doesn't even give a glimpse into the lives of characters from the main story.