The Gargoyle Protector

The Immortal Warriors #2

by Rebecca F. Kenney

THE GARGOYLE PROTECTOR is a steamy romance set in alternate-history steampunk France during a magical civil war.

When Noémie, Third Princess of Normandy, is forced to accept a gargoyle as her bodyguard, she is determined to hate him. But a series of assassination attempts brings the pair closer together, and she begins to realize that there is much more to her bodyguard than stone and bat-wings and magic. Together, Noémie and Gideon begin to process the grief and loss that each of them has endured. Slowly they unravel the mystery of his origins and uncover secrets that could affect the outcome of the war.

This romance is told in dual point-of-view and includes an HEA ending, along with some favorite tropes and scenarios.

Trigger warnings are available on the author's website and in the front matter of the book.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Steampunk, Romantasy, Paranormal, Monsters

Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2023

About the author

Rebecca F. Kenney writes spicy fantasy romance about sassy, strong women and hot guys with tragic backstories... pirates, warlords, demons, Fae, and royals. Her main series are the "Wicked Darlings" series (spicy Fae retellings of the Nutcracker, Wonderland, and Oz), the "Dark Rulers" series (standalones in a shared world), and the "For the Love of the Villain" series of genderbent fairytales. Other books include a post-apocalyptic vampire romance trilogy ("The Vampires Will Save You"), a demon romance "Interior Design for Demons," a dark mermaid fantasy duet, and other spicy retellings.

Rebecca is represented by Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary. She lives in upstate South Carolina with her handsome blue-eyed husband and two smart, energetic kids.

For updates and information about upcoming novels, follow on Instagram @rebeccafkenneybooks, on Twitter @RebeccaFKenney1, and on TikTok @rebeccafkenney

Reviews

[Sammie Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, I could have loved this book SO much! And I did really like it. It was very unique, had a really cool steampunk theme, and it’s set in France! This reminded me of a mix between a remake of Beauty and the Beast, Frankenstein, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Set in wartime, Princess Noémie has just had a serious attempt on her life, likely by the spies of Prince Léon, her arch enemy. Her brother decides that she needs a bodyguard, and he’s had one made especially for her. Gideon is a big, string gargoyle, brought to life with a special blend of magic, the very use of magic the war is being fought over. Noémie’s best friend and former bodyguard was just killed protecting her, and the last thing Noémie wants is to be shadowed by some big, dumb gargoyle with bid dumb wings.

Gideon knows immediately that he’s not like other gargoyles. He possesses the stock memories given to all animated gargoyles, but underneath he remembers things from a former life, things he can’t quite give a name or face to…namely his own. And when the attacks on Noémie keep coming, he’s suddenly convinced that THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE! At first Noémie is a gigantic snobby bitch to Gideon, which just pissed me right off, but she did eventually fall for him and morph into a nice little sweetie. Eventually. Thankfully I wasn’t tortured by her bitchiness for too long. My issue with this book is that as interesting as the atmosphere was, there were so many times that I was BORED. I had to force myself to finish this, and I would have loved more of Gideon and Noémie. It was a fun read though, very creative!

[Cee · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 20%

It started well, but I just can't excuse her using a slur with him constantly when she knows it is one. Like obviously she can tell he is different and sure after he calls her cruel she decides to stop, but it shouldn't have had to come to that. I really don't like her. So, while I want to know what happened to Gideon, I just don't want to continue reading about this main character.

[Veronica (Honey Roselea Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute and different. Wasn't my favorite in terms of this book and Jack Frost, the first in the series. but still fun nonetheless. Can't wait to continue on with the series.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to love this but I think the chemistry between the MMC and FMC didn’t hit for me.

Wasn’t expecting the twist but also enjoyed the world this was set in. The magic was interesting

[Rebecca F. Kenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi, Author here! This book is about grief and loss, as well as the healing power of love and intimacy. And GARGOYLES of course. Hot, sexy gargoyles.

[Tarryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably about 3.5 stars. The book is good in that Kenney is a good writer. However, there were times of tedium having to deal with what a prejudiced fuck Noemie is for so much of the book. Made it hard to enjoy at times.

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, unique. Alt history France. Civil War. Princess and her bodyguard.

[HorrorBook HellHound · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good little read!! It wasn't quite as spicey as I had been led to believe BUT the plot was super interesting and the characters were absolutely loveable as well. I definitely did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did and I look forward to reading more from this author!

[E.P. Stavs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it!

I'm a big fan of steampunk, so I was delighted to see that aesthetic come to life in one of Kenney's brilliant romances. The setting is dark and the emotions are deep in this one, and I loved every minute. Each character was perfection, from the main couple to the handful of side characters. And the plot! So creative. I can't recommend it enough.

5/5 stars

[•Mrs Pizza• · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 I was bored. And the big twist is spoiled by the title of the book

[Cat Bowser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists. Turns. Steam

Wow! What a fun twist! This story is full of lots of them and will genuinely leave you guessing while also building them with just the right amount of tension and foreshadowing. They’re believable and not just shock value.

The world building here is wonderful with a delightful steam punk feel. Politics play an important role and yet don’t feel too complex to follow.

Our main couple are built up slowly, bit by bit, which makes their relationship all the more fun to follow. The author delves into some deep and philosophical ideas about souls and personality but they are woven expertly into the tale.

Definitely a worthwhile read.

[HighasClaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crikey it dives right in to the different world and magic system. It’s a painful landing into this universe’s France, and I have to admit that I skipped over a lot of the world and magic building. Did I miss it later on? Not really

Ok, so maybe I started reading this because of my childhood crush on Goliath from the cartoon series… but I was definitely more interested in the story once Gideon came along and I read his POV.

I don’t know if I’m a victim of my own reading habits but I just felt like it could be… more. More intrigue, more working together to uncover secrets.

At 90% I wondered if this was yet another book I started without realising it was a series. Then when it wasn’t I was a bit disappointed. But isn’t that a good thing, that I wanted more of Noemie and Gideon??

I liked their romance, the touching on sex as an escape. LOVED their first *proper* sex scene because of the feelings portrayed. But yeah, the abrupt ending left me… wanting

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just perfect 😘👌 The concept of a romance between a human and a gargoyle was what drew me in, the world made me stay.

This is a gargoyle steampunk romance set in France, in the midst of war and it was glorious. Obviously the romance was why I picked this up in the first place, but the beautiful visual setting that I got from RFK's writing was just stunning. Every bit of this worked. The romance between Gideon and Noemie unfolded with the ideal pacing, not too fast, not too slow, and working through grief and prejudice, they both ended up developing a passionate forbidden romance that was just so satisfying.

Admittedly, I did see a certain plot twist coming, but it definitely didn't detract from the impact it had on the characters and the plot even though I was almost certain what the situation was.

Glorious from start to finish, I truly resented every time I had to sit my Kindle down during the duration of this book 😂

[Darby Cupid · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You can kill me," I panted. "But kiss me a little longer first."

I devoured this gem of a book by Kenney. It never ceases to amaze me how she is able to take stories in such vastly different settings and create something so uniquely wonderful. This might be my new favourite.

The steam punk setting was just brilliant and I adored the world building and touches of fantastical history. The characters were great and I loved the dual POV. This book was HOT and funny and romantic and sad. It also leaves a lot of room for a sequel, so I shall begin begging now.

SEQUEL PLEASE.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect...a romance involving a stone gargoyle? Is this gonna be a little too weird for me? Thankfully, I was hooked from the start, and the plot brought it all together—the whole “stone-man thing” makes sense, trust me. There’s some great humor here in addition to the romance and worldbuilding! Another winner from Rebecca F. Kenney.

[Sara Cleveland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I really enjoyed it. The worldbuilding was interesting (a sort of steampunk AU France). The plot was entertaining despite the fact that I guessed the major twists in the first chapter. That's okay, I don't mind knowing the destination so long as the trip to get there is interesting.

I'm knocking points off for the abuse of the word corset.

[Megan Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always an amazing book by this author ❤️

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Books0507_Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't put this one down! I wasn't sure what to expect, Gargoyles are not really something I've read much about, but I've read a few others by Rebecca and was intrigued.

I enjoyed the world building and the main characters, their chemistry was so on point, and some parts were a little heartbreaking towards the end.

The only reason I marked this as a 3 star is because I found it predictable, but I still really enjoyed.

[Chaos · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/3

I just don't think steampunk books are my thing. This is only the 2nd I've read and I just dont like it. I do like the premise and the writing wasn't bad. But Noemie was pretty cruel and mean. I understand she was grieving such a huge loss, but the way she treated Gideon was despicable. It made me hate her right off the bat. I will say, she did improve and started understanding Gideon, which made me like her a bit more. I just wish she hadn't acted the way she did to Gideon. To me, it was pretty obvious that Gideon was the murdered crown prince of the rival country. So that was such a huge part of the story that didn't really appeal to me. It made it a bit boring. Noemie's brother is a douche and I'm so glad that her sister helped her out. The ending did wrap everything nicely so that was good.

[Cassie Gilli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable

[Eener Somar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noemie gives me the ick

I really dislike Noémie. . She called her guard slurs and then was offended when he said she was cruel. This girl goes out of her way to hurt her body guard all the while sexualizing his body.

"Look at you, standing there, feeling nothing, doing nothing—just standing, while my life crumbles to ash around me. And you're simply—existing. Staring, like the big stupid lump of rock that you are."

Noemie is self-centered and annoying. Her self-righteousness is on another level. She keeps reiterating how everyone likes her, how she's so kind. Yeah, obviously she's soooo kind 🙄

Meanwhile, he offers himself, his life to her willingly and not of compulsion. Gideon struggles with his illusive past and pardons the princess's cruelty. It's not until he reveals his memories that she begins viewing him as more than an object but even then, she justifies sleeping with him as being okay and not against her religious stance because he's not a person. Ick.

Gideon deserves better.

Noemie can step on Legos.

[Kieralle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nuanced and insightful characters

I really enjoyed this one, mostly because I've come to realise I enjoy banter between two main characters, laced with enough wit to not be cheesy.

I loved how our FMC had her prejudices and beliefs challenged, having always thought of herself as someone "nice". It echoes real world racism, xenophobia and all else that perpetuates hate in humanity. Differences evolve to seen as wrong, fear turns to anger and hate and wars.

I loved how intelligent this author's writing is. It's fantasy romance to the core, but so rich and full of depth with characters who are not perfect, but are willing to grow.

I found it too short as a novella, but the pacing was fine and didn't feel too rushed considering the length of it.
There's steam, but enough tension that it didn't feel gratuitous.

I love her work looking forward to whatever she brings out next.

[Alice Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, yes. Just yes.

This book awoke a long dormant crush I had forgotten about, from my childhood, on an animated gargoyle and I'm honestly not mad.

This book is *steamy* as all heck.

The steam punk world building- the inventions, the atmosphere, the clothes. All sheer perfection.

My one bug bear, the one thing that I could pick out of all this- I want more of it! I want to see Jaqueline, I want more time to enjoy our main characters getting to know each other again. I just want to spend more time in this world, essentially.

(I also want a sensitive, noble gargoyle boyfriend. Please don't tell my human boyfriend.)

[Bon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly deeper than I expected. The worldbuilding was interesting, a steampunk alternate France, although I didn't care for the religion that permeated the pages.

But otherwise, wow. This was the Gargoyles fanfic of my dreams 😂 And it was interesting how the author played with identity, consent and free will through the gargoyles' existence. It was pretty sexy, too. A solid read.

[Comet]

DNF- the main character was too unbearable for me. She was such an asshole to the hero that I couldn’t stand to read about her anymore, so I had to quit.

[Serena Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Siento profundamente, princesa', dijo por fin, su voz resonando a través de su pecho hasta mi oído. 'Siento, por ti'.




•Mi opinión puede contener Spoilers.
•Esta destinada a ser un descargo personal no para que alguien más lea pero si lo haces y te ofende, me disculpo porque sé lo que es que te guste un libro y otros lo critiquen.




The Gargoyle Prince de Rebecca F. Kenney serie immortal Warriors libro 2

Argumento:

Cuando Noémie, Tercera Princesa de Normandía, se ve obligada a aceptar una gárgola como su guardaespaldas, está decidida a odiarlo. Pero una serie de intentos de asesinato acerca a la pareja, y ella comienza a darse cuenta de que su guardaespaldas es mucho más que piedra, alas de murciélago y magia. Juntos, Noémie y Gideon comienzan a procesar el dolor y la pérdida que cada uno de ellos ha sufrido. Lentamente desentrañan el misterio de sus orígenes y descubren secretos que podrían afectar el resultado de la guerra.



Mi humilde opinión:

Me encanta esta serie y todos los seres e historias que salen de la imaginación de esta autora. Hasta ahora disfruté de todos los immortal Warriors.

The Gargoyle Prince está ambientada en Francia de una época victoriana con elementos de fantasía y ciencia ficción. La trama me resultó interesante con sus intrigas políticas, complots, traición con una familia real, una guerra mágica y un amor prohibido con una gárgola y una princesa.

Al principio no me gustaba nada Noémie. Lo sentí por ella con el atentado a su vida donde pierde a su amiga guardaespaldas y confidente pero cuando ponen a Gideon para cuidarla fue horrible su trato con él. Bueno, era una princesa y se comportó mayormente como tal. Me gustó más en la historia cuando ella comienza a investigar y preguntarse en quién puede confiar para llegar a la persona que quiere su muerte. Ella se apoya en Gideon quien es el único que puede protegerla y se permite conocerlo. Cuando comienza a enamorarse de él, deja sus prejuicios y creencias sobre las gárgolas. Ella salió de su burbuja y empezó a hacer algo para cambiar las cosas y mostrar la realidad a los demás de lo que sucedía para detener la guerra.

Gideon fue una sorpresa. Nunca esperé el giro con su identidad. Estaba segura que tenía el alma de un enemigo pero no esperé de quién. Su personaje estaba bien detallado, pintaba muy bien las sensaciones cuando muestra que no es solo de piedra, es un ser sintiente. Me encantó su personaje.

Para mí fue dura la escena en la que él culpa con odio a Noémie por ser hija del enemigo y desconcertante cuando en el mismo momento le dice que la ama. Creo que no hubo un proceso de las emociones. Más aún cuando esto sucede sobre el final cuando él recupera su alma entera.

Si bien el romance de enemigos a amantes estuvo bien no fue una pareja de mis favoritas.

Hay constante tensión sexual entre ellos, muchas veces sus peleas terminaban con sexo. Sentí que le faltó emoción a esos momentos íntimos. No me molestó que no fuera tan explícito pero quería también que me mostraran su parte tierna. Los dos estaban en medio de un gran conflicto donde jugaba mucho el odio, la muerte entre otras cosas. Esto es a lo largo del libro y necesité algún momento de paz entre ellos para creer que eran una pareja sólida enamorada.

Cuando los protagonistas superan lo insuperable, el libro llegó a su fin. Avanzó demasiado rápido, atando algunos cabos y resolviendo algunas cosas rápidamente. Una de las cosas que no esperé fue que Noémie pusiera el alma de su amiga en una gárgola. Entendí que la quería mucho y que su muerte fue injusta pero no me pareció que fuera una decisión que tuviera que tomar ella.

En general disfruté la historia. Me dio algo original pero me dejó con ganas de un final mejor.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall rating: 4.5/5
Spice: 3.5/5
Narrator: 4/5
Cliffhanger: 0/5

After reading some of the reviews, my expectations for this book weren’t very high, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it is highly underrated. This book was fantastic. A completely unique setting and plot mixed with raw and honest characterizations of people struggling through grief and war and some pretty crazy magic.

This story takes place in an alternate reality, steampunk France, where magic brings most of the steampunk technology alive and keeps it running. We are in Normandy, the upper half of France that is the leaders in this magical tech and who is at war with the southern half, who think this technology is evil and goes against God.

Noemi, the scholarly, independent youngest child to the King and Queen of Normandy, life it thrown into chaos when a magical bomb goes off the class she is teaching. Her best friend and bodyguard is killed saving her and Noemi’s awful brother deals with her grief by locking her in Versailles and assigning her a gargoyle as a new bodyguard. Gargoyles are stone statues brought to life to act as guards and soldiers and they creep Noemi our.

Noemi uses Gideon, her new guard, as a punching bag for her grief, honestly believing he has no feelings and no soul. Kind of like we might curse-out Siri. She soon finds out that Gideon is unlike any other gargoyle she has met and that he very much has thoughts and feelings and a personality. As the assassination attempts continue, and they can only trust each other, she vows to help him uncover the secrets of his creation.

The characterizations here are excellent. The characters are flawed and layered and real and it’s not always pretty. Noemi, in her grief, is not very nice but it is very true to how a grieving person would act with a stranger, especially when she doesn’t think the stranger is a “real person.” Realizing he is very much a real person is a huge blow to her world view and she shows a great deal of bravery and open-mindedness in her willingness to shift it.

And poor Gideon, what that poor man has to go through, waking up as a living stone slave is horrible. Yet his devotion to Noemi is beautiful.

Cautions:Technically, this is a Monster Romance. Gideon is a gargoyle and stays a gargoyle straight through all the spicy scenes. If you can’t get into that, skip this book.

Also, this book does not belong in the Immortal Warriors series. There is zero cross-over and it doesn’t resemble any of the realms depicted in the other 7 books. I can only assume it was placed in this series for marketing reasons, but don’t go in expecting anything from Jack Frost in this book or anything from the Gargoyle Protector in any of the subsequent books.

I heartily recommend this book for anyone looking for a truly unique fantasy romance and complicated, flawed characters.

[Claire Blind Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this at all. I don't think I've read a more obnoxious female lead who was so stupid, so grandiose in her pity, so selfish. She certainly isn't the most insufferable leads I've had to follow around *cough cough* Opal Reyne *cough cough* Iris Johansen but man is she up there. She flounces around, calling herself a historian and of the people and it's oh so ironic their in France because she'd be up there on the chopping block going "let them eat cake". Oblivious.
Also I'm seeing all these reviews about twists and turns and I spotted nary a one. I figured her body guard was alive (also horrendously selfish of Noamie to put her in a statue. Also a big ol' cop out for the author). I figured the gargoyle was the prince before the halfway mark, it was super obvious (either that or a general but he seemed kinda young). Like nothing was a surprise here. Well, except for how milk toast the ending was.
AND GIDEON! His character was just so crazy inconsisent between POV shifts and his overtly sexual behavior was really off putting. Like it would come out of nowhere. I couldn't get invested in the relationship, nor his falling for Noamie. He kept calling her smart and whatnot and I couldn't see it. Especially since she was pretty cruel to him throughout.

I'm doing pretty terribly as far as books lately and it's dragging me down. How are people writing romances but have no incling how to write chemistry?? God.
See below the bingo card for this atrocity.

thoughts throughout:
-Gideon from Naomi's perspective feels like a different person. he's almost shy in his pov but from hers he's a cad. and I doubt it's intentional
-this conversation where Gideon is trying to goad her into sex feels pushy as hell. add in the half baked arguments every freshmen guy throws at a girl and it's a slog to read!
-"I'm a historian" proceeds to be totally vapid about how wars operate. let's just go to the kingdom that already demonizes the magic around gargoyles, show them the atrocity that is their prince that was arguably oked by the enemies prince, and expect it to go anywhere but full genocide.
-NOAMIE LEFT GIDEON OUTSIDE WITH THE MAGICIAN?! smart my ass, no wonder they wouldn't let her outside. if it started to rain she'd look up and drown herself.
"hey sis, atrocities are happening at home and our brother might be involved" AND THEN HER SISTER IMEDIATELY ASKS ABOUT HER SEX LIFE!


Damn we're already in bingo (15% in):

-Lame forced proximity
-glorifying self-harm
-too dumb to breath
-I want a protector but violence scawwy!
-Female lead is a virgin
-The previously disinterested leads boinking like actual rabbits
-Female character sucks
-Ripping clothes to unusable rags

[Elizabeth Epely-Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steampunk has never been something that I've read, but this book captured me from the moment I saw the author post a snippet on TikTok!

With her life on the line and her guard injured (or worse), Noémie is forced to take a gargoyle as her bodyguard. A rocky start turned epic romance and battle for the survival of two nations on the precipice of either destruction or peace, Noémie must take the risks necessary to discover who wants her dead, who she can trust, and what she must do to survive.

Gideon didn't ask to be created, and he certainly didn't ask to be the bodyguard of a princess determined to hate his guts! But after a series of assassination attempts on his charge, he finds himself closer than ever to his charge!

This book included some of my favorite tropes. This fast-paced book includes enemies to lovers, taboo romance, one-bed, you name it, and the author has managed to create one of the most immersive and fantastic worlds I've ever had the pleasure of diving head-first into. I finished this book in a day because I just couldn't bring myself to put it down! Steamy romance, that will make you squirm in your seat, fantastic characters that make you love them (and love to hate them), this book is a must-read for anyone who loves paranormal romance. I even gained a new book boyfriend to swoon over. This one is one for my shelves! I'll definitely be reading it again!