Soft Marble

Celestial Mates #1

by Megan Slayer

One touch from his lover and this marble statue will come to life.

Kratos, god of power and strength, has been imprisoned in pure white marble for more than two millennia. His lover can break the spell—if only his lover would find him.

Andy Green knows his ancient artifacts. He spends his days restoring works of art. When the sculpture of Kratos enters his studio, he can’t hide his attraction. What he doesn’t expect is for the sculpture to come to life—or for it to have the same fantasies of them in bed together. But when it comes time to decide whether this is lust or love, Andy isn’t sure he’s the man to keep Kratos mortal for good.

A Romantica® gay erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Genres: Fantasy

42 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2014

About the author

Megan Slayer, aka Wendi Zwaduk, is a multi-published, award-winning author of more than one-hundred short stories and novels. She’s been writing since 2008 and published since 2009. Her stories range from the contemporary and paranormal to LGBTQ and white hot themes. No matter what the length, her works are always hot, but with a lot of heart. She enjoys giving her characters a second chance at love, no matter what the form. She’s been nominated at the LRC for Best Author, Best Contemporary, Best Ménage, Best BDSM and Best Anthology. Her books have made it to the bestseller lists on Amazon.com.
When she’s not writing, Megan spends time with her husband and son as well as three dogs and three cats. She enjoys art, music and racing, but football is her sport of choice. She’s an active member of the Friends of the Keystone-LaGrange Public library. Find out more about Megan and Wendi at: http://wendizwaduk.com/indexMegan.htm Sign up for the newsletter here: http://ymlp.com/xgjmjumygmgj

Reviews

[Serena Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

A statue coming to life, revealing an ancient god, no less, is a pretty cool idea. But even though it sounds fairly simple (well, assuming some sort of magic exists that makes it possible at all), as this story shows, there can be lots of obstacles. The first one that came to my mind was around whoever put a god into marble for several centuries must have had their reasons – and what if they didn’t like the fact that their “prisoner” was suddenly free?


Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[Gaele · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting concept, art restoration student Andy has been tasked with cleaning a marble statue from the Ancient Greeks. The statue of Kratos, god of strength, is everything that Andy would desire in a partner, even though his confidence is at a low ebb. One night, his imagination and obsession with the statue take over, and he is caressing as one would a lover…when the statue comes to life.

Kratos was cursed to marble by his father for his choice in a man his father did not believe loved him for himself, but for his godly powers. He grants Kratos 2 days to have Andy fall in love with him, or be returned to stone.

Rather clever twists made this story fun to read for a diversion, and the sexual tension and Andy’s nod to submission are steamy and hot. Quick reading with a satisfying conclusion that shows a happy ever after ending, this hot novella will bring a smile to your face.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher for purpose of honest review for The Jeep Diva. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

[Jessie Pinkham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little insta-lovey for my taste, but the writing is very good and the scenario intriguing.

[Anne Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding Your true mate
This is a short story from Megan Slayer. It’s fast paced and passion filled.
Andy Green is helping to restore an statue of a Greek God. But there is something extremely special about this statue. Andy can’t help the feeling he has when he touches the statue. It is like every touch fills him with lust. As he is getting ready to leave one night he actually kisses the statue only to find that he has woken him from a curse. Kratos is the God of power and strength and he was imprisoned because he couldn’t love the person that his father wanted him to. But he knew from his time as a statue that he had fallen in love with Andy. But to break the curse and he had to love him back and he only had two nights to get Andy to fall in love.
There Is something extremely sweet about this book. Poor Andy is so insecure of himself that you know he’s been hurt badly in the past. He’s insecure about everything about himself and it’s really hard to read but Kratos brings out the best in him. But can it be love??.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this author and it was delightful. There is not a lot of backstory on our MCs, but in this instance it wasn't really needed.
Andy is a student of art and also works restoring found artifacts. Kratos is a god from Olympus, but he has been a marble statue for two millennia. There love happens extremely fast but it doesn't detract from how real and deeply they love one another. There are appearances from other gods and a goddess as well as a bad guy.
This has it all in a short story and opens the door for more stories like it. I can't wait to see how they help our god cast in bronze, that also happens to be Kratos' brother.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nina Diab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun quick read. I've only read one other book from this author and it was a contemporary romance, so this intrigued me. It was an interesting concept. The God Kratos was imprisoned in white marble for centuries. Andy was cleaning the statue and talking to him, wishing he were a live man and kissed him. It set Kratos free from the statue, but he has two days to make Andy fall in love with him or he would be trapped in the marble forever. Kratos fell in love with Andy almost immediately, but Andy was shy and Kratos would do whatever he could to make him fall in love. Good chemistry between these two. An enjoyable, fun read. 4 stars.

[Latecia Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of a sculpture coming to life and finding true love. This was a fun, instalove, no angst, with some steam that kept you intrigued to the very end but I felt the author confused me some with Andy. Andy suppose to be "dorky" but I found him shy, sweet and somewhat bold with his sexuality with Kratos. Kratos thought he was timid but when it came to the sexy god, Andy was anything but timid. Minor things throughout had me with questions with a confused look but all in all I was entertained. Nice ending with a nice setup for book 2 in the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[casvec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kratos is a god that was imprisoned as a marble statue. Andy works in the art department and is tasked with cleaning the statue. For Andy there is something magnificent about the statue that draws him to kiss it.

Releasing Kratos, this takes Andy to a new level as he discovers the heat and passion he has been looking for.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Debbie Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. It was very sweet in how Kratos found his true love after being cursed into marble. Andy's love frees him completely from the curse. I liked how the curse was broken and the one who caused it was finally punished. Andy and Kratos have a lovely plan to fulfill.

[C.B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story. Andrew is an antiquities restoror while pursuing his degree. He crushes on a statue. When the statue, Kratos comes alive, Andy has some decisions to make. Nice quick adventure.Cute blend of mythology and romance, nice flow. Context editing needed for curse origin story. Nice series starter. Nicely done. I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very intriguing read. Andy is cleaning and guarding a marble statue that suddenly comes to life. I found that aspect of the story to be very interesting. The story is well written and it ends with a wonderful happily ever after. It was short but very enjoyable. =)

[DLB2572 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those stories that can satisfy an urge for something quick and sweet with a little bit of spice to it. It is also a good lead in to a series of similar stories.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

[Love Bytes Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 heart review by PizzyGirl

I was a little apprehensive about this story because I have had bad luck with the editing of books from this publisher in the past. However, I am a big Megan Slayer fan so I decided to give this one a try. Especially since this one indicated that it had been previously published and the blurb was just too intriguing to pass up. I am sad to say that this one just did not work for me.

I struggled with this one as I feel like it was just not finished. The story felt like an outline that was due to be turned in before the details and flow were completed. The story felt forced and way too scripted and lacked that emotional connection I personally needed to believe the words that were coming out of the character’s mouths. I knew that they were supposed to be “shocked” but I never felt it. I knew when a character was supposed to be aroused or confused or whatever else, but I never felt it at all. I was detached.

I also had a hard time suspending reality for this one and I am not entirely sure why. I mean it is a fantasy story with magical influences so had no basis in reality. However, I found it extremely hard to just go with the instant love and the fast pace at which things happened and the ease at which things were learned/believed.

The world had so much potential to be fun and fascinating but the world building lacked detail and depth for me to really understand why things were set up as they were. I also needed more character development and history. I needed to know more about Andy to really grasp his insecurities and why he so easily believed in Gods. I needed more setup on the mythology to understand the love at first sight thing, even though I can understand it a bit because of the curse.

I also have no clue why Andy’s boss would be so understanding or how K’s ex came to be long lived. There was just too much left unsaid for me personally so while I enjoyed the premise, I was left feeling unsatisfied.

Overall, I liked the storyline and felt like this one had good bones. It just lacked the development I needed to really connect with the characters and the story and really enjoy myself. The set up for book two was handled nicely, I just wish this one was better fleshed out because while I am interested in the next story, I am leary of it because I am afraid I will feel the same about it as I do this one.

This book was provided for free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.

[Avril · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate this one

It is definitely a short, so, of course things are a bit rushed. Still, there were some issues. I did enjoy the characters and the premise is great. Still....

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

The explanation of why he was cursed into Marble made little sense, and was not fully explained. At least, in a satisfactory manner. There was no clear reason for Doug 'Diokles' to be punished.

Overall I'd say read it and decide for yourself.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Soft Marble by Megan Slayer. It's the first book in the Celestial Mates series. I enjoyed Kratos and Andy's story. I would have liked it fleshed out a little more, but overall, I liked the chemistry between Kratos and Andy in this short story.
I look forward to reading the next story in the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.