A stone holds an ancient secret—and the key to present-day terror.
A murder-suicide was only the beginning.
Seven years ago, Liam’s father picked up a gun, killed his family then himself. Liam was left behind to carry the burden and the guilt.
Now Liam only wants to finish college and live a normal life. But when he is handed a stone, a stone that appears plain, he is catapulted into an unknown world of mystery and magic…
…and mayhem.
A CIA agent finds himself a part of something with more secrets than the government he works for.
Patrick possesses a psychic ability to find people. Coerced to find Liam, their first meeting reawakens an ancient connection. Together, they find themselves in the midst of a culling, the destruction of a secret society formed millennia ago.
Destiny unites a group of strangers to face an antediluvian evil that has the world as its prize.
The Stone is a paranormal, urban fantasy adventure that involves a secret agent, a law man, and a gay guy who becomes a hero.
This novel features an LGBT relationship with a low-heat romantic subplot. 142,000 words
I like Irish mythology. I am always down for a new and different reading experience. I'm more willing to read stories that feature My People aka LGBT folk. I am thrilled when all these facets combine into a pretty crystalline structure worthy of a place on my show-off shelf.
I cannot thing of a single thing to dislike about this book hence the 5 stars.Maybe I'm biased as I would read any book that has a riveting fae storyline and this series promises that in spades.
Awesome worldbuilding, and super interesting characters. The plot was crazy and I loved the twists and turns- also, I was definitely a fan of the way the Fae lore was incorporated, and the particular touches here and there to fit this specific story.
The somewhat romantic plot was nicely integrated, too, and I definitely liked the fact that it was connected with the general plot itself- I'm kind of a sucker for those things lol
All the twists and turns kept this story super dynamic, and a very worthy page-turner!
This was a long one. Nearly 500 pages long and packed in those pages was a lot of magic,murder fea demons and a whole lotta action. The book begins with Liam and through it we get other stories of other characters which didn't confuse me but kept me wanting more. It finishes with a to be continued and i can't wait to see what's next
I just finished and I'm already missing Liam and Patrick. This book is pretty fast paced and action packed. There are quite a few characters and happenings, but it is really easy to follow along. At times it felt like I was reading a script for a new blockbuster, I could definitely see this story made into a movie. I know I'd watch it.
I'm excited for the next book, I'm dying to know what happens next!!!
I.... I can’t tell you much about the plot line and the components of the story because I think the slow reveal was interesting. I would say I did not expect the genre because it’s not one I typically read. I mean yes, it’s urban fantasy but there’s another element to that that I don’t usually read. In fact, I actively avoid. I don’t know why! But I’m glad I didn’t know coming into this book that this book was in that genre, otherwise I would have passed over an epic story.
This is a multi-POV style book. Again, something I don’t typically enjoy because more often than not, the change in POVs are not only annoying but also it gives away too much of the story before it should. But this was handled very well here! And didn’t give away the story! Rather, it built the mystery and suspense.
I have to applaud the author for such a well thought out story. I just wish the next book was also out already! It’s NOT a cliffhanger but it does have more up its sleeve. I think the climax was done very well too. I mean, it kept building and the stakes keep getting higher and I was so afraid it would collapse under its own weight before we got to the showdown but nope, again, very nicely balanced.
But why only 4 Stars? Well, there were some, very minor editorial errors. Missing words and stuff that I think the editor/proof reader/beta readers missed. I’m assuming the author has someone filling any or all such roles. Otherwise, I’ll have to add bowing to the author because the errors were very minor.
I truly enjoyed this. Now I just need the next book!!!
Murder is always a good place to start, right? There's an incredible amount of dark aspects to the story and yet there's still a glimmer of hope that keeps you from giving up. A story of unsuspected magic, Tir na Nog, the fae in all their guises, drama, and world-ending plots, The Stone is setting up a great beginning for an exciting series.
I was actually glad that the romance was placed below all the craziness included in this story. It made the focus less on the two men and more on all the tangled threads on which the world's fate rests. With Liam at its center there are an incredible number of pieces to the puzzle and can get a bit confusing. What makes that okay is that you're right in the same boat as Liam, learning about all the people, entities, factions, and pieces and how everything fits together.
Patrick was actually a pretty interesting character for me and one that I preferred over Liam. He has a good heart and is swept along and manipulated just like the rest of everyone else. The reason he's in Liam's life and what he does in the beginning of the story is forgivable when you see just how much of a pawn he is and all the lives he has to weigh when he made his first commitment. Granted, he didn't ask all the questions first, but knowing what we know by the middle of the book, even if he had asked those questions they wouldn't have been answered satisfactorily anyway. We always see that honestly is best in the beginning, but since he had legitimate concerns about coming clean it made it easier to forgive him. He becomes a strength and a support to everyone in the story by the end of the book and proves himself a hundred times over.
Liam starts off great as someone we can feel sympathy for, root for his progression, and support in his education. That doesn't last, however, and he's plagued by uncertainty, insecurity, and immaturity that gets worse when truths are revealed. He's rash and reckless and all the intelligence and survival instincts that he had in the beginning go forgotten as he learns more and as the pressure mounts. I kept hoping for him to calm his sh** and pull himself together but it just never happened. Since this is book one in the Lockstone series I have hope that he'll grow up and really be the hero I saw glimpses of in the beginning. I'd say he's only human and should therefore be given a little leeway with all the craziness, but, well, if you read the book you'll know that's not quite true...
Despite Liam going downhill as a character of strength and interest, the rest of the cast is compelling, even the "bad guys" and I'm excited for where this story is going. There are so many elements to the story to sort out and many more harrowing situations to face. This book did a commendable job not getting bogged down in the details and also giving just enough attention to them that there's a positive direction to go. There are still secrets, motivations, and players to discover and withholding them in this book didn't decrease the understanding and enjoyment of it. A great start to what's bound to be an exciting series.
Read and willingly reviewed this ARC for the author.
I almost feel guilty for not liking this book, but I absolutely labored to read this, much less finish it. A shame, really, because it had a good premise and I usually enjoy books like this. However, my biggest peeve and the reason for my dislike was the constantly shifting POVs of multiple characters that I had to keep up with. If this were a movie I could see it working well, but it was a headache in a book.
The world building was great, but that reason I pointed out above made it quite a torturous read.
WARNING this book has a cliffhanger. And yes, there are some editing errors, but this may be the author’s first book. Overall, excellent world building. High tension and suspense, had me on edge the majority of the book. The relationship between Liam and Patrick was crucial to the plot, but this story was not really about romance. (BTW no sex shown between these pages) This is about saving the world from the apocalypse of Unseelie Magic. I loved how the history of magic was woven into the legends and fae.
I was not fond of the different POV scenes from minor characters that I didn’t consider pivotal to the story. But I could see this happening in a movie version of the story for building mood and suspense. Very effective from that point. Secondary, I’m not fond of cliff hangers where I have to wait to find out what happens. I want the sequel now!
Wow, there are lots of characters and a lot of moving parts to this story. And there are so many elements, sci-fi, paranormal, action, adventure and more that make up the whole of it. This is fast paced, with lots of action and complex storyline. It is a bit of a rollercoaster ride, with twists and turns around every chapter. Dark in places with moments of lightness. It is compelling and well written.
Patrick and Liam, are wonderful together as they build their relationship. As characters, they are real and believable. Yet the romance isn’t the primary storyline here, but it added to my enjoyment of the story. The cast of secondary characters is as well developed as the two main one. All of them add greatly to the story.
While the relationship between Patrick and Liam is established in this story, it does end on a ‘to be continued’ type ending in my mind. So, I along with many others will be waiting for the next part of this story.
This is the first book in The Lockstone Series. A spellbinding book the writing was great. Having said that the way it was written did lead me to some confusion about the story. And because of it the flow was a start and stop throughout the book. However, the plot was entertaining and it was steady throughout the book. I found the story and characters captivating. Although there were quite a few central characters. The characters were well developed and thought out. Patrick and Liam are the MC’s of this book. There was humor, murder, CIA, FBI, panic rooms, the number 9, a search for a villain, kidnappings, 10 families, magic, spells, fae-touched and so much more in this book. There is violence with descriptions however there was no graphic sex scenes.
Here is a quote from the book, “What kind of name is Nona, anyway? Sounds like a name I’d call my grandma.” Glenda asked as they drove northwest of Chicago to the Barrington suburb. Zach shrugged as he drove. “It’s a name. Means the ninth born.” Glenda stared over at him. “Good for you, Alex Trebek. You win the Daily Double,” she said. “I looked it up when we landed,” Zach said with a sly half-smile.”. There is more but you will need to read the book which I can recommend. I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book for an honest review.
Exciting new series! Not exactly a HEA but builds to the next book.
Absolutely loved this new series which starts out in our everyday world but metamorphoses into a world with the possibility of magic, the Fae, and beings you thought of in fairytales. Great start in building a world transforming.
This was AWESOME! The magic, the action, and the story were all great. I did get pissed with Liam for being such a selfish douche with Patrick though. Hopefully in the next book he won’t have his head so far up his ass when it comes to Patrick and what he sacrificed just to be with him.
I definitely think this is more urban fantasy than mm romance. I really enjoyed the book, and would suggest downloading the sample first, and if you enjoy it, then go ahead and get the book, because it moves at a good clip (like the sample), though it is rather lengthy. Personally, I thought it better than much of what I seen offered from kindle unlimited.
Oh boy. That was a long one. And while I made it through in two days towards the end it definitely felt more like work than anything else. The pacing in itself wasn't bad but it was just a lot.
But let's go though it step by step.
First of the main characters. The story was told out of the perspective of three main characters. First of we have Liam. At first I really liked him. He was the type that was kinda broken but still tried to move on. But towards the end he really started to get on my nerves. He was just very bitchy and reckless and acted like a little shit. So yeah he lost some massive brownie points
Next of we have Patrick. He and Liam had somewhat of a love affair going but it could hardly be called a relationship. It was definitely not a book for romance lovers because there was barely any. Patrick was also a candidate for the typical lack-of-communication-syndrom. Since he's a CIA agent it made kind of sense but I really wished he would open his mouth to tell Liam what a little shit he was being towards the end. Other than that I liked Patrick fine although I felt like I didn't really got to know him.
The last MC is Zach. Out of all of them I think I liked him the most, which surprised me because I went into this book expecting a mm romance and Zach isn't gay (which is in itself surprising considering that authors of LGBT novels like to make everyone queer). But he had a lot of drive and while I would have liked to get to know him a bit better he was still my favorite.
Another thing that was a bit bothering was the constant change of the POV. It made it kind of hard to remember who knew what and what happened two whom. There were chapters that went absolutely nowhere. I guess it will be explored in the next book if it's actually ever published.
But even considering all of that this wasn't a bad book. And I guess if you're a fan of fantasy novels with epics and sometimes gruesome battles this is a good pick. Just don't expect any romance.
I really wanted to like this book. I liked the premise of it and the first chapter, but it lost its way fast.
By Chapter 4, we were on our 4th POV. This is a huge pet peeve of mine: authors making the readers too omniscient. I wanted to follow a storyline, and instead we were skipping all over the place.
This also hit on another, similar, pet peeve: telling, not showing. It felt like every time something was mentioned, the author then had to go off on a tangent of exposition to explain the entire backstory of whatever small thing had just happened or thought which had crossed the character's mind. It's like when someone's driving and keeps slamming the breaks every few feet: just get on the with the story, I don't need this much exposition!
I eventually gave up with the book. Finding the story amongst all the exposition was like hunting for specific grains of sand on the beach. It was frustrating and exhausting. I wanted a story, instead I got an info-dump on everything else.
DNF 20?% I will be one of the unpopular opinions on this book but omg I could not for the life of me get into this one. The writing was just terrible, I really did try but it just kept pulling me out with the weird way the author wrote it. I tried flipping in and seeing if it got better but nope, same terrible stuff all the way through. Was super disappointed but thankfully I also purchased Proxy and omg night and day, so much smoother of a writing style. Sad to say, Stone just wasn't my type of book :(
I enjoyed this story a lot. I had a little trouble in the beginning with the changing POV's, but quickly got it strait in my head.
Lots of action. Light on the romance, but I like that in a series that continues on with the same MC's. It's nice to see the relationship build over several books. It feels more natural that BLAM they are in love. I think it brings more interest in continuing the series.
Nice world building. I'll be watching for the next book. I have to see where that cliffhanger leads.
It needed a better proofreader and I did not like that it threw in random points of view from people that really don't matter in the long run. I didn't need to know that Pete was a pervert cop from some small, pointless town and that he becomes fae-touched. Same with the nosy old lady toward the beginning of the book. But other than those issues, I look forward to reading the next book.
From the first few sentences, I was hooked on this story. The characters are well developed. The storyline keeps you guessing until it's time to bring them all together. I liked the fact there was more emotional and intellectual development with Liam's and Patrick's relationship. *spoiler alert* I liked that Liam gained a new family after losing what he thought was his so early in the story. Can't wait until book 2 is released.
This book is good!!! It grabbed my attention and kept it all the way through. The sub-plots work well with the whole plot. Liam is a human descendent of a Fae king and Patrick is tasked with finding him. Of course neither one of them believes in magic or Fae. This book is about them having to learn some truths about reality and history to save themselves and the world. This book is very detailed without being tedious. I totally recommend this book.
So everyone already knows I'm a big Seb Carter fan, but this book was, in my opinion, rock star quality. No, not a romance, but it wasn't presented as one.
I liked the plot, I liked the fantasy, I liked how I got to read about gay people doing and being normal people although life was pretty intense and very not normal since they all had super powers and magic and all that.
So, long story short, if you like fantasy, similar to Terry Brooks, you'll love this book!!!!
Well worth reading. Anyone that likes fantasy, mystery, action, a bit of romance and plenty of knuckle-biting tension needs to read this modern day tale with a twist of faerie/faerie like a cherry on top of a hot fudge sundae.
Mystery, murder and magic - CIA, SEALS and FAE! This is a blend of modern and fairy tales showcasing the fact that magic is still alive in our world! Highly recommend this read and can't wait for the next one.