I found "Curse of the Stone" to be a very enjoyable read. It breaks a lot of standard tropes I've read in a lot of recent paranormal series. It's listed in the Urban paranormal romance, so as a male reader of female written urban paranormal I was a little bit skeptical. Keep in mind that I don't object to romance in my stories. Romance is part of life. My problem is that many of the books that fall into this category allow the romance to become the dominant trait of the book, burying the narrative in an often absurd romance story.
The narrative of the book defies its own genre designation. As the summary indicates, Madison accidentally kills her boyfriend. In what world can you build a romance from that start. And yet, so many books I tend to dislike do just that. The heroines too frequently immediately move on without any recognition of grief in order to present what often feels like a manipulated or implausible romantic scenario "Karma cough, cough" or she hates him but is secretly drawn to him . So, having the main heroine avoid romantic entanglements was the first refreshing surprise of this book.
Other annoying tropes can be leveled at just about any paranormal series. Often the main protagonist has trust issues and stuff that would plausibly be discussed with friends or mentors aren't, building an often false tension in the book. Madison genuinely doesn't trust those around her and for reasons that are well presented. She's a complete outsider in just about every aspect of her life, so it is unsurprising she has trust issues. That said, as she gets to know some people and make friends, she does develop trust and shares her insights and opinions in well-measured, reasoned doses.
So, for me, the character's experiences ring true even though it is set in a paranormal universe. The author(s) of this book has created a really interesting new world, but just like the real world, what everyone is taught doesn't always add up. Furthermore, though Madison is presented as smart and potentially powerful, she's not annoyingly "omnipotent, but just doesn't know it yet." She actually needs and receives help from those around her and such help is presented as a natural part of life and her existence. Often the help she needs is a consequence of her lack of knowledge about the world she now inhabits or a lack of adequate training. but, she can learn from those around her.
Also, for what appears to be a book aimed at young adult readers there are some serious adult themes in the book. You learn quickly that her mother is a drug addict, which has consequences, and she does accidentally kill her boyfriend in what is presented as a traumatic event for Madison. There are also some fairly complex adult relationships that are presented in the book as well.
All in all, I found this to be an enjoyable read set in an interesting world with a really interesting main protagonist. We'll see where the story goes from here, but I'll definitely pick up the next book to check out Madison's further exploits.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.