Soft Stone

Celestial Mates #8

by Megan Slayer

Two men from different walks of life find they’ve got more in common than they think, but can they have a shared love, too?

Zeus has cursed so many beings. He’s done things he’s not proud of and believes he’s unworthy of love because he’s damaged. When he visits Vegas looking for a weekend fling, he meets Stone, a human posing as a statue. Can the most dangerous god find love with a man pretending to be a sculpture?

Stone Martin wasn’t looking for love. He needs money and fast. The bills are piling up and his troubles are deepening. He only poses as a sculpture because the cash is decent. He meets Zeus and knows he’s too good to be true. When Zeus offers him a way out of his dead-end life, will he be strong enough to believe in the magic or will he lose his chance at having the love of his life?

Genres: Contemporary

80 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 21, 2021

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

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

After many years alone Zeus is not just lonely, but tired of his relationships failing. Determined to walk among the humans and try just once more, he comes down to Vegas and decides to try his luck and find a lasting lover. Stone was a statue performance artist and although at first he’s dubious about wanting to spend time chatting with Zeus the man intrigues him and so he gives in. Can they each find what they want from the other?

This is a fast paced M/M romance that is different and interesting. I was a little surprised Zeus didn’t seem as egotistical and overbearing as he is often portrayed. This sort of made sense seeing as he is one of the two heroes – but the different outlook on the Greek god threw me for a little while. I grew attached to Stone much more quickly, partly because I had no pre-conceived notions about him but also as a human and quite modern he felt a lot more relatable to me. I was impressed and intrigued how Zeus and Stone interacted and how their characters came to know each other.

I was pleased that while this story has plenty of steamy sex there was an intense and detailed plot as well. Zeus has some personal stuff to work through but Stone’s life – his work and his sister in particular – make two very interesting sub-plots as well. Readers who enjoy a steamy romance but plenty of plot as well should be particularly pleased with this quick read. I felt the author did a great job both with the pacing and balance between relationship and plot.

While there is mention of previous books in this series I haven’t read many of them and could still follow along with everything quite well – I feel this book stands well on it’s own and the others don’t need to be read for this to be fully enjoyed.

Hot and with two interesting characters and a lot of solid plot – this was a good and quick read.

[Fiona McGier · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. The first chapter book I ever read to myself was Greek Mythology for kids, and I'm on my second copy of Edith Hamilton's translations, because I love the way she tells stories.

Zeus is the hero--a slightly graying, world-weary traveler who wants someone to love who will love him back for the long term. But he's not very good at choosing the right people--the last few men he had dalliances with turned out to have delusions of grandeur. They expected him to make them gods in their own right.

The young man he's attracted to was not very interesting to me. I found him boring and oddly afraid of feelings--both his own, and those of his new suitor. One minute he's turning Zeus down for whatever reasons--the next he's naked and in the god's bed. The side-story involving his sister and her drug addiction didn't add much to the story.

And the author never deals with how Zeus, horn-dog extraordinaire, stopped seducing any young virgin women who caught his fancy, and now prefers young men. Or why. Maybe he got tired of producing demi-god children who delighted in turning on him? And his relationship with Hera is a whole lot more friendly than would be expected, considering how many times he embarrassed her by stepping out for young human women. I understand that every author puts their own spin on the Greek mythological characters. But I wasn't a fan of this iteration.

[LOLA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of plain.