Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Anchored in Stone
SERIES: Chronicles of an Earned #1
AUTHOR: Meraki P. Lyhne
PUBLISHER: eXtasy Books
LENGTH: 372 Pages
BLURB:
As a child, Alex Rhoden’s talent as a thief was recognized by a rich art collector. He has since then been trained to become one of the best art thieves in the world. While on what should have been the easiest heist of his career, Alex finds himself running with the artifact in his possession, followed by an unknown adversary. But they are not the only ones interested in the artifact—so is an ancient race of demigods called Earned. Cornered and out of options, Alex has to make a difficult decision that will turn his life upside down no matter what he chooses.
The young demigod Kaleb is reborn into servitude, but he is a freak amongst his own kind—the forbidden unity between an Earned and a witch. Other than finding himself, learning to control his powers, and balance high school as a senior, Kaleb must earn the trust of his pack and family. But Alex is in danger, and the young demigod struggles to keep up.
REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this book. The storyline and characters are totally new and refreshing, rather than being a rehashing of the same tired plots and stories I see way too often. Meraki P. Lyhne has done an excellent job with world building.
We meet Alex Rhoden when he is a young boy. His father has trained him to be a pick pocket so that Alex can bring in enough money to keep them both fed, and to provide the father enough money to drink on a regular, and it appears constant, basis. When Alex picks the wrong pocket, stealing a very expensive ancient coin, which Alex’s father then loses in a card game, Alex’s luck as a pick pocket has run out. When the bad guys come looking for the coin, Alex’s drunkard father sells him to the bad guys in return for them leaving him (the father) alone. This sets us up for the continuing story of Alex, and his progression to becoming one of the best art thieves in the world.
Alex’s latest theft was just a little too easy, and it appears that someone else wants the artifact he stole. What will happen when Alex runs into the Earned, a race of demigods, who are also intent on gaining the artifact?
What will happen…is a really great read. I really enjoyed getting to know Alex, Kaleb, Dominic and the rest of the cast. The author did a great job pulling me into the story and making me keep wanting more. Speaking of more, the book doesn’t actually reach a fixed conclusion. It isn’t a total cliffhanger ending with one of those cheesy lines like “his life would never be the same”, but it is still a cliffhanger of sorts. We will need to continue into the next book to find out what happens with Alex and the crew. I’m willing to forgive the author though. It was already quite long at 372 pages…so it had to break somewhere!
I recommend this book to anyone who likes something different. Humans and demigods intermixing, with some fairly hot sex in spots, and a plausible interesting storyline. It did it for me, and now I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series, Two Sides of a Coin, which already shows in the “Coming Soon” section over at eXtasy Books.
RATING: 
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