Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Stone Wings

SERIES: The Gargoyles of Arrington #1

AUTHOR: Jenn Burke

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 51k, Page Count N/A

RELEASE DATE: August 30, 2022

BLURB:

His curse can only be lifted with true love, but can true love come from a fake date?

Being the personal assistant to a trio of cursed gargoyle brothers who sleep for a hundred years and wake up for twenty-five wasn’t a career proposed by Josh’s high school guidance counselor, but it’s a job that he’s eminently suited for. Not to mention a job his family has been doing for generations. The brothers are truly excellent bosses, but Josh is surprised when Drew offers to pretend to be his date for his high school reunion. And even more surprised by a supposedly fake kiss that feels as real as a kiss can get.

Drew and his brothers owe Josh and his family for watching over them each time they turn to stone for a hundred years, and for helping them reintegrate into the world when they wake up. The least he can do is pose as Josh’s boyfriend for a night. Even though true love can break his curse, he knows he won’t find it with Josh. Nothing that real can come from a lie. Or can it?

When the fake boyfriend situation stretches into two nights, and then more, Josh and Drew can’t fight the attraction blazing between them. There’s no harm in exploring it, right? No expectations. But when paranormal danger comes to Arrington, Josh and Drew are going to have to battle for every moment of peace…and maybe a real happily ever after too.

STONE WINGS is a 50,000 word male/male paranormal romance featuring a mechanic who happens to have wings and is a literal monster in bed, a personal assistant who’s always had a crush on him, stone skin or not, and a relationship that’s going to take a leap of faith to give the fairytale a happy ending.

REVIEW:

Josh was the latest in his family tree to be the caretaker of gargoyle brothers, Teague, Rian, and Drew, whose physical state transformed from stone to human for several years before returning to stone again. The brothers are awake following their chosen careers for this timeline. They’ve watched Josh grow up and consider him part of the family. With Josh’s school reunion approaching, and following years of being ‘the weird one’, Drew thought it would be nice to give him something in return – the gift of sticking it to the school elite. He didn’t expect to become possessive and kiss Josh. Then, once the grapevine did its thing, the two accepted mutual attraction and decided that for however long Drew had, they’d be friends with benefits. After all, something that starts as fake couldn’t be true love – could it?

What a lovely, comfortable, homey, yet emotional tale.

The story is told in the first person from the viewpoints of Josh and Drew. Set in Canada, the worldbuilding was right for me – not OTT. I only had one gripe. Some of the frequent internal commentary about ‘wondering why’ kind of puts a neon light around the ending – which, given the protagonists’ actual actions, was unnecessary. It made some of the storylines a touch predictable, but that’s not necessarily bad when what promises to happen is done well.

Josh has inner steel to his personality. Due to his family’s undertaking, Josh has grown up being the odd one out. Nevertheless, he’s had a super support system that has helped fortify him. I found Josh comfortable with a calming presence. Drew is the hothead. With the world changing every time he wakes up, it should be expected. The two together are adorable.

I enjoyed the story of Drew and Josh. But, my heart truly melted when it came to the dynamic between Drew and his brothers. They are such a caring, protective, loyal family that the thought of them being separated by years of sleeping as stone, and possibly waking to one of them being gone, bought me to tears. Yet, despite the heartache, they genuinely hope that a brother will find true love, breaking the curse.

I thought Stone Wings was enchanting, with some super originality. While one aspect of the story concludes, the main arc continues to the next book in the series. I look forward to reading the others.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

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