Stone Guardian (Entwined Realms) 3.5 Stars But With Reservations

				Stone Guardian (Entwined Realms) Price: $5.99
3.5 Stars But With Reservations, July 18, 2013 "Book Description Publication Date: June 26, 2013 Gryphons flying past Skyscrapers? Wizards battling it out in coffeehouses? Women riding motorcycles with large swords strapped to their backs? All normal sights since the Great Collision happened twenty-six years ago. Well, not normal for everyone. Larissa Miller may have been born after the Great Collision, but as a history teacher who lives in the human-only city, she has never come into contact with any other race or species. That is, until one day she walks out of her apartment only to be attacked by a mob of Zombies, but then is saved by a Gargoyle. Leader of the Gargoyles, Terak has been watching over the human woman for months because of a cryptic prophecy. Gargoyles trust no one outside their Clan, but something about this woman stirs every protective instinct within him. When he realizes the danger to her is real, he refuses to allow her to explore this new world without him at her side. In the course of their investigation Terak becomes entranced by his little human. But when he discovers why Necromancers want her and the great reward that awaits him if he betrays her, he must choose between the welfare of his Clan and not only Larissa’s life, but the fate of this new Realm as well." This review is from: Stone Guardian (Entwined Realms) (Kindle Edition) This was a bit of an odd read for me. But, don't get me wrong, ultimately it was a very satisfying read. It has been classified as Science Fiction/Fantasy or Urban Fantasy but it was more of a romance in my opinion. However, what was interesting is that the mystery aspects as well as the world building held my attention more than the romance aspect did. The romance between the protagonists did not quite ring true, but everything else about this book was excellent. On the day of Larissa Miller's birth, the Great Collision occurred and her mother dies while giving birth to Larissa. During the Great Collision, humans find that they are not alone anymore and that many different species/races now inhabit the once human world. Twenty-sex years after the world had turned upside down for humans, Zombies are found attacking Larissa. This is quite remarkable since Larissa lives in a ward protected, humans only city. What is even more remarkable is that a Gargoyle swoops in to beat down the Zombies and flies Larissa to safety. An Oracle has told this Gargoyle that Larissa will be important to his Clan and to watch over her. Of course, this is where the romance angle starts - Terak the Gargoyle's Clan leader starts forming an attachment to "his little human" and this is where the mystery aspect begins. Why do Necromancers want Larissa? What is it about Larissa that keeps Orcs and Dire Wolves and Dwarves coming at her? As Terak and Larissa start forming a bit of a relationship, many outside issues are acting as deterrents to their budding relationship. One such issue is the fact that Terak is `betrothed' to someone else but it is merely for the good of the Clan. Now the main problem I had with this book is that it really needed a better editor; someone who knows a bit about continuity and has a better grasp of grammar and punctuation than I do! If noticed problems, then someone who is more sensitive to these types of things is really going to be annoyed. In the first chapter, alone we have a police officer running out of bullets for his gun and miraculously finding a sword even though there would be no reason for a sword to be there at the time. I was able to overlook most of the problems because the story was so good. The characters are well drawn if a little childish; the secondary characters remind me a lot, of Kresley Coles Valkyries and some even a few of her other characters as well as some other authors characters. I've been noticing this a lot lately in this genre. I suspect that it is because the genre deals with such a small mythos. The world that Ms Monsch has started to build is a fascinating one and quite well built with plenty of room left to expand. A happily ever after is assured! *ARC Provided by publisher*