Book Description
Return to the world of Heartsong! A reclusive researcher gets the shock of a lifetime when the (very attractive) gargoyle statue in her rose garden awakens and claims her as his mate.
She’s known him all her life…
June Parkhurst is a prodigy, a conservator, and…an empath. Yet, her empathic abilities don’t feel like a gift; they’re a curse, one that’s driven her into isolation.
Overwhelmed by the feelings of others and her own grief, June sticks to what she loves most: statues. She’s always been fascinated by them, especially the gothic masterpiece in her family’s rose garden.
He’s watched over her for years…
For centuries, Alaric has despaired. Cursed to stone by the cruel Faerie Queen, Alaric has watched the world pass him by. He holds desperately onto a fleeting hope—that one day, June will come to understand what he’s known for years: she is his heartsong.
Magick stolen can be reclaimed, and curses cast can be broken…
A new museum with enigmatic owners has just opened, full of statues just like hers. Unable to resist, June emerges from seclusion determined to find answers about her statue. Yet, nothing is what it seems in this curious place, and June can’t ignore how…alive the statues feel.
The mysterious statues and their owners are just the start of the strangeness. During an attack by masked thieves, June swears one of the statues comes to life and flies away. But that’s impossible. As impossible as the whispers she hears from her beloved statue…mate.
My Review
June is an empath and has always liked the Gargoyle statue in her parents yard, she used to tell the Gargoyle her secrets as a child. She had no idea that Alaric could hear her but had been cursed to this stone statue for many years. After her father dies, she takes a job at a museum that has many other gargoyle statues. She finds them fascinating and her job is to catalogue them all.
One night while she's at work, masked men break in and steal one of the statues. But June thinks she's seeing things when one of the other Gargoyle statues comes to life and fly away. She is intrigued by the statues maybe being able to break out of their stone encasement, so she goes to her parents place thinking she wants to experimentally touch the statue in her parents yard but she's thrilled and scared when he breaks free of the stone and comes to life in front of her.
This is the second book in the Heartsong series. I read the first book and liked it quite a bit so I was looking forward to this one and it delivered. I liked this book even more than the first one. I love a great monster romance and Gargoyles are one of my favorite monsters. Alaric is such a great character. He's possessive, protective, patient and such a sweet guy.
The slow burn is full of longing and emotional tension, but once the spark finally ignites, it was totally worth the wait. I appreciated how this book deepens the mythology of Heartsongs and Guardians, offering more history and magical context than book one. But I did wonder why June's touch when she was a child, didn't awaken Alaric and break him free of his curse.
I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Disclosure: I was given an e-ARC of this book but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
