Stone by Angel Rose Book Review

Stone by Angel Rose

Published by:Southern Owl Publications 

Publication Date: March 6, 2016

Series Information: Forbidden Love Series book one

Other books in the series include: Saving Madison published on May 8, 2016 which is book 2, A Love Without Boundaries published on August 7, 2017

Genres: Dark Romance, Contemporary Romance, Twisted Romance, Forbidden Romance

Formats: Ebook, Paperback

Pages: 176

My Ranking: 

Fire In The Sheets Ranking: 1 sheets up. While sexual acts in this book get very down and dirty, we are not shown a full blown scene, in other words we are only to the moment before, or told it just happened. The low Fire In The Sheets ranking in no way reflects on the quality of this book. My ranking system is a little different from most, for more information please click here.

Warning: This book is a dark and twisted romance, it contains some pretty intense scenes that do include forced acts, pain, and control on several levels. The content in this book could potentially disturb readers or cause triggers. If scenes such as this cause you distress I do not recommend you read this book.

Page Turing Ranking: 3, I liked it. (This book is a Novella. This was taken into account when I did my ranking for it.) My ranking system is a little different from most, for more information please click here.

Where To Buy: 

Amazon

My Review:

Warning, though I try my best to avoid this, all reviews can contain spoilers of some kind. If you would like to know just my overall opinion of the book, and otherwise go into reading it blind, please scroll down to my overall and would I recommend it section.

    I Voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

    Right off the bat, I will say that I tend to not be a fan of novellas. This is not because of some weird I just don’t like them thing but rather a they are usually plane hard to write without making things feel way too rushed, therefore I have a harder time connecting to a character. I am thrilled to say that this was not a problem with this book. 

    Our story starts with our hero Stone being dropped off at the home of the woman who his druggie father clams is Stone’s mother. Stone is only 14, but being surrounded by drugs and the lowest of low people society has to offer, he is forced to be shockingly tough in order to survive. Despite all this, Stone is still secretly hoping to find a cookie cutter mother waiting for him. What he finds is another situation just like what’s he’s been going through with the added bonus of an 11 year old girl with the most beautiful eyes he has ever seen. 

    Madison is tough as steal and sweet as candy. She has had to live with taking care of her drug and man addicted mother her whole life, while facing the dangers of being a beautiful little girl in a bad part of town on her own. That is until Stone comes along and self declares himself her protector. The bond they form is unbreakable, but that’s all in the past now. Stone took his oath seriously and has killed to protect the woman he has loved since he was 14 and finds himself struggling to pull his life together.

    Wow, what an amazing bond. I mean seriously, this whole intimate feelings involving such young kids is usually not my thing, not even when it is for only a short little segment to start things off, but the characterization on this book is so spot on it pulls me in. Both Stone and Madison have faced such hell that they aren’t really innocent kids anymore, and the way they react to these very new feelings is just wow worthy. 

Excerpt from Stone by Angel Rose

      Now that they are grown, will the two be able to find a way to let go of the love they have for each other, or will they put all the road blocks behind them and embrace what they both know they shouldn’t? To make this answer more complicated, Madison finds herself cornered by a powerful man. How will she and Stone pull themselves out of this one, and will Stone be pushed to spill blood once more to keep Madison safe?

    The struggle these two feel is incredible! Thanks to circumstances of their past, they both feel being with each other is not only wrong but a line they can’t cross, yet the pull between them is just so strong. I loved the push and pull that happened between Madison and Stone. They are so in love with one another that I could really feel the longing coming off the page in waves. For a novella, the way they grow and start to push through all this grabbed me in a way I was not expecting form this kind of book. 

  

Excerpt from Stone by Angel Rose. 

   Like I mentioned, books this short usually have a hard time making me bond with the characters, and I will admit that the emotional connection I made to the characters in this book pale in comparison to that of a full novel. However, I was pulled in by this book enough that I cried for one of the characters pretty early on. I was not ready for that kind of emotional reaction in this book, but was so pleased it happened. 

    This is usually the kind of dark romance that puts me off, I more appreciate the "I want you and there for I will have you no matter what" kind of dark romance over the "raised in this life" kind that is shown in Stone, but while this book is not a top favorite, I still found myself enjoying the book and getting lost in the world Angel Rose has put together. The characters are very realistic and hold true to how I would picture anyone who grew up that way would be. I think this mixed in with a burning desire to see what they do about their feelings really pushed this book forward for me.

    I feel I do need to mention that there were some points where I felt what the characters were doing in the midst of the situation was strange, and at times I lost track of where some of the characters were in the scene. This could have been due to the few writing mechanic issues in the book, but I more feel this is just the nature of a novella. Since the story is short, there are not a lot of details, deep character feels, or elaborate scenes. I do feel I run into this in any novella though. 

    On a final note, with this not only being a novella but also a side of dark romance that is usually a little to dark for me, I still really enjoyed this read. The author did an amazing job with a tough genre and a tougher subject. The amount of properly placed personality placed in both Stone and Madison was beautifully done.  

     

Overall: 

     This is a twisted dark romance, which to me means its a darker than normal side to dark romance. It is filled with rough and tumble characters from the worst parts of town. The characters all act as you would expect people who grew up around junkies would act, and the romance in it is more born out of caring for and protecting the ones the characters love, rather than sweeping anyone off their feet. There are confusing points of the novella as well as tough subjects and a few writing mechanic problems, however none of that stops this book from being a good read. 

     I found myself really being pulled into this story despite all the things that made me think I wouldn’t have been. While I don't always love what the characters do, I love the way they were written and how realistic them came across. The obstacles they face are very interesting and I can't wait to see how the rest of the story goes.  

Would I Recommend It:

     As always when it comes to dark romances, I hesitate to just jump right in there and say “yes, yes go buy this book.” Since this is a twisted dark romance, I really have to say it depends. This romance is dark, the situation, the love shared, and even the characters themselves are all dark. The subjects they face are very tough and there are very few hot and steamy scenes that melted my heart. If you are ok with all that, and none of it can cause any triggers for you than I would say yes, I do. Despite the few writing road bumps this is a very enjoyable read and I am sure anyone who is into the darker side of dark romance will enjoy it.

Start a conversation. Let me know what you thought of this book, or if you are excited to give it a go.


As always, happy reading.