Story Rating: 4.25 stars
Audio Rating: 4.5 stars
Narrator: Greg Tremblay
Length: 3 hours, 37 minutes
Audiobook Buy Links: Audible
Book Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance
Mason James has settled into his new life as a gargoyle shifter with his partner Luc. The world of the gargoyle is still a little strange to him, but he loves Luc and the family of friends he has made. Mason still doesn’t understand fully what it means that he is a Romanus (nor does anyone else), but he is happy with his life and his relationship.
Mason is shocked when one day he gets visitors from France. It turns out that his birth father and his half siblings have been trying to track him down and now want him to come to France. Mason’s father is wealthy and gargoyle royalty and everyone expects Mason to take his place at his side. Mason is happy to meet them all, but has no intention of moving to France or assuming a role in the royal family, particularly when they make it clear that a warrior like Luc is not of a high enough class to be with Mason. Mason would turn right around and go home, if not for the chance to learn more about his mother and his role as a Romanus.
As Mason learns more about his past, his family, and the gargoyle world, things aren’t quite as they seem and his safety is not guaranteed. But Mason is determined to be there for his people, with Luc by his side, no matter what it takes.
I am a big fan of nontraditional shifters and I really enjoy this paranormal world that Mary Calmes has created. The first story, Romanus, introduces us to Luc and Mason and we get the first start to understanding the gargoyles. But that first book definitely leaves things somewhat open, so I was really excited to check out this follow up and to see how well Calmes uses this story to really expand the world building and provide much more detail on the gargoyle world and Mason’s role as a Romanus in particular. We also see how far Luc and Mason have come since that first book when they were just getting to know one another and Mason was still unsure about the whole mates thing. Now these guys are clearly in love (and in lust) with one another and we can see their deep commitment. Mason and Luc are crazy hot together and I loved seeing the strong bond they have built.
I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed Greg Tremblay’s narration. There are a lot of French words and characters and Tremblay does a great job with the accents. The characters’ voices fit them really well and the story pacing is smooth and polished. Tremblay’s tone is spot on, whether it is Mason’s frustration with his family, or learning about the gargoyle life, or the hot and steamy scenes between the men. I think the narration is great here and I would definitely not hesitate to recommend this book in either format.
I am not sure if there is more to come for this series. The main crux of this book is Mason learning more about his role as a Romanus, so I am not sure if we will get a follow up with that being implemented. We also get to see the beginnings of a romance between two side characters that I would LOVE to see as its own story, so I am definitely hopeful we get more from them. But this one wraps up nicely and I think it is a great follow up for rounding out the story we get in the first book.
A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.