Flesh & Stone: A Monster Romance Novella by Emily Hemenway | #BangInTheNightBingo

When Thomas travels to America to capture an evil witch, he quickly discovers that his training as a Supernatural Investigator has not prepared him for how powerful she is. Transformed into a gargoyle and cursed to spend eternity in a hellish alternate reality, he has little hope of ever returning to the real world or finding happiness again.

Hannah’s first week after moving to New York City is filled with sightseeing and tourist traps. After dragging her best friend all around the city, she finds herself drawn to an ornate local cathedral. When she touches an alluring stone gargoyle, however, her life is thrown into chaos when he suddenly comes alive.

Now he’s crashing at her new apartment and things are heating up. Not only does this monster have a charming British accent, but he’s also kind, considerate, and has one hell of a tongue. Can she help him adjust to the 21st century? Or, will his past bring even more trouble into her life?

Flesh and Stone was a quick and sweet read at only 81 pages. It’s listed as a monster romance and while our hero is non-human (a gargoyle), I wouldn’t really qualify this as a horror/monster type of romance. Thomas, our hero, kept a lot of his human qualities and soul and was actually just an overall sweet guy. His quick romance with the heroine was sweet to watch and I definitely liked the two of them together. There was some steamy scenes too and I felt the balance of steam, sweet and plot line was just perfect for this quick read!

This novella definitely needs you to suspend disbelief since the storyline happens really fast and there’s a big HEA at the end where everything comes together. There’s definitely some mystery, but not a whole lot of danger or suspense. Still I read it all in one sitting and did enjoy the final outcome of the plot line. But it did leave me wanting more — more story, more of that world. Also, I really felt like I wanted to see more of these two characters in their new roles at the end of the story. Hannah was an FBI forensic accountant and Thomas was in a secret society so naturally they both have great investigative skills that I would love to see in a full on novel.

I think overall, this novella was a sweet romance that captured a small portion of time in the world the author created. After finishing it, I wanted to see more of that world. It felt almost like a prequel novella for a series starter all about the secret society, OSI, in the modern world. So if Hemenway is thinking of writing some full length novels set in that world with members of this secret society as the headliners then sign me up! I’ll be buying and devouring those stories for sure!

In the end, I’d definitely recommend picking up this novella for a romance quick-fix with an unusual Hero and a heroine that doesn’t mind him one bit! Perfect for spooky-season, too!

Let me know if you’ve read this novella or if you’ve read any other monster romance books! I’d love more recommendations, especially going into October / spooky season 🙂

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