Title: Guardians of Stone
Author: Anita Clenney
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Genre: Paranormal romantic suspense
My Review
Guardians of Stone is an Indiana Jones story with romance. Searching for ancient artifacts with magical properties is a classic theme, one that provides plenty of scope for bad guys—someone else is always after the goods too—supernatural intervention, a nice dollop of mystery and detective work, and getting the heroine into creepy places that throw her together with her body guard in ways that build intimacy. Clenney makes the best of all these aspects and weaves a great story around a couple of richly rendered characters.
Clenney deserves her best selling author status. She writes well and delivers a good tale. Her books are tightly written, well plotted and paced and her prose immediate and engaging. I really enjoyed Guardians of Stone, though it isn’t different or heart-warming enough to make me rave about it the way I did with Awaken the Highland Warrior which is one of the few books I’d like to read again. I figure this is the first in a series, because although the end was sufficiently satisfying, it not only left many questions unanswered, but also set the scene for another instalment by dangling a new piece of information for us to chew on. It wasn’t a cliff hanger—the author is cleverer than that—more of a carrot.
So what did I like about it? Jake, despite his rather crass first appearances, is an endearing character, and Kendell is the kind of gutsy intelligent woman that modern women like to read about. There were a few times when she snuck away from Jake when I thought she showed a lack of intelligence, or perhaps just a lack of awareness of the danger of her situation, but foolhardiness was part of her character, so it worked.
Nathan and his valet are also interesting characters with plenty of mystery around them to keep you wondering. Trying to guess what his role actually was in everything kept me on my toes and I was often surprised by clever plot twists that made me wonder even more.
And where is Adam? Didn’t Marcus say he was ‘over there’? But Adam is dead, or is he? And Marcus is a little crazy, isn’t he? I have to read the sequel just to unravel that little mystery. I have my suspicions and want to know if I’m correct. No doubt Clenney has more up her sleeve to keep me guessing a while longer.
It’s not a long book. I read it in one afternoon and evening. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes paranormal mystery with a good dollop of romance. 4 stars.
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Description
Kendall Morgan is a human bloodhound. Spending her childhood hunting relics with her ambitious archeologist father, she knew the two of them shared a sixth sense for the history and location of objects—sometimes even people. What she didn’t know was that their paranormal gift could ultimately be their undoing.
After the tragic plane crash that killed her father as well as her childhood best friend, Kendall dedicated her life to finding and protecting relics. When mysterious, sexy billionaire Nathan Larraby hires her for his latest expedition—the search for four powerful relics —she’s thrown into a world of high-octane danger. He sends brooding mercenary Jake Stone to watch Kendall’s back, but he may have created danger of a different kind.
As the team chases down clues, a man called the Reaper makes a play for the artifacts and will stop at nothing to put them to his own sinister use. What’s worse is that Nathan hasn’t told the whole story, and the dark secrets he’s keeping could cost them the mission…and their lives.
About Anita Clenney
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Anita Clenney grew up an avid reader, devouring Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books before moving on to mysteries and romance. After working as a secretary, a Realtor, teacher’s assistant, booking agent for Aztec Fire Dancers, and a brief stint in a pickle factory (picture Lucy and Ethel–lasted half a day)…she realized she’d missed the fork in the road that led to her destiny. Now she spends her days writing mysteries and paranormal romantic suspense about Secret Warriors, Ancient Evil and Destined Love. Anita lives in suburban Virginia, outside WashingtonDC, with her husband and two kids.
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