The Stone Prince (Imperia, 1)

The story was sooo cute. I especially like the play between Katie and her four over protective brothers. The jokes they play on each other and their interview of her new "boyfriend." The drinking scene and the condom scene were hilarious. Of course the sexual tension was great. Big Warrior Man Shows His Woman a Night of Passion Therefore She Will Fall in Love With Him I guess would be too long of a title, but it basically sums up the whole book. Of course, Katie doesn't agree with becoming intimately involved with someone only for them to leave her for always, so she puts him off. Surprisingly, I can relate better to that than the fall into bed scenes found in most romances. Definitely five stars!

This is the story of Katie James and a marble statue-turned man, named Jorlan en Sarr. He hails from a distant planet where the grass is white and men are dominant alpha males who think that women have no say so in anything. This is the kind of contemporary-paranormal-romance that I love. Jorlan was cursed by his extremely jealous half brother nine hundred years before. Katie buys this property with all sorts of naked statues all in a state of sexual gratification. Except for the one that she can hear tell her to kiss him. She is oddly drawn to this statue of pure male nudity, and kisses him one night...then she realizes that she is actually kissing a real life male!! This is where the fun comes in. Gena Showalter is a genuinely unique author. She blends weirdness into hilarity and male chavaunism into, somehow, alluring attractivness. Joran and Tristan (the hero of The Pleasure Slave) are both overbearing pigs of men but in the progression of each novel, they start to realize that the way to an Earth bound woman's heart is tenderness. This book is extremely funny and a great read. I reccommend it to anyone with a sense of humor who loves an odd romance.

I can't believe the reviews that say this is like J. Lindsey's Warrior's Woman. Showalter writes a book that gives the heroine much more power than Lindsey's book. Jorlan is charmingly out of place, and so ends up losing a bit of that Warrior edge. And Katie does get the upper hand with him at times, unlike Lindsey's heroine. This is what makes Showalter's book work for me. It's much more about two people struggling to find an equal footing with each other. That plus sexy romance and a great villain. The addition of Percen to this book as a villain who ends up being sympathetic and changed also adds a depth that is missing from Warrior's Woman, which I enjoyed. Many books are similar in this genre because we readers like certain elements. It's what an author does with those elements that sets her apart. And Gena Showalter is carving out a niche all her own. I can't wait to read Awaken Me Darkly.

Poor Katie James. She's fallen in lust with the hunky statue in her garden. If only he were a real man... Poor Jorlen en Sarr. He's been cursed to spend the rest of his life imprisoned in a stone jail in unless he gets a kiss... Lucky for us, Katie is so worked up by her lackluster love life and the granite god in her backyard that she gives in to desire and impulsively kisses the statue, releasing Jorlen from his curse for a time. He's got two weeks to make Katie fall in love with him or he'll end up a monument forever. Further complicating things is Jorlen's views on women. He may be from a different planet but his attitude about women is strictly earth caveman. Katie isn't having any of it, and he soon sees that a strong woman is a good woman. Katie soon realizes it's only a matter of time before she gives in to Jorlen's seductive charms, even though she knows when he returns to his home planet, she'll never see him again. The Stone Prince is super sexy, tons of fun, and over too soon. Vivid descriptions, great characters, and quick pacing make this book a keeper. I will NOT be lending this one out. Buy your own! Even with the profusion of hyphenated phrases, The Stone Prince is a four star read. The premise is fresh, and hot doesn't do this story justice. The chemistry between Katie and Jorlen is nuclear, and really keeps the pages turning. Showalter's voice is welcome change from so many of the cookie cutter books being published today. This is a great first book from an author with a long future ahead of her.