Review - Stone Cold Seduction by Jess Macallan - 4 Qwills

Stone Cold Seduction

Author:  Jess Macallan
Series:  Set in Stone
Format: Trade Paperback, 246 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing (September 6, 2011)
Price: $14.99
Language: English
Genre: Paranormal w/ strong Romantic Elements
ISBN :  978-1-937044-25-1
Review Copy:  Purchased & eARC from Publisher

Cover and synopsis:

“Elle. It’s just Elle.”

When a regular night of Robin Hood-ery results in the manifestation of some, um, unusual paranormal abilities, perfume-maker Elleodora Fredricks realizes the normal world she lives in isn’t quite… normal. And neither is she, thanks to her father, king of the shadow elves. Not only is he evil incarnate and the reason Elle moonlights as a burglar—someone has to take care of all his victims—he’s stolen her memories.

And only reading her fate can fix that.

Good thing she’s got a trio of hotties willing to help her find said fate. Saving her oracle BFF’s fiancée, falling in love with the gargoyle, and making up for breaking the phoenix’s heart ought to be a piece of cake for the princess of the shadow elves.

If only the king didn’t want his daughter dead…

Amazon : Barnes & Noble : Books On Board : Diesel

My thoughts:

First off, kudos to Entangled Publishing for being upfront about Stone Cold Seduction's genre: "Paranormal w/ strong Romantic Elements." That is an apt description. This first book in the Set in Stone series has no HEA, but does have romance. With an HEA I might have thought of it as an Urban Fantasy Romance, but there is no HEA... yet.

I really liked Stone Cold Seduction. Jess Macallan has created a really interesting mythology for her series that includes Gargoyles, Phoenixes, Shadow Elves, Light Elves and more. There are no vampires or werewolves. The fact that a mythical creature in the book called them myths made me smile. There are moments of levity in Stone Cold Seduction. There is romance and, yes, sex. There is action and some violence.

Elle is the central character of Stone Cold Seduction. All of sudden her world is turned upside down when she finds out who her awful Dad really is and who she is and may become. The world is not what it seems. Elle's a very likable character. She has an offbeat and lovely sense of humor. Her reluctance about some things is explained throughout the course of the story. We know as much as she does. We find out about her horrific past right along with her as her memories slowly start to return and her paranormal abilities manifest. Bad things have happened to her. The folks who have caused those bad things are still around. There is one scene in the story that really made me cringe for Elle.

Elle is surrounded by a trio of terrific males - Teryl, Jax and MacLean. Teryl is Elle's BFF. Jax works for Elle. MacLean is... well you'll have to read the story. The interaction between Elle and the "trio of hotties" and among the trio is very well done. There are several very amusing "manversations" as Elle calls them between the guys. "...a manversation is a conversation men have where only grunts, growls, and manly looks are exchanged.” I like all the guys. They each have well-drawn and distinct personalities. 

This is the foundation book for the series so don't expect much to be resolved. Elle's powers have not completely manifested, her fate is not clear, and she's going to have to deal not only with romantic entanglements but her dear old Dad in the upcoming books.

Jess Macallan did a terrific job balancing humor, violence, action, and romance in Stone Cold Seduction. It's an engaging read and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I give Stone Cold Seduction 4 Qwills.

Note: Book 2 will be published in November 2011 and Book 3 will be published in January 2011.