Stone Under Skin

De: BL Maxwell

Narrado por: Allen Jeffries

Ankit has lived many lifetimes. Once, long ago, he was made of stone and marked with symbols and sigils meant to safeguard him and allow him to protect and serve others. He’s a living gargoyle now, cursed to live as a human; always watching, at all times aware, and constantly searching for his fated one.

While walking home from his job as a librarian, Ethan Lewis is beaten and robbed. Ankit stumbles upon him and instantly recognizes him as the man he’s fated to. He helps him back to his apartment and, after tending his injuries, watches over him.

Fate has woven their lives together for centuries, but in every lifetime, they could never live freely or love each other as Ankit has often dreamed of. To change their destiny, they’ll fight together with other gargoyles and a young watcher who is unaware of the tremendous power she possesses. This will be the last battle against their creator, and they’ll either die fighting for their freedom or survive to live the life they’ve always yearned for.

©2019 BL Maxwell (P)2020 BL Maxwell

"You will always be magic to me." Ankit

All I want from a book is to be lost in a good story for a few hours and this one ticks that box. 😊

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: yes
Was I invested in the characters: yes

Story comment: Each chapter is written in alternating POV's which I enjoy. It has good pace, an entertaining story and likeable characters - Ethan is a lovable librarian, Ankit is everything I expect of a gargoyle - stubborn, loyal and protective and Jonna, the watcher, adds some moments of comic relief.

I enjoy a good gargoyle story - especially when said gargoyle is a softie at heart and the love Ankit has for Ethan pours off the page in this enchanting story. The background and twist on how Marius (the vampire) and the gargoyles was created was well constructed and I liked the concept of the past lives of the characters carrying through time. This series has great potential and I hope we get more world building throughout the rest of the books.

Allen Jeffries has a great voice for gargoyles ... his female voice for Jonna was a little weird in the beginning, but as the story progressed it suited her character. I enjoyed the narration and overall think he's done a good job on the narration, I had no problem distinguishing the characters, he had good inflections and bought life to the characters and their story.

I look forward to book 2.

Marshmallow heart inside the Stone Gargoyle

4 Blue Roses
3.5 Blue Flames

Narrator Allen Jeffries gave a good performance of a fresh new paranormal series, thickly peppered with gargoyles, angels, vampires, and elves. His decent job of narration matches the energy as they unite to fight against a power-hungry vampire.
I listened at 1.4 speed, which delivered a steady performance that highlighted the different characters and their personalities. I was able to follow easily as the characters were all easily distinguishable.

The plot itself was simple and straightforward. Almost like a mini-adventure. It has lots of potential for new stories, which intrigued me and would make me want to hear more about these characters.

I loved how Ankit and Ethan met in this lifetime, and then the flashbacks were done beautifully to their previous lives. I loved Ankit from the start, his caring, soft-hearted approach to Ethan and his marshmallow personality is such a contrast to what a gargoyle is in his stone statue form.

I’m sure the younger audiences will fall in love and gobble this series up as it captures paranormal creatures, true love with a fresh original twist. I wonder if they go Chichen Itza, will there be Mayan gargoyles and more dangers lurking inside the pyramids?

I do recommend this audiobook and look forward to hearing more.

Happy Listening

Gargoyles oh my!

Plot: Gargoyles, vampires (the bad kind), reincarnation, soulmates, protector

Feels: feel-good read

Drama: none

Heat: 2/5

Characters: likeable

Pacing: fast

Length: just right

Ending: HEA

Performance: Allen Jeffries’s sexy, deep and growly voice was perfect for Ankit, but didn’t translate well to Jonna’s female voice.

Love gargoyles

I love the gargoyles and their caring of others. The dangerous and deadly vampires are definitely an interesting one. I loved the fated mates and the beauty of their story. Each character has their own amazing personality and made the story even better. The romance was great and so was the plot. I love the marshmallow gargoyles and want so much more of them!

A love that lasts more than a lifetime.

So, first of all I will start saying this was my first time reading a gargoyle story, and I was not sure what to expect. Also, I do not have any terms of comparison as far as details go.
That being said, I really enjoyed the story; I love the fated pair trope, and the concept of them finding one another again and again during many lifetimes is really cool.
Good performance from narrator Allen Jeffreys, who’s scratchy voice is perfect for the gargoyles (though not so much for Jonna, the female character)!

loved it

I loved this book. Allen Jeffries does an amazing job bring these characters to life. Ankit has lived a very long time. He is a gargoyle but is cursed to be a human. He searches for his fated one. Ethan is robbed and beaten pretty bad and Ankit finds and saves him. Ankit realizes that Ethan is his fated one. Ankit will do anything to protect Ethan. Can they beat the odds and slay the one who wants them dead and free all the gargoyles from a monster?

Such a great listen

Allen Jeffries narration is perfect for this book.
He is a bit on the dramatic side and it fir perfectly with the tone of this story!!
5 stars from me.
Definitely recommend this gem

Good story

I enjoyed the story, I thought it was an unusual premise in that one of the MC’s was a gargoyle so it was nice to ‘read’ something a little different and the story was well written and good. The narration was ok - the female voice was kind of irritating to me but that wasn’t a major part of it.

What an incredible start to an original series!

What a premise! Dang! BL Maxwell surprised me to the second power. First, I heard so much about her contemporary M/M romance, I was unaware that she wrote paranormal and fantasy stuff, too. Second, this audiobook is amazing. Narrated by Allen Jeffries, I was transported to another present-day world where vampires, elves, and gargoyles exist! We are introduced to the adorably grouchy Ankit who is a gargoyle cursed to live as a human but things become exciting real quick when he finds Ethan Lewis who is his fated mate whose life has been entwined with his for centuries. The past lives have ended in tragedy for Ethan but Ankit is determined that things will be different this time. A decision that means gargoyles will fight against their creator. This is all kinds of good, folks. Wow, and holy cow!

I love this series so much

I love the characters they draw me in and I want to take the hours of love and relationships I want to know more about them💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕