What caught my attention first was the beautiful cover art. The blues and purples accentuated by the pinks and oranges mixed in the clouds behind the couple. I stopped in my tracks while I was looking at new reads and looked at the synopsis. The reference to Ruby Dixon sealed the deal. I took the chance to find a new author and I'm so glad I did because this was sweet and steamy and in the end, so interesting because a good romance has to have enough story to draw you in for a series if that's the goal and this one passed with flying colors.
Heartsong has gargoyles, or more accurately grotesques, on display in a special museum owned by an eccentric couple. Anna works at this museum, taking care of the visitors by giving tours and taking care of the front desk at a job that is almost too good to be true. She's happy with her job and interested in the museum pieces, specifically a warrior that is slate grey in color. Anna calls this one her statue and takes her breaks and lunches near him when she has the chance. Masked commandos storm the museum one night that Anna is working late and Anna ends up touching her statue as she is trying to escape. He comes to life and whisks her away to safety, calling her his mate, his heartsong. Frey tells her about a fae queen who stole the magic that created his people, turning many of them into the statues that are now on display at her job. Now Anna has to try to help Frey adapt to the modern world while trying to figure out how to help the rest of the statues that were once his people. All while trying to understand the connection she has to the warrior Frey.
I loved this book. It was everything I expected for a monster romance and it kept my attention through every twist and turn it took. I'm hoping for more news about the projected sequel soon. I found the world-building interesting, the story about how Frey was created to help the Druids fight against invaders for several centuries. It sounded like a legend that could have been passed down for generations. The hook about how a fae queen stole their magic back and forced them to become statues for fifteen hundred years was tragic and I was quickly drawn in to the entire mythology built for this book. I wanted to understand everything and I was happy to go along for the ride. This is my first book from Wendel and I was impressed with the writing skill, the easy flow of the writing and the chemistry between the leads. Nothing felt clunky, threads were woven and then came together seamlessly, the reveals were earned and nothing felt out of place. As a result, I'm looking into more works by Wendel to start reading to tide me over until book 2 is released.
Anna was an intriguing character, a woman who is suffering from chronic pain in the form of debilitating migraines that she is slowly trying to get under control with the help of medical care she finally has access to because of her job. I thought this was unique because so many heroines in these stories are young and healthy, thin and maybe awkward but Anna felt like a real woman with real issues. She's a little bigger than the average woman, has struggled to build a life for herself with the problems that arise from having to live a life with chronic pain holding you back. I enjoyed the fact that Anna had childhood issues keeping her from opening up, that hold her back from trusting people and that it was part of journey to learn that she deserved good things and that it was safe to trust someone when they proved that they could be trusted. It worked at keeping me rooting for Anna to get her happily ever after.
Frey was fun, a bit of a jerk at the start of the book but quick to learn and adapt. He was once a well-respected warrior, arrogant and bullheaded, and now he is determined to protect his love from everything, even herself, no matter what. I loved how he butted heads with Anna, how he thought he was making all the right moves and had to sit back and learn when she didn't fall over swooning when the reality was that he had made an ass of himself. Frey was a sweetheart with good intentions and I enjoyed watching him learn to read Anna, to understand that he needed to hear her side and take in what she said. Their dynamic made their connection feel earned. I've read many "fated lovers" stories leave the development of the romance to rest on the idea of being fated instead of showing how that is only the first ingredient to a good love story. The characters still have to make the choice to work together and make their connection worth it in order for their story to resonate and I loved that this book showed that.
My only complaint was with the reveal about the villain. The mastermind behind the breach at the museum seemed a little off, not enough to feel like a threat. After everything that had happened in the book, it came off as a bit of a letdown. I'm not sure what I was expecting but the way it was left definitely shows that this is the first book in a series. There will be more development in later books and more answers revealed, I know that, I just really didn't care about the whys for the villain, or really anything for the villain. It's just that for now, the way this was revealed, the villain turned out to be the weakest link of the story. Still, it led to some interesting reveals for the whole book so I will be reading the prequel novella Stone Hearts, within the month.
I also adore when authors provide glossaries and chapter notes to enhance their story. I greatly appreciate an author showing the effort that they made to expand their world with real sources that I can see for myself. It really helps with the world-building and just in appealing to my senses as a reader. I'm the type of reader who enjoys footnotes and having a romance novel with that kind of information added in makes my heart sing. Read this book if you love monster romances that have realistic leads and prove that love takes work. I hope this series is going to have lots of books in the future.
Rating on my scale: 9 Stars. Seriously, this is a VERY respectable read. I loved it, I just feel really annoyed about the villain. They seemed to have too much power for very little page time and I want more definitive dealings with getting rid of them. I'll have to wait and see how they deal with them but here's hoping it's not drawn out. So far, they are not interesting enough to make me care about their devious plans. But I loved the couple and I want to know what happens with the next leads for book 2.
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