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sylvia_is_reading's review
3.0
It started out as a 4* but it ended as a 3* because it was too long for me. How many adventures into the other realm does one story need? Everybody needed to be rescued one after the other :( I didn't like the last chapter and the epilogue very much either. Too bad because I liked the fantastical other realm and druid stuff.
I didn't like the narration very much, it felt like fairy tale telling to a children audience to me.
I didn't like the narration very much, it felt like fairy tale telling to a children audience to me.
reviewerlarissa's review
4.0
**Review for Rarely Dusty Books**
The Druid Stone is an intriguing and intense story that is steeped in magic and mystery, folklore and mythology and two exquisitely fascinating characters that will keep you on the edge of your seat and melt the screen of your reader at the same time.
As a student of folklore, I tend to be a skeptic when it comes to stories that twist and turn mythology and folklore to fit a story. While often very good, it can also turn bad (very bad). With The Druid Stone there were absolutely no worries. All the folklore and mythology ring true and the way the sidhe were portrayed was very close to old stories.
The Druid Stone is a story that has several plot angles and layers, but it’s in no way overwhelming or causes you to lose track of the story itself. There is a lot of information on Irish history and mythology, but it’s not an info dump and it doesn’t take away from the story. Rather it’s part of it. Once you start this story it’s hard not to become engrossed in Sean’s nightmares (which can be very detailed and graphic at times) and his sweetness or Cormac’s stubbornness and their adventures together.
The writing is graphic and engrossing, not one sided or static, something that’s not always easy to find. Sometimes with two authors writing together, it’s easy to see where one stops and the other stars, but there is none of that in The Druid Stone. Instead both authors create a vividly intense story.
Sean and Cormac are their own persons and have their own voices and make their own choices in the story. There is a definite romance between the two, but it’s not quite obvious. There are no candlelight dinners and roses, but two fiercely independent characters who are perfect for each other. They are also very stubborn, so it takes them a while to work out the kinks (and add a few).
The Druid Stone is a story I definitely recommend for readers who like a good blend of Urban Fantasy, action, adventure, mystery, mythology and two steamy hot manly characters who definitely know how to use their equipment.
The Druid Stone is an intriguing and intense story that is steeped in magic and mystery, folklore and mythology and two exquisitely fascinating characters that will keep you on the edge of your seat and melt the screen of your reader at the same time.
As a student of folklore, I tend to be a skeptic when it comes to stories that twist and turn mythology and folklore to fit a story. While often very good, it can also turn bad (very bad). With The Druid Stone there were absolutely no worries. All the folklore and mythology ring true and the way the sidhe were portrayed was very close to old stories.
The Druid Stone is a story that has several plot angles and layers, but it’s in no way overwhelming or causes you to lose track of the story itself. There is a lot of information on Irish history and mythology, but it’s not an info dump and it doesn’t take away from the story. Rather it’s part of it. Once you start this story it’s hard not to become engrossed in Sean’s nightmares (which can be very detailed and graphic at times) and his sweetness or Cormac’s stubbornness and their adventures together.
The writing is graphic and engrossing, not one sided or static, something that’s not always easy to find. Sometimes with two authors writing together, it’s easy to see where one stops and the other stars, but there is none of that in The Druid Stone. Instead both authors create a vividly intense story.
Sean and Cormac are their own persons and have their own voices and make their own choices in the story. There is a definite romance between the two, but it’s not quite obvious. There are no candlelight dinners and roses, but two fiercely independent characters who are perfect for each other. They are also very stubborn, so it takes them a while to work out the kinks (and add a few).
The Druid Stone is a story I definitely recommend for readers who like a good blend of Urban Fantasy, action, adventure, mystery, mythology and two steamy hot manly characters who definitely know how to use their equipment.
brewergnome's review
3.0
An enjoyable summer beach read. A fun gay romance, a paranormal mystery/problem that's better fleshed out than is the norm for romances. Quite enjoyable.
ktomp17's review
3.0
This book was LONG! That isn’t a bad thing, just a statement. There was a lot of information in the book and a lot of world building. I did get lost a couple of times due to the extravagance of that world and how things pieced together, but it was well written overall. It had an interesting premise and was a pretty good book. I found myself not expecting the ending to work out the way I wanted it to Cormac still seemed too much in love with Michael to ever let him go and to be with Sean but it worked out and made sense in the end. I liked this book.
mononoke's review
3.0
I liked the story, and the twists that came with it. However, whilst I like relationships I got bored of pages upon pages of sex scenes. I never understand the need to have people jump into each other's pants immediately and lamp shading the fact didn't help. A bit more time spent building the relationship with a lot less sex would have scored the book higher for me.
galadhir's review
4.0
I enjoyed this one immensely. Powerfully written, and the fay were wonderfully scary/capricious/attractive in an authentically otherworldly way that I value highly and scarcely ever see.
calila's review
3.0
I spent a lot of this book confused on who was doing what, and what was happening. I probably could've been more focused though. I don't really buy the love between Sean and Cormac, I don't know that Cormac really got over or past Michael. Also it carried on too long, about halfway through I thought it was wrapping up until I looked down and realized I was only at 55%. The las big conflict/resolution/plot stuff was WAY confusing and irritating. Sean and Cormac got into the realm to get Michael, then Michael and Sean return to the realm to save Cormac, who then tried to make them leave him behind because of martyrdom. Just irksome. I did actually like Sean and Cormac, though I wish Cormac had been forced to apologize for his borderline racist, if not out right racist remark to Sean. And I believe they want to love each other so I guess that's as good as it'll get for me.
apostrophen's review
4.0
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I really liked the world being explored, and the druidry angle. It's always nice to bump into some mythology and a location that I'm not as familiar with (even though I'm from the U.K., my exposure to Ireland was pretty thin).
The characters were solid. Sean and Cormac were fun, interesting, and easily garnered empathy (especially Sean, who is hit with a terrible curse that's quite graphically explained right at the start of the book: not for the squeamish). Also, the audiobook performer did an excellent job with voices and accents, so every character was voiced uniquely, especially Sean and Cormac. That can make a huge difference, and in this case, it really did lend some great presentation.
Sean arrives in Ireland hoping that Cormac can solve his curse, and Cormac... is less than welcoming. By the time Cormac realizes that Sean's troubles are true, Sean has unwittingly made things much worse, and the two come together to set things right from that point on.
The urban paranormal feel of the book was a slow boil followed by a complete overflowing of the pot: it's a great gradual build for the first half or so of the book, and at a certain tipping point (somewhere between half-way and two-thirds), the pace becomes completely frenetic and the shifting into the paranormal aspect is nigh on full. That full-tilt action shifts and wobbles through other dimensions, times, and has some pretty high violence moments (and some more graphic moments), and has at least two character twists that had me taken aback.
As I said, I really enjoyed this - but there were two moments that ground me right out of the narrative. This is something that gets under my skin as a queer guy, and an ongoing frustration, but there's a "gay for you" plot to the story, and worse, some direct dialog: "If I were to go gay, it'd be you." I'm not going to has it out again why that drives me mental (especially when the word bisexual is never mentioned in the whole book), but if you care, I've got a blog post on the topic.
The book is really good. I certainly don't regret listening to it, and I'd be interested to go further in the series. I just wish bi-erasure wasn't so darn common. We have the words, and the labels, and the living, breathing people. Why can't we have the characters, too?
The characters were solid. Sean and Cormac were fun, interesting, and easily garnered empathy (especially Sean, who is hit with a terrible curse that's quite graphically explained right at the start of the book: not for the squeamish). Also, the audiobook performer did an excellent job with voices and accents, so every character was voiced uniquely, especially Sean and Cormac. That can make a huge difference, and in this case, it really did lend some great presentation.
Sean arrives in Ireland hoping that Cormac can solve his curse, and Cormac... is less than welcoming. By the time Cormac realizes that Sean's troubles are true, Sean has unwittingly made things much worse, and the two come together to set things right from that point on.
The urban paranormal feel of the book was a slow boil followed by a complete overflowing of the pot: it's a great gradual build for the first half or so of the book, and at a certain tipping point (somewhere between half-way and two-thirds), the pace becomes completely frenetic and the shifting into the paranormal aspect is nigh on full. That full-tilt action shifts and wobbles through other dimensions, times, and has some pretty high violence moments (and some more graphic moments), and has at least two character twists that had me taken aback.
As I said, I really enjoyed this - but there were two moments that ground me right out of the narrative. This is something that gets under my skin as a queer guy, and an ongoing frustration, but there's a "gay for you" plot to the story, and worse, some direct dialog: "If I were to go gay, it'd be you." I'm not going to has it out again why that drives me mental (especially when the word bisexual is never mentioned in the whole book), but if you care, I've got a blog post on the topic.
The book is really good. I certainly don't regret listening to it, and I'd be interested to go further in the series. I just wish bi-erasure wasn't so darn common. We have the words, and the labels, and the living, breathing people. Why can't we have the characters, too?
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