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Mythos Legacy #4
Stone-Cold Heart
Abandoned to his fate, a shapeshifting gargoyle is trapped until she sets him free…
A gargoyle betrayed by his soldiers…
After centuries of stone-cold death, Garrett discovers his legion has deserted him. Without their help, he’ll succumb to eternal sleep once more unless he can trick the woman who woke him into trusting him with her soul.
A combat veteran scarred inside and out…
Her last night in Afghanistan, Raquel Guerrero’s team fell victim to a suicide bomber, killing everyone but her. Now, despite her determination to never again let anyone close, her sense of duty compels her to help an endangered warrior survive.
Trust isn’t in their vocabularies…
A tentative truce frees them to investigate his regiment’s abandonment—and unleashes passionate temptations. But when the truth is uncovered, Garrett and Raquel’s fragile bond—and the healing power of love—might be the only thing that keeps them alive.
*****
Note: For adult readers--contains hot sex scenes, language, and edgy situations.
For an introduction to the Mythos Legacy world, check out the short story Unintended Guardian!
A gargoyle betrayed by his soldiers…
After centuries of stone-cold death, Garrett discovers his legion has deserted him. Without their help, he’ll succumb to eternal sleep once more unless he can trick the woman who woke him into trusting him with her soul.
A combat veteran scarred inside and out…
Her last night in Afghanistan, Raquel Guerrero’s team fell victim to a suicide bomber, killing everyone but her. Now, despite her determination to never again let anyone close, her sense of duty compels her to help an endangered warrior survive.
Trust isn’t in their vocabularies…
A tentative truce frees them to investigate his regiment’s abandonment—and unleashes passionate temptations. But when the truth is uncovered, Garrett and Raquel’s fragile bond—and the healing power of love—might be the only thing that keeps them alive.
*****
Note: For adult readers--contains hot sex scenes, language, and edgy situations.
For an introduction to the Mythos Legacy world, check out the short story Unintended Guardian!
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 10, 2017
About the author
Jami Gold
5 books452 followersDon't miss Jami's next release! Sign up at jamigold.com/mail to be notified when her next book goes on pre-order and sale!
After building a Fortress of Solitude from books in her to-be-read pile, Jami Gold moved to Arizona and decided to become a writer, where she could put her talent for making up stuff to good use, including winning the 2015 National Readers’ Choice Award in Paranormal Romance for Ironclad Devotion.
Fueled by chocolate, she writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy tales that range from dark to humorous, but one thing remains the same: Normal need not apply. Just ask her family—and zombie cat.
Visit Jami at jamigold.com for more information & to connect with her on social media!
Concerned about the content of her books? Get content guidance and advisory information here.
After building a Fortress of Solitude from books in her to-be-read pile, Jami Gold moved to Arizona and decided to become a writer, where she could put her talent for making up stuff to good use, including winning the 2015 National Readers’ Choice Award in Paranormal Romance for Ironclad Devotion.
Fueled by chocolate, she writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy tales that range from dark to humorous, but one thing remains the same: Normal need not apply. Just ask her family—and zombie cat.
Visit Jami at jamigold.com for more information & to connect with her on social media!
Concerned about the content of her books? Get content guidance and advisory information here.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 10, 2017
“What’s gross?”
“Not gross. A grotesque, a carved stone figure.
It's all different. Trust me.
What makes a true gargoyle?
“Technically, it’s a gargoyle only if it acts as a water spout.”
First Impressions
Its face was frozen in a permanent snarl, displaying long canines, top and bottom.
Garret discovers technology.
Perhaps this machine could teach him what females expected in this era. He got as far as spelling out “how to get women” when the glowing rectangle offered suggestions ranging from “how to get women to chase you” to “how to get women in bed.”
Yes, a very useful device indeed.
Garret - The Romantic, The Poetic
“You’re the one I trust, because you’re the one who trusts me"
Banter with Raquel
“What good would wings be if they didn’t fly?”
“I don’t know, ask a penguin.”
I'm certain that Pingu is having an existential crisis in some snowy bar.
The sneakiest tyrannies were those that gave people options.
This book gets 4 stars because :
1 The writing
Its crisp, clever and fast paced. Every word has a reason for being there, Kudos to the editor.
2 Strong, imperfect characters
Our leads are dealing with some real problems - Raquel suffers from PTSD and lots of baggage. Garret has been abandoned to stone death and his army is missing. They can be compared to jigsaw puzzles, they fit perfectly.
3 Common ground
Both of them have a military background, feel isolated and are clueless about the purpose of their lives.
This is the first time the similarities between the leads has been explored in such depth, it affects their choices and relationships in subtle ways.
4 Adventurous story world
Garret comes from the planet Mythos, home to all the mythological creatures we have read about. The writer has created this world with her own rules and I enjoyed her version.
Boulders as informants was crazy cool.
I wasn't sure about a gargoyle as a lead but I finished this book with a huge crush.
Special mention : I think the story has a slight Beauty and the Beast influence, if I'm right this is a brilliant, kick ass retelling.
Give this a try if you're looking for imperfect characters, an intricate plot and high stakes.
I received this ARC in exchange for a honest review.
“Not gross. A grotesque, a carved stone figure.
It's all different. Trust me.
What makes a true gargoyle?
“Technically, it’s a gargoyle only if it acts as a water spout.”
First Impressions
Its face was frozen in a permanent snarl, displaying long canines, top and bottom.
Garret discovers technology.
Perhaps this machine could teach him what females expected in this era. He got as far as spelling out “how to get women” when the glowing rectangle offered suggestions ranging from “how to get women to chase you” to “how to get women in bed.”
Yes, a very useful device indeed.
Garret - The Romantic, The Poetic
“You’re the one I trust, because you’re the one who trusts me"
Banter with Raquel
“What good would wings be if they didn’t fly?”
“I don’t know, ask a penguin.”
I'm certain that Pingu is having an existential crisis in some snowy bar.
The sneakiest tyrannies were those that gave people options.
This book gets 4 stars because :
1 The writing
Its crisp, clever and fast paced. Every word has a reason for being there, Kudos to the editor.
2 Strong, imperfect characters
Our leads are dealing with some real problems - Raquel suffers from PTSD and lots of baggage. Garret has been abandoned to stone death and his army is missing. They can be compared to jigsaw puzzles, they fit perfectly.
3 Common ground
Both of them have a military background, feel isolated and are clueless about the purpose of their lives.
This is the first time the similarities between the leads has been explored in such depth, it affects their choices and relationships in subtle ways.
4 Adventurous story world
Garret comes from the planet Mythos, home to all the mythological creatures we have read about. The writer has created this world with her own rules and I enjoyed her version.
Boulders as informants was crazy cool.
I wasn't sure about a gargoyle as a lead but I finished this book with a huge crush.
Special mention : I think the story has a slight Beauty and the Beast influence, if I'm right this is a brilliant, kick ass retelling.
Give this a try if you're looking for imperfect characters, an intricate plot and high stakes.
I received this ARC in exchange for a honest review.
May 12, 2017
I don't read many romance stories, but I have read every one of Jamie Gold's. She has a knack for combining flights of fantasy with real life. In Stone Cold Heart, the reader enters a world where it is totally plausible to see a gargoyle striding down the streets of New York City. (OK, not in stone mode). At times, Jamie Gold's imagination astonishes me. She comes up with some things I would never...I mean... um...You'll know when you get to it...Something to do with clothing.
With Jamie Gold, along with the imaginative settings and characters and the exploration of some deep issues, you get what you want in a romance. Everyone, no matter who (and, that "who" can be quite far fetched), can find true love and happiness.
With Jamie Gold, along with the imaginative settings and characters and the exploration of some deep issues, you get what you want in a romance. Everyone, no matter who (and, that "who" can be quite far fetched), can find true love and happiness.
May 19, 2017
What a different kind of paranormal story! If you love fantasy worlds, you're probably used to seeing the Fae, elves, dwarves, vampires, and shapeshifters, but have you ever read about gargoyles? Not me. I loved exploring this new and unique world, and I haven't read more complex characters in a long time. Garrett and Raquel had such amazing character arcs, I really felt for them each and every step of the way toward their HEA.
Definitely can't wait for more in this series!
Definitely can't wait for more in this series!
May 10, 2017
Masterful blend of flesh and blood reality with a delightful twist of the fantastical!
Stone Cold Heart is the much anticipated fourth book in the Mythos Legacy Series, and from page one I knew it was going to be well worth the wait!
Each of the books in the series is an independent story in it’s own right, a blend of the mythological with the earthly. I read Treasured Claim last year, which I greatly enjoyed, but Stone Cold Heart shows Ms. Gold’s vast imagination and talent at a whole new level.
I was immediately pulled in and anchored by the richly developed protagonist, Raquel Guerrero, a combat veteran who served in Afgahnistan as a Cultural Support Team member attached to a U.S. Army Special Ops unit. Raquel’s job was to venture ahead of her unit into remote villages and gather info from the local women, women who could prove just as dangerous as the men, as she soon found.
Following the attack that stole the lives of the men in her unit and left her near death, Raquel is back home in New York. She’s recovered from her flesh wounds, and has moved out of her bestie’s New York apartment and into her own, but she is now struggling to heal the wounds that can’t be seen -- the PTSD, the survivor’s guilt.
Haunted by another nightmare of the attack that stole her comrades from her, Raquel is at her lowest ebb, and finds the comfort she needs most, in the form of a hunky gargoyle named Garrett, who’s been watching her from his perch outside her window.
Abandoned by his regiment to a life locked in stone, his only hope of freeing himself and finding his brothers is to trick a human female into trusting her soul to him. Don’t want to give too much away here, because there are so many unexpected twists and turns to the plot, but suffice it to say Stone Cold Heart is an expertly paced, engrossing read I couldn’t put down.
Also, hats off to Ms. Gold for not only touching on the struggles of PTSD that so many returning service personel, as well as those in the civilian population, are struggling with, but also for highlighting the heroism of our often overlooked female war veterans. May all find the peace these characters have.
Excellent writing—check. Steamy love scenes—check. Want to find out what happens next with Raquel and Garrett—check.
As noted by the author, there wil be a spin off series. Yay! Can’t wait to see where the story goes from here!
Stone Cold Heart is the much anticipated fourth book in the Mythos Legacy Series, and from page one I knew it was going to be well worth the wait!
Each of the books in the series is an independent story in it’s own right, a blend of the mythological with the earthly. I read Treasured Claim last year, which I greatly enjoyed, but Stone Cold Heart shows Ms. Gold’s vast imagination and talent at a whole new level.
I was immediately pulled in and anchored by the richly developed protagonist, Raquel Guerrero, a combat veteran who served in Afgahnistan as a Cultural Support Team member attached to a U.S. Army Special Ops unit. Raquel’s job was to venture ahead of her unit into remote villages and gather info from the local women, women who could prove just as dangerous as the men, as she soon found.
Following the attack that stole the lives of the men in her unit and left her near death, Raquel is back home in New York. She’s recovered from her flesh wounds, and has moved out of her bestie’s New York apartment and into her own, but she is now struggling to heal the wounds that can’t be seen -- the PTSD, the survivor’s guilt.
Haunted by another nightmare of the attack that stole her comrades from her, Raquel is at her lowest ebb, and finds the comfort she needs most, in the form of a hunky gargoyle named Garrett, who’s been watching her from his perch outside her window.
Abandoned by his regiment to a life locked in stone, his only hope of freeing himself and finding his brothers is to trick a human female into trusting her soul to him. Don’t want to give too much away here, because there are so many unexpected twists and turns to the plot, but suffice it to say Stone Cold Heart is an expertly paced, engrossing read I couldn’t put down.
Also, hats off to Ms. Gold for not only touching on the struggles of PTSD that so many returning service personel, as well as those in the civilian population, are struggling with, but also for highlighting the heroism of our often overlooked female war veterans. May all find the peace these characters have.
Excellent writing—check. Steamy love scenes—check. Want to find out what happens next with Raquel and Garrett—check.
As noted by the author, there wil be a spin off series. Yay! Can’t wait to see where the story goes from here!
December 27, 2020
I've read many PNRs, but can't recall ever reading one starring a gargoyle. So that intrigued me no end.
The characters in this story were very well drawn and engaging, and their internal conflicts in particular strongly defined. I am not given to spoilers, so I am not going to speak of what transpires in this story, suffice to say that Jami Gold has a talent for peppering her stories with surprises and unanticipated twists that make me envy her brain and her talent for cerebral gymnastics.
I would have liked to give this story a 5 star rating, but if I am brutally honest, there was something in the romance plot that either missed the mark, or had gone AWOL. I can't put my finger on it, but the bottom line for me is that I didn't get the deeply 'Yes.....' sense of satisfaction the story had been promising.
It was still a darned good read though, and I am happy to recommend it to anyone who enjoys life-like characters drawn from the unexpected!
For myself, I shall probably reread in a few weeks time - to see if there was something I missed the first time round, and just to take in the author's means of word-painting her characters, because she does it so brilliantly.
The characters in this story were very well drawn and engaging, and their internal conflicts in particular strongly defined. I am not given to spoilers, so I am not going to speak of what transpires in this story, suffice to say that Jami Gold has a talent for peppering her stories with surprises and unanticipated twists that make me envy her brain and her talent for cerebral gymnastics.
I would have liked to give this story a 5 star rating, but if I am brutally honest, there was something in the romance plot that either missed the mark, or had gone AWOL. I can't put my finger on it, but the bottom line for me is that I didn't get the deeply 'Yes.....' sense of satisfaction the story had been promising.
It was still a darned good read though, and I am happy to recommend it to anyone who enjoys life-like characters drawn from the unexpected!
For myself, I shall probably reread in a few weeks time - to see if there was something I missed the first time round, and just to take in the author's means of word-painting her characters, because she does it so brilliantly.
May 16, 2017
The characters in this book, especially Raquel, drew me in and kept me turning the pages. Overall, the story earns 4.4 out of five stars.
Raquel and Garratt are both soldiers with scars, more internal than external. The look at flashbacks, PTSD and survivor's guilt felt authentic, totally engaging me in the journey for these characters. I'm not as sold on the love story aspect, thought things might have happened a little quickly, but with fiction there are word count restraints. Plus readers complain if it takes too long for the characters to "get together."
I was thrilled to learn this was the first in a spin-off series. The Mythos Legacy books are great but aren't truly tied together in the way most series are (or the way I like my series to be), so it will be fun to follow characters we know and love while being introduced to new ones who will take center stage for their own unfolding love story.
Jami Gold writes quite well and I'm never disappointed when I pick up one of her books.
Raquel and Garratt are both soldiers with scars, more internal than external. The look at flashbacks, PTSD and survivor's guilt felt authentic, totally engaging me in the journey for these characters. I'm not as sold on the love story aspect, thought things might have happened a little quickly, but with fiction there are word count restraints. Plus readers complain if it takes too long for the characters to "get together."
I was thrilled to learn this was the first in a spin-off series. The Mythos Legacy books are great but aren't truly tied together in the way most series are (or the way I like my series to be), so it will be fun to follow characters we know and love while being introduced to new ones who will take center stage for their own unfolding love story.
Jami Gold writes quite well and I'm never disappointed when I pick up one of her books.
July 12, 2017
This is a great contemporary romance with a dash of supernatural. I have never read a love story involving gargoyles so I was intrigued. I read this in a day, I just couldn't put it down because I wanted to see what happens next. I have not read the rest of the books in this series, but I read a blog post by the author who said this could work as a stand-alone. I did not feel like I missed out on anything by not reading the other books in the series. I felt instantly connected to the protagonist, Raquel as she struggled with re-entry after fighting in Afghanistan. I liked that Garret and Raquel's story mirrored each other and they were able to help each other cope and fell in love.
February 10, 2023
This was my second read by this author. I read it out of order because the blurb sounded more interesting to me than the other three before it. They seem to stand alone well enough. And I won't lie, I liked the dude on the cover ;)
While a few things about the writing style did "pet my peeve" a little here and there, it wasn't enough to really pull me out of the story. Other things were done well. Like the author did a pretty good job with getting out details and backstory without massive info dumps, so yay for that. Flashbacks worked, felt appropriate for the moment and weren't too long. A couple of twisty spots.
Raquel and Garratt were both likeable enough characters. All in all, the story kept me turning pages, was well paced and a fairly quick read. I enjoyed it and will probably read more from this author.
While a few things about the writing style did "pet my peeve" a little here and there, it wasn't enough to really pull me out of the story. Other things were done well. Like the author did a pretty good job with getting out details and backstory without massive info dumps, so yay for that. Flashbacks worked, felt appropriate for the moment and weren't too long. A couple of twisty spots.
Raquel and Garratt were both likeable enough characters. All in all, the story kept me turning pages, was well paced and a fairly quick read. I enjoyed it and will probably read more from this author.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews