AUTHOR: SHELLEY MARTIN is a Romance, Young Adult, Science Fiction & Fantasy writer. If you, as an Adult, need a break from the typical adult romance, this is a book for you. From the very beginning I would have given “Gargoyle” a 5++++ rating but something happened. Please read further.

GENRE: Romance, Fantasy, YA and Adults. (Paranormal: a sub-genre of fantasy. It usually takes place in our own world and involves some element or creature that would be considered supernatural or paranormal).

SETTING: Marettimo Isle, Sicily 1894

CENTRAL CHARACTERS: Erro Riemma aka Elizabeta Riemma attends an all boys school for reasons necessary to that era. Not a story about transgender issues as we know them today. Aelius, name given to a crumbling, hideous relic.

SYNOPSIS: Erro’s greatest artistic talent is sculpting, even more so than any other boy at the school. A crumbled pile of marble is restored and found to be the best work this student has ever done. Being so proud of the completed work, a kiss is placed upon the face of the sculpted creature.

SEXUAL EXPLICITNESS: “I want to kiss you”.

WHAT I LIKED: So much tenderness, innocence, gentleness is what gave this book a 5+++. Ahhh…yes, I sighed.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE: Enter Thomas, a really sweet and well meaning character. However things started getting complicated. Relationship of cave history, bad guy, sister etc is confusing.

I give this book 4+/5 stars because a change in the TONE of the story (not good)BUT…I definitely will be rereading. I am convinced that the author will make up the tone change in book 2. ( )

This book is about a young girl named Elizabeta, at a young age she lost her parents and her twin brother. Her Uncle was set to inherit her house and all of her land. He planed to have her killed in her sleep, because he does not want an additional female dependent. Elizabeta decides to enroll in an all boys school as her brother Erro. She is in constant danger of being discovered and possibly killed . to relieve her tension at night she works sculpting and fixing a gargoyle on the ledge above her balcony. When she is finished she kisses the sculpture and he comes to life. The have a ton of adventures.

This was a sweet romance story. There was no sex, and at some points the romance seemed a little forced due to their uneven stations (masterservent) The end was interesting, and had a few big twists. If you enjoy sweet paranormal romances set in historical times and are looking for an easy read on a rainy day I'd give this one a try.

I received a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Gargoyle by Shelley Martin (December 2012 batch)
This story is captivating from the very first page. Set in 1891 Europe, a time of supersition and repression. At 17 her family has died (parents and twin brother). Elizabeta Riemma enrolls at a school for males as her brother Erro to hide from her uncle, who wants her dead, so he can inherit. At school she learns sculpting. There is a damaged Gargoyle on her balcony. She repairs and re-sculpts. Names it Aelius, she kisses the statue and he comes to life. They become friends and share many adventures hiding her gender, and his being alive. 5 ***** ( )

The cover image for this book is misleading. It has a half naked muscular gargoyle on it, but in actually there is no sex in the book at all. It is a very clean romance, kissing only.

This book was ok. I'm not surprised this was published only as an ebook. The writing could be a lot better, and the story-line was lacking in my opinion. The master/servant contract with the gargoyle made the romance stilted and unrelatable. The last half of the book was more interesting, and the ending had a few clever moments. ( )