Book Review: Secrets of Skin and Stone by Wendy Laine

Secrets of Skin and Stone by Wendy Sparrow (Writing as Wendy Laine)

Secrets of Skin and Stone
Wendy Laine (aka Wendy Sparrow)
YA Paranormal
June 5, 2017
Entangled Teen

Blurb:

Something is wrong in Hidden Creek. The sleepy Alabama town is more haunted than any place fiend hunter Grisham Caso has ever seen. Unearthed graves, curse bags, and spilled blood all point to an evil that could destroy his gargoyle birthright. The town isn’t safe for anyone, and everyone says fiery Piper Devon knows why.

Piper wants to leave Hidden Creek behind. She’s had enough of secrets—they hide in the shadows of her room and tell her terrible things are coming. Too-charming city boy Grisham might be her only chance to save herself.

To survive, Piper and Grisham have to shed their secrets and depend only on each other. But what lurks in Hidden Creek still might take everything away from them, including each other.

My Review:

Grisham "Gris" Caso has been sent on his first solo fiend-hunting mission to the small town of Hidden Creek, Alabama, the home of his aunt, uncle, cousin, and his crazy former Watcher uncle, Critch. He figures it will be some easy task foisted upon him to test him. Until he reaches Hidden Creek and realizes this will not be a simple get-rid-of-the-fiends mission. There are way more fiends in this small town than Gris has seen, even in major cities and it's affecting the people in town, making them do crazy things. And then he meets Piper Devon. Strange, brilliant, beautiful Piper Devon who everyone seems to fear.

Piper Devon knows everyone in town thinks she's crazy or evil - or both. And she thinks they might be right on the evil front. She feels like there is a darkness inside her. She doesn't have the bright, organized OCD like her mother, she has to stick to patterns and she cuts her shoulder to try to absolve herself of the wrongs she thinks she does. And she definitely doesn't trust charming boys, so when she meets the handsome and probably charming Gris she knows better than to trust him. But when Piper's dog is mysteriously murdered and it might be connected to the other strange occurrences in town trusting Gris is exactly what she'll have to do.

To work together they'll have to tear down their emotional walls and reveal their secrets to each other if they have any chance of finding out who is stirring things up in Hidden Creek. But in working together will they also begin falling in love? And what will happen when a deranged soul realizes the duo are onto them? Will Piper and Gris end up in the crosshairs of a killer?

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure about this book at first. Piper's OCD is definitely extreme and some of the "Southernisms" were a bit laughable (although probably authentic to how people in the deep south actually talk. Ex: Don't profane) but I could look past that because I liked the idea of the book. 

As I read further I really fell in love with the story. The author paints an excellent picture of the fiends and the Watchers (gargoyles) and I could easily see Gris fighting off the fiends while Piper slept on, oblivious at first. I thought that the characters blended well together and I kept guessing to see who was gathering the fiends in Hidden Creek. 

This book had everything I look for and love in a good novel; romance, humor, and some seriously awesome supernatural creatures. I've read stories with gargoyle characters before but this one was definitely my favorite! 

Overall, I can't enthuse enough about this book, it really hooked me and although it doesn't leave the reader in a cliff-hanger I can definitely see the author expanding on these characters and Hidden Creek. I know I would love to read more!

My Rating:

4.75 of 5 Stars!

Secrets of Skin and Stone by Wendy Laine is out tomorrow, Monday, June 5, 2017 from Entangled Teen! Grab a copy here:

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