Customer Reviews

Secrets in the Stone

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved Rooke and Adrian, although I wasn't really convinced that Adrian had issues strong enough to play hard to get for so long. I also enjoyed the strange and devious Melinda but I feel like I've missed something.
I kept reading waiting for the issue Melinda to finally get resolved, thinking that something paranormal was going on (which would have been totally great). When it got too late in the book for it to be paranormal, I hoped that at least some explanation would come as to who/what Melinda is and what all the dreams and visions from the past and present meant. Nothing came.
I finished the book feeling like I've totally missed something or that the author was going to go paranormal but decided not to.
The book was ok but i find it too bad that Melinda was never explained. She had the potential to be a much more interesting character, especially concerning her relationship with Rooke and Adrian. But it's hard to get into that without giving away too much.

Radclyffe sets up this novel in her usual great style, passionate lonely sculptor Rooke, rejected Adrian who's afraid to love, small upstate New York community and then adds Melinda, who's sexually greedy, an art dealer and possibly more than human?...I'm not sure. Is it a triangle..maybe. Is it paranormal? there are hints. But this arc never develops which is frustrating.

I adore Radclyffe, she writes great books. But "Secrets in the Stone" is a lesser book. There are hints of paranormal, but it never gets fully explored. This in turn takes a lot of time from Radclyffe's usual wonderful character development, so Adrian feels less fully realized than Rooke. As for Melinda, I just didn't like her, at all. I enjoy paranormal and I'm totally open to Radclyffe exploring the genre but "Secrets in the Stone" is still a bit of a mystery to me..

I am a big Radclyffe fan, and will probably buy anything she writes, but I just didn't get this one. I found myself too often trying to figure out what a sentence or passage meant, and before long I was skipping over sections. This one didn't hold my interest, and unfortunaely will not be in the re-read pile.

After reading many books in this genre, I am really surprised at the mixed reviews on this one. The sample on kindle hooked me in and I could not hit buy now fast enough to find out what happened. No need to rehash the story as that has been covered plenty of times in the other reviews. One of the main characters Rooke was a refreshing change from the majority of main characters in any lesbian fiction. So many reviewers are stating that something was missing or that they just did not get it. I loved that there was a little mystery and wonder left at the end of the book. It was a refreshing change not to be spoon fed every small piece of a story instead being drawn to let our own imaginations run a little with it. I have thoroughly enjoyed many of Radclyffe's books, but I love the change of style in this one. I really hope it turns into a series of books.

Wonderful book! So engaging!

What a marvelous character Rooke Tyler is! Innocent and passionate and noble--the penultimate hero. Adrian is the perfect match as one who knows how to identify nobility. Mix in Melinda, whose ambiguous loyalties and avaricious sexual appetite make her one of the best foils I've read in years, and WOW! There is so much electricity in this book my cat had to leave the room!

Radclyffe knows how to tell a story!

I had read some snoozers in this genre lately and I enjoyed this book a lot more than many I've read. The main characters were very believable and likeable and the eroticism was simmering below the surface even though it took a long time to become fact. I agree that the "psychic" undercurrent never did get fully developed and things were hinted that really were red herrings, which is annoying. Nevertheless I liked it, so if this is one of Radclyffe's weaker works, I'll have to read the rest of hers. I liked this one better than Night Call.

I usually am riveted by Radclyffe's writing - the Ptowns are one of my favorite series. Unfortunately, I don't find this book to be anywhere near the quality of writing I've read in that series or any of the other books and stories of Rad's that I've read.

As others have said, I was left wondering what I'd missed in this novel. Why was Ardian so resistent to Rooke? What was up with the dreams? What was Melinda's deal? What the heck was Rooke's deal? And the paranormal intimations never moved beyond the hints and sequences - was that the secret, maybe? Nah.

The novel had the feel of an old time Harlequin Romance (hey, I grew up with them!), only with Lesbians. The powerless feelings of attraction, the naming conventions (I mean, come on - Rooke?!), the actions of Melinda and friends, the undercurrent of something going on between characters, but the reader never really knowing what that current is - all way too Harlequin Romancey for me. I felt vaguely squicky during the whole novel.

Since it was Rad and I adore her, I read the whole thing. The ending did pick up, but not enough to redeem the story. It really needs to go back to the editing room. Or, Rad, just write a new, better novel and leave this one be.

I hate to recommend a person not purchase a book, since we need all the sales we can get for this genre, but if you're on the fence, go with the other choice.

This one left me confused. Weird for a romance novel, I know, usually they're pretty straight forward. Either you like it or you don't.

This one had two 'rivaling' components that I can't quite get together. On the one hand the two main characters, very strong, independent women. Liked them immediately, and saw the attraction.

The second component is certain paranormal 'activity', that is just there and not further explained and manifests itself in an additional character. Now, I get that you can't necessarily explain paranormal activity, in this case hearing other people's thoughts, I guess you can describe it as. I don't really see how it enhances the story and think the story would have been just as good without it, maybe even better, but that's just cause paranormal apparently is just not my thing. Or if the paranormal part of the book would have been explored more fully. Now it just seems to hang there, open to interpretation. Not that interpretation is a bad thing, but this left the door so wide open that speculation seems kind of useless.

Other than that I like the setting, a small town in New York, and the mood that is set by the storm at the beginning of the book.

I did finish it in the span of 24 hours and really couldn't it put it down towards the end. So that's a good thing, but the ending left me feeling unsatisfied.

I have all of Radclyfee's novels and I am sure I will continue to purchase her works. However, I found this one very disappointing. I found myself skipping paragraphs to find out where this was going. She has written so many wonderful stories so I'll just chalk this up as a "bad day".

I loved everything about this book. The characters, the story and esp. the whisper of the unknown that speaks to each of us every now and again. Read it, you won't be disappointed.