Not much to say about this one, except that I expected more - and as you can guess got less.

A curse cast on Haylee Clark's family has caused all women in it to lose the men they loved tragically. As a result, she's determined to stay away from any man - emotionally - to make sure this doesn't happen to her. But when a storm lands newbie writer Nate Wilson on her doorstep, the passion between the two will be more than each can handle. Now they REALLY need to get rid of that curse...

The plot as it was left me waiting for so much - even if it's a short story, there was still a shitload of ways this could have gone so deliciously right! Yet, despite the hotness in some scenes, I was left empty-handed. It's not that classic line most reviewers say: "The romance was too instant!". No, this was a short story, of course the romance would start and bloom in ridiculous speed.

The problem was that the book kept telling me instead of showing me. Plus, it left so many gaps in theories and stuff, I ended up caring for that old man , the third wheel, more than I did for the main couple. I've said it before, many times, when I stop caring for both the main characters, that's when a book has lost me completely.

Good thing it was so short. Put me out of my misery fast enough....

***I was given an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.*** ( )

Sunstone’s Fire by Lia Davis
Novella #1: Cursed in Stone Series
Source: Author
My Rating: 3½/5 stars
My Review:

Nate Wilson wants out of his current life. He doesn’t enjoy his job, his family is two foot up his butt most of the time, and he has a novel that isn’t writing itself. With every intention of running away for a week and sorting out his life, Nate hits the road for the Oregon coast. And then he hits a tree . . . Well, if you’re going to have to hit a tree in the middle of the night in the pouring rain it may as well be right across the street from a bed and breakfast. That is exactly where Nate ends up and as luck would have it, his soul mate owns the B & B.

Haylee Clark is one in long line of witches but unlike her ancestors, Haylee rarely practices the craft. Another thing Haylee rarely does, get involved with a man. For generations, the women of Haylee’s family have been cursed. Each and every man, loved by a Clark woman has met a far-too-soon end. With no intention of dooming some poor man to an early death and risking her own severe heartbreak, Haylee has found it easier to just avoid entanglements. Then the dumbass hits the tree right across the street from her B & B and, as fate would have it, he’s her soul mate. Well, balls!

For the better part of every month, Constantine spends his time frozen in stone. For three nights out of every month, he is freed from his stone prison and allowed to search for the cure to his own interminable curse. When he wakes each month, Constantine is thrown into a different location and until this month, his search for an answer has been for naught. This month, Constantine finds himself in the cemetery across from a lovely little B & B in Oregon. As fate (or something far different!) would have it, Constantine encounters Haylee and Nate and is able to help them understand the forces that are in play related to their budding relationship and the curse that has plagued Haylee’s family. With information from Constantine, digging into her family history, and being able to open herself up to loving Nate, Haylee is able to break the curse. However, breaking the curse brings about a great many other questions which, when answered may help Constantine break his own curse.

The Bottom Line: Novellas are tricksy creatures that truly test an author’s ability to cover a lot of ground in a very limited number of pages. At just barely 60 pages, Sunstone’s Fire has a lot of ground to cover in what amounts to too few pages. With that being said, once I accepted this story was going to move forward at beyond lightning speed, I was better able to enjoy the read. Nate and Haylee are good together and I truly hope they will play a part in the later installments of this series. It would be nice to see how they develop over time since they certainly didn’t have that opportunity in this read. There simply isn’t enough space in this read to do more than quite briefly introduce Constantine but clearly, his story is far, far from over. ( )