Have always been fascinated by gargoyles on old buildings, but this book made me really glad I live in a city too new to have any. Great book, but now will be permanently wondering what those stones are up to! ( )

Rachel Vandermere is haunted by the memory of her parents' violent murders by a monster with large wings and claws when she was a young girl. No one believes her story. As an adult she is determined to find the truth about what happened. Rachel uses her position as an Interpol agent to find clues that may lead her to the monster that killed her parents. On assignment, she meets Nathan Cross, an art professor who is also a griffin-shifter and member of a dying race called Les Gargouillen (gargoyles) created over a thousand years ago to protect humans from evil. Nathan is instantly drawn to Rachel, but he feels he must hide his true nature not only to protect the secrets of his own kind, but also to keep from driving her away. Rachel falls in love with Nathan, and when she discovers the truth about her parents with his help, she must question her views on good & evil and what a monster truly is.

This book was original and well-written. The author built a paranormal world loosely based on an actual legend - the Legend of La Gargouille from very early medieval times. In Carved In Stone, the gargoyles are not stone statues, but rather shape-shifters of all kinds of fantastical creatures, like griffins and dragons. Like Rachel, Nathan is also facing his own trials. He has been excommunicated from Les Gargouillen because he challenged their established traditions, yet they need his help to face a coming evil that threatens their existence. At the end this evil threat remains a mystery and is probably a set up for the next book in the series. There was a surprising twist in regard to the death of Rachel's parents. The world of the gargoyles is dark and exciting. I'm looking forward to reading more from Vickie Taylor. ( )

A paranormal fantasy romance with the hard-boiled edge of a police thriller, combine to make CARVED IN STONE a most excellent read. From page one to the last nail-biting paragraph, Vickie Taylor manages to hook the reader into her world of gargoyles, reincarnation, second chances, and true love.

For Nathan Cross, looks are deceiving. He may look like a man, and a drop-dead gorgeous one at that with his black eyes and jet-black hair, but underneath the human exterior lies a gargoyle-a being created centuries ago to protect humankind from evil. Reincarnated a total of fourteen times, Nathan has had enough. He rebels at his orders, refusing to impregnate a human, and even leaves the congregation of the Council ruled by Teryn, the gargoyle's Wizenot.

Living under the guise of an art history professor at Chicago University, Nathan has nothing left to do with his days but enjoy art-the one and only thing that still brings his joy. That is until he runs into Rachel Vandermere at the Chicago Museum of Fine Arts. Suddenly, living a life of exile, alone as he's been for years, doesn't seem so appealing.

Rachel knows from the moment she sees Nathan at the museum's patrons gala that he's not what he seems to be. Too good-looking for his own good, knowledgeable beyond belief, and with shadows hidden behind his dark eyes, Rachel knows for a fact that seeing isn't always believing. Still convinced that winged creatures from Hell killed her parents several years ago, she knows that the vibes she's getting from Nathan will cause her to be a laughingstock. Unheeding to the voice of reason, Rachel sets out to prove once and for all that her imagination hadn't played tricks on her the night of her parents' deaths.

Fast-paced dialogue, haunting characters, and a paranormal world where gargoyles and things that go bump in the night are all too common, CARVED IN STONE is a wonderful book for romance lovers of all genres. ( )

Nathan Cross is a thousand year old gargoyle who shapeshifts into a griffin, a beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. Gargoyles are immortals who reincarnate over numerous lifetimes. They have two primary missions 1) to protect humans from harm and 2) to procreate. Nathan is an art history professor living his 14th life and is very tortured by events in his past lives.

Rachel Vandemere is an agent for Interpol (an international police organization) who witnessed her parents' murder by monsters when just a small girl. She is obsessed with cases that involve what appear to be eyewitness accounts of monsters and has compiled files of these crimes in hopes of discovering who murdered her parents.

Nathan and Rachel first meet in an art exhibition and eventually learn that they have a psychic connection that I found to be highly erotic and filled with sexual tension. Their first encounter during a dream sequence when they weren't even in the same building was sizzling! Nathan fights his attraction and his driving need to procreate for much of the book. So when they finally get together it was very satisfying.

The story of how the society of gargoyles began a thousand years ago was fascinating. The mystery and suspense was well done. There were even a couple surprises that I didn't see coming in the final few pages. I like when that happens.

I had a little trouble following the 'rules' of their society and couldn't quite understand some of the details pertaining to reincarnation. But these were very minor quibbles. A very good read. (Grade: B+) ( )

Gargoyles. Interesting paranormal idea, IMO. No soul-mates, thank goodness--they've been done to death--seems everyone wants to emulate Feehan--but they do have an innate compulsion to procreate. This has one of the best/most interesting/unusual sex scenes I've read since the mirror scene in Feehan's Dark Symphony. (note: I'm not talking about unusual positions or practices--I read Emma Holly for that.) Just really interestingly written. ( )