The Druid Stone

By: Heidi Belleau, Violetta Vane

Narrated by: Ian Ruane

Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Sean never asked to be an O'Hara, and he didn't ask to be cursed by one, either.

After inheriting a hexed druid stone from his great-grandfather, Sean starts reliving another man's torture and death...every single night. And only one person can help.

Cormac Kelly runs a paranormal investigation business and doesn't have time to deal with misinformed tourists like Sean. But Sean has real magic in his pocket, and even though Cormac is a descendant of legendary druids, he soon finds himself out of his depth...and not because Sean's the first man he's felt anything for in a long time.

The pair develop an unexpected and intensely sexual bond, but are threatened at every turn when Sean's case attracts the unwelcome attention of the mad sidhe lords of ancient Ireland. When Sean and Cormac are thrust backward in time to Ireland's violent history - and their own dark pasts - they must work together to escape the curse and save their fragile relationship.

©2012 Heidi Belleau & Violetta Vane (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

An amazing book and even greater narration!

What made the experience of listening to The Druid Stone the most enjoyable?

The narrator, Ian Ruane, brought life to the book. His Irish accent and American accent were incredible and they fit the characters well, seeing as one is Irish and the other American.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This one is a hard one. I guess I like Sean the most, but Cormac is only behind by one point.

Sean is noble, righteous, and morally good, even when it doesn't benefit him to be.

Have you listened to any of Ian Ruane’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't, but I would like to.

Any additional comments?

The book wasn't bad like i expected it to be, it was actually much better.He narrator gave it an extra oomph. The supernatural events were a bit hard for me to follow, but that's not a big deal for me as i am more than willing to listen to the book again.

It goes great and then it falls apart

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I wish the knowledgeable protagonist did not become utterly completely suicidal and stupid.

What was most disappointing about Heidi Belleau and Violetta Vane ’s story?

That the knowledgeable protagonist turned into a selfish idiot. However, that idiocy turned into "subplot resolution bingo" and was ultimately unsatisfying. I found myself jumping around chapters until the disjointed narrative resolved.

Have you listened to any of Ian Ruane’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not had the pleasure of listening to Ruane's work. I like his style. It made the story palatable at the points where it became work to sift through the threads.

Could you see The Druid Stone being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

Any additional comments?

It started off so well. So well. And then Cormac goes off of the deep end. If his tragedy was less than 10 years old. If it had not been so violent. If the fate had not been so earned, I would have felt better about his reaction, but Cormac was betrayed and beaten unconscious. For someone so cynical and self protective, he goes completely out of character.

Oh, and wibbly wobbly timey wimeyness is more than a little distracting towards the end.

Nice... slow on romance...

Nice story.. very slow on romance. I like a bit more... however I like the paranormal aspect. I loved the Irish accent of the narrator... First listen of Ruane for me and he was just awesome. Very slow start, had to restart like 3 times.. but once it got goin.. I kept going.. then paused because I got bored.. then finished 3 days later...but I did finish! Nice...not great, but Nice..

Credit... do not buy

Best Romance Ever

This is the best Gay Romance novel that I've read/listened to. One of a kind, and wish this was turned into a series.

Overwhelming but good

The narration was excellent and the story was super rich, sometimes too rich for me to be honest. Some of the story lost me, with all the confusing detail about the other planes of existence. It got super grime and dark too.

I would totally recommend this book to anyone looking for a serious, MM urban fantasy.

Terrific Romantic Story both Modern & Historic

I was hooked the entire story. Loved the modern day setting mixed with the historical settings. The romantic undercurrent is fun and relevant.

A good story filled with Irish lore & Gay Erotica

I struggled with this book for a long time, and even had some issues with it at first where I really was about to quit the book or if I finished it I was going to give it 2 stars only. The first half of the book just didn't do anything for me, and the gay erotica in it seemed like it was too much and seemed over the top to the point where I was laughing through it. Trust me I have no issues with a few steamy scenes, but it just was overly done. I enjoyed the steamy parts in the second half though as they really brought in the romantic part with the lust and it was nicely balanced and carried out. But some of the early eroticism began to dominate the story at that time and it just threw things off from the story. Then the second half of the story the author's, Violetta Vane and Heidi Belleau, toned it down and the story really took off and hooked me in and I started really connecting and caring about the character's, Cormac and Sean. I enjoyed the world building and the Irish Lore and the interaction with the Fae, and I found myself yelling at the character's when they were making certain decisions so then I knew that the author's pulled me in. Some of the story was a little hard to follow with the time traveling and entering the land of the Fae, but if you just go with it the author's do explain things so you can put the story together. And I was very pleased with the ending. I even am tempted to get some of the author's novellas to find out what happens to Cormac and Sean's relationship.

Now the narrator, Ian Ruane, did a fabulous job and his voice, and that beautiful lilt in his voice, really leant a good addition to the story. At first Ian's narration was rocky, usually with the dialogue between the character's, but it smoothed out as the story went. The thing that would distract me and throw me off is Ian had a tendency to pause for a long time at commas and it threw the flow of the story out of whack. I noticed as the story went on he got better at those parts, but as for his story telling I can listen to him speak all day! This book was okay and if you want to read a good LGBTQ book about two gay guys, the Fae, and Ireland then this book is for you. Just be aware this is not just a Gay Romance book on the Supernatural, but it is Erotica as well and will have quite a few descriptive scenes hahaha.

just this side of agonizing

Each time Sean recallibrates his emotional position in relation to Cormac, he analyzes the same paths over and over and over again. I was stuck in traffic when Sean comes back and finally get to the point where he takes a bath, but all the recriminations to that point seemed overkill. Since it gave me time to drift I started to re-hash similar arguments made previously with regards to Sean's mother.

There just seemed to be a lot of re-hashing that didn't serve any real purpose..

Loved, Loved, LOVED it!

I really loved this book! The storyline was so rich with culture and magic and the lost and found love was sweet. The characters were so genuine and although the romance wasn’t the focus of the book it was not simply a side note. I am missing the characters already. Any hope for a sequel? How about in Cuba? :-)

A great adventure.

this book is now one of my favorites. the story has a good pace and each of the characters are well written. the narrator for this story was perfect. I was captivated with ever word.