Of Sand and Stone

By: Lauren Smith

Narrated by: Carolyn Morris

Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

She was destined to save his heart of stone....

Bookish museum curator Rebecca Clark has given up on dating. Real life men aren’t nearly as perfect as the men in the paintings and statues she sees every day at her job. But one night, she whispers a prayer to the universe to send her the perfect man. She had no idea a goddess is listening....

Devon Blake was Regency London’s most wicked lover, but when he sleeps with the wrong woman and leaves her unsatisfied, he finds himself cursed by none other than the goddess of love herself. After living two centuries trapped as a marble statue, Aphrodite gives Devon one chance to redeem himself, or he’ll face an eternity of made of stone. He must prove he can satisfy a woman’s every desire without satisfying his own.

When Rebecca discovers a naked man in her art gallery instead of a priceless statue at midnight, she has no idea he’s the answer to her prayers. Aphrodite has sent Devon to be Rebecca’s perfect man. Can Devon earn Rebecca’s love and trust by proving his selflessness or will it be too late?

©2017 Lauren Smith (P)2017 Lauren Smith

Feels more like a historical romance

This tells the story of 32-yr-old, art gallery worker, Rebecca Clark, and 200-yr old Devin Blake, the 5th Earl of Richmond. Rebecca was a bit of an unconventional-looking heroine with her brown eyes and "spectacles," which was great. She was also smart and used her smarts, so her agreeing to trust Devin so quickly was a downer.
Devin met Rebecca when he was a part of a classical art exhibit that is being shown in 2018 America, in Mistlethwait, near Boston.
Devin was punished by the goddess Aphrodite as punishment 200 yrs ago. For his freedom permanently, Devin was put to a test by Aphrodite, a test that only involved Rebecca.
Because of Devin being 200 yrs old and Rebecca sounding British as well, the romance feels a lot more like a historical romance than a contemporary one when technology is ignored. There was a small bit of humor. Rebecca didn't mince word, and Devin had a big learning curve living in a new time.
There was 1 sex scene after more than 2 hrs into the book. It used no explicit sex language or terms for body parts and was relatively brief with little detail. Though the story occurs in the U.S., the narrator had an accent and cadence that worked for the story ok. But she didn't sound quite American enough to consistently and convincingly provide the needed contrast the story tried to evoke.
There was a loose end regarding the gallery's missing statue which Rebecca worried about and then didn't. And Devin spoke of getting a job. We're never told what. I hate loose ends in stories.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Loved it

Lauren Smith did it once again. She never disappoints. Loved the story line and I thought the narrator did a very good job.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazing

Thank you for his free gift. What a wonderful story I felt like I was Rebecca and can relate . Love at first site does exists . Wonderful story