Romanus

By: Mary Calmes

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

Length: 1 hr and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

Stopping to offer help one sultry summer night, Mason James is unprepared for the change that this simple act of kindness will bring. After giving an old man a ride home, Mason discovers a new, magical, and even dangerous world he cannot hope to understand. But he also finds Luc Toussaint and is intoxicated at first sight, and even the secret Luc protects won't be enough to keep Mason away from the truth of his heritage and their love.

©2010 Mary Calmes (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

Thoroughly entertaining audio

Any additional comments?

Greg Tremblay gives such good audio. *sighs*

When firefighter Mason "Mace" James stops to help a naked old man on the side of the road one late night he doesn't expect his good Samaritan duty to change his life forever. Coming off a double shift, he's exhausted and the strange people and sights when he returns the old man home are just plain weird. When he ends up agreeing to stay the night, it's mainly because he meets Luc Toussaint and is intoxicated at first sight.

When things get a little more weird than Mace can explain away, even in his exhausted state, he quickly leaves and goes home. But events have now been set in motion, and Mace can't run from his man or his destiny.

An interesting paranormal romance, Mace finds the love of his life, learns he is a Romanus, that gargoyles are real and he can see their true forms, and that not everyone is happy for the Romanus to have been found.

Greg Tremblay showcases the confusion, wonder, and heat of the story all while drawing the listener in and wrapping them up creating this cocoon until the last seconds of the audio.

As with any Mary Calmes novella I find myself wanting more as soon as I get to the last page. Romanus felt a little unexplored, like there was so much more story to tell, but there's good news for readers as Mace and Luc's story continues in Chevalier.

Ultimately I was thoroughly entertained by the audio, with Greg Tremblay giving another fantastic performance. Recommended.

I'm impressed 😊

ok I have to say I'm not a huge fan of Mary calmes, I have a love hate relationship with her books, that being said I was very sad when this book ended it felt like the story was just getting started and then BAM! it's over, I have read from other reviews that there is a sequel to this book, I'm sorry I can't remember how to spell the name so I'm not even going to try, but I'm going straight to that one next. this is a good short cheap book and I do recommend you get it, there are some parts of disbelief with the main characters reaction to certain events but hey its a phantasy love story with gargoyles so I got passed all that and allowed myself to get swept away and had a good time.

5 stars = I freaking LOVED this book!!!

I received a free copy of this audiobook to listen to and review for Wicked Reads.

I am absolutely addicted to this audiobook. There is something about the combination of the story that Calmes has penned and Tremblay’s narration that has resulted in me listening to it every day for a week, sometimes twice a day. The fact that it’s just under two hours long makes it possible to listen to it daily, yet I’ve refrained from writing my review just so I had a semi-plausible excuse to listen to it again and again and again. I’ve always been fascinated by gargoyles, yet I think this is the first M/M gargoyle romance I’ve read (or listened to, in this case) and that has probably contributed to my addiction as well. You’re likely laughing at me or scoffing at my claim of repeated listening, but it’s so true that I received the Silver Repeat Listener badge from Audible, which is earned for listening to the same audiobook at least 10 times. Obviously, I have a problem and were it not for the fact that I want to get Romanus and its sequel, Chevalier, blogged this week in the leadup to Halloween, I’d probably still be putting off writing this review.

Of course, the problem with addiction is that oftentimes it’s difficult to explain why you enjoy the thing you’re addicted to so much. In the case of Romanus, that is only partly true for me because while there is an elusive quality to it that keeps me coming back for another listen, there are several specifics I can readily identify. Calmes manages to pack a lot of story into a novella and through the events that take place, builds the world that Mason has suddenly found himself a part of. From Mason’s first interaction with Fabron, we learn much about the kind of man Mason is – kind, patient, and possessing an honest concern for his fellow man – and the author continues to use Mason’s interactions with others, including his friends, roommates, and the gargoyles to show us his character. I found it to be a clever way to both develop his character and move the storyline along. The author also drops bits of information that help to explain Mason’s instant attraction to Luc Toussaint, although the extent of their connection isn’t revealed until the end of the book and is still left up to the reader to ponder just how strong their connection will be. Calmes uses an opposing faction within the gargoyles’ champ (the downside of audiobooks is not knowing how to spell unfamiliar words, which bothers me a lot) to add an element of suspense and action to the storyline that felt natural instead of forced for the sake of drama, which can happen when an author tries to put too much in a novella. Being as Romanus is a novella, there was not a lot of character development for Luc, so I hope that we will see that take place in Chevalier because I loved the chemistry between him and Mason and I’m looking forward to seeing that relationship progress further. Romanus was a sexy gargoyle romance that sunk its talons into me so thoroughly that I didn’t want to leave, while at the same time made anxious to begin Chevalier so that I can find out what will happen to Mason and Luc next.

P.S. – As an aside, I did take issue with Eli’s attitude that it was acceptable for him to stroke Luc’s back while Luc was asleep in Mason’s bed. Mason shouldn’t have had to tell him not to do it in the first place, but then for Eli to do it anyway, that just irked the heck out of me.

amazing, then it ends

Any additional comments?

This is one of those audio’s in which you get sucked in so quickly and then it ends, you actually think something went wrong with the download.

What a great start to a hopefully promising series.

An interesting twist to a ‘shifter’ series.

Mason, has always known he was adopted. He also has always known that dating has never gone well for him. Men get overly attached to fast, even with just one kiss.

One fateful night, he finds not only the answer to why, but what he hopes is the man to end the search.

Mace and Luc, two people that are perfect for each other. Luc knowing no one will ever want him, his true looks, his class, his station, has resigned him to a life alone. Mace sees through all that, see just the man.

Then the beginning of the story, the start of tale that in centuries in the making. A race as old as well, God.

Then it ends… Damn you, Mary Calmes!

The narration is brilliant, capturing the accents, the old, the young, the passion.

awesome little tale, outstanding narration

Any additional comments?

Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted the AUDIO file of this book.

Mason discovers a naked old man wandering the roads and takes him home. MAson then finds himself in the middle of the stuff of nightmares.

SHORT!!! SO FREAKING SHORT!!

This is an audio review, and I find I cannot split the book from the narration if the book is in first person. So it'll all run into one bit puddle :-)

Greg Tremblay narrates. The man is AWESOME!! I thought, worried, actually, I might get shades of Cole McGinnis (The Dirty Series, by Rhys Ford) bleeding through, since I'm listening to this on the back of those, but I need not have worried. Tremblay is a MASTER at his craft and his work shines.

I loved Mason, ans his brief history we get here. I loved his reaction to the group of people he meets taking the old man home. And I loved his reaction to Luc and what Luc tells him. He is Romanus, long fabled about in Luc's and now Mason's people, but few are found.

Luc is a Gargoyle and I love Gargoyle stories, we get so few of them! Luc's voice here is only when he speaks though, and Tremblay nails that one, I tell ya! But because he doesn't get a say, for that Ms Calmes, I am not happy. Short as it is, had Luc had a say, I have no doubt that this would be a five star across the board.

BUT! I have discovered, since finishing, that there is a second book about Mason and Luc and I wish to listen to it too. However, its not out in audio yet, so I'm gonna have to wait! I don't liked to mix and match between reading and listening in the same series.

so, ONLY because its single POV and we don't get Luc,

4.5 stars for the book

but

5 stars for the narration

**same worded review will appear on: Goodreads, Audible.com, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, BookLikes and Dreamspinner Press**

My favorite Dream Team Mary and Greg

So – you know how much I love Mary. Well, this is quintessential Mary. Mason is that perfect guy – clueless about how perfect he is – who stumbles into something that should be terrifying, but instead he does everything right and manages to win everyone over – all while having no idea he’s doing it.

He “rescues” an elder on the side of the road, and in turn proves that he’s got something special in his DNA that makes him revered by the people he meets next.

There is only a small amount of angst in this short story and we get a solid HFN by the end.

My only complaint is the length and the lack of more stories from this as a series! I loved it! Wished we could see more from this “world” and wish we could learn more about the creatures and their Romanus.

If you haven’t read this and you’re a Mary fan – go – read it – it’s wonderful!

4.5 of 5 stars

(Loved the old cover but this one is AMAZING!)

Audio

Greg Tremblay – he always manages to make the book come alive for me. He taught me how to properly saw “Romanus” – I was glad that Mason said it like I thought it, too! - and made the accents subtle but tangible. His voice is like honey – smooth and rich – he’s so very easy to listen to and he always adds to my enjoyment of the book.

Narration 6 of 5 stars

Overall 5 of 5 stars

A Bit Different...

This was pretty weird to be honest... gargoyles, insta-love to the max, confused MC. Ugh, not sure I would have finished this one but I had it on audio and Greg Tremblay manages to make it work.

Fun story, need to read more

This was a fun story. A bit too short, but fortunately there is a second book so far. I am intrigued by the whole gargoyle culture that is being revealed in this story, but need more.

t is so worth it

you will love it too I don't want it to end I hope that she might make it a series I love it can't wait to find what happens next

great short novel

It may be short but it was great!!! I highly recommended this short story. I really wish there was a follow-up book

A lovely little short

This is the first Mary Calmes book I've come across (unlike the other audio books I've bought I hadn't read a print version first) and I have to say that I enjoyed it a lot.
There were moments of genuine humour that had me smiling in the car and on the train and I've been left wanting to know more about Mace's new world and his lover Luc.
It is short, but wasn't (or didn't feel like) fluff. The narrator brought the characters to life, giving them distinct voices, and I've noticed from the couple I've heard narrated by him that he starts off a bit staccato in the description but the dialogue flows well and after a few pages the rest of the words flow nicely as well.
I will definitely read/hear more by this author and listen to more books narrated by Greg Tremblay.