Stone Guardian

When Dr. Emma Maxwell travels to Scotland to help open up a pediatric center, her only goal is to help the children. Torin, a stone guardian trapped for over a thousand years, has just been freed by the gods.  Together, these two not only uncover the truth about Emma's purpose in Scotland...to stand at Torin's side as a stone guardian...but also realize the evil that has been unleashed onto the land.  Torin's experience as a guardian and Emma's modern know-how are no match for the smoldering attraction that flares up between them. Now they must learn to face their fears and trust one another, for even as they surrender to fate, the battle with a millennium-old enemy threatens the world.

There's something powerful about a story that involves a hero that has waited hundreds of years for his destined mate.  Torin is an honorable and wonderful hero, albeit somewhat comical in his confusion about modern conveniences. Emma's tragic past and her ambitious yet tenuous present endear her to the reader. The romance between these two is somewhat abrupt and their chemistry lacks a certain amount of delicacy.  However, their intense circumstances and the way they're thrown together leaves them little choice but to deal with both their attraction and their enemy. Altogether, this was fast paced and full of action, with a unique fantasy bent and a sexy romance between a woman who has only lived to take care of others and a chieftain who's done the same. 

Nicole Duke