This had too strong of a YA vibe to really enjoy it. The focus of it was more on the romance than the paranormal plot. The first time Piper and Gris kissed it specifically mentioned they did not use tongues. They were 17 and 18. Most teens that age would do far more than an innocent kiss like that. The romance wasn't exciting when the best thing I could hope was for them to hold hands or maybe a french kiss. From the start it was mentioned that Gris would not be staying in town, so there wasn't much hope for an epic HEA.

The world building was simplistic. The gist of it was revealed early on, and there wasn't anything exciting to learn after that. There was a mystery to it. Gris was trying to figure out why so many fiends were gathering in the town. It was too boring, and the most obvious solution was the answer. Piper was dealing with some mental issues. Gris was dealing with issues but his were completely different. Their issues made each of them outcasts. More depth to the characters would have been better considering what they were dealing with. I'm sure plenty of people will like this. It just wasn't for me.

While I liked the premise and,the,world, this book just didn't do it for me. It was way too slow and the end was a bit of a let down for me.

I think I had a whole other view as to what this book was about and not to say that it is a bad book I even think many others would really like this book the cover is awesome plotline good very well written. However this book just wasn't the book for me I just simply couldn't get into it no matter how much I keep reading.

Secrets of Skin and Stone by Wendy Laine

I enjoyed reading this book. Secrets of Skin and Stone is an interesting mystery with great characters. I was kind of shocked when the mystery was unraveled. I loved Gris and Piper, their personalities were quirky and fun. The whole Watcher/Gargoyle was something new and different. The fiends were mean and nasty creatures.
I think the one thing that really stood out was the connection between Gris and Piper. I'm glad they found each other. I enjoyed their dialogue and they way they felt about each other. I would enjoy reading more from this Author.

I give Secrets of Skin and Stone 4 stars for its interesting mystery and great characters.
I would recommend this book to young readers as well as Paranormal Fans.

I couldn't get into this book, as hard as I tried. I have a policy of continuing to read a book even if I want to stop, just to see if it gets better. If it doesn't get better after a while, I'll stop.

I had to stop reading this book.

It wasn't so much the content as the writing style. Gris seems like a leather jacket-wearing, brooding, dark YA hero in all aspects. So much angst. Not enough real personality. Also, I understand that the book is written in first-person, but there are ways to write first-person without overusing the word "I." Use descriptive language, have the character talk about what he/she sees and feels without using "I feel" or "I see." I'm not saying Laine needs to use long, flowery prose... all it takes is changing little things.

For example, instead of: "The only warning I had was a hiss of wind"

She could write:

"A hiss of wind was my only warning," or even, "The only warning was a hiss of wind."

I'm sure there are audiences who won't mind the writing and will love the storyline. I was just not one of those people.

Finally, gargoyles!!! Been waiting for a good book with my favorite stone fighters. The story was steady and kept me interested the whole book. I love that Piper has OCD and is imperfectly perfect. Gris is the gargoyle and was extra swoony even in gargoyle form. I can't wait to read more by this author. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I recently received an e-arc copy of Secrets of Skin and Stone so that I could give you all my honest review. Upon reading the synopsis of this book I was really intrigued. It seemed to be a scary, thrilling read which is sometimes just the thing I want to dive into. This story is about a girl in Hidden Creek where a lot of creepy things are happening. She has had some bad things happen to her in the recent past and has a lot of inner conflict in which she has been dealing with her whole life. Trigger warning! This book does contain cutting and OCD. Gris, a guy from the city with a special job description comes to help the situation at Hidden Creek. I won’t spoil the story in case you guys want to get the full experience for yourselves but this is a paranormal romance. I don’t really feel like this book is as scary/creepy as I was expecting but it did have its disturbing moments. I won’t be having nightmares anytime soon but I feel like the author definitely created a unique paranormal world. That being said, I feel like the story could have been told a little differently. I feel like sometimes you find out about things in a little too straight-forward way. When introducing a new type of paranormal being you have to explain a lot about that creature to make it interesting for the reader and to help the reader understand them but I feel like it could have been written to flow a bit easier. I don’t know how better to explain this except maybe having a third party character experience this new paranormal creature instead of the main character explaining it to the audience for himself. I feel like the romance was cute although didn’t give me any sort of extra tingly feelings. There weren’t really any toe-curling moments but maybe I’m just a sucker for some gushy romance. All in all, I do feel like it was a cute story as far as the romance and relationship between the two main characters go. I also think the world created was unique and could definitely be built into an awesome plot, leaving room for more books.

I have to say I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book I've ever read with gargoyles! I will say his book does have self harm in it, not too extreme but it may be a trigger for someone . I did like the romance that was involved, it did at times seem very predictable. All in all i really enjoyed reading this book.

Piper is a haunted teenager. She's the town talk with her abnormal ways and weird occurrences follow her. It's for that reason that most people stay clear of her and kind of refer to her as the town creep. But one night, after her dog is brutally murdered, Piper's determination kicks in; she will find out who killed her beloved dog and why. Though as she makes her lists of possible suspects, she puts her own name on it. She cannot ignore all the supernatural things that seem to happen around her and she knows that deep down, there is a darkness inside of her. There is enough of it for her to consider herself a suspect.

Grisham or Gris, is a Watcher and his first job is to head to Hidden Creak and get rid of the fiends that plague the little town. He's desperate to prove to his father and to himself that he can do this job alone. But as he heads into town he realizes this isn't a small job and he starts to doubt his own capabilities as he finds himself in the middle of a bigger job than he or his father could ever have expected. And at the center of it all is Piper. I haven't read a lot of books with gargoyles- i think the only one i read was Jennifer L Armentrout's series-and this one had a pretty cool interpretation of these creatures.

Piper isn't your usual YA protagonist. I think the author did a good job in writing Piper's POV so we could really get a sense of what goes on in her mind since she had an OCD. In the acknowledgements, the author mentioned she had also suffered through OCD so i think it was important to get to know a character like that because it was written by someone in the same situation.

Gris was a pretty cool character because he wasn't this all powerful and untouchable guy but someone with quite a few insecurities who felt the need to prove himself worthy of his birthright. My only issue with Gris is his "charm". We're told repetitively during Piper's POV that he's charming and that she won't fall for his charm. But even though i did like Gris, i did not find him to fit the description of "charming". I mean if Piper and the synopsis hadn't used that word, i definitely wouldn't have used it to describe Gris. It's like we're being told he's charming instead of being shown if that makes sense.


Romance wise, there is like an instant attraction between the two. It wouldn't be Insta-Love in other circumstances but i think that when you have characters with a lot of mental turmoil and problems then it takes a while for them to open up to each other. Even though, Piper didn't really want to trust Gris at first, i personally think their relationship developed a little too quickly. But the romance was still kinda sweet!

There was a lot of mystery in the book and it definitely piqued my attention but at some point, things really started to drag on so i had to skip a few of the lengthy paragraphs. The thing is, i liked the characters and i liked the romance. But the supernatural plot itself with the murder and stuff kind of lost me at some point. The background and setting was really well written! Throughout the novel, there was a dark and suspenseful atmosphere the author did an amazing job at maintaining!

This book can be read as a standalone since it had a good ending and the loose ends were all tied up! However the author did mention that there are two other books in the series that have already been written but it all depends on the reception of book 1! So rest assured, this book is still considered a standalone!

This was a pretty decent read. A young adult or (maybe it's considered teen) story about a hero that is a gargoyle and the quirky, troubled girl he falls for. I found this one fairly well written. The pace of the first half was excellent then I found it dragged a bit over the second half. The plot was interesting and unique. There were some twists and turns. A little romance (kissing). Both main characters were likable, and everything was tied up in a nice little ending. So ya, not much more to say about this one. I liked it.

(I received an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to Entangled Publishing, LLC and NetGalley.)

This was a YA paranormal romance story about a gargoyle.

Gris was an interesting character and I liked how he tried to look after Piper.

The storyline in this was about Gris being sent to the small town where Piper lived to fight Fiends. Piper’s dog was then killed, and Piper and Gris spent time trying to work out who could have done it, and who was targeting Piper as well. This was an okay story, but I found that the pace dragged, and I did start to lose interest.

The ending to this was okay, and tied things up nicely.
6 out of 10

I might have mentioned before how much I love a spooky small town story. I really loved Hidden Creek, Alabama! I got kind of a Beautiful Creatures vibe when Gris arrived in town and I loved how he continued to discover more supernatural connections as he peeled back the layers of the mystery.

The book is not heavy on mythology though. The Watchers, including Gris, are gargoyle-like shifters who hunt Fiends, which are sort of a cross between ghosts and dementors. And there are humans who practice dark magic (the version in the story is a little like voodoo) which can summon the Fiends.

I don't always enjoy teen romances - they tend to be angsty and triangular - but I loved Piper and Gris together. They take some time to trust each other so it doesn't feel like instalove, but I was rooting for them the whole time. I would like to meet more of the people in Hidden Creek, though. I don't think we ever actually see any of the girls in Piper's class or her teachers.

I really want this book to be adapted for TV! It would feel something like a cross between Teen Wolf and Riverdale. I kept thinking of the early episodes of Buffy when Angel was just this mysterious older guy in the first scenes between Piper and Gris. And I'd love to see Gris's gargoyle form on screen.

I understand that the finished copy includes a trigger warning about Piper's cutting, though it wasn't in the ARC. I thought the instances of self harm were handled well in the story, not sensationalized or glorified. It's just a part of Piper's OCD, which she describes in comparison to her mother's more familiar version. I hope that the way Gris accepts it and helps Piper to as well will be helpful to readers who are struggling with something similar.

Secrets of Skin and Stone works well as a standalone, but I'd love to see more of Piper, Gris and Hidden Creek.

I really enjoyed this book - it gave me major Supernatural (Sam and Dean anyone <3) vibes, but was still unique in its own way.

Gris is a Watcher, and has been sent to Hidden Creek to rid the town of Fiends.

Piper is a girl with darkness inside, who seems to attract trouble - and the towns people distrust her.

There is more to the both Piper and Hidden Creek than there first appears - and this book kept me guessing right to the very end.

Perfect for fans of paranormal/supernatural books; this one won't disappoint.

Gris is a Watcher, he changes into gargoyle form to protect and defend against fiends and has been sent to Hidden Creek, a small town in Alabama, to investigate a huge fiend problem that has been going on. Once in Hidden Creek Gris finds that something is very very wrong in the sleepy town, not only is there an abundance of fiends but also animal attacks and other very strange occurrences.

Gris comes across Piper just after arriving in Hidden Creek and finds that her dog was brutally murdered so he offers to help find out what happened. Piper is not sure whether she should trust this stranger, she’s already haunted by fiends and nightmares and feels that she’s very dark inside due to her OCD she struggles with but Gris sees something in Piper and is determined to prove to her that she is worth more than she believes.

First I have to warn of the content in this book as Piper is a cutter due to her anxiety and OCD so for those that do not wish to read about self harm then this wouldn’t be for them. But that being said I have to applaud the author for making Piper feel very authentic from the opening pages. I think her character was very well written and I could feel Piper’s anxiety and emotions all throughout the story.

As far as the plot in this book I also thought it seemed original as I’ve not read anything myself containing any type of gargoyle protector. There is a bit of insta-love but not what you would normally find in a young adult read. While Piper did find Gris attractive her personality was more concerned about him being a stranger and refusing to open up to him quickly. It wasn’t too long though the relationship progressed so I would still call it a “insta-love” in regards to that though but done in a way that fit Piper perfectly so I didn’t mind and in the end I rather enjoyed this story.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Grisham "Gris" Caso has been sent on his first solo fiend-hunting mission to the small town of Hidden Creek, Alabama, the home of his aunt, uncle, cousin, and his crazy former Watcher great-uncle, Critch. He figures it will be some easy task foisted upon him to test him. Until he reaches Hidden Creek and realizes this will not be a simple get-rid-of-the-fiends mission. There are way more fiends in this small town than Gris has seen, even in major cities and it's affecting the people in town, making them do crazy things. And then he meets Piper Devon. Strange, brilliant, beautiful Piper Devon who everyone seems to fear.

Piper Devon knows everyone in town thinks she's crazy or evil - or both. And she thinks they might be right on the evil front. She feels like there is a darkness inside her. She doesn't have the bright, organized OCD like her mother, she has to stick to patterns and she cuts her shoulder to try to absolve herself of the wrongs she thinks she does. And she definitely doesn't trust charming boys, so when she meets the handsome and probably charming Gris she knows better than to trust him. But when Piper's dog is mysteriously murdered and it might be connected to the other strange occurrences in town trusting Gris is exactly what she'll have to do.

To work together they'll have to tear down their emotional walls and reveal their secrets to each other if they have any chance of finding out who is stirring things up in Hidden Creek. But in working together will they also begin falling in love? And what will happen when a deranged soul realizes the duo are onto them? Will Piper and Gris end up in the crosshairs of a killer?

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure about this book at first. Piper's OCD is definitely extreme and some of the "Southernisms" were a bit laughable (although probably authentic to how people in the deep south actually talk. Ex: Don't profane) but I could look past that because I liked the idea of the book.

As I read further I really fell in love with the story. The author paints an excellent picture of the fiends and the Watchers (gargoyles) and I could easily see Gris fighting off the fiends while Piper slept on, oblivious at first. I thought that the characters blended well together and I kept guessing to see who was gathering the fiends in Hidden Creek.

This book had everything I look for and love in a good novel; romance, humor, and some seriously awesome supernatural creatures. I've read stories with gargoyle characters before but this one was definitely my favorite!

Overall, I can't enthuse enough about this book, it really hooked me and although it doesn't leave the reader in a cliff-hanger I can definitely see the author expanding on these characters and Hidden Creek. I know I would love to read more!

“Secrets of Skin and Stone” is an enthralling YA fantasy that wraps the reader in mysteries that aren’t solved until the end! Grisham (Gris) is a Watcher, meaning he turns into a gargoyle and kills fiends. He is coming to Hidden Creek at his uncle’s request and at no cost (usually he gets paid to take care of fiends) to take care of their fiend problem. Pretty much upon arrival, he learns there is a lot more to Hidden Creek than one would suspect, and they have a fiend disaster. To complicate matters, he starts having feelings for the girl down the road, Piper, and needs to investigate some odd occurrences with disappearances, the murder of animals, and even a grave robbing.

Piper is ready to get out of Hidden Creek. She’s turned down dates with most boys in town, and her grades are the best in town, such that she should have her pick of colleges. She is haunted by fiends and nightmares, plus worsening OCD symptoms, which only get worse when she finds her dog, Jester, brutally murdered. When she meets Gris, she enlists his help to figure out who killed Jester and what is going on around town. A bond rapidly forms between the two, and Piper’s natural intelligence drives their case with her knowledge about people and ability to see through lies.

Piper and Gris’s relationship was well done- there’s a bit of instant attraction, but they spend a lot of time getting to know each other before anything really develops. They both have insecurities, and Piper was very quick to write him off when things didn’t go her way (there were 3 or 4 scenes of her walking away), and while sometimes this seemed to be an overreaction, I think it fit with her personality well.

The book is less about killing the fiends than it is about the mysteries surrounding the death of Piper’s dog, the Watcher grave which was dug up, and the two teens that went missing (Trina and her boyfriend). There was a lot of guessing which was fun, and I couldn’t really figure it out before the final resolution/conclusions. I enjoy a book that keeps me guessing until the end! This is a really strong story with romance, fantasy, mystery, and adventure, and I loved every second of it!

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

A book with a little dark in it, with some mystery and romance stirred in. It was interesting twist the dark supernatural elements. I would like to read book two.

Absolutely charmed by this book. Piper is utterly amazing in her quirks, and Gris, oh boy. Book boyfriend material! Heartbreaking at times, had me crying from the first instant.