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.

I got to 40% with this book - skimming much of that - and had to DNF, so I can't give it more than 2 stars. What we have here is a very cool premise wasted on a dull plot and even duller characters. This review won't be too long - my status updates are pretty thorough, so I'll try to keep this brief.

Summary: Gris is a Watcher, which means he can transform into a gargoyle and his job is to hunt fiends (kind of like demons). He goes to a small town because it's infested with fiends, and he has to figure out what's attracting so many of them to one place. Except the story ends up being less about the dark supernatural elements and way more about the bland romance between Gris and the Super Speshul girl he meets in town. 

The Good: 

Own voices OCD & self-harm portrayal in Piper (the girl MC). I'll try and link to an own voices review later, if I remember to look for one. 

Despite my low rating, this book isn't... terrible. I made my status updates detailed because, while it hit all the wrong buttons for me, a lot of what I *hated* are things that others will only find mildly annoying. The writing is pretty good, I love the Watcher/fiend concept... yeah, okay, that's all I've got. It's average. It's on the lower end of average, but still average. My feelings of dislike are disproportionate to the quality of the book. 

The Bad: 

To sum it up - it's boring. It's just boring!!! Sorry!!!!!!

The romance overshadowed the action. I could tell from the blurb that there would be romance, but I didn't expect it to be such a big part of the story so fast. Bad case of instalove here - Piper and Gris become fixated on each other very quickly in a way that's hard to believe for people with their histories, trust issues, and dark/dangerous secrets. Plus, their interactions were forced and the chemistry wasn't there (unless you count the parts where you can almost SEE the author behind the scenes, desperately trying to make the chemistry happen). An all-around uncomfortable, unpleasant, shallow romantic subplot. 

In case it wasn't obvious: I'm very, very harsh when it comes to instalove. If you don't mind it, then you'll probably enjoy this book way more than I did. You might even be able to finish it.

But on top of the instalove, both characters were bland as hell and I didn't feel invested in either of them. That's part of why instalove tends to kill my interest in a story. Before I can get to know the characters as individuals, they start to moon over someone else and it takes over their personality. When Gris was introduced, he was set up to be this fierce, efficient, morally grey, ass-kicking hero, but before I had a chance to care about him he transformed into a horny teenage boy who cared way more about leering at a pretty girl than fighting monsters. At least, that's what it felt like. He rarely managed to go one page without thinking about Piper. Besides that, Gris & Piper's personalities are flat, and there's a lot of telling but not showing. We're told they're both smart, but they don't act smart. Etc. 

There's some action - fighting, fiend-killing - but even those parts were lackluster. I wrote in a status update that there's no sense of urgency and no stakes. It all felt pointless. I know instalove and 2D characters are common in mainstream YA fiction, and that doesn't necessarily mean the book can't be entertaining. But that's the thing. This one wasn't entertaining or engaging in the least. If you're going to give me instalove, at least make it a quick, fun, action-packed read, you know?

TL;DR: I was expecting something really dark and exciting out of this, based on the blurb and that gorgeous cover. But what I got was a flimsy romance with a thin lining of paranormal elements that don't get explored or utilized to the extent they could have (and should have) been. I was bored, and I found nothing appealing in either the characters or their love story. The plot does not do the premise justice.

I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Quotes used in my status updates are subject to change upon publication.

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.