This is easily the most imaginative paranormal romance I’ve devoured recently: Anna, a museum curator in San Francisco, unwittingly frees Frey—a gargoyle warrior turned stone statue—and suddenly finds herself claimed as his fated mate. The culture clash between medieval gargoyle martial code and modern city life is endlessly entertaining and emotionally compelling. Frey’s awakening and slow humanization are handled with realism: he’s protective but vulnerable, regal yet puzzled by things like Wi‑Fi. Anna’s caution is palpable, but the tenderness between them is intense—each fragile trust milestone made me root harder. I also loved the underlying found‑family vibe: other cursed guardians, the quirky museum staff, and a mentor witch who adds levity and lore. The world-building blends folklore, curses, and monster‑romance staples with grounded settings—so San Francisco’s Castro district suddenly feels magical. There’s also strong emotional depth: Anna’s history of migraines, financial struggle, and emotional caution are sensitively depicted. It’s a love story that roars.

Favorite tropes:
Monster romance
Fated mates
Fish‑out‑of‑water modern vs medieval
Hurt/comfort
Moony, broody winged hero
Found family

Independent by necessity Anna lands a job at a museum displaying a strange collection of “grotesques,” gargoyle statutes, and accidentally awakens one with her touch when thieves break into the museums to steal the statutes. Frey has been stuck in stone sleep for centuries after his kind were cursed by the Fae until his Heartsong, fated mate, wakes him up, takes him in, and teaches in the many wonders of voice command technology.

The comparisons to the ‘90’s cartoon Gargoyles are unavoidable, but let’s be honest, that’s half the reason most readers will pick it up. And it certainly scratches that very specific itch.

The story takes place in modern time yet contains a captivating wealth of Welsh and Celtic history and lore. Frey quickly adapts to life in the modern world, but can’t completely drop his protective, warrior mentality. Anna is pretty accepting of a statue brought to life but cannot comprehend the idea of being his fated mate. This sets up a lot of fantastic tension, conflict, and, ultimately, compromise. I appreciated the slow burn that allowed Frey and Anna to get to know each other before their relationship progressed physically. But, as the reader, I did feel trapped in that apartment just like Frey for long periods of the book.

The mystery of who tried to steal the statutes is the central conflict of the story. There are a few possible suspects, but the reveal wasn’t very surprising. I’m still not entirely sure how the Fae, druids, and guardians all fit together. I look forward to finding out more in future installments.

Overall, this was a fun monster romance. Frey was darling, and Anna was very relatable with her chronic illness and health insurance struggles.

Thanks to S. E. Wendel, Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC, which allowed me to read the book and voluntarily provide an unbiased review.

A spicy monster romance full of magic set in the modern world. Fiercely independent Anna accidentally wakes up Frey, a winged creature who was turned to stone centuries ago. Turns out she was able to break the stone sleep, albeit temporarily, because they’re destined to be together. I enjoyed seeing them find ways to meet in the middle of their values. Anna doesn’t want to rely on Frey while he wants to cocoon her in a safe place.

This book was so darling and sweet, Frey was a golden retriever to his core. I am not sure if I have lost my edge but I really have not seen these 4th quarter plot twists coming. I am so happy I fell in love with the cover of this book and gave it a try! I will for sure keep my eyes peeled for any sequels!!!!

I absolutely adored Frey and Anna's story. Heartsong has a great blend of plot and character development. I hope there is more in the series because I love this world so far!

A solid 3 of a book. While I enjoyed the beginning of this book, the middle and end dragged on for what felt an interminable length of time. Almost nothing happened for a multitude of chapters, and it started to feel extremely predictable. I wish I had liked this book more than I did, but I just stopped caring when they never left Anna’s apartment or did anything other than cooking dinner, cleaning, and sleeping together. In addition, the reveal of the stalker’s identity was anticlimactic. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Either the pacing was off, or the conflict/plot points werent engaging enough for me, so I could not finish this book.
What I liked:
- fated mates
- set up for a problem to solve with a mystery (is there a Fae issue? who is the Fae? how will they break the curse?)
- grumpy MMC
- forced proximity

What I didnt like:
- nothing hooked me to make me care to solve the problem of the Fae Mystery
- both Main Characters cant be jaded and grumpy.

The concept seemed interesting, but the writing didn’t land. The MFC was annoying and fell flat. The MMC was supposed to be this big strong alpha, but was a marshmallow.
The ending was slightly better, but you had to stretch the imagination to have this big battle and all the participants in a tiny apartment. So, not well thought out.

**Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC**

"Gargoyles" was one of my favorite TV shows back in the day. Every now and again, I search for books that have gargoyles in it to feed my monster romance kink. FINALLY!!! I have found a good one! The author definitely had some steam in this, but I adored the characters together.

What a fun time! I selected this for the gargoyle paranormal romance but found I stayed for Captain 😍 and also with how relatable the fmc, Anna was. I suffer from chronic migraines and can say that there are a lot of us that exist who have tried all the medications and more natural ways to relieve our pain without success. There is a slightly darker side and the dark romance lover in me wanted more!

What a fun read! I will definitely be delving into more books by this author.

Plot: The plot for this book was unique and I really enjoyed the who-done-it mystery. The way the historical and cultural aspects supported and enhanced the story was impressive and really brought the plot to a new level. I especially enjoyed the chapter notes at the end of the book. As well, I am a sucker for warm happy endings.

Characters: Anna, the protagonist, was extremely relatable. I’ve never come across a book in which the main character suffers from migraines, which many women experience. You can see her character grow throughout the story. Frey is a little more flat but he definitely portrayed the touch-her-and-die care taker vibe. His weaknesses were essential to the plot, and I think this contributed to the relationship built between him and Anna.

Spice: I give this a 4/5 for spice. Definitely not lacking in the romance department.

Writing: Overall this was an easy but enjoyable read. The writing is articulate but not overly eloquent, just right for the type of story. There were a handful of sentences that were confusing due to either the sentence structure or using too many words to portray an idea. These did not take away from the experience of reading and understanding the story.

I got a copy of this off of NetGalley. I’m so happy I got a copy of this because I devoured it. I loved the characters and the plot. I thought it was such a unique take on paranormal romance. It was spicy but honesty it fit so well into the story. I could not recommend this book enough! Frey is definitely taken my heart and will be a forever book boyfriend!

I really enjoyed the first 25-35% of this book, had a really strong start and I fell in love with the authors writing, but then it became repetitive and started to drag until the last few chapters. If it was shortened a tad, maybe by 100 pages, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

This was a great twist on gargoyle romantasy and had a nice little suspenseful mystery thrown in that they had to solve. I definitely enjoyed this since it wasn't something I'd read before.

Really good read. I really enjoyed the authors knowledge about welsh history and folklore. It made the book more then just a romance smutty novel and more into a romantasy. I haven’t seen a lot like this one, specifically the gargoyle parts and the welsh folklore. I cannot wait for more of this story because the world building was so good! Excellent read.

Thank you S.E. Wendel, the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.

Heartsong by S.E. Wendel is a steamy monster romance with a fun twist—a cursed gargoyle warrior who comes to life in a modern-day museum and instantly claims the heroine as his mate. It’s packed with fan-favorite tropes like fated mates, moody winged heroes, and fish-out-of-water moments as Frey, the grumpy medieval warrior, tries to navigate the present-day world. Anna is a likable lead, and the chemistry between them is definitely there, with plenty of spicy and sweet moments to enjoy.

While the premise is creative and the romance delivers, the pacing felt uneven, and the plot could’ve used a bit more depth. Some characters and conflicts weren’t fully fleshed out, and it leaned pretty heavily on familiar tropes without bringing much new to the table. Still, it’s an entertaining escape with heart and heat—perfect for monster romance fans looking for a quick, spicy read. I do look forward to a second story about June!

the book was cute but a little cheesy. I did enjoy it though. at times the romance was a bit over the top corney.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I had a tough time getting immersed in this world. All I could think about was how boring it had to have been for him to just sit around without her. And I think it was too long, I think the author could’ve shortened it in the middle and it wouldn’t have felt like it dragged on.

I will most likely read the others in the series but I’m not rushing to do so. It was okay

This book is for those of us who watched Gargoyles (1994-1996) and thought "....you know what...."

Anyways, Wendell has done it again with another monster romance where the MMC is a SIMP for his lady, and it doesn't hurt when he's literally been stone for centuries and suddenly he's VERY much not. But kinda hard to let go of your medieval ways when you missed all that time, oh, and your fated mate won't stay in the room to hear you out, PLUS you turn back to stone during the day. Surely this is gonna be so simple. My only big hang-up was of course, so much could be solved if the MCs would just talk to each other, but then where's the book, and I can't say I don't blame her for running.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am so thrilled to see what else SE Wendell has in store!

DNF. This book felt way to repetitive and I could not bring myself to finish it. enjoyed that this story had chronic illness rep and a regular sized FMC. The story was taking a little too long to get to the point.