Actual rating: 3.75 stars
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First off, the narrator of this audiobook, Abby Craden, does an absolutely phenomenal performance, especially as Boudicca. Her voice is low and husky and sensual and everything you picture Boudicca to be - I swear I found myself swooning through several passages and yearning for a Boudicca of my own. Her more innocent and higher pitched voice for Viola was also well suited, but damn her Boudicca voice was next level.
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The yearning and heat between Viola and Boudicca is the star of this novel. The plot is standard with Viola running her darndest away from an arranged marriage and yet magnetized towards a mysterious new stranger.
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The worldbuilding unfortunately is where this story is weakest. It would have been much better if Shine had developed her own fantasy world modeled after Paris instead of setting this story in early 1900s Paris with hidden magic about. The language used and how these characters act, alone, are so incredibly 21st century that it just did not compute with the setting, despite the regular suspension of disbelief for a ‘magical’ world.
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Additionally, they are meant to be speaking French the entire time, which is fine, except for when it comes to Bouddica’s maker a non-binary magician, who despises the social use of gender norms and uses they/them pronouns (we love to see it!). The issue is, there are no canonical they/them pronouns in the French language. Even multiples are gendered (elles/ils). There are neopronouns being created in the 21st century, but even then they’re not all that widely used, and again this is set in early 1900s Paris. (background, I speak French and have a non-binary partner who also speaks French). If this would have been set elsewhere or in a fantasy world, it wouldn’t have caught my attention, but I had to bring it up. It would have been so much better if Shine took the leap to make a fantasy city/world - the story would have been entirely unaffected.
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Despite my issues with the worldbuilding, I enjoyed the plot and was entirely invested and engrossed in Viola and Boudicca’s relationship. I hope this author expands her skills into worldbuilding because I would love to read more characters from this author - especially if Abby Craden is narrating them ♥️
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Hisses & Kisses 🐍
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*I received an audioARC from Tantor Media | Tantor Audio & NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

This historical, sapphic, monster romance was so adorable. The seventh daughter of a wealthy family works at a library in Paris. Since she was a child, she regularly sneaks out of her home to curl up on and tell stories to a rooftop gargoyle. Obviously these two end up falling in love. I loved their romance and the spice. It was so delightful and such a fresh take on the gargoyle monster romance subgenre!

What prevented me from being fully obsessed waswas that 1. The parents accepted their relationship too quickly in the end after all the pushback throughout the book. It was too easy after all the build up. 2. I wanted to know more about the magic and the almost fiancé. He was an enigma that I don’t feel was satisfactorily fleshed out by the end.

Overall a very fun read!

Listened to ARC of the audiobook, it was easy to follow and well narrated.

I like the blend of the magic and fantasy with realistic perspectives such as the misogyny women faced. Characters were believable, I can imagine how hard it must have been as a woman who didn’t want to be a housewife but was stuck facing a marriage or giving up everything. It was definitely a story of female empowerment.

The magic system was unique and well described. The romance aspect was heartwarming. And there was still some spice.

This was such a surprisingly fun read because I had no idea what to expect from a gargoyle romance book. I loved the world-building and the way magic is imbedded throughout the library. The stakes felt realistic with a straight wedding looming above them. I love alternating POVs to hear how they both fall in love with each other. The only downside was that ending felt a bit rushed and the big reveal was a bit underwhelming, but I hope that can be expanded in further books in the series.

A fun and flirty historical fantasy. Viola and Boudicca have been drawn together across time and magic and you can’t help but root for them. Note, this is not a work for you if you don’t enjoy modern turns of phrase in historical works.

Thank you Netgalley and Tantor media for the early audiobook.

What I have gathered is that if I spend my whole life telling stories to gargoyles, they might come to life and love me. Talk about melting a heart of stone (That’s the biggest dad joke I’ve ever done).

Viola is a very knowledgeable librarian by day and a skilled parkourist by night (she has magic slippers). When she is forced into an arranged marriage by her family and is on the verge of losing her job, it becomes even more important that she proves magic exists and keeps her freedom. What she doesn’t know is that the gargoyle, Boudicca, that she has been running to almost every night for the past 15 years of her life, might be the key to unlocking a lot of doors in her life.

First thing I want to say is that the narration for this book was wonderful. Abby Craden does an amazing job at making both characters have their own unique voice. They are very distinct and at first I wondered if it was a dual narration. Everything about her work for this book was perfect, as it is in all the audiobooks I have picked up by her.

The setting for this world is truly interesting. 1900’s Paris with a very gothic feeling and a magical underlying to it all. The author takes a lot of time setting the world but also trying to build a magic system in such a short book. The magic system has a lot of potential, which I hope will be explored in the next one, but it did take away from how much time we had building the relationship between the characters.

Viola and Boudicca are great characters, if slightly one dimensional. They had a great chemistry and sweet relationship, if slightly insta-love. Which leads me to what bothered me the most about this book. Boudicca, what I believe is an immortal being, meets Viola when she is a child when she comes to rest in her stone arms…That thought followed me through the whole book and I just couldn’t shake it off. There is just something weird about it for me personally.

If that does not bother you and you would like:
1. A quick and sweet romance
2. An interesting world and gothic setting
3. A very bookish and determined librarian
4. A very sweet and protective gargoyle woman

Then this might be for you and the audiobook might be one of the best ways to do it.

3.75 stars

I liked the narrator a lot. Overall I really did enjoy this story, but the pacing was a little too slow for me at times.

I really loved this- felt like a fairytale but sapphic! and unapologetically so. I want to have more books that follow Budicca and Viola as they learn each other and their relationship! I hope that others in this series are just as fun and cozy :)

Thank you Tantor audio for the ALC in exchange for my review.

Abby Craden was an excellent narrator however I unfortunately DNF this around the 25% mark. I think this book was just not for me, I didn't love that the gargoyle MC knew Viola as a child.

This book was cute. The characters were solid. Pacing seemed a little slow to me. The narrator in this book did a really good job.

Well this was lovely. Viola is a librarian who might lose her job. She is being pressured to marry a man even though that is not her preference. Boudicca is a gargoyle who Viola has known as a statue and has confided in for years believing she wasn't real. Viola and Boudicca have a very sweet complicated relationship. This book deals with the historical complications of women needing to marry as well as combined with the fantasy elements of magic. There were certain elements that I found to be rushed a bit but other then that I really enjoyed it. Oh and the spice was a very good time!

I loved this 🥹🤍

The cozy vibes w/ low stakes (pretty action packed)🥰 And the showcase of gender inequality— Arranged marriage (ick) to a man (double ick) has me lmfaoo.

Viola is such a brilliant scholar & her love for the library? How could you not love her.
Most of all, I think I fell for Boudicca too lol!!
A gargoyle mommy— She was just such a green flag. I love the inclusion. It was just so there and not over explained or anything.
I really wanna know the backstory to her brother though, but all her siblings were great and full of character. Even Zander was fun, but I wish they showed a bit more magic— I’m so curious to what more they can do.

Overall, this was such a yummy read—
And I would love to read more books in this universe. I still have so many questions!!
Like who’s really pulling strings? And what else can she learn to do…
Abby Craden did an AMAZING job narrating, I seriously fell in love w/ her work.

I saw the words librarian and gargoyle and I was sold - didn't even read the synopsis or look at the cover properly!

Turns out I didn't need to either because this was the sweetest little sapphic fantasy romance.

Viola & Boudicca were meant to be! Viola was determined to prove the existence of magic and between her beloved library potentially closing, an arranged marriage she doesn't want and dark magic swirling around her she needed a place to rest and what better place than her beloved gargoyle Iggy's arms?

They'd known each other for years without being able to communicate with each other. And when Xander, Iggy's master, allowed her to go out into the world it was the perfect opportunity for her to speak with Viola under a human guise. Their dynamic from the start was very swoony and they appreciated each other from their first "meeting" even though Viola still didn't quite know who Iggy really was. And Iggy's protective instincts took over as Viola dealt with a lingering dark presence and tried to figure out how magic factored into her life & heritage. They were very much drawn together!

The ending was so satisfying and spoke of many adventures to come for these two. I hope we get more books in this world, I love a Victorian type of fantasy setting.

Narration by Abby Craden was top notch, she captured both Viola & Boudicca so brilliantly - a fantastic choice for this audiobook. Production on point too!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ALC - very lucky to have listened to and discovered another fun gem like this one.

2.5-3 ⭐️

Eh, this was ok? It just wasn’t for me sadly.
I couldn’t get invested in Viola’s arranged marriage plot, it was pretty boring and I also didn’t really like Viola as a character? She was so so whiny, and while she did have a lot of valid criticisms of her family’s expectations of her, she also seemed so naive to how the world around her works that it drove me bananas. Like, she didn’t even understand how her society works so that she could rebel against it or come up with ways to be herself without being ostracized? She just kept forcing her way on people until they finally just gave in by the end for no reason (I guess she just wore them down)
Her relationship with Boudicca was also super weird, like, Boudicca knew her since she was a child and I know I know, nothing happened until she was an adult, but it still gave me the ick. They were so horny for each other so fast and so just, yuck. Viola was also so possessive of the gargoyle even before she knew she was alive which is weird, and then there’s that whole thing at the end about Boudicca being her own person not beholden to Viola but we see no evidence of this.
The best part of the book for sure was Boudicca trying to figure out how being her own person with agency and a soul would work for her, I wish that had actually been the A plot of this book. Ultimately though it just ended with her always being obsessed with and protecting Viola.
The audiobook narrator did a great job with the voices though, and ai really liked her voice for Boudicca. Overall, I don’t hate it, I just don’t like it either.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced listening copy!

I’ve gotten into gargoyles lately and LOVE that so many creature books are being made! Majority of the time the gargoyles are but this one ugh this one is a masterpiece with both main characters being female!! Loved every moment of this and can’t wait for more!

Am I glad I read it? This didn't quite hit for me. I was drawn to this because of the setting—1910s Paris, the librarian FMC, and the idea of a hot gargoyle love interest (we need more sapphic monster romances!). Shine plays around with some common historical romance tropes and themes, including kissing lessons, impending unwanted marriage to a stuffy aristocrat, expectations of marriageable misses, and a rebellious MC trying to find her way out from under her wealthy family's thumb, Shine's approach to this story is cute, fun, sweet, and overall quite lighthearted. I'm not generally drawn to these kinds of stories and, given this, found that this approach undermined what I was initially interested in about the story. I have no doubt that there are plenty of readers for whom this kind of story will work, but I am unfortunately not one of them.

I love love loved that Boudicca is a tall muscle mommy in human form, though. Give me more of those.

On the narration: I was thrilled to see that Abby Craden was the narrator for this audiobook. Her deep, almost smoky voice works really well for Boudicca's character, but her narration for Viola comes across as very young, almost uncomfortably so given that the first time we hear Craden narrating Viola is when Viola is a child.

Thanks to Tantor Audio, the author, and Netgalley for the ALC of this title, which is out on September 9.

DNF. Listen I made it 10% in, but I just couldn’t vibe with the gargoyle knowing the FMC when she was a child and then 15 years later she is back. He didn’t have any inappropriate thoughts when she was a child, but I just can’t vibe with it.

This was a lighthearted, cozy, and fun monster romance set in a beautiful Paris. A librarian named Viola, at risk of losing her job due to funding, vents her problems to a gargoyle statue. In this magical world, Viola's life is turned upside down when a mage gives a task to a soulless stone creature named Boudicca. As part of her task, she is made human-like, and soon after, she begins to feel human desires, including companionship and love for Viola. To make matters even more complicated, Viola's parents set up an arranged marriage for her with a Duke's son, promising her an "opt out" option if things don't work out. Viola has a ball to plan and decides to have Boudicca escort her, causing town gossip since she is technically engaged. This also angers her betrothed that changed his tune about giving Viola an option to the marriage. Viola finds herself struggling with how sweet and smart Boudicca is, and she wonders why she didn't meet her before this betrothal. Boudicca, for her part, wonders if Viola could truly love her if she knew her true form. This story had a strong theme throughout the story is freedom, being your true self, and accepting others for their

It's a sweet and strong story, and I am interested in reading more from this series.

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Thanks to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date is 9/9/25.