Heart of Stone (The Negotiator Trilogy, Book 1)

I put things on my reading list for reasons that I completely forget by the time I get to the book. It looks like Heart of Stone was rated highly by a friend, so that's probably it. I had no idea what "urban fantasy + romance" meant, but I think I get it now. Basically "wish I had super-powers" + "wish I had a boyfriend" = "wish my boyfriend had super-powers". Not my cup of tea :).

Or perhaps it is not the genre itself, just the really awkward writing. I only read the first 42 pages, maybe it gets better. So far, none of the characters behaved in a way that made sense to me. The dialogs and character introductions are so heavy-handed...

"You have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, you know that?" Cole sighed, giving up the argument.

Y'all already know I'm digging C.E. Murphy's Walker Papers. Heart of Stone is the first of an entirely unrelated urban fantasy series, and while I'm a fan of Joanne, I have to admit that this book's a refreshing change of pace from the Walker ones.

First and foremost, the heroine is refreshingly able to immediately deal with learning about the supernatural aspects of her world. Margrit's not without an appropriate level of WTF--but she very quickly gets past it and moves right into dealing with it. Also, points for a heroine of color, still a rarity in fantasy novels--hell, in any novels, really.

Second, I like the connection of four of the five Old Races to the elements, and the little bomb dropped about where vampires come from. Not that this gets explained, but that's entirely as it should be. And I like that it's a genuinely hard call between Janx and Daisani as to which of them is the bigger conniving badass; they're both fun in different ways.

And third, the romantic tension between Margrit and her off-again, on-again lover Tony and the gargoyle Alban is nicely murky and complex. Anybody who's read Tanya Huff's Blood books will find the dynamic here familiar: human woman with an established mortal lover (who's even a dark-complected cop with an Italian last name, which made me grin) and a newly introduced potential supernatural lover. I'm looking forward to seeing how things between Margrit and Tony vs. Margrit and Alban develop.

The book's not without problems; the heroine's nickname of Grit didn't quite ring right for me, and there were a few copyediting glitches that made a stretch about halfway through a bit bumpy. Also, the passing not-quite-right Doctor Who reference will probably make Whovians go tsk--but then again, I suspect that's also unavoidable. But all in all, a fun read, with the same brisk pacing I've come to enjoy from this particular author. ^_^ Three and a half stars.