“You better not break my heart.”
He stepped closer, placing his palm between my breasts. It flattened on my sternum and the heat from his touch seeped through my sweater. “It’s safe. I swear it.”
Safe.
OMG OMG!! I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!!
As many of you know, I’ve been a huge fan of Devney Perry’s books ever since she released her debut novel. She’s the type of author who I always recommend to everyone and anyone who loves romance because her books always have that perfect balance of heart-warming romance, a little bit of edgy suspense, characters I fall in love with, and genuinely unique stories that really refreshing to read. Needless to say, Stone Princess was another winner – but I’d take it a step further and say that so far, this has been my favorite book in this series!
“You good?” I cupped her cheek, using my thumb to dry one last tear.
She met my gaze, giving me the weight of her face in my palm. “Yes. For now.”
“When yes becomes a no, you come find me. Okay?”
To give a little bit of a background on this book and series… Stone Princess is the third book in the Tin Gypsy series. Each book in this series is about a different couple but, more than any of her other series, I do recommend reading this series in order because the books are heavily interconnected and have a continuing mystery throughout them. That said, the first two books in this series Gypsy King and Riven Knight really belong together as there is a single mystery that begins in GK that gets resolved in RK. To a certain extent, Stone Princess can standalone (though you will have major spoilers for the first two books if you read this one alone), and leads into the next book Noble Prince. So it’s almost like the first two and second two books belong together even though they’re all interconnected – you’ll even notice the first two titles key words King/Knight and second two Princess/Prince kinda go together.
Anyhoooo I digress.
This book is awesome! I absolutely loved it! I’ll share the blurb because it does a great job of setting up the story:
“Presley Marks has just become a cliché: the jilted bride. Wearing a white dress, standing in front of her friends and family, she announces that her fiancé—according to his text—has forgotten about the wedding.
Humiliated and angry, she hides from the world in the mundane routine of her life. Working at the Clifton Forge Garage isn’t glamorous, but it’s safe from the spotlight.
At least it was, until Shaw Valance comes to town.
The notorious Hollywood actor is starring in a movie based on the town’s infamous murder. When he’s not on set, Shaw hovers at the garage, watching as they build his custom motorcycle and irritating her with his handsome smile. He was supposed to leave once filming wrapped and go back to his fancy life, not buy the house next door…”
So after everything she’d been through, Presley was pretty much done with men, and when it was announced that a movie about her friend’s mother’s murder was being made in her town, she hated the lead actor on principle.
“This story is interesting because of all the elements involved. People want to watch interesting movies. Don’t you?”
“This isn’t fiction. This is my family. Did you ever once ask yourself who was on the other side of the murder?”
She wanted nothing to do with him or the movie, but he turned out to be nothing like she expected. And even more unexpected was their chemistry which, try and she might to deny it, was in fact undeniable…
“You have millions of people who follow you. People across the world stalk your Instagram, desperate to feel some sort of connection with you. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fame.”
“It’s not real.”
“Isn’t it? Because it seems like you’re really famous.”
“The fame is real, but that guy, the image, isn’t. This is.”
I have to say I really understood her initial resentment towards him, especially given the way he basically swooped into her town trying to make the trauma that her family had gone through public. But I respected the way he was perceptive to how he initially came off and truly made an effort to do right by her, her family, and the story.
Why the hell did Presley’s opinion matter so damn much? How had this woman, this stranger, managed to turn me inside out about my own movie?
Because she made it real.
She’d turned a movie into life. This project had taken on a whole new meaning. It wasn’t about satisfying investors or earning a profit. Now, I had an urge to do this story, the real story, justice.
Financial gains and academy accolades didn’t mean success anymore. For me to consider this a win, I wanted Presley’s approval.
I loved her fire, I loved his honesty, and I really appreciated that overall they were both quite mature in how they handled situations. That said, they were also both flawed – as all people are. They made mistakes, but owned up to them. And that was something I could respect.
“You have millions of people who follow you. People across the world stalk your Instagram, desperate to feel some sort of connection with you. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fame.”
“It’s not real.”
“Isn’t it? Because it seems like you’re really famous.”
“The fame is real, but that guy, the image, isn’t. This is.”
The romance was believably paced, really sweet and heart-warming, and definitely one I was rooting for. On the other hand, the suspense brought a welcome underlying edge to the story that kept my on my toes. Overall, as with most Devney Perry books, I genuinely found this to be a really enjoyable, balanced, addictive read that once I started reading I didn’t want to put down until I reached the end.
“I was dying to kiss you today,” I whispered into her ear. “I almost did.”
Her eyes dropped. “Shaw, we —“
“I know. I’m temporarily. You don’t need the gossip. I get it, but that doesn’t make me want to kiss you any less.”
If you haven’t started this series yet, I highly recommend it! I’ve enjoyed all the books in the series, but this was definitely my favorite book so far! If you love romance with a bit of an edge, this is a must-read series!
Rating: 4.5 stars. Contemporary Adult Romance.
*** TIN GYPSY SERIES ***
