Reviewed by Alyson J.
August 23, 2005
"I had a real love/hate relationship with this story."
An Angel in Stone is interesting, intriguing and a bit...boring. Raine Ashaway is the ultimate heroine. In fact, she's almost too good to be true. She appears to always be perfectly in control and prepared for anything. While about mid-way through this book I could definitely relate to her better than at the beginning, I still wondered if she were human (or if maybe I was reading a paranormal work of fiction, rather than a modern day contemporary).
Raine and her family are bone hunters, which is a very interesting career all-in-all. And though the book intrigues me with this premise, at times, it overwhelmed me with facts and data. So much so, that I ended up putting the book down more often than not. But, on some level, I enjoyed the romantic interaction between the main characters and was interested enough to pick the story back up and read more about fossils even as my eyes blurred.
Though to balance out Raine's overdone perfect character, was a wonderful hero. The sexy, every-woman's-fantasy Kincade. He was filled with the good kind of flaws. Like wanting revenge against Raine's family for a past wrong. But as their attraction grew, he attempted to hold onto the reasons he should despise her...especially when she steals his boots and makes him walk barefoot through the jungle.
The story begins in New York at a museum auction that turns bad when a gang of criminals wearing ex-President masks try to rob the elite attendees. Raine, of course, saves the day in a most unbelievable way. Then she hops on a cop's horse (the cop was down for the count) and rides to the rescue of her friend, a very large football player, and the hero.
Following up her miraculous stunt, Raine meets Kincade and a mystery woman on the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight. Raine and Kincade find out they've been selected by the seller of a priceless opal dino tooth to bid against each other. But before either are able to procure the fossil, they're thrust into a mysterious race toward the rest of the fossil...and into the vision of a killer.
As their search progresses, the not-so-friendly competition turns into life or death and the two rivals end up having to work together while fighting their attraction.
I had a real love/hate relationship with this story. If I could have ignored about the first quarter of the book while still garnering the important information, and picked up around Chapter 14 (maybe a bit before) I'd have loved this book. The relationship between Raine and Cade was great, the premise of dino bones was interesting, and the writing was superb. I'll definitely try another one of Ms. Nicholson's books, as I have a great fondness for the Bombshell series. But I hope she realizes that too much factual information sometimes drags down the story!
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Book Description for An Angel in Stone
She's equally comfortable in silk and heels or khakis and boots — but it's Raine Ashaway's sheer nerve and gut instinct that have made her a name in the dinosaur hunting world. Her family's famous archaeological firm, Ashaway All, hasn't hurt, either. Until Raine is thrust into a mysterious contest for a priceless opal fossil and the competition seems as intent on destroying her family name as he does beating her to the bones. Raine's not about to let the sexy, deceptive man known as Kincade win this round. But when the game turns deadly, the two rivals might just have to work together or lose everything, including their lives....
The Bone Hunters Finding fossils in the Ashaway legacy — danger's just an added bonus.
