Review--Forged in Stone by Alyssa Rose Ivy

The son of darkness is all grown up...

James is a Guardian. He is tasked with protecting the most important person in his world. For eight years he has done his job without complaint, but he has grown tired of living under the shadow of a father who is responsible for the most unimaginable violence and destruction his world has ever known.

Ainsley is at a loss for what to do with her life. She hates her two dead end jobs and the family who betrayed her. She has resigned herself to living one day at a time, but she longs for an escape from her lonely life.

When Ainsley finds James in her bed, their two lives and worlds collide. They may have both found exactly what they need, but the darkness James has been running from his whole life has just caught up.

I received this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


Alyssa Rose Ivy has become one of my favorite authors in the most recent years! I adored her Crescent Chronicles and pretty much since then have been a fan of the subsequent spinoffs! Forged in Stone is a spinoff of one of her earlier series, it was actually a YA series, the After Glow trilogy, which I binge read last week and really enjoyed! I loved James character in those! He was so funny, but I never got the sense if he was meant to be a contender for Charlotte's heart, and now that that series has ended, we have a brand new series here where James is the hero! And this series is definitely New Adult for sure!

First off, since I mention that this is a spinoff, I'll say you don't have to read the fist trilogy in order to understand what's going on here. It helps, but in reality it's not necessary. But you know me, I will totally recommending reading the first trilogy if even just to get to know James more! It's been eight years since the events of that trilogy and life for James has been mundane. Nothing exciting happening, nothing dreadful. Though there are times people still treat him with caution, like they expect him to be more like his father, who played the evil villain in the fist series. But James is nothing like his father. He hates him just as much as the rest of the people of Energo, if not more.

He finds himself in Charleston having too many drinks, so instead of going back home to Energo, he stops by Charlotte's old house to get some sleep. What he doesn't know is that Ainsley has been housesitting at the place and their first meeting didn't go smoothly! It was quite comical in a sense, because James being James, he sees no reason why he shouldn't be there.

There's an instant connection between James and Ainsley that I couldn't help but get behind! What's even more wonderful is that while Ainsley does feel said connection too, she tries to fight it. Because really, what normal girl falls head over heels for a guy she just met. One who broke into her temporary home? It's a bit complicated to rehash, but needless to say, I loved their connection! Their antics, because there's a good deal of bantering and flirting going on. I tend to like that a lot! It at least builds up to what we expect to see as an insta-romance.

However, all is not well in Charleston. Someone has broken into a room at the house and left behind a note that leads James to believe that Ainsley's life is in danger. And since he's falling hard and fast for this girl, there's no way he's leaving her unprotected. Add to the fact that there could possibly be a threat against Charlotte's life as well. So James immediately takes Ainsley to Energo for her protection. And once again, I love seeing Ainsley struggle to trust James in this. Bringing her to a completely different world. She struggles to accept what's in front of her. And I love that hesitation. Because it feels like a legitimate reaction. 

There's a very real threat going on in Energo, but it's almost too terrifying to believe! We don't get a lot of details in this area, but that doesn't upset me at all! We still have at least one more book in this series/duology or what have you. And I am very excited about that! 

Told through both James and Ainsley's points of view, we get to see how they both feel towards one another and the situation they find themselves in! James definitely had me smiling pretty much through the entire read. If I wasn't laughing at his antics, I was grinning like a fool because he was sweeping me off my feet through Ainsley! There's definitely more to James than we saw in the After Glow trilogy. He's a sweetheart and I pretty much just found my newest book boyfriend!  

If you haven't read Alyssa's books yet, what are you waiting for? There are sooo many wonderful and delightful paranormal titles to choose from! While most of her series connect together in some ways, you can really read whichever one appeals to you. You might be presented with spoilers to the other series in little ways, but the only way to avoid that, naturally, is to start at the very beginning and enjoy from the first page! Though Forged in Stone is a spinoff from the After Glow trilogy, and doesn't really relate to the Crescent Chronicles and subsequent series, I would recommend reading pretty much all Alyssa's paranormal titles because they have all been incredible amazing reads!



Overall Rating 5/5 stars