Stone (2022)

About the Book

Book: Stone

Series: The Metcalfes #1

Author: Ronie Kendig

Release Date: January 6, 2022

Genre: Romantic Suspense

She cost him everything. Now, he’s forced to protect her.

Stone Metcalfe embodies the Metcalfe legacy—blue eyes, an unfair amount of good looks, and hardcore patriot-laced character. But a foolish lapse in judgment dismantles his name and career. Humiliated and furious, he retreats to his mountain lodge to hide from media hounds and eke out a new life. However, one phone call from an old Army buddy upends Stone’s best-laid plans.

Supermodel Brighton Buchanan had designers and men eating out of her hand until a terrible mistake trapped her in the soul-eating world of human trafficking. Years later, she is used by her captors to take down the best man she’s ever known. The man she loves. Hope lost, she’s unexpectedly freed—and thrown back into Stone’s life. Being forgiven is out of the question considering how much he hates her.

Believing danger and her are one wrong move away, Brighton will do anything to keep him from being ruined again—even if it means going back to that life. As everything is falling apart and threats mount against Brighton, Stone realizes forgiveness is the easy part. Protecting her—and his heart—is another story.

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My Thoughts

I’ve never read a Ronie Kendig story before. I’ve always been super intrigued by her books, but for some reason I’ve never taken the plunge. I’m not going to lie … what drew me to Stone is the cover. I knew immediately upon seeing the cover that this book was going to be GOOD. Then I read the back cover and knew I had to have a copy ASAP! So, I pre-ordered Stone and calendared it for my February TBR.

I loved every minute of this tense and suspenseful story, and I cannot wait for book 2 to release. Stone is gripping from page one and holds the reader in its clutches straight through to the end. It’s definitely an edge-of-your-seat kind of read. And I love the characters. At the start of the novel, Stone is a caged, hurt animal. He’s doing what he thinks is best to overcome his disastrous past, but in all honesty, he is just hiding and licking his wounds. Stone will have to confront his past in order to actually heal and move on. When he is forced into confronting his past, his anger takes center stage. I actually appreciate the depiction of Stone’s anger. It feels VERY realistic, and I like that Kendig shows the raw and uglier side to human emotions. I can’t stand when characters in Christian books have “acceptable” and “proper” reactions to pain and betrayal. It ALWAYS feel so disingenuous. There is nothing disingenuous about Stone’s feelings. I also really love that Stone is surrounded by people who love him and aren’t afraid to call him out when his raw feelings get the better of him. We would all be so fortunate to have a group of trusted people who lovingly call us out when we start acting like a big baby, or in Stone’s case, like a Beast.

Brighton is a unique character. Damaged doesn’t even begin to describe her. As a woman who has been trafficked for six years, her hurts go soul deep. My mama’s heart really hurt for her, but I also felt encouraged by her. I don’t know if I would have the emotional fortitude to fight like Brighton does. She has “weak” moments where she feels like giving up, but overall, Brighton is a warrior. She isn’t afraid to sacrifice herself if it means she can save others. And I appreciate her need to fix things with Stone. It’s not because she wants to feel better herself, but more because she wants Stone to heal from the wounds she inflicted.

There is SO much more I could say about this excellently written story, but I’ll stop my review here. Suffice to say, Stone is a fantastic start to what I am sure will be an amazing series. If you are fan of Romantic Suspense stories, then Stone is the book for you.

I purchased a copy of this novel in eBook form from Amazon.com on January 5, 2022, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.