Stone Rules
Gut-wrenching, Angsty, and So Freaking Beautiful
Few authors can tear your heart out, put it through a grinder, and piece it back together as incredibly well as Samantha Christy. She did it to me in her Mitchell Sisters series, and she’s doing it to me again in her Stone Brothers books. Starting right away with Ethan and Charlie’s story in Stone Rules.
Stone Rules absolutely gutted me. The range of emotions, what the characters went through to find and hold onto their HEA, is powerful. I cannot count how many times I wanted to throw my Kindle at the wall one minute and hug the characters so tightly in an attempt to meld all their broken pieces back together in the next. Christy creates two incredibly deep, damaged, and sympathetic characters in Charlie and Ethan. She then surrounds them with incomprehensible struggles, callous villains, and the most amazing and comprehensive found family.
And ultimately, all of their individual heartbreaks, their trials and tribulations, and their seemingly insurmountable obstacles to each other prove to be the very glue that brings them together and through their greatest test together. Christy is a queen of plot twists, and she leads her characters and readers through some pretty intense ones. And it’s all worth it. Because Charlie and Ethan are so incredibly amazing together.
The audiobook for Stone Rules, narrated by Erin Mallon and Jason Clarke is exceptional. They are truly talented storytellers, their performances bringing out every emotion clearly and honestly with excellent pacing, inflection, and intention.
Told from all Charlie then all Ethan’s pov (rather than alternating chapters) provides readers a unique perspective into their story. It’s a way to tell the tale without interruption of the character's feelings and experiences. And while the Mitchell sisters play a role in Charlie and Ethan’s story, it is not necessary to read their stories first. But, I definitely think you should. It just makes all of their appearances and efforts that much sweeter.
