Romanus by Mary Calmes

Romanus by Mary Calmes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've read several stories by this author, and each one I finish I find that more and more, she continues to tell stories with the same characters, who have similar quirks and characteristics. Sometimes this is okay; the mix maybe works in a particular situation, although I admit it might be the order in which I read them.

For this story, Romanus, I didn't notice the sameness as much. Some of those elements were there...one of the main characters is really attractive, and seems to get along with everyone where he goes, he doesn't listen half the time to others talking and often has conversations where he continues talking while someone else tries to interrupt. For some reason, these things weren't as irritating in this story...but there were a few things that I didn't enjoy, so I'll start with the bad before the good. :)

The biggest problem with this story I had was that we get a glimpse of a rich world, with an apparent history for the gargoyle shifters and a political struggle going on. The major failing is...after reading this several times, I still don't get it. There seems to be a hierarchy, but it's never clearly stated how the old man fits into the group. I get the sense that he was the leader, and has passed the reins to someone else, presumable Raoul...but there isn't enough evidence to support this. Ciprien comes across as a crazy separatist, but it isn't too clear if he's acting alone, or has an entire army that the group is hiding from.

Also, there's indications several times that Luc is ugly in some fashion; he's honestly surprised by Mace's attention when they meet, and doesn't understand their apparent connection, or why Mace doesn't see him as ugly. I thought at first that maybe he is an ugly gargoyle, but he wasn't in gargoyle form during their first meeting (he's wearing clothes to Mace's eyes). Also, he is attractive to everyone at Mace's apartment...there is either a large oversight here, or a missed opportunity for some storytelling. I would have loved to see more of this world, and the people who make up coven of gargoyles...maybe the author has plans to continue this world, but as a standalone story it seems to fall short.

Now for the good things. The connection between the main characters is very hot, as well as satisfying. I like the fact that Mace is attracted to Luc, even though Luc's clan seems to see him as only a useful tool. I love that Mace, as a Romanus, is highly prized, and yet he seems to have picked the ugly duckling (of sorts). I also really enjoyed Mace's friends and roommates. They're a mixed bag, and a couple of them are complete tools...but it's fun to read about them, and I felt bad for the roommate who got stood up/dumped by his supposed boyfriend. I also really liked the use of gargoyles as a shifter group. It's not one I've seen very often; in fact, I can only recall one other story where I've seen a gargoyle as a main character.

So, in summary, this story was a pretty good attempt, but I felt that there were a lot of missed opportunities for an even stronger story, and I wished the story could have been about twice as long to accommodate those elements. If you like Mary Calmes' work, or enjoy shifters, you might want to give it a shot.

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