The Stone God (Indulgence 1) by Erin Kellison-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK:Release Date May 24, 2021

Terah Crane knows not to tempt the gods. A happy life—or at least an uncomplicated one—involves no gods at all. And since her loving grandfather bought her an Indulgence that exempts her from their service, she can focus on her other problems—the fact that her recent divorce has left her broke, unemployed, and reeling.

Seeking a fresh start, Terah packs everything she owns into her beat-up car and moves to her family’s empty country cottage—never mind that deadly firedrakes occasionally wander into the garden. When an unlikely flood carries a cracked pillar of stone from a nearby shrine right to Terah’s doorstep, it seems the gods demand her service after all.

The man trapped inside the monolith is still alive, and Terah’s reluctant task is to resurrect him, his godkiller of a sword—and his fury for vengeance.

The gods’ awesome powers are matched only by their careless, capricious whims—and vulnerable mortals are often the ones to suffer and die. Now, the gods are watching Terah, making her a pawn in their savage game. Her survival depends upon navigating a new world of peril and treachery, taking up a weapon, and making a fateful move of her own…

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REVIEW: Well that was totally different to what I normally read!

Terah is recovering from a breakup, so needing time and space, she retreats to the family cottage to reevaluate her life. Not knowing that her life is going to change forever….

Adomanei is a busy man, he’s trying to woo a direct descendant of a god, so a marriage is needed between them if they want to rule the land, Nilea is all he thinks about, but being his father’s Hood has him running all over the place!!

Kol is a lesser god (not as high ranking as others!) and after being trapped for centuries, he’s out for revenge! But he needs to bide his time, he needs to gain his strength, so falling back on a descendant to date for him until he is at full power again.

A flood brings Kol and Tereh together, but it’s not a good thing, she’s not suppose to rescue or serve him, she is no one’s slave, but what is she to do?
And when he finally emerges from his stone tomb, (which was beyond stressful for both Kol and Tereh) she’s really for him to strike her down!

That was really good, but you do have to concentrate, and it does flit about a little bit, but once you get use to the rules, the names and who is who then the rest falls into place.

Definitely an author I will be looking forward to reading again.

So the plot…..

Gods are in charge, they have lesser gods under them, and under the lesser gods are the descendants of the gods. These are trained to serve, well you don’t really get much choice, unless you can escape servitude through payment.

Hoods are descendants of gods, these are a little like marshals keeping the peace. But if the god is angry, guess who gets told off!!
Anyway…. Kol centuries ago ran off with another God’s descendant, that Goddess was angry and encased him in stone (but there is definitely more to that story)

Now the stone he is encased in is cracking. Why? You’ll need to read to find out why.
Tereh is then made a Hood so she can look after Kol.

Easy…. Ha!! It’s anything but that!! Poor Tereh then has to navigate the backstabbing/intrigue/double dealing works of the Gods, the Hoods and other humans!! She’s now in charge of caring for Kol, and she’s his voice until he is at full strength.

Focus is very much on the Tereh in this book. The poor human doesn’t know what to think, she’s only trying to get herself sorted after a bitter divorce, and now she’s in the limelight as the favourite of the Crimson God Aran, and she’s the teal Hood for Kol!! If that’s not enough she’s got to navigate the power games people play.

And she’s also being chased by a suitor, and a strange being wants to know all about her!!

Cliffhanger? Wouldn’t really call it a cliffhanger, more of an intro into book 2….

New series? Yes it is, and I’m looking forward to the next book that should be out this year.

Romance? Not much, and at for most of the time I wouldn’t really call it a romance, there is the romance between Adomanei and Nilea, but not much for poor Tereh!

It did remind of a few old films, where the Gods like to move humans around like chess pieces!♟ And there is a lot going on in this book, you do need to concentrate, but saying that it does flow pretty well.

It’s a cleverly thought out book. And very well written.
And I can’t wait to see where the next book takes us.

Copy supplied for review

? Reviewed by Julie B.

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Erin Kellison is the bestselling author of the Dragons of Bloodfire series, the Reveler series, and the Shadow series. She writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and science fiction romance. She loves other worlds and visits them as often as possible via movies and books and her kids’ imaginations. When not daydreaming or writing, she’s goofing off with her family in sunny Arizona. Find out more at www.ErinKellison.com.