Vampire love stories are a dime a dozen. And while vampires can capture my attention, it’s pretty rare. I was part of the Twilight generation, and have gone full circle from ‘binge read all four’ to ‘these suck’ to ‘actually for YA they’re fine, and the first movie is delightful with a glass of wine’. Some other stories that lean more into the horror or gothic history of vampires, such as The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean, left me extremely impressed. Heart of Stone, however, is a pretty straightforward vampiric romance, and thus not something I was enthused to pick up. Enough people had praised it, however, that I decided to give it a shot. It was a pleasant surprise, and one of the better fantasy romances I’ve read, if nothing else than because it wasn’t trying to be like every other fantasy romance out there.
Read if you Like: contemplative and slow books, romances without hamfisted setups, extended conversations that exist without the need to push plot forwards
Avoid if you Dislike: characters who refuse to talk about their feelings, magic age gap romances, low spice books
Elevator Pitch:
Henry is a vampire. Every few decades he moves, starting a new life, a new set of hobbies, and bringing some household staff who are ‘in the know’ with him. Theophilus is his new secretary, terse and introverted, frighteningly competent, unwilling to give any indication of his personal ideas and ideals. Both are gay, yearning for connection, and generally unwilling to speak about that part of their lives because London in the mid 1700s isn’t a great place for gay men. The book chronicles the growth of relationship into friends, and then into something more.
What Worked for Me:
Voice and tone are the key selling points of this novel. I love a campy romance with over the top characters, contrived situations, and amusingly embarrassing scenarios. Heart of Stone is definitively not that type of romance. This book is misty mornings, conversations by the fireplace, and snapshots of workplace conversation that, when viewed in succession, show their slowly shifting dynamic. Theophilus comes across as slightly contrived at first, but I actually think his habit of refusing to admit to personal opinions fits well into his character. The words sedate and quiet come to mind when describing this book, but I found myself staying up late to keep reading.
Fantasy worldbuilding in this book is light, a choice that works well for a story so focused on the internal lives of characters. You get hints of how magical enchantment works, markets where the supernatural – human or otherwise – meet and exchange goods, and the barest descriptions of a potionmaker’s craft. However, these moments almost always take background roles to the development of Henry and Theophilus. Even when other vampires make significant appearances, either in flesh or in memory, they exist as relationships that form the history of Henry’s life. They enrich and provide context for a character I had utterly fallen in love with.
The understated nature of Evans’ writing, so different from the norms of fantasy and romance I read, really sold this novel. It wasn’t quite unique, but it’s part of a small (and growing) collection fantasy that strips all the classic window dressing of fantasy away, allowing their characters to exist for the sake of existing. And I think that’s really special.
What Didn’t Work For Me:
My biggest issue is that this book could have used a good proofread and one last editing. There weren’t a lot of errors or awkward phrasing, but it was enough to be noticeable. It was a small complaint though, and not one that actually affected my reading experience overmuch.
Additionally, for those who are averse to immortal/human romances with such a large age gap, or with boss/employee romances, this book handles those ideas about as maturely as can be reasonably expected. However, I don’t think it will win over the most ardent critics of those plot points.
In Conclusion: an enthralling read, but not for readers who want something structured and plot focused.
- Characters: 5
- Worldbuilding: 3
- Craft: 4
- Themes: 3
- Enjoyment: 5
Marked for Plot 
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! Definitely one of my faves, although I do see how some readers might find the lack of plot frustrating.
Land’s other stories are wildly different, for the record. His other novel is this huge doorstopper about a fallen angel and a human artist, and the only way I know how to describe it is ‘dark cozy’. Similar slice-of-life feel, there’s not really a clear plot even if there are more twists/antagonists/Things To Be Dealt With than in Heart of Stone. I have no idea at all if you’d enjoy it, but I feel obligated to draw people’s attention to it when they’ve enjoyed Heart!
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