I am SO loving this series. I can't wait until the next one!!! ( )

When Kylie Kramer gets a phone call to inform her that her best friend Bran has died due to a previously unknown heart condition, she's certain that something doesn't smell right about the story. After breaking into Bran's computer and doing some research, Kylie is even more convinced that there's more to the story than she has been told. Her search for the truth of the death of her friend causes her to enter a battle for the survival of humanity that just might cost her heart.

As you can tell from the man titty on the cover, Rocked by Love, is paranormal romance. This fourth novel of the series is almost identical to the previous three. A woman unaware that she wields magical power is attacked close to a statue of a gargoyle which bursts to life to protect her, thus introducing her to a world of magic and danger. Naturally, she turns out to be the gargoyle's mate. Kylie, like all of the other female love interests balks at the idea that she is destined to be the mate of a Guardian/Gargoyle but is of course convinced by the end of the novel. It's all rather formulaic.

I know, I know. There are those of you who feel that the paranormal romance genre should not get knocked down for being formulaic however, I don't agree. In the case of Rocked by Love, while the romance itself comes down to paint by numbers, it does have an intriguing plot which continues to hold my interest in the series. The gargoyles series is focused on stopping agents of darkness from ending humanity and in this entre, Warren even included a surprise ending quite separate from that of the predictable HEA. I want to know what is going to happen with Nocturnis and how our heroes are going to defeat this great amassing power.

In Rocked by Love, Warren used technology as a form of magic to power Kylie. I found this interesting largely because tech is an industry largely run and ruled by men. Kylie is an absolute tech mogul and genius, successful enough to never have to work again in her early 20's. Not only is she sure of who she is, she sure of her capabilities. My biggest problem with her portrayal is that Warren made so much of Kylie being a geek but couldn't seem to follow through with the requisite references and no, tribble slippers alone don't count.

The most obvious thing about Kylie is her Jewishness or rather non Jewishness. Kylie's father is Jewish; however, she doesn't attend synagogue. or keep Kosher and so does not self define as Jewish. However, Kylie's speech is constantly littered with Yiddish phrases. Her Jewish heritage is clearly an important part of her identity and something that Warren continually reminds the reader of. Let me start off by saying that I am far from an expert on Jewish culture, religion or mysticism but as I read Rocked by Love, something felt really wrong to me. I very much want to give Warren credit for not shying away from making her female love interest someone other than the prototype that has come to proliferate this genre but I am not the only reviewer to take issue with her stereotypical and empty characterisation.

I do however have to admit that I laughed at Kylie's grandmother's threat to Dag ( yes that's the name Warren chose for the male love interest)
"Just so you know, however," she said with a smile. "If you hurt my little girl, I'll make you wish your mother had died a virgin."
Rocked by Love is another installment in which consent continues to be an issue. On several occasions, Kylie actively tells Dag to release her or to give her some space and he absolutely refuses to do so. He isn't quite as controlling or domineering as the other male interests in this series but that isn't saying much. Any time a woman wishes physical contact to stop, it should end immediately. Warren makes it all okay by having Dag eventually wheedle Kylie's consent. I am also quite irked by Dag's continual effort to silence Kylie, continually referring to her as impudent, and demanding a respect he has not earned. In fact, no one is entitled to that kind of subservience. Yes, it's been 100 years since Dag has been awake in human society but the sexist idea that man has a right to silence a woman at will irked the shit out of me.

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Anyone who likes a tough, strong, 1000 year gargoyle that in human form is handsome, high-handed and rather sexy will like Dag. Anyone who likes a brilliant, wealthy, quirky, tough, Yiddish speaking female who falls for a gargoyle will like Kylie.

The book is well written and plotted. The bad guys are well defined as are the good ones. The story is action packed with murder and mayhem and puzzles to solve. There is steamy sex and chemistry that must have been based on pheromones or fated since I didn’t see that the two had much in common. The characters from previous books make an appearance and work with Kylie and Dag and though it is book four in the series it can be read and understood without reading the previous books.

That said…I got tired of the Yiddish on every page that had to be translated after it was used. Some of the dialogue spoken by Kylie was as hard for me to follow as it was for Dag. I am not sure WHY this book didn’t grab me as similar plots have but am sure that there are readers who will love it and see that they do by the reviews I have just read. There is an author for every reader and a reader for every author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy to read and review. ( )