The Stone Prince    by Gena Showalter Order:  USA  Can HQN, 2004 (2004) Paperback    Reviewed by Martina Bexte Eons past Jorlan en Sarr was cursed by his half-brother (a powerful sorcerer) and forever banished from his home planet to Earth. Encased in stone he sees and hears everything that goes on around him, but cannot be freed unless kissed by a fair young maiden. Even then Jorlan's resurrection could be short-lived. If the maiden does not fall in love with him in the span of two weeks, he'll be turned to stone permanently. Katie James has never had much success in the romance department. With four older brothers 'looking out' for her and trying to 'fix her up' with dates, Katie just isn't getting any sort of break. Her home restoration business also keeps her very busy. All she has time for is daydreaming about the life-sized nude statue out in her overgrown garden -- a very virile-looking statue, one that makes the 'A' list in any girl's fantasies. One day Katie just can't help herself and kisses the statue. When it comes to vibrant life she thinks her brothers are playing another trick on her. The statue introduces himself as Jorlan en Sarr and is soon spinning a tall tale about being a warrior from a distant planet who's been cursed by a rival and doomed to stony eternity unless she falls in love with him. Katie isn't sure whether she's lost her mind, but one thing is certain - Jorlan is indeed very real, and the feelings he generates can't be ignored. Is he the man of her dreams or is he just leading her down the garden path? Unfortunately, good writing and a breezy tone don't succeed in breathing life into the story's hackneyed plot and clichéd characterizations. While Katie was personable enough, I found myself disliking Jorlan and his testosterone-loaded attitude and beliefs about a 'woman's place' in his and his planet's scheme of things. I kept waiting for him to whisk out a club and drag Katie back to his cave and get down to the business of banishing his curse whether she was agreeable or not -- and also asked myself why the very liberated Katie didn't order him back into the garden to await his 'stony' fate. The secondaries were also two-dimensional caricatures, particularly Jorlan's arch nemesis. The Stone Prince might work for you if you enjoy reading about a woman's sexual fantasies, ones that lend credence to the fact that men do indeed have only one thing on their minds. If you're looking for something with a little more substance then I suggest you pass this one by. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews