“My top read in the last year. This book is why I fell in love with reading.” USA Today Bestselling Author Meagan BrandyThere’s a rule in Crowne Hall: never look a Crowne in the eyes.It protects us more than them.I broke it once, the night Grayson Crowne mistook me for his true love and stole my first kiss. I’ve regretted it every day since.He hates me.He torments me.He won’t let me go, because … me.
He won’t let me go, because that night he whispered a secret against my lips not meant for me. Grayson Crowne, heir to the Crowne empire and notorious playboy prince is… a virgin.
I signed a contract in my heart’s blood as much as ink: help him get back his love, repair what I broke. Give him my body, my soul, my heart, let him use all of me, so when the time comes to marry her, he won’t need me.
I shouldn’t need him.
But he’s my stolen soulmate, and I’m at his mercy.
Stolen Soulmate is the second book in the Crowne Point universe. You do not need to have read Heartless Hero to read Stolen Soulmate, though it is recommended. It will enhance your reading experience as you will catch easter eggs and the timelines overlap.
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The writing was phenomenal!! The story gripped me and held on to the very last page where I was left in a puddle of absolute gut wrenching tears!!! I loved that!!! There’s nothing I enjoy more than not knowing there’s gonna be a cliff and and when you get there you’ll be shoved so hard you may not survive Now I wait for the follow up!! Anyone know how long that will be?!
Are you ready to be kicked in the throat with emotions you didn’t even know you could feel? That is exactly what Stolen Soulmate has managed to do – it takes you on a roller coaster of so many emotions you will find yourself on the edge of your seat, breathless from the emotional whiplash. In all the best ways, this bully romance takes you on a journey from indifference to hate to love with startling authenticity.
Grayson is a alpha hero you will hate to love and love to hate. He is cruel, cold, and concealing a depth of character that slowly peaks out and takes hold of your heart in a ruthless grip. Story is a heroine who can handle him – a servant in his household who becomes privy to a secret not meant for her ears. She is tenacious and willing to do what needs to be done to right her wrong. Neither of them means to fall in love – but Story is a thief of all things Grayson Crowne and he is drawn to her vivacious personality – but as they trade parts of themselves, they find their broken pieces fit together in unexpected ways.
You will not be a mere observer as you immerse yourself in the path Story and Grayson find themselves on. Mary has created a romance you will feel with every breath you take and every fiber of your being. Story and Grayson will pull you into their experience and steal pieces of you too. I can’t wait to see what the second part of their story brings – there is so much more to see and feel and part two promises to carry out their story in a whirlwind of emotions.
I don’t know if I can find enough words which can describe how great this book really is!!! Not even all the words in the world can do it justice!
IT IS A MASTERPIECE!!!
With every page that you read this book will crawl its way into the deepest corners of your heart and it will stay with you for a very long time. Even though it ends with a cliffhanger please have faith in what the author has planned for Gray and Story and give this book a chance.
Stolen Soulmate was a breathtakingly emotional and soul crushing tale that wholeheartedly stole every inch of my soul. My heart is bleeding on the ground as it was torn so abruptly from my chest as I inhaled all of the words that Mary Catherine Gebhard had to offer. There’s this intense ache that has completely taken over my body and I am still trying to comprehend all of my emotions. I never knew that a story could take control over every part of you until I came across this one. I am a total mess right now and I freaking loved EVERYTHING about this story!
Grayson “Gray” Crowne and Story Hale are officially my favorite hero and heroine of all-time. Mary Catherine Gebhard I am living for these two, like they are now officially part of me forever and always. These two are from completely different worlds and their love is romantically tragic, which had shedding tears more times than I care to admit. I felt deep in my soul that these two were destined to ruin each other. Their chemistry was addictively forbidden, but that didn’t mean they were afraid to break a few dozen rules that stood in their way. Their story was EPIC and had me on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE time!
There is so much that I want to say, but at the same time there is NO way I can say everything I want to without giving away spoilers, so I will just say this…MAKE SURE TO ONE-CLICK THIS STORY RIGHT NOW! Also, do yourself a favor and clear your entire schedule for the day before diving into this story because you will not be able to put it down. The moment I started reading, I found myself in a trance as I devoured all of the words in one sitting. While I wanted to savor every moment of this story, I couldn’t help myself because the words capture every part of me.
This book shattered me, it took my heart and soul put it in a blender then gathered it all up and tried to piece it together again just to throw it against the wall. Sounds dramatic right?! Well seriously this book messed with my feelings so hard that if I had written a review immediately after reading it there would be a insane amount of f bombs throughout this review, so after some time to process this read I can honestly say that it is such a great read but be prepared for some intense emotions that you may trouble dealing with. This book follows Grayson Crowne the arrogant rich playboy who takes no crap from no one and everyone does everything he says but they stay out of his way. Story is a servant that has worked for the Crowne family for years and one day she makes a mistake and steals a kiss that is not meant for her and this becomes the begin of her downfall. Grayson thinks that Story has ruined everything he has worked for sense she learns some of his secrets and ruined his chance with the love of his life, so he is set out to make her pay. Grayson is cruel, unkind, and a huge tormentor to Story but through all his acts of hate we start to see the real Grayson that he hides within. This is the Grayson that I fell in love with along with Story. These two are enemies that become lovers, and somehow then become stolen soulmates but life and other things have different plans. I seriously loved this book even if I cussed Grayson and his family so much. I loved this unique story and how we are left wondering what if and I may have been angry at the end, but I am desperately dying to know how we go from here. If things are set in stone and he is truly the heir of society and his path can’t be changed and Story is the always ignored servant that society looks down on how will they make it through?????
The angst is tangible, the hurt is real, and the what the ____ is swimming in my head. This author took me for one heck of a ride, and I can’t wait for more.
This was heartbreaking, devastating, soul wrenching!
When the society of the rich dictates and orchestras lifes, it’s an ugly thing to see.
Gray and Story are beautiful broken soulmates. Their story has all the feels! I was mesmerized since ‘the kiss’.
Mary gave us a good book with a lot of feelings, emotions and often times kicks in the gut. I’m pretty afraid to dive into Forbidden Fate. Will my heart be able to take it?
“Even if he could never belong to me, I would always belong to him. Painfully, ruinously, irrevocably.”
I don’t really know what to say without giving things away, other than that I LIVE for Story and Grayson. They stole the freaking show. I love everything about them individually, and everything about them together. This book was angsty, steamy, heartbreaking, and such a perfect start to their story. We caught glimpses of Story and Grayson in Heartless Hero, and in this book, we learn and live everything that was behind those little interactions between the two of them. No matter their feelings for each other, there are so many powerful beings, traditions, and responsibilities against them being together. I am so happy that questions were finally answered, even if I was left with even more questions, and a whole lot of heartbreak because this ended on a CLIFFHANGER.
Grayson Crowne aka Playboy Gray, is the next in line to take over Crowne Industries. He’s engaged to be married soon, and has everything mapped out for him. Until one night, he mistakes a certain servant girl for his future wife and from that point on, their worlds have flipped upside down.
Story has lived in Crowne Hall for ten years as a servant. Her Uncle, one of the head servants, brought her there to live with him after her mother died. She had a rough upbringing, and keeps secrets about what she was made to do in order to survive. She won’t leave Crowne Hall without her Uncle, and he won’t leave the place he calls home.
When Grayson realizes that he’s told Story a secret that was never hers to have, he takes Story as his maid. The more they’re around each other, the more attraction and feelings begin to slowly brew between them. They have this undeniable connection, and off the charts chemistry. The world sees Grayson Crowne as an arrogant, mean rich boy, but Story sees that there is so much more to Grayson.
*** My Review Contains Spoilers ***
Let me start by saying, that I did not read the first book in this series and had no trouble following along with the story. I didn’t feel like I missed anything important by not reading the first book. I have mixed feelings after finishing this story. It was just okay. I did not love it, but the ending left me wanting to know how things would play out with Gray, Story, Lottie and West. I like Story, although she came off as a weak character a lot through this story and I truly dislike weak characters. She had a great heart and she loved her uncle. There was something about her that had me wanting to know just how much crap she would take from Gray. Gray was an okay character. I didn’t hate him but I didn’t love him and here’s why. I lost all respect for the man for the way he treated Story, but Story let him do what he did to her. He put out a cigarette on her clothing, he kept letting her know that her status was way below him, be belittled her, he made her sleep on the floor, he gambled her and even though he didn’t let anyone touch her, he did enough damage on his own emotionally and physically. They liked to get rough during sex and mark each other during kissing and there was nothing wrong with that but their actions just left me a bit confused at times. Especially when he wanted Story to leave a mark on him before the huge event. I hope Story grows a damn backbone fast and quit letting everyone walk all over her, including Ellie. She is better just moving on with her life in a new place. I couldn’t believe out of the two choices Gray gave her that she chose the one she did. Now when it comes to Lottie, I think the only reason she wanted Gray so much now was because of Story. She wanted him more because he wanted Story and with her privilege she knew she would have him no matter what. It was already fated and as much as she said she loved him I didn’t believe it. West just seems to want what Gray has with Story but not even because he cares for her, but because he wants to get back at Gray. This is one story where I hope a character hurry up and dies off. I want Story’s uncle gone and I want her to realize she deserves better and more than what the Crowne family has to offer. I will read the next book just because I want to know how things play out and I honestly want to see if this story gets better. If not, the next book will be my last.
I’m in so many states of shock right now that if my review is a mess, you’ll have to forgive me.
BUT IT’S ALL SS’s FAULT.
This is my first read by Mary Catherine Gebhard. It really won’t be the last.
I basically went into this book blind. I requested an ARC because I saw teasers all over Instagram and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.
I GET IT.
I’m not going to give anything away here, but this book is stunning. It punches a hole in your chest and then comes back a few more times with sharp pointy things to make sure it still hurts.
It grabs you by the hair and you like it. It’s hot as hell. It’s grim as heck. It’s so many things and that’s before I even go into not only Grayson and Story, but everyone else.
Gebhard is a master not only of setting a world, but making characters cold, ruthless and domineering, yet so soft and squishy that you want to protect them. HOW YOU DO THAt???
ARC RECIEVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. It deserves ALL the stars ever in the book world. Gray and Story have wrecked me. Mary Catherine Gebhard has wrecked me. Her words are magic. I haven’t decided if it’s good or evil magic yet. This book was raw and dark and dirty and so emotional and angsty that I feel like I’ve been chewed up and spit out. I can not wait for the rest of this story.
Let me tell ya, this book is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Hands down, this book left a powerful impact to my feelings the entire time I read the book. Gosh, this is what I called a tragedy love story about two star crossed lovers who are fated to be each other yet they couldn’t be together just because of the society’s expectations. I couldn’t even count the amount of times I was holding my breathe while reading the book because it was extremely intense and the angst was absolutely perfect for me. Not only that, the amount of emotional roller coaster that Mary gave to her readers truly gave us an extreme sense of empathy towards their relationship. This book was truly heart-wrenching for me and the ending? Gosh, never have I ever cried so damn hard. It was extremely heartbreaking and it was very agonising that I need to wait a few months for the next book just to know what happened to them Overall, I love this book so much!!!!
I knew right from the moment I finished Heartless Hero that this book was going to fuck me up. I literally avoided starting this book because I was scared to death of how this book was going to make me feel. I KNEW Grayson Crowne was going to be a mega jerk. I knew he was going to make me hate him twice as hard as he made me love him. I avoided starting this book because I knew this story was going to have me coming out a different person. I was right.
This book utterly destroyed me. It’s a rollercoaster ride of angst, love, and forbidden goodness. The way this author weaves her words is nothing short of magic, and I want to douse myself in that magic forever. I have read a lot of books but this series is slowly becoming my favourite of the year, and this author that I only just discovered is on her way to becoming one of my favourite authors, EVER.
Reading about these two characters, and the journey it took for them to get to where they are, it broke my heart. What do you do when the person you love with all your heart and soul, can never be with you? It’s horrible how much I cried, how much my heart ached, and how much I died on the inside. Grayson Crowne, king of his world and an asshole of extra proportions, made me think he was bipolar with how up and down his moods were. One moment he’s whispering sweet nothings and caressing your skin, and then the next he’s treating you like the gum beneath his shoe. I must be mad with how much I love him for it. Storybook Hale, a maid from a completely different world to his. She’s intelligent, mature and so sassy. I loved who she was as a person and while I questioned her actions sometimes and wondered why she didn’t just punch him in the face and leave, I understood why.
Legit one of the best reads of the year and I can’t wait to read the continuation. Bravo, Mary Catherine Gebhard! It’s books and stories like these that keep my passion for reading alive.
What a mind job this story is!
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I have to say that after reading this book, I’ve since gone and read FOUR novels by Gebhard because her writing sucks me in that bad.
Ok, so in Stolen Soulmate we have the blossoming romance / intense heart wrenching experience that is Story and Gray. Grayson Crown (Gray) is the richest play boy known and his family is the most arrogant, power hungry bunch you’ll find. Story is a maid at their estate. A chance encounter brings them locking lips in an off-set room, but Gray was actually looking for his sweet heart, Lottie.
But the sparks in that kiss can’t be denied and they’ll tear each other apart trying not to admit how they feel about each other. Filled with many BDSM elements and a story line that will have you wanting to rip out your heart, but hanging on every page because you can’t get enough and you need to know what happens. I thought I was going to hyper-ventilate with every page I turned. I was turned on by every sexual encounter, I had my heart ripped out with every conversation they had and I wanted to cry over their inability to be together.
I highly recommend this book for romance fans everywhere, but I also recommend that you have Forbidden Fate ready to go after this one. The third and final installment won’t be out until late 2020, so be ready to wait for a conclusion.
Love this story SOOOO much!!!
I was so fortunate to receive gifted copies of Stolen Soulmate and Forbidden Fate courtesy of Booksparks. I had never read anything previously by Mary Catherine Gephard, so I didn’t know what I was missing. Now, having completed Stolen Soulmate, I feel both blessed and cursed. On one hand, I am so glad that I stepped into the elite Crowne world, met Grayson and Story and experienced the brilliantly crafted story within these pages. On the other hand, I know I would be less heartbroken if I had not read this story; however, I would have missed the harrowing experience of unbidden, soul consuming, beautifully poignant love. Serendipitously, Stolen Soulmate found me, but it feels like a pyrrhic victory now. I am haunted but desperate to read what happens next. You need to read this book!
I do not even know where to begin… I just finished this book today….It totally fucked my mind all up! When you are reading do you ever have songs that relate the story run through your head? I don’t! But I did with this one! It was insane! Even a song that I had not heard in YEARS popped in my head and it really seemed to fit! This book made it very difficult for me to breathe at the ending. Seriously there were quite a few things that really got me all fired up at the end….. but that final line in the book….. THAT one totally lit the match! (Not going to lie…. I am still angry AF). I am actually still a little shaky as I type this and it has been a couple hours. Basically this book pulls out so many emotions that it absolutely CAN NOT get any less than 5 stars…. I cried a whole bunch! Now my plan is to relax tonight and then start Forbidden Fate tomorrow to torture myself some more!
What?!!! Grayson.. OMG! I can’t give details. This is one of those books that you just stare in to space and it takes a.few days to get.it out of your brain… Can I give it 100 stars?!! Ok will add more later..can’t form words right now.. This is my favorite series! It will cause a rollercoaster of emotions. You will hate but love.
I met Mary Catherine this past year at the LoveNVegas signing and adored her covers but hadn’t read her yet. I dove into stolen soulmate and holy cow! This is my favorite read so far this year. Can’t wait for the follow up and to read all her other works.
Oh. My. God. I am dead. I died from the unrelenting angst and overwhelming emotions that this book evoked in my little, black heart. Man, oh man. I just knew, since the first book, that Grayson and Story’s love story will be one hell of a doozy. But I wasn’t prepared for its devastating effect. Like Abby, Grayson is so much more than what he projects to the world. And yes, you guessed it right. I went ahead and fell in love with him. He had me- hook, line and sinker. The slow burn of romance nearly killed me, but it just sucked me in deeper and made me more emotionally invested to Story and Grayson. But the ending, argh! I need the next book, ASAP!!!
Mary Catherine Gebhard – Stolen Soulmate (Crowne Point #2)
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Devastating love story.
Enter the world of the most elite. Where the rich are mighty and everyone else are expandable.
I’m shocked at the way it ended. That cliff hanger killed me. Angst level was off the charts. I’m heartbroken and desperate to continue reading!
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I feel so blessed to not only come across this book but to have had the chance to read this in advance. Its a hidden gem. A diamond in a rue. I adored the writing, the world building and character portrayals. I can now say I am a fan of Mary’s work and will read more from her.
This book gave me a rollercoaster of emotions. I loved both characters Story and Gray. Their love affair is tragic; Two people from two different stations in life fighting to be together. And let me tell you, the odds are against them.
My perception of Gray was a mixture of love and hate. His actions were cruel but his feelings! All I can say is poor little rich boy.
Story had a lot of issues of her own. She was very guarded throughout the book but I cant say I blame her for protecting her heart and reputation. I loved that she wore modest clothes. It was refreshing to read.
There were times I was screaming at Story to walk away, to not do this to herself. Shes strong and brave but in the end their attraction for one another was even stronger, thus the beginning of their demise.
Dark. Forbidden. Angst. Bully. Entitled. upstairs/downstairs. Employer relations. Enemies to lovers. Secrets and lies. Love triangle. Tragic.
If your looking for a modern day tragedy that levels Shakespeares work, this is the book for you. This book was filled with angst that packed a gut-wrenching punch. I love, love, love it. Its one of those rare books that youll reread again and again. Its special on its own rights.
Continue their story in Forbidden Fate, coming out May 28th.
Warning: Cheating
I really enjoyed the storyline. Waiting patiently for second .