Heart of Stone

Stone Brothers #2

by Tess Oliver, Anna Hart

Top 10 Kindle Store Bestseller & KDP Select All-Star Title!Book 2 of the sexy, bestselling Stone Brothers series by NYT bestselling author Tess Oliver and Anna HartShe could be standing in a sea of beautiful women and hers would be the only face I saw. It was something I would have told her if I hadn't been such a fool. But I was a fool.Amy I want to know that Hunter would be lost without me. I want him to wake up thinking about me and go to sleep thinking about me just like I do about him. I want him to feel that same tug in his chest that I feel in mine every time he looks at me. But I've been fooling myself.A bitter, dark childhood has left Hunter Stone hardened to the world around him. Giving his heart to anyone, even Amy Linton, the woman he cares most about, is impossible. Hunter will do anything for Amy, anything, that is, except commit. At the same time, he can't tolerate any guy getting close to her. But Amy is tired of being his 'go-to' girl and now Hunter faces the prospect of losing her for good. Amy Linton has loved Hunter Stone since childhood, a childhood that was nearly as grim as the one Hunter and his brothers endured. She can't imagine a life without Hunter but mentally, he remains distant and even cold.She needs more, and if he can't return her love, she is determined to break free of the hold Hunter Stone has on her heart and her life.

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary, New Adult, Family

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Tess Oliver is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Custom Culture series and a large collection of other romances. She is well known for her relatable characters who "become your friends" as you journey with them and for intriguing stories that will have you "devouring her books in just one day". Tess has been featured on USA Today's 'Happy Ever After' site, and in publications including Glamour UK and Elle UK magazines.

Reviews

[Annmarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the story but hated that the H sleeps with other women throughout the WHOLE book. This is while he tells the h that she's his everything and the others are just "filler" and they don't mean anything but he just can't give her what she needs. Meanwhile he doesn't let anyone in town look at her. Amy continues to sleep with Hunter and let's him walk all over her throughout the book because she loves him. Um.... He, right in front of her, goes with other women and she just accepts whatever crumbs she gets from him. So weak. I kept yelling at the Kindle for her to leave his ass and find someone else! He is selfish and a pig. How can he treat her like that? And the end is so quick. Marriage proposal because her house was on fire and he realizes he wouldn't want to live without her. Seems he knew this already and just wanted his cake and eat it too. I mean this is how he treated her for years, and they have been close since they were kids. He just showed her no respect at all and disregarded her feelings. I know the author tries to play it off as he cares so much he doesn't want to hurt her but that's all he does all the time. I just thought she should have moved on so long ago and he deserved whatever he got because he continued to piss on the love she had for him over and over. She deserved someone else. Period.

[✮ rach ✮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review contains spoilers. Read at own risk.



The story was okay but I didn't like the main characters all too much. Hunter had zero respect for Amy. Even knowing how much she loves him, he's still hooking up with other women pretty much throughout the whole book. It was amusing when he would tell her it would always be her. He doesn't feel like he can commit so, really he's doing her a favour. He can fuck around but she can't. And she allows it. Yes, she attempts to pull away from him, but it's such a weak-assed effort she really shouldn't have bothered. Cheating isn't a huge issue for me, but I do have a huge problem when the heroine allows herself to be treated as if she doesn't matter. And that's why I couldn't rate it much higher than 1.5 stars.

[Veronica WordsAreMyDrinkOfChoice · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so bored of this bullshit cliche storyline. It is 2019, we have women progressing and being stronger than ever. So why are these ridiculous storylines where the man has to be a whore and feels like he has the right to sleep around while treating the love of his life like shit? What does the heroine do? Tell him to fuck off? Find a better man? No she takes it and waits patiently for him, not moving on herself. Stories like this should no longer be being written. I know it is fiction, but this is just so backward in its thinking, and perpetuates the idea it is ok for men to act like this, and for women to blindly accept this lack of respect and faithfulness. We want strong heroine’s, men who give a damn and some mutual love and bloody respect! The time is up for this rubbish! But authors will keep peddling this while we keep reading it, so for me now this author is an avoid.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a dickhead hero, He basically sleeps with who ever he wants whenever he wants, all while sleeping with the heroine, and rubbing it in her face, stopping the heroine from being with anyone else. She was pathetic for putting up with it. They deserve each other, there's no way he's staying faithful to her, considering he is supposedly so in love with her, while he is shagging anything that takes his fancy, and he knows she'll still be there waiting for him.

[Heroesinbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 HUNTER AND AMY STARS

Original Review from 2015
Great second book in the series focusing on Hunter, the eldest Stone brother. We know he has always had a soft spot for Amy , their neighbour. Amy has always loved Hunter, despite his propensity for sleeping with most of the female population in town. But, eventually Amy calls time on their friends with benefits arrangement.Hunter does not cheat on Amy but he still makes it clear that he is seeing other people in a very base way. Is it too late to save their friendship too? Both Hunter and Amy have heartbreaking backgrounds. I have to say Hunter redeems himself in a truly amazing way. I loved how he realised how much he loved her.
This series reminds me very much of the Gentry Boys Series by Cora Brent.

Re read November 2022
A friend posted that they had listened to this and it reminded me that I had really enjoyed this story years ago so I got the audio version and dived in. Great narration by the very talented Maxine Mitchell and Joe Arden brought back all the memories of why I loved this book so much. Hunter is a flawed Hero who steals your heart and then smashes it but the angst is worth it. All that brooding passion makes for an intense man threading his way through the pages and the readers heart. I don't think he would work for everyone but he definitely worked for me.
Amy is my favourite kind of heroine. Her and Hunter are soul mates and life hasn't been easy but together they can weather any storm.
Angst ,some violence , passion , family connections and a pretty addictive love story. I would have loved an epilogue looking further into the future but there is another book where we see more of them. I would recommend all the Stone Brothers books.

HEA? More HFN
Cheating? Hunter and Amy are not exclusive for a long time. Hunter in particular sleeps with hook ups in between him and Amy being together. He uses condoms with other girls but not with Amy. I think some people had issues with that. Just remember , it's fiction.

Be aware : There is some violence - Hunter seems to get beaten up a lot. Also the fragile mental health of a parent and loss of parents (on and off page) are explored.

[Amsa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this but lets say I was Truly disappointed. H was an a*hole. I get he doesn't want to make any commitment hell he's afraid of relationships and love but that gave him no right to sleep with other women while he was also sleeping with her and not let any man come near her.
He always said she's everything and other women are fillers. But dude why do you need fillers when you have everything? I think it was not too much to expect that H doesn't make any commitment but atleast don't sleep with others. Show her some respect.
The fire was no eye opener. He always knew he couldn't let her go and she was everything to him. So yeah he was a jerk and a*hole.
And don't even get me started on Amy. Let's sum it up and say she was a spineless doormat with absolute no self respect and deserved what she got.
How did this book get such high ratings? This book is shit.

[Mia S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swoon!

I read immediately because fell in love with Colt & Jade from book 1, but this one rolled everything together and loved all their stories and finally got the ending I was looking for. Can’t wait for book 3.

[Cc · Rating 1 out of 5]

I "think" the author was going for a redeemable hero, but.........surprise! she didn't manage to pull it off. His turn around should have started around the 50-60% mark, not the 95% mark. It makes the h a doormat.

[★¸. • * ° * ༺*Blanka*༺*°°*•.¸. ♥★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Amy since she had Jade's back in Book 1 but she should have taken her own advice..
I was routing for her in a way but then she was like a broken record with a crack addiction named Hunter, and he was the biggest douche ever. He fucked around on her, even though they weren't an item, he knew how she felt, he had females come in and out of the house knowing she saw them.. he didn't hide the fact but she couldn't speak to a man without the man running for his life. Double standard and all!

It was still an enjoyable read but it consisted of him being a dick and she running behind him like a lap dog, and me screaming "where is your self-respect"?

[Nubia Souza · Rating 1 out of 5]

So here is the thing: I really hate stories with the girl chasing the boy like a starved dog begging for food. If you like heroines that throw themselves at a guy - who happens to be a man-whore, btw - without any sense of dignity or self-respect, than this is the book for you! Since it's not my thing, this book was a total waste of time. I fought against dropping it and simply not finish, since I kept asking myself "How can this girl get any dumber?". Then I read the next chapter and had my answer, "Oh, that's how!". And I didn't even want to start on the typos and grammatical mistakes! English isn't my first language and even I wouldn't make those mistakes. My eyes were rolling so hard I thought I would end up with a crossed eye! I bet the book couldn't get any worse and lost it.
Silver lining? This book can work as a manual on How not to be/love/live, etc. If you let the "love of your life" call you "little fuck", cheat on you, control you and you're still ok with that, wake up, sister because you are living in an abusive relationship! Love yourself first, respect yourself, grow some self-esteem and then kick to the curb for good whoever treats you like this Hunter treated Amy. (for years, I might add)
Can't say if I'll be reading the last one of the trilogy, but I know I won't be challenging myself to finish it if it's half as bad as this one!

[koi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry if I offend anybody, but to each on their own right? This story is fucking ridiculous. The guy fucks random bitches and goes back to the heroine and tells her she's his main slice and the others are just side hoes. He won't even let her try the side dish. The heroine as a shitty life and the hero makes it plenty shittier and it's not ok in my book cause they're supposed to pamper you.

Then when she starts to date "once". He sprouts this nonsense. "But now I'd be heading back home, and home meant I'd see Amy and that meant feeling like someone has stomped on my chest all over again."

Like, what the actual fuck?! She saw an underwear on your back pocket and you act like she's acting like a crazy mama and then when she comes home late you start pulling that cave man shit out. This is not working for me. Not at all.

#NotImpressed

[Tcat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't do cheating H's! Especially cheaters with multiple women until the very very very end of the book. H's like this make me think of the saying "Once a cheater always a Cheater!" He was not a H in my book at all! Definitely not an HEA in my opinion. All the sudden he is reformed.... MY A$$!

[Sorhija · Rating 1 out of 5]

seriously ?!!!

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure I was reading the same book as everyone who gave this 5 stars. It was boring, predictable and I had a deja vu feeling throughout the entire story.

[↜ƈɦǟռ☂ɛℓℓɛ↝ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy "Street" has had it rough with her good for nothing father, her cuckoo for cocoa puffs mom, and her asshole fuck buddy/best friend/neighbor/man of her dreams. But she is strong and all she can think is



Reasons maybe clear, but with her certifiable mom driving her crazy and her treacherous body not listening, they are hard to follow.

The Stone brothers have had it no better.
Their rough childhood had made relationship a dirty word.
So many times, our dad had tried to beat what he’d called ‘sense’ into us, but he’d never told us what that ‘sense’ was.
With Hunter being the oldest, he took the brunt of their fathers lessons.




Hopefully you can do it without having completely pushing her away.

I LOVED Hunter. He is such a beautifully, broken, alpha badass just trying to find his way home.



Reading order
Stone Cold Bad (Stone Brothers book 1)
Hear of Stone (Stone Brothers book 2)

*ARC provided for an honest opinion*

[↜ƈɦǟռ☂ɛℓℓɛ↝ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy "Street" has had it rough with her good for nothing father, her cuckoo for cocoa puffs mom, and her asshole fuck buddy/best friend/neighbor/man of her dreams. But she is strong and all she can think is



Reasons maybe clear, but with her certifiable mom driving her crazy and her treacherous body not listening, they are hard to follow.

The Stone brothers have had it no better.
Their rough childhood had made relationship a dirty word.
So many times, our dad had tried to beat what he’d called ‘sense’ into us, but he’d never told us what that ‘sense’ was.
With Hunter being the oldest, he took the brunt of their fathers lessons.




Hopefully you can do it without having completely pushing her away.

I LOVED Hunter. He is such a beautifully, broken, alpha badass just trying to find his way home.



Reading order
Stone Cold Bad (Stone Brothers book 1)
Hear of Stone (Stone Brothers book 2)

*ARC provided for an honest opinion*

[Vallsykes · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
The hero and heroine did not have a very attractive relationship. I'm not down with one side pining and pining, and the other side carousing through empty hook-ups while keeping said flame on the side.

Yet, the ending was very, very sweet.
Review to come.

[Mari · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf were these authors smoking when they wrote this book ? I'm just so disappointed .if i could give this book negative stars I would. The heroin is pathetic and the hero is a sack of shit . The only thing I liked about this book was the cover

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This books is about Hunter Stone, the stubbornly, sexy older Stone brother and Amy "Street",the girl next door. I really wish that Hunter treated Amy better or had been more faithful to her. Additionally I wish Amy would have stood up more for herself.

[Valentine]

All this 5/4/3/2 stars makes me really sad

[Loraine Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Loraine Oliver
This is book 2 of The Stone Brothers; 3 totally alpha bad boys!

Heart of Stone is the second book of The Stone Brothers series written by Tess Oliver and Anna Hart. This second book for the most part tells the story of Hunter, the oldest Stone brother and Amy,the girl next door. Hunter, Slade, and Colt, are all part of this story along with Jade, Colt's girlfriend we met in the first book, and of course Amy.

The brothers and Amy have been neighbors since they were children and they had such horrible fathers they learned to stick together even after their fathers died. Amy lives next door with her Mother who has pretty much lost her mind, and is always looking for aliens or other things. You will see when you read the book! Everyone keeps telling Amy she needs to do what the doctor says and have her mom put in a hospital but she refuses, she says, "she is all I have left".

Just like the first book, this moves along at a fast pace, and the book is filled with emotional angst, good sex scenes, heartache, sadness, and a lot of fighting between Hunter and Amy, as she wants things from Hunter he is not willing to give. Amy loves Hunter, and even though he does love her too and he claims she is his everything, he will not commit; he is afraid to commit, he feels he has nothing to give Amy, then he gets irate when he sees anyone talking to Amy, so her chances of finding love is truly limited. He, on the other hand sleeps around and then expects Amy not to care about all that and be there when he needs her. He is about to get a rude awakening!

When Amy puts her foot down and days at a time go by and he does not see or speak to Amy, he gets to see what life will be like for him without his Amy. After something horrible happens that causes Amy so much sorrow and scares the heck out of Hunter, will it be enough to change his mind about everything? Can he take a leap of faith?

Even though two authors are writing this book, it blends together seamlessly and you can't tell which parts they each wrote. I love all of the twists in the plot so it keeps you guessing, I love all the scenes and dialog between the brothers, and between Hunter and Amy. I look forward to book 3, to see what happens with the last Stone brother, Slade!

I gave this star 5***** reads and can't wait for part 3!

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

good

[Rgreader · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF'd early. Underwhelmed.. Didn't like the heroine smoked pot and did nothing to get out of her situation

[Megan Fall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this series. Hunter was perfect, and I'm glad he decided to take a chance on love. One brother left!!

[Flavs is Mrs David Gandy♥~♥’ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. but I really didn't like Hunter. and Amy annoyed me because she knew what he was like with his manwhore ways but she still went back to him again and again... I hope Slade is not as bad as Hunter

[Natalie Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars. There were soooooooo many things about this book I didn’t like. It’s brevity is about the only reason I didn’t DNF it, once I realized it wasn’t going to turn around. Well, that and the narrators.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** ARC provided by the Author in return for an honest review***

Heart of Stone is the second book in the Stone Brothers series. While I did enjoyed the book overall, I have to say it was not my favorite. My main complaint is I really wish that Hunter treated Amy better or had been more faithful to her. Additionally I wish Amy would have stood up more for herself. Those parts were a bit hard for me to get through. I am looking forward to Slade's book now.

[Gabriella · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would give this, on a scale of 0 to 10 a “-10”. That’s all. 🤮

[Nerissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3stars.

Not as good as the first. A bit boring in parts. Again needed more depth.

[Sophie Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe more of a 2.5