I want to give a warning at the beginning of my review. You are going to need time to recover after you finish this story. Consider yourself warned! The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone is, without a doubt, my favorite series of 2021. Drop whatever you're doing and read these books - you won't regret it! Rembrandt's look and associates may have changed, but his primary goal has not: to use the time-travel watch to regain his old life, the life where Eve was his wife and Ashley his little girl. He's still hoping that they are not lost to him forever. But his hopes have taken a beating; his efforts, thus far, have been fruitless. Yet he tries, over and over. If his own personal efforts (well, and also the knowledge he's gained about events in all his trips across the space-time continuum) can't regain him the life he has lost, what will? Heart of Stone' is a slowly unfolding period romance between a vampire and his inimitably devoted clerk: lushly depicted in flowing, lovingly appended prose, we follow the slow understanding these two men grasp of one another, and the cross of their two worlds into each other's.

But the shadows of my past haunted me, making me afraid to explore the possibilities I could never before have imagined. The year is 1764, and following a glowing recommendation from his last employer, Henry Coffey, vampire, takes on a new personal secretary: young Theophilus Essex. I can go on and on about how great this series was, how the authors took it to the next level, how, if you are patient, you will grow along with Rem in his journey to correct things, to see the truth and come face to face with that and God, but...READ THIS SERIES!There’s nothing better than a series that keeps you on your toes, and The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone does exactly that! It’s the perfect, stunning conclusion to Rembrandt Stone’s story. After five hops through time where Stone struggles to solve cold cases and fix the world around him, his story wraps up here – and it won’t happen in the way that you expect. I’ve taken a few days off before writing my final review on this book because I just had to gather all of my thoughts together. The story is well written and fast-paced filled with the characters I am now familiar with. I am rooting for Eve and Rem and their epic love story. Time travel is always an interesting literary device and I wish there was a little bit more explanation about how it all works but I think the authors did their best to explain it in an understandable manner. Theophilus is an accomplished artist and I loved how art and his artwork in particular factored in. This leads to one of the most meaningful gifts I’ve ever seen in romance. He gives Henry a book of drawings of all the people in his life, from friends to servants to acquaintances. However, he does not include his self-portrait—doesn’t even think of it—and is floored when Henry asks him why not. I SWOONED. I want an illustrated version so we can see all of his drawings. But the descriptions (similar to alt text on social media images) were very effective.

Readers are encouraged to start with the first book, Cast the First Stone, as each book builds on the previous book. The story itself was good so it could’ve worked perfectly without the racism. I just don’t understand why this author felt the need to destroy his work. Overall, I would not recommend reading this book.

The use of AI as the center MacGuffin in the movie feels quite timely, especially now that there is so much talk about Artificial Intelligence and its benefit or harm to society and how the technology may ultimately replace us and actually destroy the value of human labor. So, is ‘Heart of Stone’ based on a true story, a book, or anything similar? Basically, this series is a whole trip and each book has put me through the wringer, but (heaven help me) each one has been worth it. And this last one? The one that wraps up our time with Rem and Eve and Booker and Burke and Shelby and Arthur and all the cold cases and that one truly awful bad person? It is *chef's kiss* perfection. This is how it's done, folks. This book. This story. I have been trying to put all the pieces together since book one. I mean how in the world was Rembrandt going to get his happy ending? And would it look the same as the very beginning? It's extremely hard to talk about this installment of the book, well any of them honestly, without giving spoilers. So, I'll just say this - this ending was better than I could have imagined. I mean, there were moments I was barely breathing, but for good reason. The way the characters were all brought together, how the bad guys were found, the story behind why everything had happened, and even a surprise twist that I just kind of sat there for awhile smiling about.

It shows how independent publishing can support a wider range of story structures. I think it would be hard (not impossible, but challenging) to get a traditional publisher to go for something with this low level of drama, but it's sweet, intimate, and perfect in its way. Historical/paranormal with neurodivergent gays in love, and so much goddamn yearning (I only wished for more time when they were actually together but like!!! Excellent anyway). I love Theophilus Essex so much 😭💕

You guys, do NOT miss this story... this series! It's incredible and will always be one of my all time favorites!!