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REVIEW: GhosTV by Jordan Castillo Price
Psycop: GhosTV – Jordan Castillo Price
For the past dozen years, Victor Bayne has solved numerous murders by interrogating witnesses only he can see—dead witnesses. But when his best friend Lisa goes missing from the sunny California campus of PsyTrain, the last thing he wants to find there is her spirit.
Disappearing without a trace in a school full of psychics? That’s some trick. But somehow both Lisa and her roommate have vanished into thin air. A group of fanatics called Five Faith has been sniffing around, and Lisa’s email is compromised.
Time is running out, and with no ghosts to cross-examine, Vic can’t afford to turn down any offers of help. An old enemy can provide an innovative way to track Vic’s missing friend, and he enters into an uneasy alliance—even though its ultimate cost will ensnare him in a debt he may never manage to settle.
Screw Lisa, I want to be Victor Bayne’s bestfriend!
The book starts with Vic getting a haircut from Crash. His hair now looked ridiculously good. I’m a sucker for guys with great hair, I wanted to glomp him.
That would annoy the hell out of him but if I am in trouble, he’ll save my life anyway.
Also as your bestfriend, Vic. I say quit this athletic bullshit. I’d give my right hand to be as naturally skinny as you.
Vic continues to be AWESOME and walked the astral plane like the “so far beyond level 5 it’s not even funny” medium that he is. Loved that Jacob also gets in on some psychic action as well. The two men are so deeply connected, they take OTP to a whole new level. At this point, I don’t even care if they don’t get married at all. That candy cane cord says they’re solid no matter what plane they are on.
Maybe because he gets to hang around longer but I’m starting to warm up to Dreyfuss. Still, he remains dodgy till the end. As for Lisa, even with the power of si/no, she still gets into some deep shit. She and her roommate were nowhere to be found and someone is going around making people disappear. The only reason I care about this at all is that Vic and Jacob were investigating. The villain in this installment is among the creepiest in the series, someone who is as powerful as Vic, sees oneself as crazy and can rip a person from their reality. Also, we get a blast from the past. Faun Winsome resurfaces with a different name and the same bossy, know it all attitude that had endeared her to no one. Among Vic’s Camp Hell batchmates, only Richie seemed the most innocuous.
GhosTV clocked in at 12+ hours, most of it spend in the PsyTrain Institute where Vic and Jacob attended lectures on astral walking 101 and tinkered with the ghostv. Doesn’t sound very exciting at all if I say it like that but this book upped the ante even more. The mystery and succeeding investigations peeled many layers off the overarching thread, revealed more details about the different psychic abilities, entangled Vic and Jacob deeper into FPMP business and caused major AND shocking life-changing decisions. Vic continues to be one of the most enjoyable first person narrators and this is the most powered up I’ve seen him so far. He’ll never admit it, not even if Crash dyes his hair green, but I think he had fun.
P.S.
review of Psycop books here
review of JCP’s books hereRating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Face To Face On High Places
Artist: School of Seven Bells
Album: Alpinisms -
SOUNDTRACK: Face to Face On High Places by School of Seven Bells
Soundtrack to Psycop: GhosTV by Jordan Castillo Price
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Flying in his dreams was an exhilarating, breathtaking experience, sometimes literally, that tended to leave reality wanting, like riding a roller coaster compared to mowing the lawn.
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MOVIE FEATURE: Postcards From London
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CREATURES OF THE NIGHT BOOK TAG
I am a big fan of the supernatural so this is my favorite book tag so far. The challenge is to pick a favorite book from the different types of creatures of the night.
Creatures of the Night Book Tag was borrowed from Dreamland Book Blog
Vampire
review here A most enjoyable and squee-tastic merger of human, drakul and exorcist. Gray, the drakul, is a cinammon roll. I never wanted him exorcised. Caleb and John’s chemistry sizzled. Add Gray to the mix and they’re a veritable thunderstorm.
Honorable mention:
review here Werewolf
review here The Bennett pack. They break my heart but I howl with them.
Honorable mention:
Zombie
review here One of the best Frankenstein’s monster-inspired stories.
“I like you.”
“Even though—”
“Yes. Just as you care for me, even though.”Gets me every time…
Ghost
review here We started on a rough patch but now I am unequivocally behind this sarcastic ghost talker detective and his dirty talking detective boyfriend.
Honorable Mention:
review here Witch/Warlock/Spellcaster
Whyborne AND Stephen Day AND Randolph Glyde. I’m sorry
not sorrybut it has to be all of them in a three-way tie.W&G review here
A Charm of Magpies review here
Spectred Isle review hereFairy/Fae
review here A beautiful cover and a charming Edwardian setting made this one of my most anticipated books. It didn’t fully live up to my expectations, but it was still magical.
Honorable Mention:
review here Demon
review here So you sold your soul to the devil. Now the devil is asking for a favor in exchange for getting your soul back. How far will you go?
Isn’t this the most fun anthology prompt ever?
Honorable Mention:
review here Angel
review here Love the story’s retro noir vibe. Charles Grimes and Tenrael’s dark romance was a powerful hook.
Honorable mention:
review here Alien
review here This has low ratings on GR but I find this a fun and over the top collection showcasing Andrea Speed’s brand of story telling.
Superpowered human
review here Charmed by Sean Crisden’s narration, I went in blind so Beraht and Dieter falling in love was a very unexpected but delightful sucker punch because all that squabbling until the very end, how will they even?! Still one of the best enemies-to-lovers story.
Honorable Mention:
review here If I were to choose what creature of the night I would be, I would either choose to be a Ladysmith Museum librarian, because a labyrinth of books! or a Green Man, because Randolph, Saul and the gang need all the help they can get. Also, deep, dark secrets of the British Isles. On the fence with the Judiciary, they’re cool but always overworked. All that paperwork will kill the fun out of being a practitioner!
What creature of the night would you want to be?
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MANGA: Shounen Houkokusho
Shounen Houkokusho – Machiko Madoka & Sakiya Haruhi
Harumi is living with his lover, Ryouichi, and his son, Shuu. The three of them are having a happy every-day life when someone came to talk about a marriage interview for Harumi?!
Can’t wait to see this kid when he grows up. Must be a force to be reckoned with.
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REVIEW: Ripe: Letters by Alan Semrow
Ripe: Letters – Alan Semrow
Funny, sexy, evocative, and brutally honest, Ripe is Alan Semrow’s ode to relationships with men. In this epistolary book, Semrow writes to the men who have impacted his outlook, reminded him of basic life lessons, surprised him in more ways than one, and left him reeling for days. Writing to one-night-flings, men he has never met, and men he’ll never stop running into, Semrow touches on some of the most constant human themes—love, lust, desire, and the yearning for connection. All the while, the book details a man’s journey navigating and blooming by way of the modern gay scene. Readers will find familiarity and hard truths in Semrow’s statements about the intricacy and explosiveness of the intimate moments we share.
This is a hard book to review. It is a book about connections but I wasn’t entirely connecting. Not to say this is a badly written book. Alan Semrow’s beautiful poetic voice shines through and yes, the letters were truly evocative. It is simply that I have a completely opposite personality. I am amazed at how easily his connections were made and how many people he can fall in love with. I can count in one hand the people I get along with much less be attracted to. His is not a lifestyle I envy or want to have but his openness and bravery in living the life he chose is something that resonates with me.
There are no introductions before each letter. You go from one and jump right into the next. And when you read a letter, you don’t think about the other letters. Each letter holds your attention in the same way a person of interest holds somebody’s attention
Admittedly, the letters kind of blur together and I remember events here and there but I couldn’t tell who. However, in all these affairs, true to form, the one that stood out for me was Dear Blondie, written to the guy he never met face to face and who made him laugh. It had the right combination of closeness and distance that appealed to the hikikomori in me.
Even though I might not be the right person for this book, I recommend Ripe: Letters. It captures the vibrant lifestyle and carefree promiscuity of the young, gay men. Alan wrote his letters with rawness and honesty that would draw many readers in. Many people would find this memoir enjoyable, entertaining and relatable. It is also thought-provoking book that inspired me to look at my life and think about letters I might want to write, if only in my head.
P.S.
Thank you to the author, Alan Semrow, for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: At Your Best (You Are Love)
Artist: Frank Ocean
Album: Endless -
SOUNDTRACK: At Your Best (You Are Love) by Frank Ocean
Soundtrack to Ripe: Letters by Alan Semrow
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And I’ll say this – you had me laughing. And I’d like to have you make me laugh more.
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MOVIE FEATURE: A Little Lust
