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REVIEW: Trick Roller by Cordelia Kingsbridge
Seven Of Spades: Trick Roller – Cordelia Kingsbridge
It’s the height of summer in Las Vegas. Everyone believes the serial killer Seven of Spades is dead—except Levi Abrams and Dominic Russo—and it’s back to business as usual. For Levi, that means investigating a suspicious overdose at the Mirage that looks like the work of a high-class call girl, while Dominic pursues a tough internship with a local private investigator. The one bright spot for both of them is their blossoming relationship.
But things aren’t so simple. Soon Levi is sucked into a dangerous web of secrets and lies, even as his obsession with the Seven of Spades intensifies. Dominic knows that Levi isn’t crazy. He knows the Seven of Spades is still out there, and he’ll do anything to prove it. But Dominic has his own demons to battle, and he may be fighting a losing war.
One thing is certain: the Seven of Spades holds all the cards. It won’t be long before they show their hand.
Summer is here. Dropping by Dom and Levi. It’s good to see the two are progressing rather nicely in their relationship. They are working out the kinks and I am enjoying these moments even though I know something catastrophic happened later. Fair warning: do not read the blurbs of the succeeding books. Major spoiler alert.
Maybe Dom’s ‘talent’ for lying charmingly had something to do with their issues in the next book. Here he used it for a good cause, he was making sure Levi’s apartment was safe under the pretext of cooking him dinner, so kinda okay but then coupled with his gambling addiction, this talent thing could go spiraling downward into the abyss. Don’t go there, Dom!
I’m getting way ahead. Damn that spoiler!
Fave moment: when Levi said to Dom, “Fight me.” I got the goosies.
Loved that Carlos and Jasmine had their big moment.
Trick Roller didn’t disappoint. The Seven of Spades was presumed dead by all except Levi, who was obsessed, and Dom, who discovered the SOS got their eye on him, Levi and their friends all this time. How are they pulling it off? I think Rebel knows them or else she would have reacted aggressively. Hmm…
This installment was not as fast-paced as Kill Game but still it still grabbed me and didn’t let go. I like that there’s equal focus on the crime suspense part and the romance part. Sometimes in police procedural MM, the romance part is distracting, like I feel the MCs should be doing their jobs more and do each other less. Here, Cordelia Kingsbridge was able to give Levi and Dom their quality time together without detracting from the investigation. Great execution overall.
Another thing that stood out for me with this series in general is how the author made a conscious effort to include as many female characters as possible. I’m so used to the average MM book where you get two significant female characters or three tops, usually, a bestfriend, an ex or mom. Here, majority of the supporting characters are female, even the ‘extras’, like a random forensic tech or private detective. It’s a nice change from the usual roles women typical play in MM stories. It also supports my guess as to the identity of the SOS. I know I suck at guessing the killer’s identity but maybe for once, I’m right on the money. Maybe.
The main storyline for book two is an SOS-unrelated case of a dead doctor, assumed to be a victim of a trick roller. One of the interesting aspects of the case is that the victim was universally hated by all including his wife so that it became a question of who wanted him dead the most. Martine and Levi spent a lot of time going through a list of suspects while Dom was undergoing his internship at a private detective agency, working on a cheating spouse case. Trick Roller ended with the homicide case somehow tying in with Dom’s case and the SOS. That it happened wasn’t that surprising given that the SOS was bound to make their presence felt sooner or later but how everything came together was still believable and the twists were nicely done.
Levi, Martine and Dom were also called as witnesses to the case related to the first book. That courtroom scene was super intense! I could see why people hate lawyers. Poor Levi was painted as the bad guy. Not condoning serial killings but it felt good to see the SOS put a stop to the lawyer’s bullshit right in front of the media.
I didn’t mind that it ended with a cliffhanger. All the books are released already so you can binge on the entire thing. Seven of Spades is a highly recommended series for those looking for great crime thriller reads you can sink your teeth into. The MM romance part is just cherry on top. Also, there’s an adorable dog.
Whether Rebel knows the SOS or not, I trust her to do her job but now that all bets are off, how long can Dom and Levi stay in the game?
P.S.
Trick Roller is not a standalone. I recommend reading Kill Game first, review here.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: High Roller
Artist: Scrawl
Album: Bloodsucker -
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 -
REVIEW: Badlands by Morgan Brice
Badlands – Morgan Brice
Medium and clairvoyant Simon Kincaide owns a Myrtle Beach boardwalk shop where he runs ghost tours, holds séances, and offers private psychic readings, making a fresh start after his abilities cost him his lover and his job as a folklore professor. Jaded cop Vic D’Amato saw something supernatural he couldn’t explain during a shootout several years ago in Pittsburgh and relocated to Myrtle Beach to leave the past behind, still skeptical about the paranormal. But when the search for a serial killer hits a dead end, Vic battles his skepticism to ask Simon for help. As the body count rises, Simon’s involvement makes him a target, and a suspect. But Simon can’t say no, even if it costs him his life and heart.
The blurb grabbed my attention and Badlands reminded me of Psycop by Jordan Castillo Price with a teensy wee bit of that Whyborne & Griffin and The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal vibe. It has the same paranormal/urban fantasy/romance blend as the other series but it has it’s own distinct flavor that is just as interesting.
Although, I was neutral about the romance part at first. But I was also like that with Vic and Jacob from Psycop and now I couldn’t get enough of the two. So the romance. Simon is cute, Vic D’Amato is good looking, they met, sparks flew, one couldn’t get the other out of their mind and so on. Nothing we haven’t seen before until Simon was dragged into the precinct and Vic wasn’t there to back him up. The look on Simon’s face and Vic helpless on the other side of the glass , I was feeling that moment. Hang on, guys!
What really carried the entire book was the unputdownable murder mystery mixed in with the supernatural. As if a serial killer isn’t bad enough, we get a serial killer stealing psychic energies and gaining magical powers from each kill. Although the suspense and mystery kept me turning the page, it wasn’t as tight as I would have liked because the two men’s thoughts kept circling back to each other which was kind of minimized tension from the build-up. The book splits evenly between romance and the rest but I preferred it to be more detective work less thinking about getting into each others pants because people are dying here, detective.
I was in the dark as to who the killer was. I made a bad guess as usual and suspected Jay, the tattoo artist. Stupid, I know. This is why I don’t try to play detective when reading mysteries. Best to just let the whole thing unfold without preconceive notions. Simon, however, would have made a great detective if he hadn’t become a uni professor. When he got some clues, he totally ran with it and came up with a lot of breakthroughs and insider information that unfortunately made him seem like the killer. Hence, him being interrogated by Ross.
This needs to be said, but I think Ross wins the Best Partner award for not only putting up with Vic’s temper all the time, covering his ass from the Captain, being the voice of reason and a loyal friend but also doing ALL the paper work in the aftermath of the debacle. You owe him, Vic. Big time.
As for the world-building, I like how the Badlands world is set-up and that it is connected with books from Morgan Brice’s other series. Myrtle Beach is home to many people with psychic abilities, most of them untrained and keeping low key. Simon sees himself as kind of like their mentor slash caretaker. I like the idea of having a network of psychic spies and I want see the Skeleton Crew in action again in the next books.
Badlands is a strong first book of a very promising series. We have two very likable MCs, an enjoyable mystery and great setting. Morgan Brice vividly bought Myrtle Beach to life with its crowd of tourists, quirky shops and even quirkier locals. I’m definitely in for another visit.
P.S.
Psycop review here
Whyborne & Griffin review here
The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal review hereI received a copy of Badlands from Darkwind Press via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Psychic City (Voodoo City)
Artist: Yacht
Album: See Mystery Lights -
Bad Behavior: Romantic Behavior – L.A. Witt & Cari Z
Detective Andreas Ruffner is no fool—he’s found a man who loves him, puts up with him, and has stuck with him through hell and back, and it’s time to put a ring on it. Darren Corliss is the love of his life, and he wants the whole world to know it.
Now the fun part—the wedding!
Well, after the not-so-fun part of planning the wedding in between dealing with overbearing and impossible-to-please family members. With future mothers-in-law driving them both up a wall, the guest list growing out of control, and the wedding getting ever more complicated, Darren and Andreas have to wonder if they’re in over their heads.
But they’re going to make it to the altar if it kills them … and at this rate, it just might.
YES!!!
Andreas finally found the nerve to put a ring on it but the process of getting through the preparations was as tough as one of their cases. As long as it ended up with him and Darren being married to each other, neither of them tried to complain. Everybody is happy for the couple and Emily is excited to be the flower girl but Andreas’ mother is another story.
I am ecstatic they’re making it official! After what L.A. Witt & Cari Z put them through last time, I would riot if this doesn’t end happily. Luckily Romantic Behavior gave the boys their much deserved happy ending.
CONGRATULATIONS!
P.S.
Review of Bad Behavior books here.
Review of L.A. Witt books here.Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away
Soundtrack: Milk and Black Spiders
Artist: Foals
Album: Holy Fire(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36291125-romantic-behavior)
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Seven of Spades: Kill Game – Cordelia Kingsbridge
Homicide detective Levi Abrams is barely holding his life together. He’s reeling from the fallout of a fatal shooting, and his relationship with his boyfriend is crumbling. The last thing he’s prepared for is a serial killer stalking the streets of Las Vegas. Or how he keeps getting thrown into the path of annoyingly charming bounty hunter Dominic Russo.
Dominic likes his life free of complications. That means no tangling with cops—especially prickly, uptight detectives. But when he stumbles across one of the Seven of Spades’s horrifying crime scenes, he can’t let go, despite Levi’s warnings to stay away.
The Seven of Spades is ruthless and always two moves ahead. Worst of all, they’ve taken a dangerously personal interest in Levi and Dominic. Forced to trust each other, the two men race to discover the killer’s identity, revealing hidden truths along the way and sparking a bond neither man expected. But that may not be enough to protect them.
This killer likes to play games, and the deck is not stacked in Levi and Dominic’s favor.
Pity that the narration did not do justice to how good the story is but Kill Game is a great start to the Seven of Spades series. This is a plot-driven murder mystery and a hunt for the Seven of Spades, a serial killer known for their vigilante motives.
I love the twist and turns and while I already have my suspect, Cordelia Kingsbridge did a great job keeping me guessing. There were some subtle hints and that equal opportunity comment by Levi but whether or not I’m on the money remains to be seen because at the latest count, there are already 4 books released and another one about to come out. This hunt is going to take a while and I’m here to see it through to the end.
I liked that the setting is in Las Vegas but instead of casinos and gambling which is kind of cliche, the book is mostly about the streets, the ordinary people and of course, the police. There were also strong, well-written female characters, like Martine and Natasha. Dom’s friends, Jasmine and Carlos were also very likable people and let’s not forget Rebel, Dom’s dog and loyal protector.
The romantic subplot, well…I wasn’t so gung-ho about it at first. Levi was already in a relationship and Stanton seemed like a nice guy. At least for me, he had good intentions. Levi apparently did not like how Stanton talks about Levi to his parents and makes decisions for him. Dominic has been crushing on Levi for some time now but keeps it professional. Dom won me over for being a real nice person because instead of taking advantage of Levi’s moments of weakness, he made it clear he had no intentions of being the rebound guy. He’s a gentleman through and through and he’s serious about Levi. So yeah, I’m in their corner now.
Cordelia Kingsbridge is a new-to-me author and she didn’t disappoint. Kill Game has a great cast, very well-executed mystery and nicely developed romance. The red herrings were conclusive and the resolution felt satisfying but Dom and Levi were not convinced. The cards are reshuffled and the game is still on.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits
Soundtrack: Arcarsenal
Artist: At the Drive-In
Album: Relationship of Command(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35138461-kill-game)
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Whyborne & Griffin: Balefire – Jordan L. Hawk
Whyborne’s Endicott relatives have returned to collect on the promise he made to help them take back their ancestral manor from an evil cult. In exchange, they’ll give him the key to deciphering the Wisborg Codex, which Whyborne needs to learn how to stop the masters.
To that end, Whyborne, his husband Griffin, and their friends Iskander and Christine travel to a small island off the coast of Cornwall. But when they arrive at Balefire Manor, Whyborne must not only face the evil within the ancient mansion, but the painful truth about his own destiny.
I can’t believe we’re almost at the end…
It has been quite a ride and ten books in, I’m still feeling the thrill. In fact, I think Balefire is the best book yet!
Reading the previous installments is definitely a must and I strongly recommend the Whyborne & Griffin series for those into paranormal historical because this is one of the best series out there.
Balefire has our quartet, Whyborne and his husband Griffin, Iskander and Christine, traveling across the Pond to help the Endicotts take back their mansion in exchange for the key to the Wisborg Codex. I love that the story almost instantly gets into the action with some major laugh out loud moments to break the tension. And there is tension aplenty. Whyborne and friends do not trust the Endicotts, the Endicotts consider Whyborne an abomination and the ketoi are making demands.
Hell yeah, Christine! Our girl is in dire need of sustenance. In her condition, she’s craving for lemons but she’s still fighting monsters in that devil may care badass way of hers. I’m also glad to see Heliabel has a major role in the story as Persephone’s emissary. The Whyborne Matriarch can fight as ferociously as the best of them.
The romance was not the focus in this installment but that is understandable. Saving the world took precedence and I greatly approved the fact that Jordan L. Hawk did not push the usual romance conflicts as Whyborne and Griffin are already married and it would be tiresome if they go through big misunderstandings or almost break ups every time. Instead we are treated with tender moments that speak volumes of the deep love between the two. Even Iskander and Christine had their moments.
Jordan L. Hawk did a great job connecting all the threads and then amping up the volume by introducing another interesting magic system, having Whyborne do more mindblowing spells and just generally making things more action- packed and fast-paced.
The author not only made good use of Lovecraftian mythos but she was also able to deftly include Arthurian legends to the mix.
Our favorite bad guy from the Outside made his appearance and he is still bent on making Whyborne surrender. Whyborne, stubborn man that he is, is holding his ground with some help from an ancient being. Although it still seems we are not any closer to seeing these Masters, I am already feeling the excitement of the final showdown.
And now for some burning questions:
How would Widdershins be now that the Endicotts are in town? What would their lives be like when our quartet becomes a quintet? What would Whyborne find in the Wisborg Codex? And who would survive the battle with the Masters?
The adventures of Whyborne, Griffin, and their friends will conclude in
Deosil, Whyborne & Griffin Book 11.Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfectSoundtrack: Long & Lost
Artist: Florence + the Machine
Album: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40281878-balefire)
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PsyCop: Among the Living by Jordan Castillo Price
Victor Bayne, the psychic half of a PsyCop team, is a gay medium who’s more concerned with flying under the radar than in making waves.
He hooks up with handsome Jacob Marks, a non-psychic (or “Stiff”) from an adjacent precinct at his ex-partner’s retirement party and it seems like his dubious luck has taken a turn for the better. But then a serial killer surfaces who can change his appearance to match any witness’ idea of the world’s hottest guy.
Solving murders is a snap when you can ask the victims whodunit, but this killer’s not leaving any spirits behind.
A lingering-on-my to-be-read-pile book that turned out to be passable but barely.
An audiobook-narrator-kept-me-going story with a mildly interesting take on psychics doing detective work that couldn’t hold my full attention.
An I-see-dead-people urban fantasy with good potential for more stories (and it has more, a lot more) but didn’t really break new grounds.
A mostly-physical hookup I wasn’t invested in until…
“It was you, Vic.”
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it
Soundtrack: To Repel Ghosts
Artist: Manic Street Preachers
Album: Lifeblood(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5603414-among-the-living)
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Sins of the Cities: An Unsuitable Heir – K.J. Charles
A private detective finds passion, danger, and the love of a lifetime when he hunts down a lost earl in Victorian London.
On the trail of an aristocrat’s secret son, enquiry agent Mark Braglewicz finds his quarry in a music hall, performing as a trapeze artist with his twin sister. Graceful, beautiful, elusive, and strong, Pen Starling is like nobody Mark’s ever met—and everything he’s ever wanted. But the long-haired acrobat has an earldom and a fortune to claim.
Pen doesn’t want to live as any sort of man, least of all a nobleman. The thought of being wealthy, titled, and always in the public eye is horrifying. He likes his life now—his days on the trapeze, his nights with Mark. And he won’t be pushed into taking a title that would destroy his soul.
But there’s a killer stalking London’s foggy streets, and more lives than just Pen’s are at risk. Mark decides he must force the reluctant heir from music hall to manor house, to save Pen’s neck. Betrayed by the one man he thought he could trust, Pen never wants to see his lover again. But when the killer comes after him, Pen must find a way to forgive—or he might not live long enough for Mark to make amends.
An Unsuitable Heir is the conclusion of the Sins of the Cities series. Following the events of the second book, An Unnatural VIce, Pen and Mark’s story starts with Mark discovering the identity of the Godfrey twins and Pen and Mark hooking up. Pen was soon introduced as the missing earl much to the consternation of the remaining Taillefer family members. Because the killer was still at large, Pen and Greta were sent to live in Crowmarsh for their safety but it seems the killer followed them there.
Pen is what modern people call gender queer at a time when the Western world couldn’t even begin to accept homosexuality. Working as a trapeze artist with Greta lets him be himself. He and Mark just clicked right away. I really like Mark’s open-minded pansexual attitude and how he and Pen fit together quite nicely.
“Serves you right. I roll you cross-eyed and you tell me you’re not fussy?”
“I’m not,” Mark said. “I told you from the start, mate. I like men, I like women, I like whoever, however they want to be—as long as it’s you. That’s the only thing in the world I’m picky about.” He smiled into Pen’s eyes, saw him smile back. “But I’m a bloody stickler for that.”Greta also found her happily ever after with Tim who I mistakenly suspect as the killer. That was really stupid of me. Tim is likable if nondescript and I like his blase attitude towards men kissing men.
I wasn’t really over the moon with the romance. They were OK but what kept me reading were the mystery and the family scandals. K.J. Charles called the trilogy her “total Victorian sensation fiction, channelling my love for Wilkie Collins, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Dickens in his wilder moods, and the other glorious writers of complicated plots with scandals, secrets and shenanigans up the wazoo“. A Victorian soap opera it is and with superb voice acting from Matthew Lloyd Davis, I felt like I was in on the action. His delivery of old man Desmond was really spot on.
One major conflict in the book is Pen’s dilemma. If he becomes an earl he had to cut his hair, wear a suit and be confined to what society considers to be a man. But then he cannot just throw his inheritance away and ruin his future along with Greta’s. Half of me wanted Pen to be the earl while half of me want him to be a trapeze artist hence the resolution was moderately satisfying but not as clever as Society of Gentlemen. The big reveal didn’t reveal anything too shocking. It was more of a confirmation of things that happened in all the three books. In the end, I think Justin Lazarus stole the show.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Body was Made
Artist: Ezra Furman
Album: Perpetual Motion People(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33841918-an-unsuitable-heir)
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Cronin’s Key: Cronin’s Key II – N.R. Walker
History isn’t always what it seems.
With the battle of Egypt behind them, Alec and Cronin are enjoying the thrill of new love. Though fate doesn’t wait long before throwing them back into the world of weird.
They know Alec’s blood is special, though its true purpose still eludes them. And given Alec’s inability to be changed into a vampire, Cronin is free to drink from him at will. But the ramifications of drinking such powerful blood starts a ripple effect.
With the help of Jorge, a disturbing vampire-child with the gift of foresight, Alec and Cronin face a new kind of war. This time their investigations lead them to the borders of China and Mongolia—but it’s not what lies in the pits beneath that worries Alec.
It’s the creator behind it all.
In the underground depths of China, amidst a war with the Terracotta Army, they will find out just what the Key is, and what Alec means to the vampire world.
Well, it went downhill, didn’t it. Book 1 charmed me with major USTs, Gaelic endearments, multitude of accents and Egyptology. Book 2, unfortunately, turned into a boring fuckfest between Cronin and Alec. It didn’t help that the other vampires were listening in all the time and Eiji kept laughing at them. If book 1 was well-paced if info-dumpy, here I could feel the drag. So much so that I no longer care about the big mystery of Alec’s blood. All the Gaelic endearments in the world couldn’t save this one for me. DNF.
Rating
2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn bookSoundtrack: Every Weekday
Artist: Camera Obscura
Album: Desire Lines(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25429279-cronin-s-key-ii)
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Whyborne & Griffin: Draakenwood – Jordan L. Hawk
Someone is killing members of the old families…and the evidence points to Whyborne.
Widdershins has been unusually quiet for months. But now a mysterious creature from the Outside is on the loose, assassinating members of the town’s old families by draining their blood. Whyborne and Griffin set out to solve the mystery—but as the evidence piles up, the police begin to suspect Whyborne himself is the murderer.
Now Whyborne must both clear his name and stop the horrors the monster threatens to unleash. His only hope: an alliance with his old enemies the Endicotts.
Because something terrible lurks in the Draakenwood, and it will stop at nothing to seize control of the maelstrom itself.
Draakenwood is the ninth book in the Whyborne & Griffin series, where magic, mystery, and m/m romance collide with Victorian era America.
Niles apparently likes giving Griffin gifts. That Niles accepts Griffin as Whyborne’s husband and treats him as such are major points in his favor and I’m glad he and Whyborne are getting along albeit grudgingly.
Miss Parkhurst and Persephone’s relationship was finally revealed to Whyborne and it is one of the funniest scenes in the book. That Miss Parkhurst finally had major page time was long overdue and well-deserved.
Detective Tilton is another recurring character I like. That he knows how things work in Widdershins and what’s going on between Whyborne and Griffin but kept it to himself makes him a good ally.
Iskander meets somebody who has connections with his mother. That he had to have a fight about it with Christine was a pity but I’m glad that he, like Griffin, found a true home and family.
Whyborne and Persephone work in tandem to do some awesome mindblowing magic. That it was Stanford who…, well…why is it always Stanford?
Draakenwood gripped me from the start. I really like it when the focus is Widdershins and I have always been curious about the Old Families. Here, the Fidelus plot was continued and Endicott cousins show up. Personally I’m hoping these long awaited masters would make their appearance already. But, as expected of the series, we’re in for a lot of action and nail biting moments in between moments of romance and comedy. This is already book 9 and I’m still as excited about this series as I was when I started. That it ended with a cliffhanger promises of more W&G goodness to come.
Rating
4.5 – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Bad Blood
Artist: Royal Trux
Album:(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33506227-draakenwood)
