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    REVIEW: GhosTV by Jordan Castillo Price

    9688919

    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.

    Image result for glomp gif

    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 here

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Face To Face On High Places
    Artist: School of Seven Bells
    Album: Alpinisms

  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Badlands by Morgan Brice

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    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 here

    I 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 bits

    Soundtrack: Psychic City (Voodoo City)
    Artist: Yacht
    Album: See Mystery Lights

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    REVIEW: Camp Hell by Jordan Castillo Price

    6003542

    Psycop: Camp Hell – Jordan Castillo Price

    Victor Bayne honed his dubious psychic skills at one of the first psych training facilities in the country, Heliotrope Station, otherwise known as Camp Hell to the psychics who’ve been guests behind its razorwire fence.

    Vic discovered that none of the people he remembers from Camp Hell can be found online, and there’s no mention of Heliotrope Station itself, either. Someone’s gone through a lot of trouble to bury the past. But who? 

    Normally I don’t like book covers with models because they tend to be cringe-inducing but I liked this book model. Even before I started reading Psycop, I thought he was perfect as Victor Bayne. JCP’s book models are almost always on point. Also, Gomez Pugh’s narration is the best!

    Anyway, when Vic was 23, he sported DMs, mohawk and safety pin piercings. Love it!. His boyfriend at the time was Stefan Russell who I dubbed Boy George because of his teased hair and makeup. When Vic got out of Camp Hell and became a psycop, he never looked back. After some research, Stefan resurfaced, reinventing himself as Steven Russeau, an empath specializing in counselling rich housewives and corporate types. I didn’t warm up to the guy. Although he seemed concerned about Vic’s panic attacks and succeeded in helping him deal with it somewhat, I suspected there was a catch somewhere. As to Jacob meeting the ex part, it’s a good thing that JCP wisely steered away from petty jealousies. Jacob met Stefan and deemed him a decent guy. But if I am okay with a Jacob+Vic+Crash threeway, Stefan would be no, just no to Boy George.

    Via Stefan’s hypnosis therapy, Vic revisited his memories of Camp Hell which was something like a college dorm slash medical facility slash science lab, the lab rats being young psychics. Vic was in his rebellious state, messing with his tests, sneaking up with Stefan to get high and have sex, stealing food from the kitchen, and getting involved in other shenanigans until the new guy in charge put his foot down and made their lives hell. He was as good a prisoner in the facility with almost no control over what they did to him. I know it was one of the worst periods of his life but the Camp Hell experience was actually kind of fun to read about and I would love a Psycop spin-off featuring young Vic.

    I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the flashbacks of him was doing it with Stefan because I kept thinking he should be with Jacob dammit! but the Camp Hell memories had some answers he was waiting for. Although I said reading about the place was fun, being trapped in a mental facility with no one believing your sanity is a big fear of mine. So I could understand why Vic had panic attacks every time he remembers the place.

    This installment is one of my favorites. There were major character developments and revelations. Vic faced his past, put it behind him and came to terms with himself. Meanwhile, Jacob discovered abilities he never knew he had. How these abilities play out in the succeeding books is something I am looking forward to. I think this marks a new chapter in Vic and Jacob’s life. 

    Now, about that ghost tv…

    P.S.

    Review of Psycop books here.
    Review of JCP books here

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits 

    Soundtrack: Mental Hell
    Artist: Ramones
    Album: Animal Boy

    (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6003542-camp-hell)

  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Secrets by Jordan Castillo Price

    Psycop: Secrets – Jordan Castillo Price

    Victor Bayne’s job as a PsyCop involves tracking down dead people and getting them to spill their guts about their final moments. It’s never been fun, per se. But it’s not usually this annoying.

    Vic has just moved in with his boyfriend Jacob, he can’t figure out where anything’s packed, and his co-worker is pressuring him to have a housewarming party. Can’t a guy catch a break?

    On a more sinister note, Vic discovers there’s absolutely no trace of him online. No trace of anyone else who trained at “Camp Hell,” either. Everyone Vic knows has signed a mysterious set of papers to ensure his “privacy.” The contracts are so confidential that even Vic has never heard of them. But Jacob might have.

    What other secrets has Jacob been keeping?

    Secrets is notable for the disturbing sexual assault case that affected Jacob badly, Jacob acting cold towards Vic, Vic realizing he doesn’t exist on the internet, him in a jealous rage upon learning Jacob’s secret visits to Crash and then Vic subsequently discovering his own exhibitionist streak. This is also the installment that completely sold me on Vic and Jacob.

    While I do like most Psycop characters, it took me a while to be 100% into Vic and Jacob as a couple.

    Normally Jacob is all over Vic and is being his Mr. Perfect self. I think this might be the first time I have seen Jacob being distant towards Vic. When Vic stormed in, I was ready to see Jacob lose it but the way he handled it so calmly and showing his vulnerable side I finally understood why they’re perfect for each other. Also Jacob staring at Vic with “goo-goo eyes”.

    It never failed to amuse me that Vic is both insecure and strongly attracted to Crash, punk, empath, Jacob’s ex, also potential friend whether Vic wants to admit it or not. Crash, being psychic and audacious, knew all about it and took every opportunity to flirt and shamelessly drop innuendos because he loves to push Vic’s buttons. If this ends up a three way, I’d be the last to complain. I like Crash.

    All throughout the series, Vic tries to forget Camp Hell existed because the whole experience was a nightmare for him. This time, he tried doing research about the place, even asking Zigler for help. Vic, not the most tech-savvy person in the house, was shocked to discover that Camp Hell, officially known as Camp Heliotrope, might indeed be a figment of his imagination because he couldn’t find it anywhere online. He was disturbed to know that there was no information about him and his fellow inmates on the internet. He was angry to learn that people never mentioned this to him  and he didn’t take it well. My dear Victor, why didn’t it ever occur to you to google your name all these years?    

    The series is from Vic’s POV and we, more or less, know how he thinks by now. However he has always been hazy about his past and there were only tidbits of information to explain why he is the way he is, most of which is related to some trauma regarding mental institutions and psych wards. There were also hints that Vic might be a more powerful medium than his current level 5 category and I wouldn’t be surprise if he is indeed more powerful because he is the type who will intentionally half-ass his tests. This is a pretty exciting development! It’s about time Vic face his past and learn how to properly use his abilities rather his usual “hit-or-miss style”.

    It’s time to resurrect deeply buried ghosts. Yep, Camp Hell is next. Hey! Ho! Let’s go!

    P.S.

    Review of Psycop books here.

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits 

    Soundtrack: All Secrets Known
    Artist: Alice in Chains
    Album: Black Gives Way to Blue

    (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5260437-secrets)

  • book,  Uncategorized

    Psycop: Body and Soul – Jordan Castillo Price

    Thanksgiving can’t end too soon for Victor Bayne, who’s finding Jacob’s family hard to swallow. Luckily, he’s called back to work to track down a high-profile missing person.

    Meanwhile, Jacob tries to find a home they can move into that’s not infested–with either cockroaches, or ghosts. As if the house-hunting isn’t stressful enough, Vic’s new partner Bob Zigler doesn’t seem to think he can do anything right. A deceased junkie with a bone to pick leads Vic and Zig on a wild chase that ends in a basement full of horrors.

    Took me two tries before I got Body and Soul right. In the first try, Vic’s pill popping is so off-putting and I was like, I didn’t want to read about a junkie. Second try succeeded because I had a change of perspective and told myself Vic is taking meds and everybody takes one or two to keep going. Heck, even I got my own daily maintenance. So I’m sorry, Vic.

    Victor Bayne is a person with a difficult personality. He’s neurotic, socially awkward and has a lot of bad memories of psych-wards just waiting to be triggered. That’s not to say he’s not without his charm because Jacob Marks is head over heels in love with him. And I personally love Vic’s bland attitude towards most things. That and his commentaries.

    Jacob is looking for a place they could both move into, someplace free of ghosts. Vic is sure there must be a place somewhere in a city as big as Chicago. Turns out it’s harder to find one than they think. Major points to Jacob for having the patience of a saint and for indulging Vic.

    Also I was listening to this in the small hours of the morning, which is the prime time for anxieties and dark thoughts. I was fervently hoping my subconscious do not pick up on the images of dead people with half their heads attached or those nasty voodooed things Vic and Zig found in the basement. What my stupid brain projected in my sleep was that of a toddler with hideous features and bendy limbs. Must be that ghost baby in Vic’s laundry room. Good job creeping me out, JCP!

    Despite their ,IMO, rather abrupt start, Vic and Jacob’s relationship is going extremely well. Jacob is still the image of a perfect (sometimes too perfect) boyfriend but I’m cottoning on to the idea that there are good, dependable boyfriends in the world and one of them happens to love Vic. Also, I enjoyed tagging along with Vic and Zig in their investigation and it looks like Vic is starting to like Zigler as his partner. Zig’s a good guy so I hope he sticks around.

    Yay! I am finally getting the hang of Psycop and I’m in it for the long haul.

    P.S.

    What on earth happened to Lisa?

    Nonsensical comments on book 1, Among the Living here
    Blathers on book 2, Criss Cross here

    Rating: 
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits 

    Soundtrack: Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead
    Artist: Cannibal Corpse
    Album: The Bleeding

    (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6978605-body-and-soul)

  • book,  Uncategorized

    Psycop: Criss Cross – Jordan Castillo Price

    Criss Cross finds the ghosts surrounding Victor getting awfully pushy. The medications that Victor usually takes to control his abilities are threatening to destroy his liver, and his new meds aren’t any more effective than sugar pills.

    Vic is also adjusting to a new PsyCop partner, a mild-mannered guy named Roger with all the personality of white bread. At least he’s willing to spring for the Starbucks.

    Jacob’s ex-boyfriend, Crash, is an empathic healer who might be able to help Victor pull his powers into balance, but he seems more interested in getting into Victor’s pants than in providing any actual assistance.

    I know most people are squee-ing over the romance but up until now, I still don’t understand what Jacob sees in Victor. I get the protective streak, pill-popping Victor is high most times and tends to to get into trouble but he’s a mess and seems to bring nothing into the relationship. Is it a wish fulfillment thing? Because this could have been done more convincingly with a bit of depth and background information.

    I also don’t know why Vic kept thinking about how gay something is, like do straight guys eat salad, that sort of thing. It’s kind of stupid.

    Not to say I didn’t enjoy the audiobook. I do like Gomez Pugh’s voices for both Vic and Jacob as well as Vic’s commentaries apart from the one mentioned above. The mystery wasn’t that deep but it kept me listening. And we have Crash, Jacob’s ex. Crash is interesting enough in his own right without the Jacob connection and I am vaguely entertaining a Vic + Crash hook up because Jacob is perfect the way computer simulations are perfect.

    Rating
    3.5 Stars – that place between like and love

    Soundtrack: Walking with a Ghost
    Artist: Tegan and Sara
    Album: So Jealous

    (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5260435-criss-cross)

  • book,  Uncategorized

    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)

  • book,  Uncategorized

    The Community: Sightlines – Santino Hassell

    Chase Payne is a walking contradiction. He’s the most powerful psychic in the Community, but the least respected. He’s the son of the Community’s founder, but with his tattoo sleeves and abrasive attitude, he’s nothing like his charismatic family. No one knows what to make of him, which is how he wound up locked in a cell on the Farm yet again. But this time, the only man he’s ever loved is there too.

    Elijah Estrella was used to being the sassy sidekick who fooled around with Chase for fun. But that was before he realized the Community wasn’t the haven he’d believed in and Chase was the only person who’d ever truly tried to protect him. Now they’re surrounded by people who want to turn them against their friends, and the only way out is to pretend the brainwashing works.

    With Chase playing the role of a tyrant’s second-in-command, and Elijah acting like Chase’s mindless sex toy, they risk everything by plotting a daring escape. In the end, it’s only their psychic abilities, fueled by their growing love for each other, that will allow them to take the Community down once and for all.

    I always pictured Chase as Billy Idol, Generation X era. 

    image

    Young Adam G. Sevani as Elijah: 

    image

    Oh no! I wasn’t feeling the Chase-Elijah merger. I like Chase and Elijah’s being his sassy twink self but their combination wasn’t working. Now, I see why some reviewers say the same thing. The “Elijah’s in love with Holden” issue was so stupid and unconvincing that I couldn’t believe it went on for three quarters of the book despite all the declarations from both Elijah and Chase. I could understand the reluctance to express feelings but I draw the line on the willfully stubborn.

    This being book three I expected grand things, like major showdowns which I have been expecting since book one but the climactic scenes were a letdown. The rescue scenes lacked action and it seemed like the major villains had the easy way out. Again, total waste of superpowers.

    If there was anything that the book succeed in doing it’s that it painted a good picture of the nightmare that is The Farm. Torture, human experimentation, drugging and rape, these are just a few of the horrors inflicted upon helpless psychics. Which is why I would have wanted to see harsher, nastier punishments for Jasper and Richard.

    I feel conflicted. I wanted to like this but unfortunately  I was bored with the most of the story which again involved a lot of talks about things I could listen to with only half of my brain engaged and the other half playing mahjong and still not miss anything important. It lacked the chemistry of Holden and Six’s book but had, at the very least, the dry wit of Nate and Trent’s conversations. It suffered from the non-issues that could have been resolved sooner had Chase and Elijah just talked properly. It did give a nice vision at the end where everyone came together like a family. So, while I didn’t hate the book, I didn’t quite like it either.

    Rating
    2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a like

    Soundtrack: Ill in the Head
    Artist: Dead Kennedys
    Album: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

    (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30364806-sightlines)

  • book,  Uncategorized

    The Community: Oversight – Santino Hassell

    Spoiler Alert! The following blurb contains spoilers for Insight, book one of The Community.

    Holden Payne has it all … or so he thinks. As heir to the founder of the Community—an organization that finds, protects, and manages psychics—he’s rich, powerful, and treated like royalty. But after a series of disappearances and murders rock the Community, he’s branded the fall guy for the scandal and saddled with a babysitter.

    Sixtus Rossi is a broad-shouldered, tattooed lumbersexual with a man-bun and a steely gaze. He’s also an Invulnerable—supposedly impervious to both psychic abilities and Holden’s charms. It’s a claim Holden takes as a challenge. Especially if sleeping with Six may help him learn whether the Community had more to do with the disappearances than they claimed.

    As Holden uncovers the truth, he also finds himself getting in deep with the man sent to watch him. His plan to seduce Six for information leads to a connection so intense that some of Six’s shields come crashing down. And with that comes a frightening realization: Holden has to either stand by the Community that has given him everything, or abandon his old life to protect the people he loves. 

    Last we know of Holden, he left a cut-off message on Nate’s voicemail begging for help to look for Chase. Oversight covers the aftermath of the Evolution debacle and after Nate and Trent left. Holden was assigned a handler by his father. The handler was Sixtus, a former juvenile delinquent psychic turn security guard for The Farm. Six was an Invulnerable, a psychic with an impenetrable shield, placed in the position of Holden’s babysitter as he was supposedly immune to psychic influence and seduction. Well, we all know where this is going.

    I could definitely say this is a much better book than Insight. First, there were less info-dumping and more character development. 

    On the surface, Holden seems to be a typical privileged rich man’s son but he proved to be smarter than he looks.

    As he realized the less than savory side of the CW, he struggled to reconcile what he know of The Farm and The Com and the reality of everything. Nonetheless, it was clear from the start that his heart was in the right place even if he didn’t know it until Six told him. Six was an enigma at first and 

    I didn’t know how Holden and Six’s combination would work but Holden’s a seductive little bastard and Six has a secret connection to Holden so it did, quite magnificently.

    The pacing was fast and the writing was tight. The only let down was at the rescue scenes where I felt they were talking too much it was a wonder they didn’t all get caught. That and there was not much super power action.

    With Santino Hassell dropping X-men references here and there, I am still hoping for an epic psychic vs psychic showdown. Come on, don’t waste all that cool superpowers, Santino. Jasper, the super villain did make an appearance. The dude just ooze so much evil he left a cold blast of arctic winds in his wake. I also think Greg Bordeaux knocked it again out of the park with his narration, especially that short scene with Chase. 

    Oversight was a well-written take on psychics and a vast improvement on the first book. It ended with a typical book 2 cliffhanger but has  nonetheless a nicely resolved conclusion. I think this is why people love Santino Hassell in general and The Community series in particular. Highly recommended! 

    Rating:
    4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

    Soundtrack: Reflections
    Artist: Cast
    Album: All Change

    (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30364801-oversight)

  • book,  Uncategorized

    18949069

    Tyack & Frayne: Tinsel Fish – Harper Fox

    Christmas in a Cornish seaside town, bright lights and a hot new romance to ward off the winter storms… What could be finer? But Gideon and Lee’s first festive season together is shockingly interrupted when Lee tries to rid a client’s home of a malevolent presence. The ritual goes wrong, and in its aftermath Lee is strangely altered. As well as dealing with the changes in his lover, Gideon has a sinister thread to follow, linking the haunted house with disappearances among the homeless people of Falmouth.

    Can love withstand what looks like a case of possession? As the darkest night of the year comes down, Gideon finds himself locked in a battle to restore his lover’s soul.

    Someday, I’ll go to London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cornwall and all these places I have read about and make a pilgrimage to sites mentioned in books like Camlet Moat, Gretna Green or a desolate moor.

    The second book of the Tyack and Frayne series had Lee attempt to do a sort of cleansing and ended up not being himself. The result was a riotous scene where he picked a fight at a restaurant and ended up being hauled away like a sack of potatoes by Gideon. That was the best and one of the very few highlights of the book for me. The rest of the book was flat and uninteresting but those into steam would be glad that Lee and Gid had a lot of smexy time together.

    Another thing of note is the appearance of Gideon’s brother Ezekiel and Lee ‘s meeting with Gideon’s parents. There was also a nice follow up on the Kemp kid’s situation and Isolde had more page time but all of these were not enough to save the book. I think I couldn’t be arsed to read the rest of the series anymore but a visit to Cornwall is still in order.

    Rating:

    2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn book 

    Soundtrack: Faded from the Winter
    Artist: Iron & Wine
    Album: The Creek Drank the Cradle

    (source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18949069-tinsel-fish)