-
REVIEW: The Shabti by Megaera C. Lorenz
The Shabti – Megaera C. Lorenz
Can you flimflam a ghost?
It’s 1934. Former medium Dashiel Quicke travels the country debunking spiritualism and false mediums while struggling to stay ahead of his ex-business partner and lover who wants him back at any cost. During a demonstration at a college campus, Dashiel meets Hermann Goschalk, an Egyptologist who’s convinced that he has a genuine haunted artifact on his hands. Certain there is a rational explanation for whatever is going on with Hermann’s relics, Dashiel would rather skip town, but soon finds himself falling for Hermann. He agrees to take a look after all and learns that something is haunting Hermann’s office indeed.
Faced with a real ghost Dashiel is terrified, but when the haunting takes a dangerous turn, he must use the tools of the shady trade he left behind to communicate with this otherworldly spirit before his past closes in.
For readers who enjoy A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, and Malice by Heather Walter
I totally loved the premise of The Shabti, a historical paranormal romance by new-to-me author Megaera C. Lorenz.
Think of The Masked Magician but for psychics! Also, a book about ancient Egypt by an actual Egyptologist!
Dashiel Quicke is a reformed pseudo-psychic, now doing tours as a spiritualist debunker, exposing tricks used by so-called psychics. This didn’t endear him to his former group, led by his old mentor, Reverend Maude Fink. Also, a former partner, Porfirio, shot him in the leg, and Dashiel is doing all he can to avoid his old cohorts.
In one of his shows, he met Professor Hermann Goschalk, who hired him to investigate the weird happenings surrounding an Egyptian artifact called the shabti. The shabti is that figure on the cover, and they are known to be connected to the dead.
At first, Dashiel could explain and show that the weird occurrences resulted from mundane things, like a broken pipe or noisy radiator. Later, even more strange things happened which Dashiel and Hermann saw right in front of them, and Dashiel had no choice but to acknowledge, he was facing the real thing.
The book is an entertaining mix of spooky and cozy. The ghostly manifestations were spine-tingling! Tried as they might to contain it, the accursed shabti could even manifest from out of a photo from a book!
I also loved the part where Dashiel, the fake medium, had to use the skills he was taught to channel an all-too-real spirit. And I was super amused at their WTF reactions when they learned what the spirit’s millennia-old grudge was. It was stupidly petty!
Interwoven with the horror part is the endearing friendship and romance between the two MCs. There were many warm domestic scenes, with the fat orange tabby Horatio adding his adorable self to make these moments even cuter.
The more Dashiel spent time with Hermann, the more he couldn’t help falling for the man. Hermann is in his 50s, your quirky, bumbling professor, and a confirmed bachelor. He’s a sweet, charming man who, for some reason, sees the good in Dashiel. He had that kind of unshakeable faith in Dashiel that Dashiel couldn’t help but try to live up to.
Dashiel is around 45 years old, cynical, and morally grey. Most of his life was spent playing the medium with his partner and ex, Porfirio. Our formerly dastardly con man wants to start over and live a normal, honest life, but ghosts from the past started coming after him, trying to drag him back to the fold.
I loved both MCs! Dashiel, in his 3rd person POV, was a compelling narrator, and I just adore Hermann! Extra points for the older MCs.
The pacing isn’t consistent, and the plot could have been shorter (we could do without Dashiel’s half-baked plans to run away), but overall, it’s still an engaging book. The writing had a spark of humor, rich Egyptian lore, and an immersive atmosphere.
If it wasn’t mentioned in the blurb that this is set in 1934, I would have a hard time pining down the era. The time-markers used, like certain political movements, Hollywood actors, and sports personalities, might not be familiar to a non-American audience a.k.a. I was too lazy to Google.
The climax is a bombastic showstopper of a seance! The author pulled no punches when she wrote the scenes, cleverly incorporating Dashiel’s debunking with his parlor tricks, portraying the horror of spirit possession and the resulting chaos and mayhem when everyone realized they had an actual spirit in their midst.
It went on for a tad too long but it was one of the most fun and satisfying climactic scenes I’ve read! The letter Hermann wrote to trigger the spirit was as ridiculous as the spirit’s grudge. I can’t believe Porfirio’s damned boots were part of it!
The Shabti is a story of ghosts and redemption. A fabulous blend of Egyptology, queer romance and horror, it as scary and thrilling as it is sweet and cozy!
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Spirits
Artist: The Strumbellas
Album: Hope
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of The Shabti. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
THE SHABTI: Kindle I Audiobook
If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!
-
RECENT RELEASE: An Increasing Entanglement by Ellie Thomas (Excerpt)
-
COVER REVEAL: Angel’s Share by Layla Reyne
-
NEW RELEASE: A Little More Forgiveness by Pauley J. Ray (Excerpt & Giveaway)
-
NEW RELEASE BLITZ: The Star We Sail By by Glenn Quigley (Excerpt & Giveaway)
-
COVER REVEAL: Except You by Cora Rose
-
BOOK BLAST: The Hot Mess Prince by Emily Spady (Excerpt)
-
REVIEW: Wayward by Mary Calmes
Wayward – Mary Calmes
Maksim Lenkov is certain he’s not a good man. His father isn’t, and since Maks is his second in command, then certainly, he’s just as evil. The list of sins is long, and there’s no getting around that. What’s messing him up is that despite all that, in the midst of life and death, his only friend tells him he’s been a blessing; law enforcement is treating him like he prevented more bloodshed than he caused, and everyone is concerned with doing right by him. Why? And how is Maks supposed to figure out who he is, when everything he thought he knew is suddenly turned upside down? It only gets weirder once he begins his new life in witness protection. Because if he’s a guardian angel of women and children, dogs, and one eccentric heiress, can he really be a bad man? Added into the mix is a handsome, loyal deputy chief of police, who lives next door and thinks Maks hangs the moon. Is it possible that living in hell never actually made him into the devil? Perhaps it was only a wayward life, and now it’s time to chart a new course.
I’m on a mob boss falls in love with cop streak, it seems. Last week’s read was the dark and possessive Take Me Apart, and the week before that was the fluffy rom-com Pretty Policeman. This week’s read combines the two.
Wayward by Mary Calmes gives us something we don’t often see. A reformed mob boss living a new life with a cop. The story is divided into two parts that are polar opposites of each other.
It started with the sordid life of much-feared bratva second in command, Maksim Lenkov. As the younger son, he was tasked to inherit the criminal side of their family and has to live in the shadows. Meanwhile his older brother, the golden boy, Pasha, lives in the limelight as the billionaire heir handling real estate and other above board businesses.
This part was the most compelling for me. Here we have Maks, a reluctant bratva boss, secretly working in the shadows behind the shadows to make life better for his men and their families. He is adamant that the Lenkovs do not traffic humans, do not sell drugs, or handle prostitution. A stance that came biting him in the ass.
It’s a story of betrayal of epic proportions that suckerpunched Maks with cars and bullets. I was as shocked as Maks when it happened! It was a miracle he survived. Then he turned around and dropped his own bomb on them.
The second part is a redemption fairytale of sorts. Maks, now with a different last name, is driving to the small town of Rune to his new home. He stumbles upon two injured dogs that he took to the vet. There, he learns that the dogs are own by woman whose abusive husband wouldn’t let her daughter keep them.
Said abusive husband and his buddies came to the clinic intending to rough them up, but Maks jumped in to save them. He was hailed a hero. And this became the running theme, Maks ending up saving someone and everyone adores him, much to his bewilderment. People tend to be scared of him before.
In keeping with the fairytale vibe, Maks’s new home is in a crumbling Victorian estate of a famed eccentric heiress, Ada Farley, who promptly took a liking to Maks and hired him as the caretaker.
Right off the bat, Ada practically signed away all her money to Maks just because she feels good about him and trusts him as the caretaker who would rebuild her estate. The banker handling her account, also took an immediate liking to Maks and keenly gave him access. All these, knowing the man just arrived in town and knowing jack shit about him.
I am on the fence with the book. I feel it should be two different stories, while at the same time, I loved that we see the before and after of a reformed criminal’s life, where the Maks grabbed his second chance and ran with it. Reading about a ruthless bratva boss with a moral compass appeals to the anti-hero fan in me, but seeing that former mob boss thriving as a regular law-abiding citizen is an endearing story that doesn’t get told often.
While some aspects of the bratva thread were stretching it a bit, some parts of the the redemption fairytale were simply ridiculous. The second part was written like an OTT rom-com, and it fell flat to me.
The romance also felt like an afterthought. Maks and Deputy Chief Gale Malloy met nearly halfway through the story already. This would have been okay. Gale is a sweet guy but totally forgettable. And the romantic development, or lack thereof, was forced through a couple days. It would have developed more naturally had it been given more chapters or a sequel to grow.
One aspect I like explored more is Maks using his bratva-acquired abilities to help the police. There was a scene where Maks was able to find a missing child because the bratva had to deal with a lot of kidnappings in past, so he knew what to look for. It would be interesting to read about him help solve crimes.
Overall, Wayward is a mixed bag. It is a gritty story of family and betrayal, and a tale of redemption and second chances. While the ridiculous antics and lack-luster romance took away some stars, I loved Maks living in the shadows and walking the straight and narrow. He made the two worlds worth the journey!
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Wayward Love
Artist: Jeremy Enigk
Album: World Waits
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Wayward. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!
-
NEW RELEASE: Light From The Grave by Sara Dobie Bauer (Excerpt & Giveaway + Q&A with Author)
-
BOOK BLAST: The Bastard Prince of Versailles by Will Bashor (Excerpt & Giveaway)
