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galleytrot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
READ: Jan 2023
FORMAT: Digital
FORMAT: Digital
BRIEF SUMMARY:
In book two of this contemporary shifter romance/suspense series, Dayton is pressured into making an unplanned stop to visit his family in his home town of Jagger Valley with Park along for the ride. When Dayton’s father, Ed, drags his sons and Park into helping to tear down a piece of their past, Park unearths a decades-old body that no one in the neighbourhood ever expected to see again. Off the clock and undermining an FBI investigation, Dayton and Park work together in a desperate effort to clear Ed’s name.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4.5 / 5⭐
Much like the first installment of the series, I had a great time reading through this one. This time around, the mystery is smaller and closer to home, but no less packed with conspiracy. A man vanished from the neighbourhood some 25 years ago, and everyone assumed he’d simply flew the coop to start a new life. The resurfacing of his bones dredges up old secrets and scandals from those in the surrounding homes, and it’s up to our MC’s to piece it all together and find out exactly what happened all those years ago.
In the meantime, Dayton is struggling with his past traumas and emotional hang-ups and how they impact his current relationships; relationships with his father, his brother, his partner, his past, and all of the people who have defined him along the way. Dayton and Park are still struggling with trust and communication, leaving what they have together all the more difficult to define.
Have you ever wanted to tell someone something, but stopped yourself because “if they wanted to know, they would ask”? Dayton and Park are both struggling to show any emotional vulnerability towards each other outside of the bedroom, and it’s stunting the growth between them on a more meaningful level. Communication is a two-way street, and they’ve got their feet firmly planted on the brakes. But if you want to get a little, you need to be willing to give a little.
Have you ever wanted to tell someone something, but stopped yourself because “if they wanted to know, they would ask”? Dayton and Park are both struggling to show any emotional vulnerability towards each other outside of the bedroom, and it’s stunting the growth between them on a more meaningful level. Communication is a two-way street, and they’ve got their feet firmly planted on the brakes. But if you want to get a little, you need to be willing to give a little.
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4 / 5⭐
Once again I am very pleased with Adhara’s work. The mystery in book two wasn’t quite as complex as its predecessor, but it was by no means boring or simplistic. I got a few more correct guesses in this time around, and was still surprised by how it wrapped up.
There was a whole thing with a werewolf that had me questioning the rules of the world – particularly where it relates to being able to hear and smell especially well. Just not through one particularly impressive door, I guess. Then, Rudi in book one was able to smell Park on Dayton from the night before, but in this book our new werewolf didn’t notice Park on him from hours (or less) before. There was also an inconsistency where Dayton “still had never seen a change himself,” despite him being present for a shift in the previous book. I suppose his eyes were not on them in the split second it happened, but he still should have clocked how fast it occurs, I would think?
There was a whole thing with a werewolf that had me questioning the rules of the world – particularly where it relates to being able to hear and smell especially well. Just not through one particularly impressive door, I guess. Then, Rudi in book one was able to smell Park on Dayton from the night before, but in this book our new werewolf didn’t notice Park on him from hours (or less) before. There was also an inconsistency where Dayton “still had never seen a change himself,” despite him being present for a shift in the previous book. I suppose his eyes were not on them in the split second it happened, but he still should have clocked how fast it occurs, I would think?
Maybe I’m picking at nits, but these are things that made me stop and reference the previous book just to be sure of myself.
FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 4.25 / 5⭐
If you liked the first book, you should certainly like this one too. It doesn’t break the mold that Adhara set the first time around.
This work has representation for gays and hints at a possible lesbian couple. A good number of characters are not white, and our MC comes from a Jewish family. The author identifies as genderfluid.
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Outing, Cursing, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Death, Cancer, and Vomit
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Abandonment, Gore, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
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