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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was fine. Not particularly inspired, and not particularly memorable, but … it passed the time. And it wasn’t completely shitty. But also … it wasn’t all that great.
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It has an interesting premise but it fell short, imo.
Maybe because it went for funny and lighthearted - since "funny" is a personal perception thing, and it didn't do it for me. The case itself is quite obvious, though I really wouldn't have minded that if the ghosts part was more leaned into.
Maybe because it went for funny and lighthearted - since "funny" is a personal perception thing, and it didn't do it for me. The case itself is quite obvious, though I really wouldn't have minded that if the ghosts part was more leaned into.
3.5
Entertaining story of a DC FBI agent who can see ghosts, despite no one believing him. He is sent to get some perspective in a smaller town working on a cold case. It also happens to be in his hometown and where his ex-boyfriend lives. His ex he, of course, never got over.
He comes to realize his medium skills need to be honed and that it’s not altogether a curse. He also decides to fight for his ex. It’s cute. Some of the banter and jokes were too juvenile, and too silly, but most were fun and really worked well. I really liked this.
Entertaining story of a DC FBI agent who can see ghosts, despite no one believing him. He is sent to get some perspective in a smaller town working on a cold case. It also happens to be in his hometown and where his ex-boyfriend lives. His ex he, of course, never got over.
He comes to realize his medium skills need to be honed and that it’s not altogether a curse. He also decides to fight for his ex. It’s cute. Some of the banter and jokes were too juvenile, and too silly, but most were fun and really worked well. I really liked this.
I really loved this book. I'd highly recommend it!
The main character Rain reminds me a lot of the main character from the show Fleabag, in that he is not a terribly reliable narrator when it comes to his emotions or the way others see him, and he throws up a lot of smoke for both the other characters and the reader in order to distract from his emotional vulnerability. And, also like Fleabag, this is slowly revealed but by bit throughout the story.
It also wasn't immediately obvious what kind of character Rain is. The longer the book went the more I realized he is a lot like me: nerdy, anxious, fairly introverted, uncomfortable dealing with his emotions, and a queer bottom. One of my peeves about fiction in general is the scarcity of grumpy, nerdy bottoms (this is true for both straight and queer fiction and across genres), so I was delighted to find a kindred spirit in Rain. For some reason, our society likes its bottoms to be cheerful and emotionally intelligent (I love those characters too, actually, even if I don't relate to them. I just don't like how ones like me are so underrepresented).
I think one thing that really made this story good for me was that while there was a lot of hurt feelings and anger between Rain and Danny, they never really acted on their negative emotions toward one another. They always treated each other well even when they were upset, and that is what made this a sweet, extremely compelling romance full of interesting tensions and development.
Danny was very sweet, even when he was angry or hurt. He was always so protective of Rain.
An aside about second chance romances:
Okay, so I usually don't go for second chance romances (hence my waiting so long to read this one) but this is one of the pleasantly surprising exceptions. Some of the pitfalls common in second chance romances: Angry, bitter ex is very hurtful to the MC; the original breakup was just due to an emotionally unsatisfying Big Misunderstanding or, even worse, a legitimate wrongdoing that sours me on one of the characters.
PS I Spook You avoids these, however, depicting two people who have been hurt but try to be kind to each other, and do not take advantage of the other's emotional vulnerability in order to twist the knife. The reason for originally breaking up makes sense without alienating us from either character.
I guess my avoidance of second chance romances stems from two types of frustrations: poor motivation* and the characters being unnecessarily harmful to one another out of spite**
* Was the original breakup for a good reason which doesn't reflect too poorly on either MC? Has something significant changed so that now their reunion makes sense? Preferably that change is either plot motivated or instigated by one of the characters. These are things I look for in a 2nd chance romance.
** Are the characters immature and spiteful to one another? Do they use sex and sexual connection as a weapon against each other? Is there hate sex? I don't personally love these tropes in my romance, they leave me feeling bad.
The main character Rain reminds me a lot of the main character from the show Fleabag, in that he is not a terribly reliable narrator when it comes to his emotions or the way others see him, and he throws up a lot of smoke for both the other characters and the reader in order to distract from his emotional vulnerability. And, also like Fleabag, this is slowly revealed but by bit throughout the story.
It also wasn't immediately obvious what kind of character Rain is. The longer the book went the more I realized he is a lot like me: nerdy, anxious, fairly introverted, uncomfortable dealing with his emotions, and a queer bottom. One of my peeves about fiction in general is the scarcity of grumpy, nerdy bottoms (this is true for both straight and queer fiction and across genres), so I was delighted to find a kindred spirit in Rain. For some reason, our society likes its bottoms to be cheerful and emotionally intelligent (I love those characters too, actually, even if I don't relate to them. I just don't like how ones like me are so underrepresented).
I think one thing that really made this story good for me was that while there was a lot of hurt feelings and anger between Rain and Danny, they never really acted on their negative emotions toward one another. They always treated each other well even when they were upset, and that is what made this a sweet, extremely compelling romance full of interesting tensions and development.
Danny was very sweet, even when he was angry or hurt. He was always so protective of Rain.
An aside about second chance romances:
Okay, so I usually don't go for second chance romances (hence my waiting so long to read this one) but this is one of the pleasantly surprising exceptions. Some of the pitfalls common in second chance romances: Angry, bitter ex is very hurtful to the MC; the original breakup was just due to an emotionally unsatisfying Big Misunderstanding or, even worse, a legitimate wrongdoing that sours me on one of the characters.
PS I Spook You avoids these, however, depicting two people who have been hurt but try to be kind to each other, and do not take advantage of the other's emotional vulnerability in order to twist the knife. The reason for originally breaking up makes sense without alienating us from either character.
I guess my avoidance of second chance romances stems from two types of frustrations: poor motivation* and the characters being unnecessarily harmful to one another out of spite**
* Was the original breakup for a good reason which doesn't reflect too poorly on either MC? Has something significant changed so that now their reunion makes sense? Preferably that change is either plot motivated or instigated by one of the characters. These are things I look for in a 2nd chance romance.
** Are the characters immature and spiteful to one another? Do they use sex and sexual connection as a weapon against each other? Is there hate sex? I don't personally love these tropes in my romance, they leave me feeling bad.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Soo, I don't know what the heck I was doing. About 30% into the book, I kind of forgot that I was reading it and started another book. And it wasn't my subconscious trying to tell me something, because I like the book.
I like the characters and the story. The guys seemed more realistic than the average alpha FBI/ cop in many mm romance books. I do like me some alpha sometimes, but a change was nice.
The story was well written and fluently. I can't wait for a sequel (I hope this will become a series)
I like the characters and the story. The guys seemed more realistic than the average alpha FBI/ cop in many mm romance books. I do like me some alpha sometimes, but a change was nice.
The story was well written and fluently. I can't wait for a sequel (I hope this will become a series)