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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Ich bin ehrlicherweise kein so großer Fan von Romantasy. Aber irgendwie hatte ich spontan trotzdem Lust auf die Geschichte. Und was soll ich sagen? Auch wenn es kein absolutes Jahreshighlight für mich wurde. Ich hatte super viel Spaß und habe nach diesem ersten Band schon alle weiteren Bände durch gesuchtet. Das liegt vor allem daran, das ich den Romance-Teil wirklich sehr mochte und die Figuren so gerne weiter begleiten wollte.
Gleichzeitig hatte ich aber das Problem, das ich eben bei solchen Misch-Masch-Genres habe. Es konnte sich halt auf keines der Elemente richtig fokussieren, daher war es am Ende zwar von allem etwas. aber manchmal hat vor allem der Krimianteil darunter gelitten, dass alles durch Geister erklärt wurde. Ja, der Twist ist natürlich, das ein Mordfall geklärt wird, weil ein Geist mithelfen kann. Gleichzeitig ist das irgendwie auch das schwächste Glied im Plot. Das hat für mich den Krimi-teil auch nicht so überzeugend gemacht. Und ja, natürlich ist mir klar, das die Geschichte darauf ausgelegt ist, das ein FBI Agent/Polizist eben auch ein Medium ist. Aber irgendwie hat mich der Aspekt eben nicht in allen Punkten überzeugt. Da fehlte mir ehrlicherweise mehr Spannung und Ermittlungen. Das meiste haben eben die Geister erledigt.
Da war einfach im Vergleich der Romanceteil stärker und es war süß, wie Rain und Danny umeinander herum schlichen und es einfach klar, war, da liegt eine zweite Chance in der Luft (und dieses Strickmuster mag ich ehrlicherweise sonst so gut wie nie).. Gleichzeitig hätte ich es auch gut gefunden, wenn die beiden erst im weiteren Verlauf der Reihe wieder zusammen gekommen wären.
Insgesamt war ich jedenfalls wirklich positiv überrascht, und wurde wirklich gut unterhalten. Und das obwohl ich ein neueres Buch von S.E. Harmon gar nicht mochte. Aber hier hab ich mich schlichtweg wohl gefühlt. Und das ist immer ein gutes Zeichen^^
Ich habe den Falls Hörbuch gehört, gelesen von Christopher Mayer.
Den Sprecher fand ich gut gewählt, allerdings höre ich die meisten Hörbücher auf recht hoher Geschwindigkeit. Deshalb fand ich das Ganze dann in normaler etwas sehr langsam gelesen. Aber das ist wirklich eine subjektive Beobachtung.
Gleichzeitig hatte ich aber das Problem, das ich eben bei solchen Misch-Masch-Genres habe. Es konnte sich halt auf keines der Elemente richtig fokussieren, daher war es am Ende zwar von allem etwas. aber manchmal hat vor allem der Krimianteil darunter gelitten, dass alles durch Geister erklärt wurde. Ja, der Twist ist natürlich, das ein Mordfall geklärt wird, weil ein Geist mithelfen kann. Gleichzeitig ist das irgendwie auch das schwächste Glied im Plot. Das hat für mich den Krimi-teil auch nicht so überzeugend gemacht. Und ja, natürlich ist mir klar, das die Geschichte darauf ausgelegt ist, das ein FBI Agent/Polizist eben auch ein Medium ist. Aber irgendwie hat mich der Aspekt eben nicht in allen Punkten überzeugt. Da fehlte mir ehrlicherweise mehr Spannung und Ermittlungen. Das meiste haben eben die Geister erledigt.
Da war einfach im Vergleich der Romanceteil stärker und es war süß, wie Rain und Danny umeinander herum schlichen und es einfach klar, war, da liegt eine zweite Chance in der Luft (und dieses Strickmuster mag ich ehrlicherweise sonst so gut wie nie).. Gleichzeitig hätte ich es auch gut gefunden, wenn die beiden erst im weiteren Verlauf der Reihe wieder zusammen gekommen wären.
Insgesamt war ich jedenfalls wirklich positiv überrascht, und wurde wirklich gut unterhalten. Und das obwohl ich ein neueres Buch von S.E. Harmon gar nicht mochte. Aber hier hab ich mich schlichtweg wohl gefühlt. Und das ist immer ein gutes Zeichen^^
Ich habe den Falls Hörbuch gehört, gelesen von Christopher Mayer.
Den Sprecher fand ich gut gewählt, allerdings höre ich die meisten Hörbücher auf recht hoher Geschwindigkeit. Deshalb fand ich das Ganze dann in normaler etwas sehr langsam gelesen. Aber das ist wirklich eine subjektive Beobachtung.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a fun take on a medium character and I enjoyed the mystery element and the police/FBI side to the story.
As this is a series, I assume the characters will be delved into more in the rest of the books - that was the only thing I wanted more of in this one.
As this is a series, I assume the characters will be delved into more in the rest of the books - that was the only thing I wanted more of in this one.
With the witty & quit banter, Rain is one of my favorite characters ever. His inner-monologue and knee jerk responses are so endearing. Him and Danny were so right for each other, and I am glad there was very little angst there. The ghosts add just the right about to the story. I love the mystery and the whole premise of what is to come. I am excited to see what Rain and Danny have in store. I listened to the audio as well performed by Noah Michel Levine and he did a great job. He added elements to the story and I really felt the characters through his narration.
Wtf did I just read. 2 stars feels harsh but I’m unsure whether this deserves 3 stars.
I liked rain’s character even though he could be a brat in a not fun, not good kind of way. And he was sassy and came out with some absolute banger random one liners or funny sentences…. But like, would I ever recommend this book? No, not at all.
There was parts I enjoyed, rain is quite funny. And the idea of the book WAS so good!!! I loved the idea of a profiler who could speak to ghosts. But like… None of the plot mixed in with his ability to see ghosts ever felt important??? And it was sporadic and random when ghost conversations came up??
Omg I can’t actually even explain how annoying this whole book was.
When his long term ghost friend disappeared, it was like… ANYWAY LETS MOVE ON… and never even talked about any emotion or reasoning behind that??
The author just kinda ended him like he didn’t matter??
Ethan was the best ghost friend. He was in the whole book and his ending was like… okay girl bye. NEXT.
Like why??? Rain should have felt more…. It was his ghost friend who helped him through the story??
On the romance side of this book….. there was no romance….
The mc’s in this book have like… no chemistry for like 85% of the time they are interacting. It’s a second chance romance but like…. With no real angst, no chemistry, no build up, it never really explains why they broke up in the first place except that rain got a job somewhere else so he moved and said BYEEEEEE. (Um okay?? Why would you do that?)
it mentions for one sentence that he possibly sorta broke up with him around the time he started seeing ghosts?? but never really explained why still?
There was just no emotion in this book. It was flat. I’m confused by the hype.
I wanna scream because I can’t get all my feelings out about this book.
I’m reading like 3 books at the same time right now THAT ARE ALL AWFUL. So maybe I’m just depressed again. Ugh.
I liked rain’s character even though he could be a brat in a not fun, not good kind of way. And he was sassy and came out with some absolute banger random one liners or funny sentences…. But like, would I ever recommend this book? No, not at all.
There was parts I enjoyed, rain is quite funny. And the idea of the book WAS so good!!! I loved the idea of a profiler who could speak to ghosts. But like… None of the plot mixed in with his ability to see ghosts ever felt important??? And it was sporadic and random when ghost conversations came up??
Omg I can’t actually even explain how annoying this whole book was.
When his long term ghost friend disappeared, it was like… ANYWAY LETS MOVE ON… and never even talked about any emotion or reasoning behind that??
The author just kinda ended him like he didn’t matter??
Ethan was the best ghost friend. He was in the whole book and his ending was like… okay girl bye. NEXT.
Like why??? Rain should have felt more…. It was his ghost friend who helped him through the story??
On the romance side of this book….. there was no romance….
The mc’s in this book have like… no chemistry for like 85% of the time they are interacting. It’s a second chance romance but like…. With no real angst, no chemistry, no build up, it never really explains why they broke up in the first place except that rain got a job somewhere else so he moved and said BYEEEEEE. (Um okay?? Why would you do that?)
it mentions for one sentence that he possibly sorta broke up with him around the time he started seeing ghosts?? but never really explained why still?
There was just no emotion in this book. It was flat. I’m confused by the hype.
I wanna scream because I can’t get all my feelings out about this book.
I’m reading like 3 books at the same time right now THAT ARE ALL AWFUL. So maybe I’m just depressed again. Ugh.
The story had an interesting take on ghosts and mediums. The characters were sometimes challenging to appreciate. If someone has a doctorate in psychology, it seems like they would be better at conflict resolution and communication. The law enforcement procedures were very questionable. I was entertained by the narration and the case. The audiobook is entertaining enough that I am curious about the next book.
Okay, so here's the thing. I have no idea how to rate this. Hear me out.
Stuff You Should Know
~ Single POV: first person, past tense
~ Explicit
~ The first in a series
~ Discussions of murder, abuse, mental illness (including drug abuse), and suicide, though nothing is seen on-page
For me, it didn't have enough of anything to make it believable. It had too many things going on, but not enough pages to support all of the things. Rain didn't ever actually profile anyone, but he's an FBI profiler. He suddenly accepted that he wasn't crazy for no reason. He fell in love, but how? There wasn't really a good foundation for their relationship. He solved the case, then went and blew it up. The list goes on. I just didn't get it! None of it makes sense! But, really, it only doesn't make sense because there just wasn't enough time for sufficient background and explanation.
However.
I kind of loved it. It was funny and witty. It was engaging. It had some twists. It was everything my favorite cop shows are. It reminded me of Psych, Veronica Mars, and Dead Like Me. Yeah, it had problems. But it was kind of great anyway.
Stuff You Should Know
~ Single POV: first person, past tense
~ Explicit
~ The first in a series
~ Discussions of murder, abuse, mental illness (including drug abuse), and suicide, though nothing is seen on-page
For me, it didn't have enough of anything to make it believable. It had too many things going on, but not enough pages to support all of the things. Rain didn't ever actually profile anyone, but he's an FBI profiler. He suddenly accepted that he wasn't crazy for no reason. He fell in love, but how? There wasn't really a good foundation for their relationship. He solved the case, then went and blew it up. The list goes on. I just didn't get it! None of it makes sense! But, really, it only doesn't make sense because there just wasn't enough time for sufficient background and explanation.
However.
I kind of loved it. It was funny and witty. It was engaging. It had some twists. It was everything my favorite cop shows are. It reminded me of Psych, Veronica Mars, and Dead Like Me. Yeah, it had problems. But it was kind of great anyway.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An FBI agent has to partner his ex to solve a cold case, to save his career. Rain is a smart, snarky and a reluctant ghost whisperer; Danny is grumpy, grounded and looks like sex on (two) wheels. Their feelings are still strong, but neither are that willing to take the leap, so it's a slow burn of sorts as they work through the past and present.
They have some pretty amazing chemistry, the banter is entertaining and funny, and I really liked the dynamic between them - they're well-matched and it shows.
They're messy in a very real way and weirdly that makes them endearing to me. Danny's reaction to Rain's secret felt realistic, and ultimately they handled it well enough. And Rain's inner thoughts are super hilarious! The ghostly mystery is interesting but also a bit sad, and Rain's ghosts are certainly adds drama (though Ethan is really likeable).
They have some pretty amazing chemistry, the banter is entertaining and funny, and I really liked the dynamic between them - they're well-matched and it shows.
They're messy in a very real way and weirdly that makes them endearing to me. Danny's reaction to Rain's secret felt realistic, and ultimately they handled it well enough. And Rain's inner thoughts are super hilarious! The ghostly mystery is interesting but also a bit sad, and Rain's ghosts are certainly adds drama (though Ethan is really likeable).
DNF'd at about 80% ...
Sadly, this just was not the book for me. I was ready to DNF at about 60% but kept going and could have kept going if I did not have an exhaustive reading wishlist I want to get through this summer. There were several things that did not go well for me. First, the whole paranormal thing is often a tough sell for me. I read the [a:Jordan Castillo Price|268722|Jordan Castillo Price|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1325364144p2/268722.jpg]'s PsyCop series and this book did remind me a little of those books (considerably less creepy and gritty). The whole ghost aspect did not come across as particularly believable in this book however and at times the appearance of ghosts come across as either convenient or plotty ... which I am not a fan off. Manufactured drama is just distracting and annoying. Also a bit of a problem with this books is some aspects of FBI/Police behaviors portrayed were not that believable. One example is how these two tended to interact and interview suspects/witnesses. I cannot believe that anyone acting in that capacity would do some of the things that the MCs did on a rather frequent basis? Not to mention there is an "inappropriate" workplace relationship in this book ... just too many things to overlook ...
The author is quite talented when it comes to witty banter ... however, a typical pitfall that almost everyone who attempts this falls into, is when "witty banter" is overdone and you get something else entirely ... often "drama queen" or just a particularly irritating MC. This did not happen here ... but the snark did impact probably my least favorite aspect of this book. THE EX! I hate when an "ex" shows up in my books ... just taints the whole relationship with ghosts (different ghosts!) that I don't particularly enjoy and it is usually very difficult to navigate out of those waters without making one or more of the MCs look bad IMO. But in this case we have a saintly EX who is patient and understanding beyond what is normally the case. It doesn't matter how badly treated or how often, the "saintly EX" still LOVES and FORGIVES and is endlessly PATIENT and UNDERSTANDING. Not really realistic and does not shine either MC is a particularly flattering light ...
I found myself skimming though major portions of this book just to get through it (not a good sign). But the book definitely crossed-a-line with a scene promoting unsafe sex as sexy. A hard NO! There were many reasons in this situation where this was not okay and therefore a major disappointment ...
Not my favorite read of the year ... but that probably is part of it too. The last couple books that I read were excellent so the bar was set particularly high for this one ... and it is just not my cup of tea ...
Sadly, this just was not the book for me. I was ready to DNF at about 60% but kept going and could have kept going if I did not have an exhaustive reading wishlist I want to get through this summer. There were several things that did not go well for me. First, the whole paranormal thing is often a tough sell for me. I read the [a:Jordan Castillo Price|268722|Jordan Castillo Price|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1325364144p2/268722.jpg]'s PsyCop series and this book did remind me a little of those books (considerably less creepy and gritty). The whole ghost aspect did not come across as particularly believable in this book however and at times the appearance of ghosts come across as either convenient or plotty ... which I am not a fan off. Manufactured drama is just distracting and annoying. Also a bit of a problem with this books is some aspects of FBI/Police behaviors portrayed were not that believable. One example is how these two tended to interact and interview suspects/witnesses. I cannot believe that anyone acting in that capacity would do some of the things that the MCs did on a rather frequent basis? Not to mention there is an "inappropriate" workplace relationship in this book ... just too many things to overlook ...
The author is quite talented when it comes to witty banter ... however, a typical pitfall that almost everyone who attempts this falls into, is when "witty banter" is overdone and you get something else entirely ... often "drama queen" or just a particularly irritating MC. This did not happen here ... but the snark did impact probably my least favorite aspect of this book. THE EX! I hate when an "ex" shows up in my books ... just taints the whole relationship with ghosts (different ghosts!) that I don't particularly enjoy and it is usually very difficult to navigate out of those waters without making one or more of the MCs look bad IMO. But in this case we have a saintly EX who is patient and understanding beyond what is normally the case. It doesn't matter how badly treated or how often, the "saintly EX" still LOVES and FORGIVES and is endlessly PATIENT and UNDERSTANDING. Not really realistic and does not shine either MC is a particularly flattering light ...
I found myself skimming though major portions of this book just to get through it (not a good sign). But the book definitely crossed-a-line with a scene promoting unsafe sex
Spoiler
a broken condomNot my favorite read of the year ... but that probably is part of it too. The last couple books that I read were excellent so the bar was set particularly high for this one ... and it is just not my cup of tea ...
You know when you watch an opening for an anime and it's dark and dramatic but then the anime turns out to be cute and funny? That's this book! Cover expectations vs the actual story. Rainstorm Christiansen is the type of hilarious, sarcastic, and sometimes bumbling MC that I adore. His hippy parents gave him a freewheelin name but he's been playing it by the book as a profiler with the BAU... at least until he starts saying that he sees ghosts. Cue a "break" from his team and a chance to prove himself by investigating a cold case in his hometown of Brickell Bay (Miami). If you were hoping for a dark, dramatic, eerie setting I'm sorry this is Florida. Complete with bright sunny skies, sweat-inducing heat, and Rain's very hot ex and lead on the case, Danny.
Grab yourself a cold beverage and mentally project yourself into this mystery that's got chases, stake outs, stand offs, scenic drives, cop show references, humor, haunting, pervy ghosts, steamy sex, and murder! I'm already looking forward to book 2!
Grab yourself a cold beverage and mentally project yourself into this mystery that's got chases, stake outs, stand offs, scenic drives, cop show references, humor, haunting, pervy ghosts, steamy sex, and murder! I'm already looking forward to book 2!