I received an ARC of S. E. Jakes‘ Catch a Ghost from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Everyone knows that Prophet—former Navy SEAL, former CIA spook, full-time pain in the ass—works alone and thinks only about the trouble he can cause. But his boss, Phil Butler of Extreme Escapes, LTD., has just assigned Proph not only a new partner but also a case haunted by ghosts from Proph’s past. Suddenly, he’s got to confront them both head on.

Tom Boudreaux—failed FBI agent, failed sheriff, full time believer in bad luck—is wondering why the head of a private contracting firm has hunted him down to offer him a job. Still he’s determined to succeed this time, despite being partnered with Prophet, EE, LTD’s most successful, lethal, and annoying operative, and even though the case is also resurrecting his own painful past.

Together, Prophet and Tom must find a way to take down killers in the dangerous world of underground cage matches, while fighting their own dangerous attraction. And when they find themselves caught in the crossfire, these two loners are forced to trust each other and work together to escape their ghosts . . . or pay the price.

Review:

To borrow a word from my GR friend Julio, that would otherwise be foreign to my vocabulary, I found this book full of feelz. (Yeah, I know, I’m actually far too square to get away with that, but you get my point.) I felt these two fucked up, broken men. I felt these two beautifully fragile, dominant creatures. I felt these two violent, sexy males and I loved them, adored them, wanted more and more and more of them. They make a perfect pair.

Sure, the book isn’t flawless. I still have no idea why EE was even involved in Chris’ investigation in the first place, unless it was solely as a personal favour to Prophet? But even then, who conveniently knew to notify Phil in the first place? I still don’t understand why Prophet would let a 10-year-old promise to a man he knew a week dictate his life. I also thought Tom’s investigative process was ridiculously easy. Sure, you can go out in one night and get and invite to an exclusive secret club just like that, *snaps fingers for effect.* Happens to me all the time, yeah?

I’m still a little vague on what Tom’s actual history is. I got a pretty good feel of what messed Prophet’s mind up so badly, but would have liked a clearer picture of what happened to Tom, as well as Tom’s ‘abilities.’ There were a few mystery references. Who’s King, for example? And I thought that using the “I’m too high/tired/alseep/etc to care about consequences” trope to lower the mens’ inhibitions and get them into bed was cliche.

But putting all of that aside, I just plain enjoyed this read and I prioritise that above just about everything else. The writing was fine, though as it was an unedited ARC, I can’t comment on the editing. The cover is gorgeous and I’m really hoping for the chance to read more of Prophet and Tom’s story. Happy reader, right here.