Tag Archives: Abigail Roux

Book Review of The Gravedigger’s Brawl, by Abigail Roux

I borrowed The Gravediggers Brawl (by Abigail Roux) from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Dr. Wyatt Case is never happier than when he’s walking the halls of his history museum. Playing wingman for his best friend at Gravedigger’s Tavern throws him way out of his comfort zone, but not as much as the eccentric man behind the bar, Ash Lucroix.

Ash is everything Wyatt doesn’t understand: exuberant, quirky, and elbow deep in a Gaslight lifestyle that weaves history into everyday life. He coordinates his suspenders with his tongue rings. Within hours, Wyatt and Ash are hooked.

But strange things are afoot at Gravedigger’s, and after a knock to the head, Ash starts seeing things that can’t be explained by old appliances or faulty wiring. Soon everyone at Gravedigger’s is wondering if they’re seeing ghosts, or just going crazy. The answer to that question could end more than just Wyatt and Ash’s fragile relationship—it might also end their lives.

Review:
I have an honest confession. I only read the first paragraph of this book’s description before I started reading it. Thus, I fully expected it to be historical and was quite surprised when it wasn’t. So, this book wasn’t anything like I was expecting (my own fault) but it was still cute.

For those getting tired of the asshole alpha male, this will be a treat. Wyatt and Ash are both a bit beta, not to mention geeky in their own ways. Again, they and their relationship were cute. I enjoyed it, I did. But it’s not topping my favourites list.

For one, Wyatt was supposed to be 38, but acted much younger. We’re not told Ash’s age, but I got the impression he was supposed to be younger than Wyatt. But as Wyatt seemed younger than his stated age, I could be wrong about that. Either way, neither man wholly worked for me, as much as I basically liked them.

I couldn’t really suspend my disbelief far enough to believe that Ash could disregard such an active haunting. It was a bit TSTL-like behaviour. Similarly, after ~200 pages of set-up, the solution came about with no effort from the characters and felt rushed and anticlimactic.

All-in-all, I enjoyed it as a fluff read but not much more.

Book Review of According to Hoyle, by Abigail Roux

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I received a copy of According to Hoyle, by Abigail Roux, from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
By the close of 1882 in the American West, the line between heroes and villains is narrow. Total chaos is staved off only by the few who take the law at its word and risk their lives to uphold it. But in the West, the rules aren’t always played according to Hoyle.

US Marshals Eli Flynn and William Henry Washington—longtime friends and colleagues—are escorting two prisoners to New Orleans for trial when they discover there’s more than outlawry to the infamous shootist Dusty Rose and the enigmatic man known as Cage. As the two prisoners form an unlikely partnership, the marshals can’t help but look closer at their own.

When forces beyond the marshals’ control converge on the paddle wheeler they’ve hired to take them downriver, they must choose between two dangers: playing by the rules at any cost, or trusting the very men they are meant to bring to justice.

Review:
I quite enjoyed this. I don’t read many Westerns, so it was a change of pace for me. I liked Flynn’s flustered, brash personality; Wash’s laid-back outlook; Gabriel’s cocky charm and Cage’s silent, honourable atonement. I like that, though this is a romance, it’s not particularly romantic. I liked the witty back and forwards banter and the writing style in general.

However, I also thought that having two romantic pairings diluted the plot. As funny as Flynn and Gabriel’s sniping was, it got old. Wash’s character was never particularly developed. He seemed to exist solely for Flynn to quietly long for. And after finally acting on their feelings after platonic decades together, I would have like at least conversation about it. I also found Cage inconsistent. He spent 2/3 of the book so quiet and honourable that he almost felt child-like. Then in the last 1/3 he was made out to be all sorts of bad to the bone. It didn’t feel like the same man.

I’m assuming this is the first in a series, as it concludes with an open ending. I’m not head over heals in love with the book, but I’d be more than happy to pick up a sequel. It’s a serious case of good enough.

Book Review of Cut & Run, by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

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Cut & Run, by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux is one of those books that everyone always seems to be talking about, so I borrowed an ecopy. (Thanks, D.)

Description from Goodreads:
A series of murders in New York City has stymied the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the case.

Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up in his face. He’s cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does. But when he’s paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it’s hate at first sight. Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which makes their partnership a classic cliché: total opposites, good cop-bad cop, the odd couple. They both know immediately that their partnership will pose more of an obstacle than the lack of evidence left by the murderer.

Practically before their special assignment starts, the murderer strikes again – this time at them. Now on the run, trying to track down a man who has focused on killing his pursuers, Grady and Garrett will have to figure out how to work together before they become two more notches in the murderer’s knife.

Review:
I’m afraid I can only spare this book enough energy for a brief review. I enjoyed some bits of it—some of the sarcasm, some of the sex, some of the sweet (if utterly unbelievable) moments, seeing the two men learn to depend on one another, etc.

But other bits…well, not so much. For one, it drug on and on. At one point I had convinced myself that pages really were being snuck in while I wasn’t looking. For another, I found the characters (Ty especially) inconsistent. Their personalities were unpredictable and ever changing, each feeling disconcertingly childlike at times. The mystery was fairly obvious far before the big reveal. I think they ate, put on their shoes, checked their guns and filled their pockets about a million times. Women are represented as screechy, needy, bitches. The whole ‘they’re total opposites’ was over emphasised and the way Zane’s dependencies and self-destructive tendencies were handled made him feel weak.

I’d say I’m half and half, loving and hating this book. So, a safe three stars from me. If I came across a free or loaned copy of the sequel I’d read it, but I’ll not be crying if one never crosses my desktop either.