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ghost seer

Book Review of Ghost Seer, by Robin D. Owens

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Ghost SeerI borrowed a copy of Robin D. Owens‘ novel Ghost Seer from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
When her eccentric aunt passes away, no-nonsense accountant Clare Cermac inherits more than just a small fortune. She receives the gift of communicating with ghosts. While Clare may not believe in spirits, it’s hard to overlook the shadowy talking dog appearing on her bed or spectral cowboys tipping their hats to her in the streets of Denver. And when she locks eyes with sexy—and living—Zach Slade, there’s certainly no ignoring him either.
 
A former deputy sheriff, Zach is leaving a painful past behind in Montana for a new life in Denver as a private investigator, a job that has him crossing paths with beautiful Clare. Not that she minds. After the restless ghost of a Wild West gunman demands her assistance, Clare finds herself needing Zach more and more—and not just for help.

Review: 
Entertaining enough to have been worth a read, but nothing to write home about. While the whole idea of a ghost seer is an interesting one and Claire and Zach could have been interesting characters, the truth is that I was bored for most of this book. Never enough to put the book down, but enough to just kind of plod along.

It takes at least half of the book for Claire to come to terms with her powers and I got very ver tired of the redundancies of her denials. Ditto for Zach; he just basically had the same thoughts of denial about his situation over and over and over again.

I disliked Claire, on top of everything else. I found her a fairly weak heroine. In fact, she’s basically helpless without Zach there to save her. She even managed to fall down and twist an ankle while running for her life on a flat surface. She’s THAT sort of heroine.

Further, I thought the kidnapping felt like a forced ploy to add tension and still failed to do that. He was defeated easily and contributed nothing needed to the plot.

All in all, it wasn’t all bad, but I have the next two in the series, as I picked them all up at the library. But I don’t think I’ll be bothering to read them.

Stumptown Spirits

Book Review of Stumptown Spirits, by E.J. Russell

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Stumptown SpiritsI received a copy of Stumptown Spirits, b E. J. Russell, from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
What price would you pay to rescue a friend from hell?

For Logan Conner, the answer is almost anything. Guilt-ridden over trapping his college roommate in a ghost war rooted in Portland’s pioneer past, Logan has spent years searching for a solution. Then his new boyfriend, folklorist Riley Morrel, inadvertently gives him the key. Determined to pay his debt—and keep Riley safe—Logan abandons Riley and returns to Portland, prepared to give up his freedom and his future to make things right.

Crushed by Logan’s betrayal, Riley drops out of school and takes a job on a lackluster paranormal investigation show. When the crew arrives in Portland to film an episode about a local legend of feuding ghosts, he stumbles across Logan working at a local bar, and learns the truth about Logan’s plan.

Their destinies once more intertwined, the two men attempt to reforge their relationship while dodging a narcissistic TV personality, a craven ex-ghost, and a curmudgeonly bar owner with a hidden agenda. But Logan’s date with destiny is looming, and his life might not be the only one at stake. 

Review:
I have to admit that, while I didn’t dislike this, it wasn’t a big winner for me either. As much as I liked Riley and Logan (and I did), as interesting as I found the mystery (and it was), as amusing as I found the side characters (and they were), as often as I laughed (and I did ) I thought this was inelegantly written and at times just too over the top.

I completely understood that the characters were meant to be conflicted, wanting one thing but trying to do another, but the constant back and forwards annoyed me and it felt clunkily done. Logan’s internal dialogue was not enough to pull it off for me. What’s more, it all came down to an unwillingness to communicate that I found frustrating.

There was also one last twist toward the end that I thought way too coincidental and unbelievable. I don’t even think it contributed to the plot. The last event it prompted to action could have still happened without it.

All-in-all, I had complaints that kept me from loving it, but I did enjoy it. There is plenty of room between a book being a favorite and not liking a book at all. Riley was especially likable.

Book Review of The Devil You Know (Felix Castor #1), by Mike Carey

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The Devil You KnowI borrowed The Devil You Know, by Mike Carey, from the local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. It may seem like a good ghost buster can charge what he likes and enjoy a hell of a lifestyle–but there’s a risk: Sooner or later he’s going to take on a spirit that’s too strong for him. While trying to back out of this ill-conceived career, Castor accepts a seemingly simple ghost-hunting case at a museum in the shadowy heart of London – just to pay the bills, you understand. But what should have been a perfectly straightforward exorcism is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons and ghosts all keen to claim the big prize. That’s OK: Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It’s the living who piss him off…

Review:
Surprisingly good. I expected it to be like William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, but it was much closer to Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. I enjoyed Felix’s voice and narrative, which is part of my surprise. I’m not usually a fan of first-person POVs. I liked the side characters, even if they’re only shallowly sketched out. I liked how the mystery unfurled and the world created here. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, a little less so at the end than the beginning and middle, but still and overall win.

My only real complaint is one I can’t pin on the book alone. It wouldn’t be fair to blame it for being one more of something that’s become so painfully prevalent in modern books. But since I’ve become aware of it I can’t seem to stop noticing it everywhere. This is yet one more book using the rape and victimization of women as the backbone of its plot. I can’t really blame it for being part of a culture that apparently thinks that’s the most motivating plot device in existence, but I’m kind of starting to feel like it’s the only plot device in existence.

Edit: I also read the second book in the series, Vicious Circle. I never wrote a true review for it, though. I just posted a quick note on Goodreads: A few convenient remembrances just in time to save his hide, but I really quite enjoyed it.