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Book Review: The Scouts, by Kasia Bacon

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The Scouts, by Kasia Bacon, was promoed on Sadie’s Spotlight and the author sent me a copy for review. It was also featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight.

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Lochan and Ervyn—an assassin and a sharpshooter—remain in service to the queen as part of an elite reconnaissance unit.

The Scouts are ghostlike. Elusive. Deadly.

They strike at enemies of the Crown without mercy. They get the job done, leaving no loose ends or witnesses. When Magic Supremacists threaten the safety of Elven Country, they do their duty—whatever it takes.

Lochan and Ervyn belong to each other, but will serving together as comrades-in-arms strengthen their bond as lovers or tear them apart?

The Scouts is the third book in the Order Series. In this volume, Ervyn loses control, Lochan stops fighting his feelings and Verhan… well, remains Verhan.

my review

Oh, I have such a fraught relationship with Bacon’s writing. I love her characters and jovially informal narrative style. But I’m a dedicated binger. Be it reading a novel in a night or watching an entire season of a show on Netflix, I want all of a story. And Bacon’s publications are far closer to a serial than a series, in my estimation, which I find incredibly frustrating.

I say all of that because it would be unfair to judge my review of her works without factoring in this strong preference on my part. But I do still keep coming back, even when I know what to expect. Because these short works are also full of the feels and, as I said, I like the characters and writing style. I’ll add world too. I find the world, with all it’s Elvin races and cultural norms intriguing.

I did find the occasional phrase felt anachronistic and there are quite a lot of characters for such a short book. But those are my only critiques. No doubt, when next Bacon publishes, I’ll be in in line to read it too.

the scouts

the hunter and the spider

Book Review: The Hunter and the Spider series, by E.M. Jeanmougin & Jay Wright

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I picked up copies of E.M. Jeanmougin and Jay Wright’s Strangers in the Night and Friends in Low Places (The Hunder and the Spider series, #1 & 2) when they were freebies on Amazon. I’m afraid of spiders, so the idea of an MM Urban Fantasy with a werespider both horrified and intrigued me!

Where there’s demons, there’s bound to be demon hunters and in Brooklyn there’s no shortage of either.

Jasper Craig is a hunter at New York’s secret St. James Academy, and he’s one of the best. With superior strength, agility, and a handy ability to sense demonic energy, it’s like he was born for the job. Since he was orphaned at a young age, his parents took the secret of what, exactly, he is to their graves. And if his adoptive father knows, he’s not telling.

Loyal to the cause of keeping the mortal world safe from the evils of demons, there isn’t anything Jasper wouldn’t do. So when his father and superior officer tells him to go undercover to trick a rare and dangerous werespider, Jasper agrees.

Crimson Apocalypse is one of New York’s oldest residents and the only known werespider in the north eastern United States. He’s the sort of guy who lives as fast as he talks and talks as fast as he drives, and if Jasper wants to get closer to the werespider he’s going to have to keep up.

But getting closer might be dangerous in more ways than one and what Jasper learns may not be what he expects.

my review

This had a strong start, sagged in the middle, and then ended well. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed all of it, even the saggy middle. I liked Jasper and Crimson (and Al and Max) a lot and loved the slow-SLOW burn of their relationship. But the book doesn’t have one over-arching plot or villain to defeat, etc. It’s mostly two people who meet, are given a reason to be thrown together, and then go about their daily lives together. It just so happens that those lives are quite exciting. It just felt like the middle went on a little too long and got a little too creative (ridiculous) before finally tapering off to a cliffhanger ending. I am jumping right into book two though, so I obviously liked it (even if I’m afraid of spiders and therefor a little horrified by the giant werespider).

strangers in the night

friends in low places

No one ever said being a Hunter would be easy, but Jasper Craig is finding it much more difficult these days.

Following the events of an eye-opening summer spent in the field, Jasper is back within the walls of St. James Academy – New York City’s world-renowned Hunting agency and training school.

And he’s hating every minute of it.

Unfortunately, the only way out is through, and so, with all eyes on him, Jasper once again rejoins the ranks of Hunters keeping the city “safe” from demonic threat.

But St. James’ dogma has lost its luster for Jasper. Not every demon deserves to die due to their inhumanity. Jasper’s (ex?) boyfriend, Crimson Apocalypse, taught him that.

Speaking of Crimson, when a series of mutilated corpses bearing Jasper’s name begin showing up around town, the Hunters suspect the three-thousand-year-old werespider may be to blame. Even worse, there’s plenty of evidence to support the claim. Only Jasper, who knows the man within the monster, believes otherwise. But can he slip through St. James’ iron-clad grip and catch the real culprit before it’s too late?

my review

I enjoyed this, though not as much as book one, and more in the second half than the first. The problem, for me, was that the two main characters aren’t together in the book until the 55% mark. They are apart and miserable that whole time, and it felt longer than need be to make the point it was making. However, once they got back together and the pace picked up, I was a happier camper. The whole thing wrapped up satisfactorily, but with several open threads. I look forward to finding out what happens in the next book (whenever it comes out).

friends in low places

Psycop

Book Reviews: Psycops #3 – 7, by Jordan Castillo Price

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It’s been several years since I read Among the Living and Criss Cross (books 1 and 2 of the Psycop series, by Jordan Castillo Price). But I did enjoy them at the time. I’ll just go ahead and link my 2015 reviews here for easy reference. In rereading the reviews, I feel like they’re maybe a little dated, but they are several years old.

Book Review of Partners (PsyCop #1-2), by Jordan Castillo Price

I’ve been holding on to audio copies of books 3 – 9 for a while, afraid to pick the series up again because it’d been so long since I started it. Some of these I picked up freebie codes for and some I laid out money for and bought. They’re narrated by Gomez Pugh, who did an awesome job.

Turned out the 5 year gap is not insurmountable. I was able to dive right back in without issue. I’m only going to post small reviews for these latter books though, being as I’m getting so far into the series. Below are reviews for books 3-7, which is as far as I got before I felt like I needed a break from so many books from the same series in a row.

body & soulThanksgiving can’t end too soon for Victor Bayne, who’s finding Jacob’s family hard to swallow. Luckily, he’s called back to work to track down a high-profile missing person.

Meanwhile, Jacob tries to find a home they can move into that’s not infested – with either cockroaches or ghosts. As if the house-hunting isn’t stressful enough, Vic’s new partner Bob Zigler doesn’t seem to think he can do anything right. A deceased junkie with a bone to pick leads Vic and Zig on a wild chase that ends in a basement full of horrors.

Review of Body & Soul:

I quite enjoyed this. Victor is a sarcastic curmudgeon that I can relate to. I appreciate that he’s a little older than the normal hero and a lot less shiny. I thought the sex was oddly perfunctory. Probably because the relationship is already established, so there’s no real romance to go with it. But also because Jacob plays so little role in the story otherwise. He literally shows up, shags Victor on occasion and wanders off muttering about condos. I really did wish he played a more active role, though I enjoyed seeing Victor adjusting to a new partner.

secrets jordan castillo priceVictor Bayne’s job as a PsyCop involves tracking down dead people and getting them to spill their guts about their final moments. It’s never been fun, per se. But it’s not usually this annoying.

Vic has just moved in with his boyfriend Jacob, he can’t figure out where anything’s packed, and his co-worker is pressuring him to have a housewarming party. Can’t a guy catch a break?

On a more sinister note, Vic discovers there’s absolutely no trace of him online. No trace of anyone else who trained at “Camp Hell,” either. Everyone Vic knows has signed a mysterious set of papers to ensure his “privacy.” The contracts are so confidential that even Vic has never heard of them. But Jacob might have.

What other secrets has Jacob been keeping?

Review of Secrets:

What I found interesting about Secrets is that we really get to see how very naive Victor has been about himself and his situation. It’s not that I don’t understand why, but it’s nice to see him getting clean(ish) and seeing with clearer eyes. The mystery in the story is really secondary to the realities of living with Psyop abilities, which made for some interesting considerations. I was glad to see Jacob play a bigger role than in the last book. I still feel like he’s a bit of a sexy, growling, biting, place-holder compared to the first books. Though I still adore him. But I’m hoping he’ll come back into more detail as the series progresses.

camp hell, jordan castillo priceVictor Bayne honed his dubious psychic skills at one of the first psych training facilities in the country, Heliotrope Station, otherwise known as Camp Hell to the psychics who’ve been guests behind its razorwire fence.

Vic discovered that none of the people he remembers from Camp Hell can be found online, and there’s no mention of Heliotrope Station itself, either. Someone’s gone through a lot of trouble to bury the past. But who?

Review of Camp Hell:

I think maybe this was my favorite so far. Maybe because it’s longer than the others, so a more fleshed out story, but also I feel like Victor grew a lot during it. There were also some interesting developments for Jacob and Zig played a bigger role, both of which I appreciated. I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here!

ghosttvFor the past dozen years, Victor Bayne has solved numerous murders by interrogating witnesses only he can see—dead witnesses. But when his best friend Lisa goes missing from the sunny California campus of PsyTrain, the last thing he wants to find there is her spirit.

Disappearing without a trace in a school full of psychics? That’s some trick. But somehow both Lisa and her roommate have vanished into thin air. A group of fanatics called Five Faith has been sniffing around, and Lisa’s email is compromised.

Time is running out, and with no ghosts to cross-examine, Vic can’t afford to turn down any offers of help. An old enemy can provide an innovative way to track Vic’s missing friend, and he enters into an uneasy alliance—even though its ultimate cost will ensnare him in a debt he may never manage to settle.

Review of GhostTV:

I swear this series is getting better as it goes. The books are also getting longer, which I appreciate. Though, I have to admit, once you get this far into a series, there’s not a lot left to review. I like the characters and the series in general. Otherwise, I wouldn’t keep reading. Here I enjoyed seeing Vic become progressively more competent, Jacob become more of a help-mate, and getting to know the enigmatic Dreyfuss. I’m off to listen to the next one.

spook squadEveryone enjoys peace and tranquility, and Victor Bayne is no exception. He goes to great lengths to maintain a harmonious home with his partner, Jacob. Although the cannery is huge, it’s grown difficult to avoid the elephant in the room…the elephant with the letters FPMP scrawled on its hide.

Once Jacob surrendered his PsyCop badge, he infiltrated the Federal Psychic Monitoring Program. In his typical restrained fashion, he hasn’t been sharing much about what he actually does behind its vigilantly guarded doors. And true to form, Vic hasn’t asked. In fact, he would prefer not to think about the FPMP at all, since he’s owed Director Dreyfuss an exorcism since their private flight to PsyTrain.

While Vic has successfully avoided FPMP entanglement for several months, now his debt has finally come due.

Review of Spook Squad:

I enjoyed this, just not as much as the last couple in the series. I thought the answer to the mystery was glaringly obvious. So obvious, in fact, that I felt it would be the first thing a medium would think of, as opposed to something no one considered. And I thought the whole thing kind of sagged in the middle a bit. But I still loved Vic and Jacob (though Jacob is largely in the background), enjoyed getting to know Dreyfuss and the FPMP crew, and still look forward to more.