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Liar City by Allie Therin
It’s the middle of the night when part-time police consultant and full-time empath Reece gets an anonymous call warning him that his detective sister needs his help. At an out-of-the-way Seattle marina, he discovers that three people have been butchered—including the author of the country’s strictest anti-empathy bill, which is just days from being passed into law.
Soon, Reece’s caller arrives: a shadowy government agent known as The Dead Man, who is rumored to deal exclusively in cases involving empathy. He immediately takes over the investigation, locking out both local PD and the FBI, but, strangely, keeps Reece by his side.
As the two track an ever-growing trail of violence and destruction across Seattle, Reece must navigate a scared and angry city, an irritating attraction to his mysterious agent companion, and a rising fear that perhaps empaths like him aren’t all flight and no fight after all…
Why you should read it: Oh, this is a PHENOMENAL book—a contemporary paranormal mystery with truly excellent world building. The premise is so well executed that I would be impressed even if I hadn't found the story itself riveting, but the characters and pacing had me on the edge of my seat too. I'm so excited that this is the first in a series. I hope book two's tentative release date can be trusted, because I'm gonna need the sequel in my eyeballs as soon as humanly possible. What a ride!
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Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly
Alexei Lebedev’s journey on the Pacific Crest Trail began with a single snake. And it was angling for the hot stranger who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Lex was prepared for rattlesnakes, blisters, and months of solitude. What he wasn’t prepared for was Ben Caravalho. But somehow—on a 2,500-mile trail—Alexei keeps running into the outgoing and charismatic hiker with golden-brown eyes, again and again. It might be coincidence. Then again, maybe there’s a reason the trail keeps bringing them together. . .
Ben has made his fair share of bad decisions, and almost all of them involved beautiful men. And yet there’s something about the gorgeous and quietly nerdy Alexei that Ben can’t just walk away from. Surely a bad decision can’t be this cute and smart. And there are worse things than falling in love during the biggest adventure of your life. But when their plans for the future are turned upside down, Ben and Alexei begin to wonder if it’s possible to hold on to something this wild and wonderful.
Why you should read it: This was such a lovely story, with sweet and earnest characters who fuck up sometimes but are genuinely always doing their best. Lex and Ben spend the book finding themselves just as much as they're finding each other, and seeing them learn to trust each other is a wonderful journey.
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The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older
Mossa has returned to Valdegeld on a missing person’s case, for which she’ll once again need Pleiti’s insight. Seventeen students and staff members have disappeared from Valdegeld University—yet no one has noticed. The answers to this case may lie on the moon of Io—Mossa’s home—and the history of Jupiter’s original settlements during humanity's exodus from Earth.
But Pleiti’s faith in her life’s work as a scholar of the past has grown precarious, and this new case threatens to further destabilize her dreams for humanity’s future, as well as her own.
Why you should read it: A second charming installment in a delightful series. I definitely recommend reading the first one—The Mimicking of Known Successes—before diving into this title, so you can really appreciate the depth of the characters and their relationship. But I also feel you could read this one as a standalone just fine, since the mystery is wholly self-contained. It's a quick read, and downright silly in some places, but never in a way that threw me out of the story. Honestly, the sillier references (and I don't want to give any spoilers for them, you'll just have to read and find them for yourself) fit right in with the wry, occasionally cheeky tone of the story. All-in-all a lovely novella with unmistakable Holmes/Watson vibes.
Liar City by Allie Therin
It’s the middle of the night when part-time police consultant and full-time empath Reece gets an anonymous call warning him that his detective sister needs his help. At an out-of-the-way Seattle marina, he discovers that three people have been butchered—including the author of the country’s strictest anti-empathy bill, which is just days from being passed into law.
Soon, Reece’s caller arrives: a shadowy government agent known as The Dead Man, who is rumored to deal exclusively in cases involving empathy. He immediately takes over the investigation, locking out both local PD and the FBI, but, strangely, keeps Reece by his side.
As the two track an ever-growing trail of violence and destruction across Seattle, Reece must navigate a scared and angry city, an irritating attraction to his mysterious agent companion, and a rising fear that perhaps empaths like him aren’t all flight and no fight after all…
Why you should read it: Oh, this is a PHENOMENAL book—a contemporary paranormal mystery with truly excellent world building. The premise is so well executed that I would be impressed even if I hadn't found the story itself riveting, but the characters and pacing had me on the edge of my seat too. I'm so excited that this is the first in a series. I hope book two's tentative release date can be trusted, because I'm gonna need the sequel in my eyeballs as soon as humanly possible. What a ride!
- — - — - — - — -
Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly
Alexei Lebedev’s journey on the Pacific Crest Trail began with a single snake. And it was angling for the hot stranger who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Lex was prepared for rattlesnakes, blisters, and months of solitude. What he wasn’t prepared for was Ben Caravalho. But somehow—on a 2,500-mile trail—Alexei keeps running into the outgoing and charismatic hiker with golden-brown eyes, again and again. It might be coincidence. Then again, maybe there’s a reason the trail keeps bringing them together. . .
Ben has made his fair share of bad decisions, and almost all of them involved beautiful men. And yet there’s something about the gorgeous and quietly nerdy Alexei that Ben can’t just walk away from. Surely a bad decision can’t be this cute and smart. And there are worse things than falling in love during the biggest adventure of your life. But when their plans for the future are turned upside down, Ben and Alexei begin to wonder if it’s possible to hold on to something this wild and wonderful.
Why you should read it: This was such a lovely story, with sweet and earnest characters who fuck up sometimes but are genuinely always doing their best. Lex and Ben spend the book finding themselves just as much as they're finding each other, and seeing them learn to trust each other is a wonderful journey.
- — - — - — - — -
The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older
Mossa has returned to Valdegeld on a missing person’s case, for which she’ll once again need Pleiti’s insight. Seventeen students and staff members have disappeared from Valdegeld University—yet no one has noticed. The answers to this case may lie on the moon of Io—Mossa’s home—and the history of Jupiter’s original settlements during humanity's exodus from Earth.
But Pleiti’s faith in her life’s work as a scholar of the past has grown precarious, and this new case threatens to further destabilize her dreams for humanity’s future, as well as her own.
Why you should read it: A second charming installment in a delightful series. I definitely recommend reading the first one—The Mimicking of Known Successes—before diving into this title, so you can really appreciate the depth of the characters and their relationship. But I also feel you could read this one as a standalone just fine, since the mystery is wholly self-contained. It's a quick read, and downright silly in some places, but never in a way that threw me out of the story. Honestly, the sillier references (and I don't want to give any spoilers for them, you'll just have to read and find them for yourself) fit right in with the wry, occasionally cheeky tone of the story. All-in-all a lovely novella with unmistakable Holmes/Watson vibes.
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