When an author sets up a paranormal community for a new series of stories, I am eager to check out what they have done to set their novel apart from the pack. Sadly, in this particular genre, so often the same storylines are toted out and reused, but this is so not the case with author Santino Hassell and his newest release, Insight, book one in The Community series. While you and I may have read about psychics before, I would venture to say that the spin this author puts on his paranormal cast of characters will leave you much like it did me–wanting so much more!

First, before I begin my review, a word of caution. Don’t be daunted by the immediate glut of names in this first novel—as the author remarks through one of the main characters, Nate, he needs time as well to “digest the influx of information”. Just know that in a lesser author’s hands, the immediate lineup of key players would have been a bit overwhelming. But, by giving Nate a person to confide in who was, for the most part, an outsider to all the intrigue and drama, we get a rehash of who is who fairly quickly, and it all falls into place. So, let me unpack the basic storyline before delving into why this novel was so outstanding.

Nate is a psychic; he can hear and feel the thoughts of others, so much so that he can barely tolerate being around other people and rarely feels comfortable being touched or touching anyone. Essentially he is continually bombarded by their feelings, and he has great difficulty blocking them out. He attempts to wall off the feelings of others but has very little success. In the scheme of things, he is fairly weak when it comes to being psychically gifted, unlike his mother and his twin brother, Theo, were. Theo and Nate have been estranged for quite some time. Theo had left town to travel to New York City where, for some mysterious reason, he commits suicide by drowning in the river. Nate has been sent a vision—the last moments of Theo’s life—and he is horrified to learn that someone forced him to remain underwater until he died.

After learning some disturbing news about his Uncle Dade at Theo’s funeral, Nate defies his aunt and hitchhikes his way to New York. It’s on the journey there that he meets Trent—the first man to ever be able to be close to Nate and transmit a calming and soothing vibe. When an attraction lights up between them, Nate is reluctant to pursue it, fearing it’s his own desire for closeness that is inadvertently “pushing” Trent into having feelings for him. You see, Trent has admitted to Nate on their journey to New York that while he has had occasional thoughts about guys, he has never really followed through with them.

Once the two end up in New York, Trent has Nate promise to stay in touch, and Nate reluctantly agrees. Now begins the real roller coaster ride this novel turns out to be. Nate finds the club where Theo and his band were performing, only to discover that it is a hive for other gifted psychics. Stunned to discover there are so many others like himself, Nate is drawn into the “community” that seems at best shady and at worst, deadly to some who try to leave it. As more and more people who knew Theo start turning up dead, Nate realizes he can trust no one, and relies heavily on Trent. But the real question is, has his association with Nate made Trent a potential target for the killer who is on the loose and will stop at nothing to keep Nate from finding out who killed his twin brother.

Despite my poor attempt at a synopsis, this story was nothing but a thrilling mystery from beginning to end. Due to Mr. Hassell’s keen ability to write fully realized characters that burrow straight into your mind and heart, you are swept up into Nate’s story immediately. You can feel the confusion and fear that Nate experiences almost every moment he is in contact with various members of the community. In real contrast, you also experience the incredible calming aura Trent gives off and the sweet kindness with which he treats Nate. Their slow-growing relationship is truly magical in many ways, and you never for one moment doubt the veracity of Trent’s feelings for Nate, unlike Nate himself who really grapples with the idea that Trent will one day wake up and leave Nate like so many others have before.

However, the real standout in this story is the secondary cast of characters who are unique, slightly creepy and intense beyond belief. The author uses every moment on the page to set up an entire group of fascinating people who all have some stake in what happened to Theo. Their varying psychic abilities create an entire new scope of paranormal beings who are as vulnerable as they are gifted. You watch this story unfold with your heart in your throat, waiting for the next weirdly wonderful creation to grace the page, and each time the author introduces someone new, you come away thirsty for their backstory. And, through it all we have the budding relationship between Nate and Trent to anchor us to some sort of normalcy in an admittedly fantastical world.

Insight is the first in the newly promised trilogy offered up by the gifted author Santino Hassell. It is an incredible start to what I hope will be some of the best paranormal work this genre has seen in quite some time. I highly recommend it to you.

3.5

This was a one sitting read for me. I sometimes feel bad when authors work years on a book and I breeze through it in a couple hours, but that’s what I did.

I quite enjoyed Nate and Trent, both are super sweet characters. But since it’s basically an insta-love that isn’t explained, I didn’t really feel their connection. If there had been an explanation for their instant, meaningful attraction I might have bought it more, but as it’s written I didn’t understand Trent’s dedication. He’s wonderful and Nate was lucky to find him, and I understood Nate’s position, but why was Trent so unnaturally attracted?

The mystery kept my attention. I had suspicions, but I didn’t know until the reveal. So, that was nice.

The writing, as always with a Hassell book, is wonderful and I’ll be looking forward to the next book. It’ll be interesting to see how Holden grows and at some point I’d really like to see Uncle Dade’s redemption, though I doubt that’s on the books. God, what a tragic character!

When readers are first introduced to Nate, he’s a pretty pitiful character. He’s stuck in a dead-end job, lives in a crappy apartment, and has to put up with homophobic bullies. He’s an empath - the psychic ability to sense others’ emotions - but his skills are pretty weak.

That last point results in his aunt, the Black family matriarch, treating him with contempt. Practically disowned and with no friends or a lover, Nate lives a lonely existence.

That is until Nate gets a vision of his twin brother’s death in New York City. Nate decides to investigate Theo’s death, and so hitchhikes with Trent, a grad student headed to NYC.

As the two drive across the country, they slowly become friends. Nate feels the attraction there, but he doesn’t want to ruin a good thing and lose his ride.

However, they can’t be in each other’s company for so long and not give in. An explosive kiss in New Orleans changes everything.

Once Nate and Trent reach New York, they’re immediately pulled into the city’s secret world of psychics. The Community, as the organized psychics call themselves, is a world of dirty politics and power struggles.

Nate knows his brother’s murder is connected to the Community, he just needs to figure out how.

I was thoroughly impressed by the paranormal mystery. At first, there are too many persons of interest to keep track of. Some psychics are outright hostile to Nate, while others seem to be too nice to trust.

You could probably begin connecting the dots around the 75% mark, but the twists and turns were genuinely entertaining. I was on the edge waiting to see what would happen next. As Nate digs deeper, he uncovers damning revelations about the Community, and his own family.

My only complaint is that it took a while for the plot to get going. It’s not until halfway that things actually start happening, and then there was enough repetitiveness for me to notice it. Even so, the paranormal mystery was very enjoyable.

Though the romance takes a back seat at times, it’s definitely not a weak one. The only person Nate knows he can truly trust is Trent. And when Nate begins pulling away because he doesn’t want to put Trent in danger, Trent doesn’t let him sweep away what they’re building.

The romance is sweet, and the two just got each other in a way others didn’t. Trent and Nate are clearly meant to be together.

Overall, ‘Insight’ is a great start to this paranormal series. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Nate is part of the old, secretive Black family. They are strange to say the least, and each of them possesses some type of psychic ability. Nate has been told to hide it all his life. He hasn't been guided. He didn't have the easiest childhood and remains an outcast in his town. Relationships are rocky in the Black family so he mostly just keeps to himself. Nate's power is low-level empathy. He can feel all the negativity from everyone with whom he comes into contact. Every vibe he gets is in some way a downer to his system until he meets Trent. Trent is like a light in the dark, sunshine breaking through the rain. Nate feels warmth and calmness coming from Trent and wants to feel more of it. Luckily Trent is drawn to Nate also.

I easily developed affection and understanding for Nate and Trent. Neither personality is overly sweet or alpha. They both are a little standoffish to most of society. I totally get that. Let me just say empath sex is beyond hot. Yes indeed. The suspense and mystery elements are real attention grabbers. I couldn't wait to learn if my guesses were correct, who everyone really was and what actually was happening. I stayed up late into the night reading with this gem. It hooked me in the best way. Insight is a gay paranormal romance, supernatural thriller and murder mystery all rolled into one exceptional novel.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I very very very very rarely read anything paranormal. I just cannot get into a story that is outside the realm of my possibilities but it's Santino Hassell so ... 'nuf said, right?! I cannot tell you how happy I am that I read this story It sucked me in from page one and didn't even let go on the last page because I cannot wait for more! #phenomenal

The build-up/unfolding of the story is exactly as it should be ... on the slow side at the beginning, because any other way would confuse the reader, and quicker as the story progresses. There are a lot of things being thrown at us in this book and the pace was set just right that I followed everything perfectly. Insight not only gave us Nate's journey, but it also set the stage for the overall arc of The Community. When I say there's a lot of players, I'm not even kidding LOL but the story is so well developed and paced that you don't get overwhelmed at all.

I was thoroughly captivated by this story. I couldn't stop reading. As more stones were upturned I got more and more anxious for what's next. There's a whole lot of turns in this story and they aren't all surprising, but at no point was I ever not on pins and needles waiting for that next twist. Well done!

Insight is more focused on the suspense part of the story rather than the romance part. However, Nate & Trent's road to HEA was still fully developed, poignant, heart-warming and hella sexy :) God Almighty but Santino can write some serious sexy sexy. A simple kissing scene will have me changing my panties! The man's got MAD SKILLS people! I loved everything about Nate & Trent. Everything about their romance was just so fragile and tentative that you just can't help but love them :) Nate was just SO inexperienced in life and vulnerable and Trent was ... not (lol) They made for a perfect pair **happy sigh**

I leave you with this ... Insight is going to offer you a gripping, thrilling, fast-paced beginning to a much bigger world that you will not want to miss. The story itself is phenomenal, but the possibility of the world it has introduced is even greater. #TRUST

Copy provided for blog tour review

I'm a big fan of Santino Hassell's Five Boroughs series and I was very excited to see Insight on his list of upcoming titles. Romantic suspense is probably my favorite type of romance, and the added aspect of Insight being a paranormal romantic suspense really had me interested in reading this title.

Nate has psychic abilities and a totally messed up family. When his twin brother turns up dead from an apparent suicide, Nate has a crazy vision that has him questioning whether it really was a suicide, so he hits the road from Texas to New York City to investigate. He's picked up by Trent, a casual acquaintance who doesn't give Nate the psychic feedback he gets from just about everyone else.

Trent and Nate make their way to NYC with a few stops along the way and a growing attraction between them. I liked these two together, and that was a big factor in the plus column for this book. Trent is a good guy and was a breath of fresh air in this dark and creepy tale.

When Nate gets to NYC, it doesn't take him long to find his brother's band mates and the people he was hanging around. After finding out about the "Community" of psychics his brother had been with, there are too many clues leading back to this group as being involved with Nate's brother death.

Meanwhile, Trent is a big help to Nate in solving the mystery of Theo's death, but Nate still doesn't quite trust himself or why Trent is hanging around with him. I really wondered about Trent's motives at times because the reader gets more page time with Nate than Trent, so I didn't feel like I knew him as well.

Since this is the first book in this trilogy, there is a lot of world building going on in Insight. Sometimes that worked well for me, other times not so much. I thought the first 30% of the book was quite creepy and almost put me off this book entirely. Your mileage may vary as they say. I'm still not sure how I feel about this world of psychics, but I'm willing to give it another try to find out.

Overall, I thought this was an interesting start to this new series, but I did have some problems with Insight. I liked Nate and Trent, and I found the paranormal aspects of the mystery surrounding Theo's death quite intriguing. It was the pacing that had me rating this (a weak) four stars. My yardstick for pacing is how often I check the percentage counter on my e-reader, and with Insight it felt like I was doing that quite a bit. It took days to read this title when I'm used to tearing through a Santino Hassell book in hours.

The romance between Trent and Nate was my favorite part of the story. I loved the ending and the synopsis did make me want to check out the next book in the trilogy, although I'm not that invested in the "community"... yet.

ARC provided by publisher for review.

I finished reading Insight a few days ago and it's taken me a while to figure out what I really thought of it. Normally, I'm one who knows right away but this time around, I find myself unsure. Let me see if I can work it out.

The main character is Nate Black who is an empath but he never learned how to control his abilities. He lives in a small town in Texas where he is an outcast of his family of psychics. He has a twin, Theo, who he is estranged from for several years. Theo turns up dead in New York, drowned, and it was reported to be a suicide. Nate starts having these visions of Nate dying but it wasn't a suicide, more like murder. Nate decided he needs to find out how his brother really died so he heads out, hitchhiking to New York to uncover the truth. There's a lot more to the story besides that but you'll have to read it for yourself to find out.

The first half of the book is basically Nate's story. How unhappy he is and his leaving everything behind to find out what happened to Theo. How when he hitchhikes, he meets Trent, and they end up being somewhat of an item. It's all nice and very New Adult-ish reading, real easy to keep up with what was going on. And then they get to New York and the nice pace of the story goes into high gear. Between the Community, all the new characters, and trying to sort it all out, I I felt a bit overwhelmed. There is quite a bit of world-building that needs to happen and a mystery to be solved, I just felt the changing of the gears required me to have a notepad just to sort it all out.

In general, I'd call this an okay book. I liked the premise of the story. It had a lot of potential and some interesting characters. However, I think the flow of the story, meandering to high speed, peppered with (almost) too many characters and their secrets/stories, was more than what I was looking for. I'm still undecided if I'm going to continue with the series. There is a nice HEA/HFN for Nate and Trent with a curious cliffy to go with it. I don't know...maybe if I re-read Insight in a few months I'll have a better time the second time around.

reviewed by Jac

3.5* A read that needs quite a bit of concentration. Unsettling mix of too-slow start & galloping pace the rest of the way thru

OK, so I read the blurb very briefly before requesting this book for review, and my advice would be to revisit the blurb before diving in. As usual, SH's writing is hip and trendy with a few things that this Brit reader ended up looking up to understand things, but hey, I'm used to that from him.

I wasn't quite with the tale for perhaps the first 20 pages, as the lead character, Nate, and his life were lacklustre and listless and I didn't feel as if the tale was going to pick up any time soon, but when the aftermath of the tragic event in the tale came about, secrets and hints of stuff being far, far worse than Nate had suspected of his family, and the pace picked up quite a bit. I was confused over the huge hatred various members of his family had for each other, and the secrets and almost-bullying. Not all got revealed in this, but I got hints of the unpleasant and the rather unsettling - I think more will be revealed in the next tale, as stuff from Nate's ancestry may be more widespread than anyone knew.

The romance in this tale, if I am honest, didn't feel integral to the tale or that believable, but what did, was the 'visual' of the psychic cult that SH created - nasty, sinister, what you'd expect of a cult and its reach. At the same time, I couldn't quite get a hold on the many, many characters who suddenly made an appearance, but the tale veered very, very much into the paranormal, with 'vampire psychics' who can draw energy from others (I think Nate may have experienced that, but I couldn't quite make it out) and many, many more with different talents. There was also talked of those that had managed to escape the community, and there was a real sinister feel to the tale.

It ends with the leads having left New York, living somewhere very different and with a life that makes them happy, Nate working as a psychic and realising that his gift can be used to make a living, though he won't milk it for anything but the truth. But then, the tale ends on him getting a phone call...

Whilst the book was pretty well done, I'm not sure I'd read more of this world, as it was confusing, it was dark and it was unpleasant and tbh, I ended up a little confused for a fair bit of it. And, I wasn't convinced about the romance between an out gay guy and what felt like an experimenting bisexual - both lacked the vibrancy of SH's leads from his Five Boroughs series.

ARC courtesy of Riptide and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

Having read quite a few of Santino's books, I was looking forward to this one, and seeing his writing from a different perspective. This was not going to be his normal snarky contemporary romance with dark tones and a gritty New York scene. Except, it kind of was.

Insight involves paranormal, which got me hooked in right away. Why would someone who had some sort of powers want to hide them, not use them, and even more, be in a dark hole in his life? How does that happen to someone who can see things, have an insight into others' lives?

We do get some answers in Insight, but not the full picture yet, which I quite liked. I enjoyed knowing that there was more coming, layers that we will be uncovering in the next two books.

Poor Nate had just a crap life, and no prospects of it looking up when his twin brother dies, and after seeing it from his brother's point of view, decides to go to NYC to investigate. Trent, meanwhile, an engineer at heart that needs to see proof of something before he will believe it, was the perfect snarky foil to down, but not out, Nate.

What made the story so compelling, in addition to all the intrigue and suspense, was the team that Nate and Trent made. Even with Nate's concerns that he was using his empath abilities to have his feelings mirrored by Trent, they had each other's backs, and knew that even with all the half-truths, questions and intensity, they could count on the other person to be there. How that was slowly built over the course of their drive across the country is one of Santino's greatest gifts as a storyteller, his ability to build his characters into living, breathing people with varying interests, flaws, and personalities, yet be the puzzle piece the other character needs to complete the picture.

I'm looking forward to seeing how book 2, Oversight, brings the arc around to Holden, and somehow makes us want an HEA for him. :)

4 pieces of eye candy

I give this book 3-3.5 stars.

I enjoyed that I got to read it, it's a very intriguing concept. I love that Santino can come up with these sorts of things. ..

But... I really wish we could have gotten a little more background on Trent. He's a fantastic character and a great BF, but, where'd he come from? Why is Nate's attraction to him so intense or should say, calming? Where everyone around Nate, their energies make him sick, Trent's do not. He's kind of like this Knight in Shining armor, who basically came out of nowhere.

This book kind of dragged in the middle for me. I enjoyed their car ride and everything, but once they hit New York, it kind of plateud. A bunch of different characters were brought in the mix and you had to try and suss out who was who. Though, this part was kind of fun, because you were learning right along with Nate. Things didn't really pick up for me again until the attack. Then things really started to shake up and that's when I perked up again and was sitting on the edge of my seat.

While some situations were obvious, others were a little confusing, well, at least until the truth is brought forward. I also am not sure how I feel about Holden. I didn't like how he used his psy powers to maybe try to prove a point to Nate? Either way, I'm not sure I'm a fan. I'm sure there's something that lies well beneath Holden's outer shell.

The person who really had my attention the entire story was Chase. I just knew who he was the whole time and getting into his head a little at the end reeeaaaallllly made me want to know more. I will definitely come back for his story if there ever is one.

Another thing I'm not sure how I feel about is this incestial content. Calm down, you down actually read about the content, and the character it implies to is absolutely sickened by it. That's all fine and well, I just feel it's a little cliche. "The dumb imbredI redneck from Texas". I don't know. It just made me feel really bad for Nate and enraged on his behalf when shade was being thrown at him, as if it were his fault. I don't think he's stupid, he's just thrown into a situation expecting a puddle and getting an ocean I also feel there was more to the Black family, but none of that was really touched upon. What's the big mystery? Aside from his mother's talents. I'm not even sure what his uncle did? I feel this family and their lineage and secrecy was spoken of, but ended up not having as much significance as I thought it would. It felt more like a side note. Why did Nate's mom keep them ignorant, it only seems a to hurt them more. Why was his aunt such a bitch, yet wanted to be a stronger family? You don't catch flies with vinegar, amiright? Maybe ln another story we'll get to know more? Or maybe I'm just reading into it too much?

Anyways... Our two MCs take off to a new place and are living happily ever after...until they get a phone call. We're left on a bit of a cliffy. Though the significance of the call and the blurb to the next book don't seem to relate, I'm a bit intrigued.

All in all, it's a pretty fresh take on Psy's. I love the idea of The Community and how it was founded. If I'm not mistaken, some of that is actually true. Wasn't there a movie about government psychics and how they were used? I'll have to look into that and come back to this. I'm curious to see what new talents are to come.

Santino Hassell’s Insight is an incredible look at a community of marginalized people — some psychics, some people of color, all incredibly fascinating — who live in NYC on an Earth that seems just like ours. It’s also got a murder-mystery and conspiracy slant to it while also serving up some complicated psychic love and tension so thick that you could cut it with a spoon.

Straight up, I love this book.

I’m a new Santino Hassell fan but a huge one. His Five Boroughs series has been consistently steamy, captivating, and incredibly realistic while the series he does with Megan Erickson (the Cyberlove series) is all of those things on top of some seriously awesome nods to gaming culture. I love his writing and the way that his characters seem to leap off the pages as you’re reading them.

So, with that being said, let’s get cracking on Insight:

Nate Black, our main character, is an outcast in a family of psychics. If you’re stuck, picture Anne Rice’s Mayfair clan but without the red hair and financial success. The Black family of psychics hail from Texas and basically keep to themselves on a compound. They’re known for being weirdos and for their psychic powers, but for the most part, Nate doesn’t show any sign of having any serious clout when it comes to powers.

His twin brother Theo on the other hand?

Kind of overpowered.

Also… kind of a dick.

At least, he was until he turns up dead in New York five years after he’d last had contact with Nate. The official cause is suicide, but things are fishy from the start especially as Nate starts getting these visions starring his brother from the end of chapter two. They aren’t happy visions and they make Nate question everything that he doesn’t know about his estranged twin.

Nate’s desire to find out what really happened to his brother is the driving point for the plot and it’s what gets him on the road with the handsome and caring Trent.

Trent is such a solid character. Gosh! While Nate is a bit of an outsider to The Community because that’s not how the Black family works, as a “void” (a person without psychic powers akin to a Muggle), Trent is straight up an outsider. He’s experiencing a world that he’s had no access to outside of the days he spent with Nate and his empathy. I love that we get to sort of feel the world through him because his is the closest experience to that of the reader and that’s pretty neat.

The first couple chapters of Insight are basically a roadtrip type scenario. It’s such a great idea because you get to dig deeper into Nate’s character and watch the sexual tension between him and Trent build with every chapter that passes. It also helps the reader kind of tap into Nate’s head a bit because it serves a similar purpose to a montage in a film: all of these glimpses of what Nate and Trent are like together and how Nate’s powers work are really amazing. (Also, they bond over Japanese rock music and look, I

For me though, I think the best part of the book is Nate’s introduction to The Community via the nightclub Evolution.

I’m so not going to drop any major spoilers, but Evolution is something out of this world. It’s like an iceberg. At surface level, it looks like this absolutely chill place to hang out and be a babely queer psychic, but underwater… It’s not so pretty or accessible. There’s a ton of darkness centered around the club and even more suspicious secrets on The Community itself. And Insight only reveals some of those series.

(Side note: One thing that I literally screamed over that isn’t necessarily a spoiler is that Hassell has several characters of color in this book and one of the female characters of color basically calls out the whiteness of Evolution, which serves as a major setting for the story as well as where a majority of the action takes place. As a queer Black person who’s been to Pride… My god. It was so refreshing to read her comments.)

In Insight, Santino Hassell basically pulls together one big and brilliant genre smush.

This is an actually diverse Urban Fantasy story (almost all of the characters we see are queer in some way and then Hassell has several characters of color that are absolutely integral to the story) that expertly wields many tricks and tropes of the mystery genre.

Insight is unpredictable and interesting.

I was reading the book in the English department (as I basically live there when school’s in session) and just making all of the inarticulate noises about the plot and the characters and their experiences. I’ve already recommended this book to three people in my department and I’m going to keep talking it up because I adore this book.

Insight, for me, is a fresh approach to the Urban Fantasy genre that had me on my toes from the first chapter and whose plotlines and characters were immediately interesting.

I was invested from page one and I think you all will be too!

Content Note: The topic of consent and psychic powers comes into play in this book a bunch of times. No one is assaulted onscreen (in my opinion), but Theo is (falsely?) accused of using his powers to control people, Nate worries that he could be manipulative with his powers, and then the character Holden tries to put the psychic whammy on Nate in a way that might be triggering to some readers. They’re relatively minor scenes, but it’s better to be forewarned! Happy reading, folks!

Wow! Seriously, wow! This was a fantastic, very original story, and I was so impressed with it. This was my first book by Santino solo. I’ve read and loved his co-written series with Megan Erickson, Cyberlove, and I was excited to read this. I was not disappointed!

Nate Black is an outcast. He’s an empath, but he doesn’t really know how to use his psychic powers. He doesn’t associate with his crazy family, who are all psychic too. He has no friends either, and he works a crap job at a liquor store. His mother is dead, and his twin brother, Theo, left town and didn’t look back. They didn’t have a good relationship, even when he was still in Texas, but now it’s nonexistent. When Theo turns up dead in New York City from a supposed suicide, Nate doesn’t buy it. Then, he starts getting visions of his brothers death that let him know for sure that Theo didn’t kill himself. He doesn’t know where the visions are coming from, or how to control them, but he decides to follow them straight to NYC to find out what happened to his brother. There’s nothing keeping him in his redneck small town anyway.

Trent is a grad student in California, on a road trip back to NYC to visit family. He picks Nate up on the side of the road hitchhiking. He ran into Nate a couple times while in town, and he was drawn to him, but he’s not sure he can trust him. He just couldn’t stand the idea of something happening to him while trying to get to New York with anyone else. Trent is smart, steady, and levelheaded. Also, he’s a cynic, so the psychic thing is pretty far fetched as far as he’s concerned. Until he gets pulled even further into the madness.

When Nate gets to NY, he finds The Community, a kind of psychic organization. Theo was involved with them, and Nate wants to find out what they know about what happened to his brother. What comes next is a twisty, turny, mysterious puzzle that Nate and Trent try to solve. It was exciting, and scary, and I never felt like I knew what would happen next. There was action, intrigue, and suspense. It was perfect. Meanwhile, Nate and Trent are trying to navigate this new relationship they’ve started, and that carries it’s own scary issues for Nate.

Nate and Trent’s chemistry was strong and they just seemed to fit together from the start. Trent was so sweet and he really cared about Nate, and helping him with his investigation. Nate has never really had anyone like that in his life before, so he wants to hold on and never let go, but it scares him too. I really enjoyed their banter, and the way they were together. While many things are resolved, including an awesome HFN, some other things are left wide open for book 2, and I cannot wait to see where the trail leads! I highly recommend this one!

My Insight journey:

A new Santino book!

<insert excited gif>

Reads blurb.... paranormal and mystery...

<insert worried gif>

I seldom read PNR and don't care for mysteries- they bore me.

But it is Santino.

<insert nodding head gif>

And in the end, it was a winner.


-Psychics
-Fleshed out characters
-Fast paced story
-Heavy angst
-EMPATH SEX
-And a story leaving you wanting more

That equals a winner in my eyes.

Sorry for doubting you, Santino.

Well, folks - I'm no longer a Santino Hassell virgin. This is the book for which I traded in my v-card, and now I sit here, wondering what on earth is wrong with me for holding out for so long.

Insight is the first book in a new series called The Community. I'm not going to explain to you what The Community in question is or what its purpose is - I'm just going to let you read this book (I encourage you to read this book. I demand you read this book, OMG) and let Nate take you inside what can only be described as an intriguing, intense, slightly creepy and twisted mindfuck.

I'm sure we've all at one point or another idly wished for a super-human power, like being able to read people's minds or feel their emotions or manipulate them into doing our bidding without them realizing their being manipulated or predict what the future holds or... well, you get my drift. Now imagine, really imagine, being able to do just one of those things.

Nate Black, for example, is an empath. He can feel people's emotions, as well as emotions attached to an every day object, such as a necklace. Imagine for a minute what that might do to a person, to always feel every emotion someone else has, just because you're touching them. Imagine greeting someone with a handshake, or someone just bumping into you while you're walking down the street or in a crowded train, and you feel. every. thing. Just as if they were your own feelings. Imagine wondering if what the other person feels are their true feelings or the ones you pushed on them with your empath ability.

Ask Nate how that feels, when you're an empath but cannot control this supposed "gift", and you feel it all, all the time. Ask Nate how it feels when your mama just up one day and leaves you, and you're stuck with your aunt, who doesn't even like you much. Ask Nate what it's like to be bullied in high school because he's gay, and the one boy he liked turned on him, because possibly, your uncontrolled powers pushed your own feelings unto this boy, and you just can't be sure whether the feelings were yours or his. And also, your brother was an asshole. You too might be cynical and lonely and depressed, avoiding people whenever you can.

When Nate's twin brother Theo turns up dead in New York from an apparent suicide, and the story doesn't gel with a vision Nate has in a dream, Nate decides that maybe it's time to hitch a ride to NYC himself and ask some questions about what really happened to his more powerful brother.

Fortuitously, Nate manages to hitch a ride with Trent, a normal human, who's also one of the few from whom Nate gets positive feelings. Warmth. Kindness. Someone who makes him feel that he's not just a fuck-up, someone who floods him with good emotions upon first touch.

The author takes his readers on a wild ride from Texas to New Orleans to NYC, and that's not even half the book. Once Trent and Nate arrive in NYC, the creepiness factor only increases. I'll refer you to the intense and twisted mindfuck comment above.

There's a romance here, yes, but it does not take center stage, and instead provides the basis for the plot. It's like the wrapper around the whole thing, really, like a rubber band that holds Nate together so he can focus on finding out the truth. Like a beacon in the darkness, Trent is all that is good and true, and possibly the only person Nate trusts.

Be prepared for unexpected twists and turns, and more than one "holy shit, what just happened?". I won't tell you anymore than that.

It's a wild ride, but I couldn't put this book down for any length of time until I had finished. If this is the kind of book this author produces, I may need my sanity checked for holding out this long.

Run, don't walk, to get yourself a copy. It's available now.

Highly recommended.

Also, where's the next installment, Mr. Hassell? I needs it. I needs it bad!!

If you know me, you know that I recommend Santino Hassell a lot. So when he said that he was writing a paranormal romance, well of course I was excited and I requested from Riptide on NetGalley as soon as I saw it. Thankfully the Bookish Gods were on my side that day. I dropped everything and jumped right into this one. And I wasn't disappointed.
Santino has a way of drawing his readers into his worlds (5B anyone?) This one was no exception. I really enjoy that his writing style is different than most I read and that he's not afraid to tackle more unseen items in romance (avoiding spoilers). And Santino writes some of the snarkiest characters I have ever met. He delivered that in the form of Trent and Nate.
Trent and Nate both have these qualities that I loved getting to see. Nate however I felt had more depth to him than what Trent did, but then again Nate is a physic with a weird odd history. Trent however is like that super awesome hero who I just knew I would love from the moment we met him. He didn't let me down, not with that attitude that is him. They also have undeniable chemistry that translates into bed quite well. The sex is always hot when it comes to Mr. Hassell and his characters.
As for the paranormal aspect of the story, Santino knocked it out of the park. There's enough mystery and intrigue in the book to keep me turning the pages until I finished in one sitting. He made it interesting and fantastic to follow along.

My 3.5 to 4 star review is up on GR and will be posted on blog and social media on release 3/13/17 and links will be udpated at that time.. UPDATED LINKS BELOW

3.5 to 4 stars

Nate Black's life has been miserable in his small Texas hometown with his family are freaks with psychic abilities that tend to spend their time drunk or end up missing or dead. Nate is a poorly controlled empath and has trouble filtering out other people's feelings and impressions, so he isolates himself. He is used to being a pariah and bullied, so he is paranoid. But when he is paralyzed by a vision, he learns his estranged twin is dead of apparent suicide and he decides he needs to follow the trail to New York.

He is picked up on the road by Trent, a man he ran into a couple of times and he got a positive vibe from. Trent is a grad student with a good sense of humor and outgoing personality. But he is also a bit sarcastic and skeptical. The offer of a ride ends up with them on a road trip to New York. They fall into a rhythm of burgeoning camaraderie and underlying attraction and sexual tension.

But neither of them are prepared for what they will find in New York and how their lives will change. The investigation into his brother's death leads to a community. Maybe Nate is not as weird or unique as he thought, but with his new group comes layers of mysteries, secrets, doubts, lies, threats, danger, cover ups, and unexplained events. There are many new people with questionable motives. It is hard to know who to trust and what to believe. It is easy to get caught up in conspiracy theories, but hard to get actual, real answers. In a world where it is easy for someone to influence or lead another, it is hard to tell if they are doing it for good or nefarious reasons, and to determine who is friend or foe.

It will all come down to a chaotic chain of events where truths and loyalties are revealed. But who will escape unscathed and what will be the repercussions?

Throughout this is the burgeoning love story of Nate and Trent. And Nate trying to determine if he could be influencing Trent in any way or if Trent truly cares for him. Their bond and relationship felt real, but the romance is second to the solving the mysteries of the Community. I liked that Trent was more of an anchor for Nate who never really had anyone to lean on.

The cast of quirky, intense characters with various talents is interesting. I especially found Holden, Chase, and Elijah to be stand outs. The premise for the story is unique and compelling. I liked Trent, as he was the straight man and balance to Nate's chaos. Nate grew on me as he started coming out of his shell and becoming more invested in the world around him. The whole story was told in Nate's point of view so the tone was influenced by how he was feeling.

I will admit that I figured out some of the twists, but there were still a couple of surprises. I liked both the paranormal and romantic suspense components as well as the layered history of the characters and the community. I would have liked a bit more of the actual romance or love story. Although they had really good chemistry with a bit extra feeling due to Nate's abilities. There were a couple of rough transitions that had me re-reading them, and a couple of things I questioned or seemed inconsistent. And at times there was a lot of information and new people to process that slowed the pacing down for me especially near the middle. But the beginning pulled me in, and the last part progressed at a much faster pace.

Overall, this was an interesting start to this trilogy and the ending left me satisfied, but also intrigued enough to want to read book two, Oversight. The tease at the end already has me more curious about what will be coming next for all of these characters.

This is an exciting, gritty paranormal story about Nate, a young guy who has psychic abilities but has always been told by his family to keep them secret. He has never learned how to manage them which has made him a socially awkward introvert. After news of his estranged twin’s death, he gets a vision that leads him to believe his death was not a suicide. He sets off to New York to get some answers.

A few chance encounters puts Nate in contact with Trent, with whom he hitches a ride, and their friendship begins to grow. Nate is a void, or someone without any psychic powers. He is the first person Nate has been able to be around who gives him a sense of peace and warmth, as opposed to the myriad of other feelings and emotions he gets from everyone else. He also becomes the first person Nate can trust.

When the guys arrive in NY, Nate stumbles upon something much bigger than he imagined in his quest to find answers about his brother. There is a whole Community of psychics, many more than he ever thought possible. But while the Community holds itself out as all good and helpful, there are a lot of creepy cult-like qualities to it that add to the unease. Things heat up as Nate gathers random clues and tries to solve the mystery of his brother’s murder while not knowing who he can and cannot trust.

There is a gaggle of interesting characters involved here and everyone is not what they seem. Through it all, Nate and Trent’s relationship grows stronger, especially once Nate gets over the fear that he may be using his powers to influence Trent. They were exactly what each other needed, had great banter (even considering how socially awkward Nate was) and explosive chemistry.

Thank goodness Mr. Hassell decided to mold, manipulate and finish this story! I was pulled and sucked in right away and was on the edge of my seat until the end. Mr. Hassell does a fabulous job creating a world full of varying degrees of psychics with underlying tones of creepiness and mystery. I can’t wait to see how this story plays out and really look forward to seeing more of Holden in the next installment.

Buy This Book
I’m a Santino Hassell fan, and though I don’t read much paranormal romance, I confidently opened Insight assuming I would love it. Yet while the book is compelling and entertaining, the balance of romance/paranormal/thriller didn’t thrill me. The first half of the book is a teasing, slow-burn road-trip romance between Nate and Trent, one of Mr. Hassell’s signature, dynamic romantic pairings. They have terrific chemistry and the love story is sexy and steamy, but this is relegated to the background in the second half, which becomes taken up with the mystery surrounding the death of Nate’s estranged brother, Theo. Yes, the latter half is complex, the supernatural community is fascinating, and new characters get a chance to shine… but unfortunately, it’s too many people and too many big ideas in too few pages. The resolution of the central mystery at the heart of Insight – why and how Theo died – also gets a bit lost as Mr. Hassell sets the scene for future books in the Community series.

Insight opens in the PoV of a depressed, lonely and sweaty Nate Black. In the secretive psychic community, the Black family is infamous, and though Nate has his own talents (he’s an empath and can sense emotions/feelings through touch), he’s never been formally trained, and his gift has proved to be mostly a curse. But Nate has a host of other problems. He’s a gay man living in a tiny homophobic Texas town, his family is supremely dysfunctional and he works at a dead end job with no change in sight. Oh, and his car’s been stolen. Nate’s life sucks.

Faced with a former bully at the liquor store where he works, Nate tries and fails to conceal his distress. When a handsome stranger ‘encourages’ the bully to leave, and then strikes up a conversation with Nate, sparks fly. Nate avoids contact with people he doesn’t know, but after accidentally grazing hands with his rescuer, his empathic response is like nothing he’s felt before. The man exudes warmth, sunshine and a sense of peace, and Nate finds himself daydreaming about him as the day progresses. But following that encounter, the day goes badly downhill. In short order, Nate learns of the suicide of his estranged brother, Theo, and then receives a surprise vision of Theo’s last living moments. Nate doesn’t know how or why he sees it, but he’s convinced his brother didn’t intend to kill himself. With nothing to lose, Nate sets off to find out what happened.

Since his car was stolen and his resources are limited, Nate decides to hitchhike. Lo and behold, he’s picked up by the same handsome stranger from the liquor store. Trent Castille is returning home from grad school in California when he spots Nate hitchhiking. Despite Nate’s vague answers about where he’s going (NYC), Trent offers him a ride (wink, wink, smirk), and the two set-off. From the moment they meet, the chemistry between them is off the charts hot, and the air is soon fraught with suppressed longing on both sides. Nate has secrets, Trent’s never been in a relationship with a man, and they’re strangers. None of those things matter in the face of their lust. After an argument and Nate’s confession of his empathic ability, they succumb to the attraction between them, and their relationship rapidly progresses from friends-with-benefits to lovers. Their physical connection is intense, but Nate’s unanticipated empathic response (he simultaneously feels both his and Trent’s sexual pleasure) elevates these intimate scenes. The sex scenes between Nate and Trent are scorchingly hot. So sexy, so steamy. When they reach New York and Trent reluctantly drops him off, Nate knows he’s fallen hard, though he isn’t convinced they have a future together. He promises to stay in touch, and takes off to find out what happened to Theo.

Nate has continued to receive visions of Theo’s last moments, and remains convinced his brother didn’t commit suicide. He doesn’t know much about Theo’s life after he left Texas, though he knows he was in a band. Tracking the band leads him to a nightclub – but this one is special. The clubs’ customers and staff are mostly psychic queers, like Nate. To his surprise, Nate is spotted and recognized by the club’s bouncer, Chase, the moment he approaches the door. Despite his welcome, Nate doesn’t know who he can or should trust – except Trent. It’s challenging to discuss the second half of Insight without spoilers, so I’ll just say that Nate is smart to remain wary of the seemingly altruistic Community. He wants to know what happened to Theo and to learn more about the cult-like Community who seem eager to bring him (Nate) into their fold – but no one is eager to talk to him.

Secondary characters gain significance as Nate’s investigation continues. There’s Chase, a gifted empath with multiple, powerful psychic abilities who doesn’t seem to like Nate; Elijah, Chase’s partner (maybe?), a sweet and helpful psych who was rescued by the Community; Holden, who owns and runs the nightclub, and whose father founded the Community; and Beck, who tries to show Nate all the good the Community does in the queer psych world, and babysits Holden. We quickly learn that things in the Community aren’t quite as they appear, and dark forces may be manipulating it for their own nefarious reasons. Nate surmises Theo discovered something he shouldn’t have, and was killed as a result. It’s all very creepy and difficult to sort the bad guys from the good – or the less bad guys from the sort of good guys. We do get some answers after we finally learn what happened to Theo, but Mr. Hassell sets his hook deep – what’s really going on in the Community? Who are these people? A phone call near the end of a (too short) sweet epilogue featuring Trent and Nate leaves us with a cliffhanger ending.

I wish Mr. Hassell spent more time developing Trent’s character. We get glimpses of his awesomeness – he’s good to and for Nate, and his love and affection are a healing balm to Nate’s tortured soul. Unfortunately, post-road trip, though Trent is Nate’s lover and quickly becomes his confidant and fiercest protector, the romance is secondary to world-building and the mystery. The Community, its members, the slowly emerging Black family history, a sinister and mysterious hidden player in the psych community… all of them also vie for the reader’s attention.

Told entirely from Nate’s point of view, Insight starts off in small town Texas, where his worldview is shaped by his dysfunctional family (you have no idea) and sad, lonely existence. Happiness and contentment arrive in the form of sweet, kind and patient Trent. His life takes an eerie, frightening turn once he arrives in New York – but the epilogue hints at a happily ever after. When finished, I spent a good amount sorting out Insight’s puzzles, wishing the epilogue was longer, and curious about the stories to come.

I may not have loved this story, but I was definitely left wanting more.

Insight is another home run by the talented Santino Hassell.

This time we are treated to a M/M romantic suspense mystery thriller. :-) Yes, sometimes Santino's books are hard to categorise because he is so skilled at writing across several sub genres.

Insight gives us plenty of angst, a whodunnit, and a few twisty twists that you will not see coming. It has a creepy vibe. Titillating you to be scared while our MCs are being brave.

Me: "no, no, don't go there!" "omg, be careful!" "oh shoot oh no no no" *gasp*

All this packaged in Santino's trademarked gritty and real characters. A plot flowing so smoothly that you won't want to put the book down. A realism so tangible that you'll look up and wonder, "are there psychics among us"?

There's also romance. Trent is my new bbf. But it's ok if you fall in love with him too.