Another fun entry in this series!

Picking up months after the conclusion of Not Dead Yet, Wes, his vampire boyfriend Hudson, and their friends Iskander and Evan have now opened their own detective agency. Wes is frustrated because they are only taking on mundane cases, when they could be tackling paranormal problems. After all, they have the abilities of two vampires, a witch, and Wes himself to draw on—who better to help people who encounter the uncanny? Wes gets his chance to prove his point when they are asked to investigate ghostly occurrences at an LGBTQIA youth shelter run by a friend. However, events are complicated by the fact that Wes’s magic has evolved, giving him frightening new powers that may wind up doing more harm than good.

Wes spends about half the novel trying to hide the changes in his magic from the others, and I’m always frustrated by characters keeping secrets when honesty would serve them better. Hudson did the same thing in the first book, and he’s not being completely open with Wes about everything in this one, either. It does at least serve as a catalyst for Hudson and Wes resolving to be more honest with each other in the future, though, so I’m hopeful there will be less of that brand of relationship drama going forward.

I did really like the explanation given for Wes’s magic boost. I’m curious about where the author will take that plot point next, because it leaves the possibility for Wes to develop additional powers wide open. Luckily, fans won’t have to wait too long to find out; Book 3 comes out this November.

If you enjoy paranormal romance, I’d recommend giving this series a try. Readers looking for asexual rep should also take note, since Wes is described as gray ace/demisexual.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

The second book in the Not Dead Yet series is just as great as the first one. It’s funny, sweet, misunderstanding, lack of trust, romantic, and very hot sexy times. Once I started the book I couldn’t put it down. Wes, Hudson, Evan, Lexi, and Isk all return in this book. Wes is dealing with his new powers but is reluctant to let anyone know because he fears how they will treat him. Hudson is trying to let go of his past by facing it head on but didn’t let know Wes know. Evan is still trying to cope with being a vampire and his depression. Love the family dynamics and how they all treat each other.
The book is intense, have action, and I love it. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

WOW! My heart is just racing after finishing this story. Jenn Burke has created an amazing world with ghosts, vampires, mystery, hellhounds, magic, and love. Excellent storytelling, romance, and action!

This story continues on from the first book in this series - I don't really think you'd very easily be able to start with this one, so definitely start with Not Dead Yet. Prepare to fall in love with Wes and Hudson, I'm just saying.

I love, love, love, love Wes. I love that he's not perfect, and that he wants to do the right thing, but can also admit to totally being selfish and wanting to survive and make a life and future with Hudson. I love the representation that we get with his character, and I think maybe most of all along with that, I love that Hudson loves him unconditionally and loves Wes for who he is. I love their snark, I love their chemistry together, and I love that they are totally end game for each other and won't let things fall apart like they did the first time around.

I also really enjoy their band of friends - their family. Lexi, Evan, Isk, and some new friends they made in this story. I totally want Evan to find his own HEA, and I love that we touched on the realness of depression - hey, even vampires can battle depression. But yeah, I definitely want happiness for Evan, too.

It's hard to talk about the plot in this story without giving major spoilers away, so I'm not going to do this here. I will say that if you enjoyed the first book, you will love this one. If you haven't read this series, start with Not Dead Yet and prepare to fall in love with the storytelling and characters.

November and the 3rd book can't come soon enough!

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5*

A really nice and humorous paranormal mystery romance! This takes place a few months after the first novel in the series, Not Dead Yet, and we get to see even more paranormal creatures than the first book!

Wes, Hudson, and Iskander are building up their own private investigator firm while the world around them is starting to fall apart. Creatures such as imps and ghosts are causing commotion in the living plane and it’s starting to affect human lives. While Wes is trying to figure out how to stop it, he’s also dealing with changes to his magic and trying to keep his relationship with Hudson together.

Like the first book in the series, this book has some great asexual representation. Wes is a homoromantic demisexual and, while he likes sex with Hudson, doesn’t always feel the desire to do anything and instead wants to just be close to him and cuddle. Hudson has no problems with this and there is no conflict when it comes to their sexualities.

Wes is a difficult character to like. He’s selfish and keeps a large secret from everyone that he loves for most of the book for reasons that just didn’t seem believable, but he managed to sacrifice everything at the end to protect his family.

This series has a large focus on found family. We see more of Iskander and get to know about him and his family, Evan and his depression, as well as Lexi and her family. They all love each other and their flaws and I’m rooting for them to find their happiness.

Although the middle was slow-going for me, I can’t wait to see what else Jenn Burke has in store for us in the next book in the series!

*4.5 stars*

I really enjoyed Give Up the Ghost by Jenn Burke, even more than the first in the series. Jenn Burke seems to get better and better over time!

Give Up the Ghost follows Not Dead Yet and should not be read as a stand-alone. It is heavily dependent prior knowledge of the characters and plot from the first book, and I liked following the same couple over time for a change.

I loved, loved, loved Wes. I think he is such an interesting, unique character, and that's saying a lot considering I've read hundreds of paranormal romances. I liked his chemistry with Rojas, and though they've had their ups and downs, I think they are a solid, emotionally strong couple. Jenn Burke isn't afraid to allow her characters their insecurities and differences, which makes them feel real.

I also was impressed by the author's plotting. The story moves along at a steady pace, but it will hook you and keep you reading long into the night. I loved the plotting and pacing, and I found the story to be incredibly compelling. I was really busy in my personal life while I was reading this book, but yet I kept coming back for more.

If you like your urban fantasy/paranormal romances to be a bit gritty, a bit sweet, and very, very interesting, you can't go wrong with this series. I can't wait to see where else Jenn Burke takes me in the Not Dead Yet world.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

Jenn Burke’s Not Dead Yet earned a place on my keeper shelf earlier this year for many reasons, not least of which were the great storytelling, excellent worldbuilding, memorable characters, snappy dialogue and unusual premise.  Wes Cooper was murdered in 1933 by his lover Michael, but was resurrected by Michael’s sister – a witch.  Somehow, she overdid it, not only bringing Wes back to life, but making him immortal, which changed his life in many ways apart from the obvious one.  He’s made a living as a ‘retrieval specialist’, using his ability to slip between the living plane and the otherplane (which exists between the living and the dead), to sneak in and out of places others cannot access in order to recover items for interested parties.  Witnessing a murder while in the otherplane was the kicking off point for Not Dead Yet, which saw Wes reconnect with the love of his life, detective Hudson Rojas, and then work with him to solve the murder, making some truly disturbing discoveries along the way.  As Wes and his rag-taggle band of friends and allies fought together to prevent a powerful demon taking corporeal form, something even weirder than usual happened to him, and at the end of the story he realised that his (mostly low-level) magical powers had somehow been increased to a massive degree – and he’s not entirely sure if he’s strong enough to control them.

Give Up the Ghost opens some months after those events, and Wes still hasn’t told Hudson or his best friend, Lexi, what happened to him.  It’s not that he’s deliberately holding out on them, it’s just that, what with one thing and another – Hudson’s retirement from the Toronto PD, setting up their new PI agency, settling into being a couple again, Lexi needing to rest following the clean-up after their battle with the demon, and helping their friend, Evan, to come to terms with his part in it - basically, there just hasn’t been a good time.  And now, months later, it feels too weird to bring it up.  Plus, Wes is a master at avoidance and decides he’s better off not knowing exactly what the Crown of Osiris did to him, because that way he can hide from it.  But he’s struggling; not only to keep the secret, but to keep his powers under control and his fears at bay – and it’s taking its toll on him.

A bunch of “weird shit” happening at their local coffee shop is the first clue that something is badly wrong.  Wes, Lexi and Evan arrive to discover the place overrun by imps, who must be coming through some sort of crack or portal into the living plane – but from where?  Imps don’t exist in the otherplane, so they must be coming from Beyond, the place where spirits pass after death and where demons live – but in order to do that, the imps must have been summoned.  But by whom – and why?  Before Wes can contemplate that, however, he and the others must seal the breach – and not for the first time, he berates himself for not coming clean about his enhanced magic, as he instead of doing it himself, he has to channel some of his magic into Lexi so that she can close it.

Wes wants to find out what happened – after all, they’re investigators now, right? – but Hudson insists they’re not the paranormal police and wants to leave it alone.  Things between Wes and Hudson have been a bit on edge for a while; Hudson wants them to move in together (again) but Wes keeps turning him down, scared that Hudson will find out the truth about his magic and everything will change between them.  Even though he’s well aware that his own experience now strongly parallels what happened to Hudson when he was turned (into a vampire), Wes still can’t bring himself to reach out. He’s terrified that Hudson will look at him differently and that their relationship will fall apart. Again.

When Lexi receives a phone call from Kee, a friend who runs a shelter for homeless LGBTQIA teens, telling her that some of the kids there report having seen ghosts, she and Wes head over to Aurora House to see what’s going on. Kee tells them about a mirror that spontaneously shattered, a resident who watched scratches appear on his arm, one who felt someone nudge him as he walked down the stairs… and Wes is immediately on the alert.  It’s not unusual for ghosts to want to communicate with the living, but for them to persist when it’s clear that none of the living around them are sensitive enough to be able to do it?  That bothers him.  He’s bothered even more by the fact he can see ghosts in his normal, human state, which isn’t something he’s ordinarily able to do.

The portal in the coffee shop, ghosts haunting places they’d never been when alive and trying to communicate in the living plane – and then, the appearance of Michael, who is clearly trying to warn Wes about something; all these things point to some sort of movement or tear in the fabric of the boundaries that exist between the different planes.  And the more Wes, Hudson and their friends discover, the clearer it becomes that it’s imperative the breach is sealed once and for all… and that there’s only one way to do that. And only one person who can do it.  But at what cost?

Give Up the Ghost is a terrific sequel to Not Dead Yet, full of all the ingredients that made that first book such a great read.  The storyline is compelling, suspenseful and heartbreaking – I choked up near the end! - the characters are well-defined and complex, with flaws that make them seem that much more real, and the relationships between them are brilliantly drawn.  Wes and Hudson are going through the sorts of teething troubles experienced by many couples, none of which is helped by the fact they’re both keeping secrets; but though things sometimes seem rocky, they’re both committed to making things work between them this time around.  They’re great characters – individually and together – and I continue to enjoy Wes’ very distinctive voice and the way he’s still growing as a character and working to break out of his long-ingrained habit of self-interest. Even though he can sometimes be frustrating, his awareness of his flaws is truly appealing, as is his fierce desire to protect those he loves, Hudson and his ‘found family’.

Give Up the Ghost is a fantastic blend of romance, humour, chills and suspense and is, fortunately, one of those rare sequels that’s as good as the first in the series. Both books are going to be sitting right next to each other on my keeper shelf, and I’m eagerly awaiting Graveyard Shift, which is set for release later this year.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo
Visit our Amazon Storefront

Give Up the Ghost was a fun supernatural romp that had ghoulies and ghosties and vampires all in one. The slowly creeping mystery of what was happening and why was very entertaining and kept me guessing the whole time. The description of the "ghost" opening and closing drawers was not great to read in the middle of the night, but who doesn't love a good tingle up the spine?
I didn't realize this was going to be a sequel when I requested it from Netgalley, but that didn't mean I was lost or the novel didn't make sense. I was able to catch up fairly quickly thanks to the characters making references back to the previous story. Wes and Hudson had incredible chemistry and while I jumped in in the middle of their established relationship, I enjoyed their love story as well as their ability to work together.

Give Up the Ghost takes place a few months after the end of Not Dead Yet, and Wes is dealing with the fallout from the Crown of Osiris and changes in his magic, while also working on his relationship with Hudson and building a private investigator’s business with Hudson and Iskander. Wes is keeping his increased power a secret from everyone he cares about, but when strange things start occurring at an LGBTQ+ resource house, he and his friends/family need to help our and he comes to realize this new magic of his has a greater burden than he realized.

One of my personal favorite parts of this book is Wes’ sexuality and the easy way Hudson accepts that sometimes he wants to cuddle and doesn’t feel remotely sexual. There is no feelings that he’s not fulfilling his partner’s needs or has to make up for some sort of lack, and as an asexual reader this really appeals to me in a romance.

This book also has really strong themes of found/chosen family, even after blood family has kicked you out. Wes has always been really close with Lexi, the great-great niece of his former lover and the man who killed him in the 1920s, but his family has grown with Hudson, Hudson’s progeny, Evan, and Iskander, and I love the ways they are there for each other, though none of them are perfect.

Give Up the Ghost was more focused on Wes and Hudson, and their relationship and rebuilding what they had over 20 years ago, but the magic and mystery is so intriguing. The mystery was engaging and I didn’t see all the things coming until they were revealed. I liked the way things were wrapped up regarding Michael, and I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series. I love getting to see these characters heal and grow, and especially the ways they support one another. Really loved this book and definitely recommend!

I had quite liked the first book by Jenn Burke, „Not Dead Yet”. But while I loved the characters and setting, I wasn’t that impressed by the plot. Sadly, the second volume has more of the latter and less of the former.
I mean, of course it still has its characters and its setting. But it once again focuses on Wes and Hudson, and we only get short glimpses at the other characters, whose stories remain unresolved (which as such is fine in a series, but the way it’s done felt unsatisfying rather than promising, if that makes sense). I also had difficulty caring about Wes and Hudson’s issues, and it didn’t help that Wes Is Keeping A Big Secret From Everyone Because Reasons. I’m not a fan of that kind of thing - it’s rarely done in a way that feels believable to me, and it just made me dislike Wes, which didn’t help with my enjoyment of the rest of the story.
The plot mostly just seemed to drag on and failed to grip me. The villain and their motivation actually pissed me off (hellllo misogyny), and I found the final fight very anticlimactic as well. The only part of the book I found truly interesting apart from the bits where we find out stuff about Iskander and Evan were the last 10%, and even they seemed to last forever.
I had been looking forward to this sequel, but unfortunately it didn’t live up to its predecessor. I doubt I’d be interested in reading another book about Wes and Hudson - if volume three focuses on either Iskander or Evan, I might give it a try, otherwise I doubt I’ll continue this series.

3.75 stars rounded up

This is the beginning of a review where I will say once again - since apparently, it's my common problem - that I remember nothing from the first book *sheepish smile*. However, I will also say this happily, that I got myself immersed to the story without feeling too lost in the plot.

So, a short recap, after handling Crown of Osiris (in the previous book) apparently Wes Cooper's magic power is getting bigger. And it's NOT without its own consequences. While trying to deal with this new fact, malicious supernatural creatures start to appear in Toronto, not to mention that ghosts are acting weirdly as well. Wes, his vampire-lover Hudson, and their merry band of Evan, Lexi, and Iskander, must figure things out, before the havoc becomes uncontrollable.

On the paranormal part, I really loved it. I loved the sinister plot that happened with ghosts stealing items and becoming dangerous. I liked that these people put their thinking hats together, and trying to make connection of what had been going on. I also loved the introduction of new characters -- Ren Oshiro, Ben, Joelle -- which means the 'universe' is getting bigger.

Now, on the relationship part ... I have to admit, some of the "men-don't-talk" parts of this book frustrated me. Wes keeps secret (of his magic) from Hudson. Hudson doesn't share about his "errands" to Wes. Evan keeps the identity of his date from everyone. AARGH!! When you talk and you WORK together, it gives RESULT, people!! But, at least I think Wes and Hudson really learn about communication by the end of this book. Hudson also tries to be a better sire to Evan. Improvement *thumbs up*

I think Lexi is the MVP in this book, though. Despite being SPOILER! injured SPOILER! Lexi still able to help the gang, and she plays quite a big role near the end with Wes' situation. So YAY LEXI!

To close this review, I need to say something about Wes' sexuality though. The book highlights side-characters who are bisexuals and genderfluids. But Wes' sexuality, which I assume to be demi-sexual based on his stance on sex, is never stated clearly. Wes said, I didn’t often feel sexual attraction. Objectively, I could evaluate a man’s appearance as handsome, rugged, beautiful— but it was an esthetic appreciation, not an “I want to jump his bones” kind of one

As an asexual reader, who always celebrates when there's asexual characters in book I read, I can't help feeling let down by the author's decision not to even write the word "asexual" or "demi-sexual" on page.

As soon as I finished book one I ready for more and Give Up the Ghost delivered in spades. Wes and Hudson continue to be flawed, complex, and absolutely engaging characters. Wes is struggling with his abilities, Hudson is ready to take their relationship to the next level, and the city is in danger...So they have their work cut out for them. I absolutely loved it, all in all a very enjoyable read and a great sequel to Not Dead Yet.

*I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy provided by Carina Press through NetGalley*

3.5. This series gets better and ups the stakes! Wes and Hudson are great in their very human flaws and how they strive to go beyond them, individually and together. And the surprises in this one are pretty, well, surprising. (view spoiler)

The secondary characters grow in number and depth. Evan continues to endear himself to me, while Lexi remains a badass. (view spoiler) Speaking of that, another thing I like about this series is real world consequences. Hopefully what happened, or other realistic consequences, continue to have presence in future stories. I can't wait for Graveyard Shift in November!

I think Jenn Burke is onto a good thing here, as Give Up the Ghost feels like a marked improvement on Not Dead Yet, the first book in the series. Although it contains one of my least favorite tropes, MC Keeps Secret From Lover Because Reasons, the world building is imaginative, the romance is sweet/hot (once the Secret was revealed about a third of the way in), and the secondary characters provide richness and depth. Personally, I think baby vampire Evan is stealing the show, and I hope the author gives him a love story of his own. And I'm also partial to business partner Iskander, largely because I'm primed from Jordan Hawk's Widdershins series to be partial to any character by that name.

Wes is not always an easy MC to love - he's sometimes selfish and of course there's that aforementioned secretiveness - but he wants to help the people (alive and dead) he encounters, and he is learning to deal with a whole new set of powers that emerged at the end of book #1. I wouldn't mind seeing some of the action from Hudson's POV; at times he seemed to get a little lost in the shuffle, especially when another member of Wes' found family is endangered, and I want to see his own struggles to come to terms with the new roles he's taken on from a closer vantage point.

But overall, this was a page-turning installment in what I hope will be a continuing series. The last few chapters especially brought a lump to my throat and then a happy relieved sigh.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for honest review.

I was thrilled to receive and ARC for Give Up the Ghost, after recently reading Not Dead Yet I was looking for more. We get to see more of Wes & Hudson as an established or back together couple, they both have issues that need resolution. Of course there is the supernatural element of the story, and a mystery to solve. The author does a great job incorporating everyone in, we learn a little more about Evan, Lexi and Iskandar. I enjoyed this one and I am looking foreard to the next one.

I made a mistake and read this without having read book 1.

D'uh!!!

However, after a couple of chapters, I got into the rhythm of the characters and 'the world' of this series.
I enjoyed what I read, especially after I figured out what was happening (totally my fault for starting with a massive disadvantage). The characters were fun to read, and the pace moved along well. It was an exciting, and entertaining story; and I'm going back to catch-up and I look forward to more stories in this series.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to the sequel. I was not disappointed. Wes is having a hard time adjusting to the changes wrought by the crown of Osiris and chaos is breaking loose. Both he and Hudson continue to be so humanly flawed that it's wonderful. I was not expecting the turns this book took at all, but I can't imagine it turning out any other way now. Really hoping for a third book!

Give Up the Ghost,a very good sequel in the Not Dead Yet series,wich I honestly hope
will be a long one.I loved every thing about it.
The romance between Hudson and Wes,it is growing,but both make mistakes.
And try to do better.The suspence is certainly there but not in a deathgripping way
what for me is a great plus.I liked the storyline,I loved the group off chosen family.
I liked to see something happening between Iskander and Evan.and that Lexie gets
her happy ending.And Ren whats up with him,does he have a story to tell.

I,loved the book and hope to see and read more by Jenn Burke
Highly recommend it,you will be not wasting your time

Arc was provided by netgalley/Carina Press (less)

Review will be posted on my blog on May 3!!
-=-=-=-

The descriptive bit: Wes Cooper is not-quite a ghost, and he’s immortal, oh yeah, and he has a whole bunch of magic almost exploding out of him. He’s keeping that part secret from his vampire, ex-cop, partner, Hudson Rojas. Basically, Toronto is being invaded by ghosts and other creatures from the otherplane and things are getting dangerous.

My thoughts bit: This book was a fun romp through the supernatural realm with one of the best Scooby gangs ever. We and Hudson lead up a team of investigators who originally appeared in the first book of the Not Dead Yet series. There’s Lexi who is a talented witch, Wes who is a baby vampire sired by Hudson, Iskander is Hudson’s business partner and the down-to-earth one of the bunch.

There’s no shortage of action in this story. There’s drama in the ranks because Wes and Hudson are both hiding secrets and the stress of that is wearing on them. New vampire Wes is trying out a relationship but he suffers from depression and it’s really beginning to pull him down. Iskander has been keeping his distance from his Muslim family because his brother-in-law is homophobic and doesn’t want him near.

I loved following Wes as he struggles with his new magical powers. He’s a sweet guy and he’s massively flawed and remarkably honest about it in his own mind. Burke definitely nailed the characterizations in this novel. Even the side characters (although I hate calling them that because they’re amazing) are developed to the point where I cared about all of them. I seriously would read another novel about any of these characters!

Don’t worry if you haven’t read the first book: Not Dead Yet. I hadn’t read the first one and there’s enough exposition at the beginning that you won’t feel left behind. I will tell you that as soon as I finish this review I’m off the find a copy of the first book because I need to know how these wonderful people found each other.

The warnings bit: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this book: lots of violence, the killing of supernatural creatures, biting and drawing blood. Some descriptions of death, mention of homophobia.

I love a good paranormal story. I was intrigued by the first book in this series, but it did kind of lose me at the end, and I never really felt a connection to the characters throughout that book. I liked them, but it was just an okay read for me.

However.

This book? Give Up the Ghost? This book is ALL THE FEELS. This was was super angsty and had so much anxiety and internal conflict and I LOVED IT.

This characters in this book had a time to actually shine. There's certainly still a lot happening in the plot, but it also backs off a just a little bit to give us a chance to really know Wes and Hudson. Because Wes may be old, but in all that time, he's never had to grow up. He's been living, but only inside the cocoon of what he's comfortable with and never quite stepping outside of that. Hudson, on the other hand? Hudson is an unpredictable variable in all of that.

They've been together once before, and that didn't work out in the end. Wes might love Hudson but the possibility that Hudson might walk away from their relationship again is something that Wes fears deeply.

At the end of Not Dead Yet, Wes gained something unexpected. He has magic and it used to be a manageable amount, but now he has magic that no longer fits into the mental container he used to store it all in. It's draining Wes to keep it all contained and he's rightly freaking out about it. The problem is, he hasn't told anyone about his newfound power because he's scared that'll be the breaking point between him and Hudson, and he likes what they have now. Wes is a ball of anxiety, and while it is frustrating to read that he's choosing to handle everything alone, I get it. Hudson is the first person in a very long time that Wes really feels a connection with and just really loves. And he doesn't want to ruin that because he had been a breaking point with Hudson before.

It also doesn't help that Hudson is keeping secrets of his own. Hudson, Wes, and Iskander, a PI, have started an investigation business and while they've been staying with non-paranormal cases, it was inevitable that things get spooky and involves them anyways.

When ghosts start doing mysterious things and act much more abnormally than Wes is used to, of COURSE Wes wants to get involved. This is where the story starts getting spooky and felt so very intense and stressful. I mean, I suspected before now, but now I know - stories with ghosts doing scary stuff just freaks me out. Especially when I tend to read books in the dead of night. This story definitely dialed up the creepy factor in my opinion. I love it. I probably would have liked it more if I read this in the middle of the day instead.

The story does get a bit weird near the end. It was brutal and a plot twist I certainly didn't see coming, but it also felt a tad bit too convoluted again. I guess I just like my mysteries to be more straightforward? And this wasn't it.

It was lovely meeting some new characters. I particularly liked that we meet a genderfluid character named Kee, who owns a LGBTQIA shelter for homeless teens. They were not as distressed about finding out about all the weird paranormal activity within their home as I would have been.

I loved seeing Lexi again, Wes's witch best friend. And of course, it was a delight seeing Evan again (the vampire who got turned in the first book). Evan is so precious and I hope he can find his own HEA someday.

Something I really love about this series is CONSENT. Hudson always asks and respects whatever Wes tells him. Wes is ace (maybe gray ace?), and although that's never explicitly said on the page, it is highly implied. And sometimes, Wes doesn't want to have sex and just wants to cuddle with Hudson and Hudson doesn't even question it. I LOVE IT.

The events in this book seem to wrap up things pretty well? So I am very surprised to learn we're getting a third book coming later this year, and I can't wait to see what happens because I have come to love the characters a LOT and wish them only the best.

***Thanks to the Carina Press for providing me an ARC on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

4* Completely different to book 1, yet equally as good and fast paced, if more complex.

This book picks up with Wes, Hudson and Iskander (the former client and sort-of-friend of Wes's) in a PI partnership called (The Three?) Caballeros, and with Hudson and Wes once again keeping secrets from each other, both of them for good reasons. Wes has discovered that what happened to him in book 1 has changed him and what he can do, and he's feeling the effects of his new powers, which he's hiding from everyone, especially Hudson, who left him in their long-ago past; Hudson simply disappeared (for thirty-odd years), as readers may recall. Hudson, too, has been hiding his... visits to try and track down something from his past, and Isk is seemingly in on it, but also doesn't break Hudson's confidence to Wes, so it's a bit of a tangled web. And of course, as in all good books, secrets will out and cause pain and betrayal and hurt.

There's the cast of characters from book 1, but there are also a cast of 'baddies'. They're not all baddies per se, but there is someone with an evil agenda connected to someone with an even more evil one, and though I followed the tale and knew events and happenings had to be connected, the reveal was still a surprise. And at the end, some of the 'baddies' may well have ended up allies of Wes and Hudson. And, I wondered if favours from one ally might be called in at some point. And, that ally might well be used as part of ongoing investigations, I suspect, which is great, as it knows many secrets, it seems.

Wes does some morally dubious things in this tale; in his mind, he knows he's doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, and in the case of Omar, I was totally with him. That guy needed to eat his words, and he did. But, he overstepped and hurt someone else and by forcing that person to keep his secret, Wes damaged their relationship, and could have damaged that person's relationship with Hudson, as theirs is like no ordinary mortal relationship. But, I think that liking, being family and their love for each other would have saved the day, had what felt like the possible fall of Toronto not happened. And, Wes kind of repaired something with someone from his past. I have mixed feelings about that, because it got that person off the hook and to a better place, but it also kind of got that person off scot-free. Then again, if the females from his family had gotten hold of said person, knowing how protective the women are of Wes, that might have been near apocalyptic, and once was enough. I was intrigued by what's up with Evan, the baby vamp. He's seemingly found someone he likes, but he came across as a bit self-destructive and I didn't really get why, as it didn't seem as if his depression had taken hold of him. More secrets to be revealed in future tales, maybe?

We get clarity on Wes's age here, which had been bugging me. He's 115yo, technically, but looks frozen in time as the 23yo he was when he was killed. And, Hudson's vamp powers, and Evan's, too, end up changed, I think, as result of being in proximity to Wes's new powers; they can now go out in sunlight.

I also liked how organically the author used the trope of 'the power of one's true name', using it to save Wes at the end, and that she had Hudson exert a sire's power organically, too, for the right reasons. But, the book's cover bugs me, lol! Yes, I get that Wes looks really young and always will, but Hudson is 58/59 and described as a silver fox. Now, made into a vamp at 37 or not, he should be showing his age, and yet the cover makes him look like a mid-30s guy. Why? Grrr!

This book is darker than the first, but has a good storyline that I could not have predicted, and we meet characters I'm pretty sure will feature in future books. And, book 3 will be out in November, so hopefully not too long before I get my sticky mitts on an ARC.

ARC courtesy of Carina Press for my reading pleasure.