White Trash Warlock was one of my favorite books of last year, and Trailer Park Trickster is a favorite of this year. David Slayton has done it again, and I am so impressed! This series is criminally underappreciated. Slayton has created some of the most well developed, interesting characters I have ever read, and a unique and enchanting magic system. LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy is incredibly important, and this is some of the best out there. I am so grateful for the opportunity to read this stunning sequel, and I can't wait to read more from this author!

I loved the first book and I was surprised to not be able to connect with this one, it was still enjoyable between Vic and Parek I didn't particularly found it interesting, I loved the elves though with an unexpected turn, it was a moment I liked a lot
Also Adam grew up a lot mentally it was nice to see and doesn't deal with problems the same, he had a good arc

3.5 stars

Trailer Park Trickster is the sequel to White Trash Warlock, a book which surprised me with how fun it was and how much I enjoyed it, whilst still packing an emotional punch. While I didn't enjoy the sequel quite as much I still really liked it and had a great reading experience - it's an easy book to fly through and super entertaining!!

We are back following Adam and Vic in their adventures, when Adam suddenly drops everything and runs back to Guthrie because his Aunt Sue has mysteriously died, not telling anyone where he has gone. From there Adam must sort out why Binders are being targeted by a dark druid and uncover it's identity whilst trying to keep his family and Vic safe. Meanwhile Vic embarks on a roadtrip to meet Adam, but along the way gets roped into elven politics and ends up embroiled in an elven plot to destroy the world.

It's been a while since I read book 1 so I can't remember if we got both Adam and Vic POVs or if it was just Adam's, but I really liked having both in this book! I liked exploring more about the elves through Vic's storyline - Silver and Argent are very interesting characters (and also very fun!) so I liked getting to know more about them. I also liked exploring the conflict Vic had with regards to morality and legality and how he reacts to certain secrets that come to light.

I really like Adam as a character but I do feel like he had a lot less development than in book 1, especially with regard to his relationship with his family, one of my favourite things in book 1 was the relationship between Adam and Bobby and it's complexities and nuances, however I feel like in this book suddenly they are just great brothers. I did like the storyline of exploring old family secrets and it felt very classic creepy small town mystery (with a hint of magic!) in regard to central mystery and how Binders kept dying. I felt like the magic was slightly less explored in this book, compared with book one (but this also might just be me being a high fantasy reader reading urban fantasy!) - but the less fantastical elements I thought were just as strong, and the horror element was also great. I think I would have liked the book to be a little longer to explore and exand on some themes and world-building a bit more, but that is just my personal taste!

I also liked Adam and Vic's relationship development, we didn't see a huge amount of them together but I feel like some important communication issues were highlighted and resolved well. I also really liked how we see through both their internal monologues how much they care about each other and that they make each other stronger - I'm a sucker for romance!

Also talk about a dramatic ending!!!!! It definitely left me very excited for the next book!

In conclusion, this is a really fun YA urban fantasy series that is a perfect read in an afternoon book that is highly entertaining with a good mystery and great characters!

I'm coming into this series without having read book one. Luckily, Slayton is talented and I was able to follow along just fine without dealing with huge walls of information and worldbuilding. The characters were interesting and I probably wouldn't like half if them in real life, but they were realistic. I liked the worldbuilding and magic, seeing factions of elves divided among suits if the tarot. Overall a good read, and many are going to love it when they see themselves reflected in the characters.

I will later be reviewing this book for Geek Girl Authority, but want to get my thoughts out now.

This is a great follow-up to White Trash Warlock, and a great lead-in to what I assume is a third book.

Things I loved:
- Spending time in Vic's head.
- The expanded mythology and lore.
- How climate change and human issues affected the story.
- The growth of the Binder family relationships.
- COMMUNICATION!!!

Things I didn't like as much:
- Sometimes the lack of communication between characters seemed forced as a way to create conflict.
- I couldn't always follow Adam's rational. Not in a "I don't agree with what he's doing way," but in a "I don't understand why he's making this choice way"

Still, would 100% recommend.

Trigger warning: violence, blood, gore, homophobia, death, murder, death of parent discussed.

I loved Slayton's first book, WHITE TRASH WARLOCK and TRAILER PARK TRICKSTER is not just a worthy successor but even tighter, even more well-paced, and more well-characterized. No sophomore slump here. I read the entire book in one sitting which is not something I do often but I couldn't put it down for longer than it took to order dinner and, honestly, I want to go back and read WHITE TRASH WARLOCK again and then do the same with TRAILER PARK TRICKSTER. Yes, it was that good. Yes, everything we learned about our friends from the last book was that interesting and yes, the new members of the cast are that compelling. Yes, the deep dive into Adam's past is that fascinating and our elf friends... well, Tolkien isn't any quieter in his grave than he was after book 1.

Plus, what else am I supposed to do until book 3 comes out?

review will be posted on my blog one month before release

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Trailer Park Trickster is book two of the Adam Binder Books. The first book, “White Trash Warlock” was an enjoyable read but the second book was more difficult to connect with.

In the second book, Adam has returned “home” to see what happened to his Aunt Sue. Because of his magical ability he knows that she has passed on, but doesn’t actually have any idea what happened. He returns to find that Sue’s estranged family has moved into the trailer he once called home and all his belongings are gone. Soon after he arrives at the trailer … it explodes. Adam finds himself tangled in another magical mess and this time it seems as though an entity is stalking Binder family members.

The plot of his story is split into a couple of paths. Adam is with his family attempting to understand what evil is hell bent on killing them and why.

Vic – the police officer Adam is bound to is with Argent. As he attempts to come to terms with his new role as a “reaper”, he is plunged into the political battles of the Elves.

I found I was quite interested in what was happening to the Binders. They are sleuthing their way through family trees, old properties and magical knowledge as they try to keep a determined, local police officer at arm’s length.

Vic’s story I found less enjoyable. The political intrigue between the various magical races was interesting but it felt like a lot of buildup and basically no resolution. Vic spends most of the book trying to get to Adam, then when he does… he leaves. Vic is conflicted over events in Adam’s past and I get that… it just felt a bit like he was stuck and his character didn’t grow. Nothing here is really revealed about Vic’s identity and/or powers as a reaper.

The writing was good for the most part. The story is told through the switching POVs of Adam and Vic. I found the voice of Adam to be much clearer and I enjoyed the growth of his character. Because of the trauma and dysfunction in his family, Adam has been quite distant. In this second book, the Binders begin to rebuild their family bonds slowly.

I didn’t feel as interested in the story in this book as I did in the first. I found Adam’s voice to be entertaining but the book felt a bit stalled to me. There was a lot of buildup … to a cliffhanger.

As an adult fantasy book, I feel as though this one is a bit of a miss for me. This book didn’t do much to advance the plot of the overarching story and I was disappointed that tit ended on a cliffhanger.

This sequel absolutely lived up to the first book.

First of all, the plot picked up exactly where it left off which I loved. Aunt Sue's death was heartbreaking and I felt so bad for Adam. He deserves the world and his reconciliation with Bobby and his mom was really sweet. Obviously the anger won't all go away, but I'm glad that they're making up and growing closer.

Adam's character development is my favorite thing. He matured so much over the past two books and I can't wait to see his progression in the next book. Even just the way he deals with the druid problem is so different than his behavior in the first book. Honestly, all of the characters are having really good arcs, even the immortal unchanging beings are shifting slightly in their roles and ways of thinking.

The supernatural aspects of this story were way more intense. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding around the Council of Races and the feud between the Elves. The Sea Elves calling for a complete geocide of humanity was unexpected, but it's such good drama. The chapters about Vic and Argent travelling and dealing with the possibility of war were amazing.

After the first book I couldn't decide who I wanted Adam to end up with, but now I can firmly say that I'm Team Vic. (I only wavered once, when Silver called Adam "my love" and Adam called Silver "Parek"). I really hope that Vic and Adam end up okay, they deserve only the best and Death should stop trying to ruin their lives.

I genuinely cannot recommend this book enough, I'm in love with this series and these characters.