Allie Therin moves from East to West and from the 1920s to the present day for her new Sugar & Spice series of paranormals set in an AU Seattle. Her début series – Magic in Manhattan – is a clever and imaginative combination of romance and magical adventure set in prohibition-era New York, and I enjoyed it a lot, even though I felt the overarching plot took a while to really hit its stride. But Ms. Therin’s latest release, Liar City, comes strong out of the gate and had me hooked right from the start. The story is an intriguing, fast-paced murder mystery where nothing is quite as it seems, the lines between good and evil are blurred and you’ll find yourself thinking about who the real monsters are and who the victims. It’s a strong start to what promises to be a compelling series, but one thing I have to say right now is don’t go into this book expecting an HEA or HFN, because there isn’t one. Even though it’s published by Carina Adores (an LGBTQ+ romance publisher) and is very clearly labelled as a romance on Amazon, it is NOT a romance in the generally accepted sense. (The two leads don’t even touch deliberately – their one accidental touch knocks one of them unconscious!) That said, this is only the first book in a series and it’s clear the author is setting up a very slooooow-burn.

Reece Davis is one of only two empaths in Seattle. Empaths can read other people’s emotions, but are subject to very strict regulations – such as having to wear special gloves whenever they are out in public, which not only identify them but also prevent them from reading people should they accidentally touch them. Empaths are avowed pacifists who are incredibly sensitive to acts of violence and would allow themselves to be hurt rather than hurt someone else – but despite that they are feared and mistrusted by many, who believe they are a threat to democracy, and this has given rise to conspiracy-theorist lobby groups and think-tanks, companies like Stone Solutions (which develops and manufactures anti-empathy devices), and to a new anti-empath bill designed to strip empaths of basic civil rights.

Reece is battling yet another bout of insomnia when he gets a phone call from an unknown number telling him that his sister, who is a detective with the Seattle PD, has just landed the biggest case of her career and needs his help. When asked, the caller says he’s Evan Grayson – which means nothing to Reece – but if there’s even a chance that Jamey needs him, Reece is going to be there. Detective Briony St. James has been called to the small Orca’s Gate Marina where three people – including a US senator, the originator of the new anti-empathy bill – have been brutally murdered aboard the yacht belonging to Cedric Stone (CEO of Stone Solutions). When Reece arrives, he can see Jamey is more than a bit rattled, and when he tells her who called him, she becomes even moreso, practically marching him towards one of their makeshift tents and instructing him firmly to stay put. The name Evan Grayson clearly means something to her, but she refuses to discuss it, saying only that she’s worried he’s going to show up.

When Reece gets the chance to check Google, he realises why Jamie was so squirrely and intent on getting him as far away from Seattle as possible. Evan Grayson is the Dead Man – but the Dead Man is just a scary story, isn’t he? A kind of bogeyman invented to frighten empaths into toeing the line, an agent who operates in the shadows and outside the law to protect the public from the perceived dangers of empathy should an empath so much as think about pushing the boundaries. But Evan Grayson – the Dead Man – is no myth. He’s real. And he has Reece’s number.

The author keeps a lot of plates spinning in this story, and does it very well indeed. While Jamey is investigating the murders from one angle, Reece has no choice but to tag along with Grayson for his own protection while Grayson pursues other lines of inquiry. Reece is not best pleased with the situation, and is never sure whether Grayson is friend or foe – remaining unenightened by the man himself who, on the one hand, seems disposed to keep Reece out of trouble, and on the other insists no empath – Reece especially – should trust him. With the death toll increasing, Reece starts to realise some pretty disturbing truths, ones he finds hard to accept at first, but which he nonetheless knows to be true, and to understand more about exactly what triggered the Dead Man’s involvement in the case. Worse, Reece is starting to realise that the change in his own abilities over the past few months may somehow be an indicator of an encroaching kind of madness which could easily be turned against everyone around him. The big question is – is the Dead Man here to help him… or stop him?

As I said at the outset, Liar City isn’t really a romance, but there’s more than a hint at the possibility of one in the slight-but-definitely-there tension that underlies the relationship between Reece and Grayson. It’s complicated, shifting between animosity, betrayal and uncertain collaboration, eventually settling on a kind of mutual respect and, on Reece’s part at least, a teeny bit of attraction. But there’s a lot in between, not least because Grayson is so inscrutable. On the one hand, there’s his gruff protectiveness towards Reece, the gentle teasing and the nicknames (Care Bear!); on the other, he’s ruthless and completely unemotional, he appears to be above the law and to have unlimited resources to do whatever the hell he wants. He’s a complete mystery and only at the very end of the book do we learn even a tiny bit about why he’s the way he is, and even then, it poses more questions than it offers answers.

I liked Reece a lot. Like Rory in the Magic in Manhattan books, he’s small in stature but snarky as hell; his propensity for sarcasm frequently lands him in hot water (and goes straight over most people’s heads) but he doesn’t suffer fools and I’m a sucker for his particular brand of scrappy. Reece may be a pacifist who throws up at the faintest hint of violence, but he’s not afraid to fight with words or stand up for what he believes in.

The story is told in both Reece’s and Jamey’s PoV, which allows the reader to follow the different aspects of the murder investigation. Jamey is great – she’s totally kick-arse, takes no crap and I enjoyed her dynamic with Grayson – but I can’t deny that the PoV switches were sometimes a bit frustrating. Also a bit odd is the fact that the Dead Man is widely believed to be an urban myth, but he inspires a very real fear, and although nobody is supposed to have met him, suddenly everyone knows who he is and what he looks like. I wanted to know more about how it was that Grayson was able to take precedence over both local law enforcement and the FBI and do whatever he wanted, although I hope that maybe that will become clearer in future books.

Despite those niggles, Liar City gets a big thumbs up from me. I liked the characters – much as in her earlier series, Allie Therin has created a small ensemble cast around her leads – the setting and the worldbuilding, and the anti-empathy sentiment is written so chillingly that it has a visceral impact. As I said at the beginning, this is a mystery with just the tinest hints of a potential romance somewhere down the line, but I think it’ll be worth the wait. I’ll definitely be continuing with the Sugar & Vice series, and I’m looking forward to finding out what’s in store for Reece and Grayson next.

Grade: A-/.4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Liar City by Allie Therin
Sugar & Vice #1

Empathy is a good thing, right? It helps a person feel what others are feeling and even help them deal with their situation. In this story, empaths are a genetic aberration that are feared and treated badly by many. One such empath is Reece Davies and this seems to be the beginning of an intriguing series that will include him, his sister, The Dead Man, and others also introduced in this book.

What I liked
* The plot, pacing, setting, and set up for the series
* Reece Davies: a good man, an empath, brother to Detective St. James, hears lies, a bit snarky, very intriguing
* The Dead Man: gorgeous, lethal, strong, knows the score on the empath arena, interesting backstory, ruthless
* Detective St. James “Jamey”: half-sister to Reece, brilliant, strong, caring, protective, in a relationship with Liam
* Liam Lee: public relations manager for police department, in a relationship with Jamey, seems to “get” Reece
* That I was swept into the story and felt a part of it
* Thinking about the unscrupulous and what they are willing to do for information and monetary gain and how that played a part in the story
* That I was made to feel, care, and think about “what if”
* All of it except…

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Having to wait for book two

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

I read this in two days because I could not put it down. It's very fast paced and definitely kept me hooked. You've got to suspend your disbelief over a few over the top bonkers bits and just kind of buy into the world without a lot of background info or details, but I was okay with that. I loved Reece and was intrigued by the Dead Man and really liked Reece's sister and her boyfriend as well.

This is NOT a romance, not even close to one, at this point. However, there was some great banter, a "wear my sweatshirt oh look it's ridiculously big on you" bit, quite a bit of protectiveness, and even a first name shouted for the first time in an emotionally charged moment! So I mean that checked all my boxes even if these two are still really far from getting anywhere near romance. In fact it's been a long while since I've read a book where an HEA seemed less possible for two characters, so I'm eager to see where this series goes.

I waivered between 4 and 5 stars, because I did inhale this and enjoy it, but I do get a bit frustrated with series that leave so many threads dangling between books. Admittedly I mind it less when the whole series is already out and I can just binge them. So maybe once this whole series is done I'll come back and raise it a star. As it is, I enjoyed it and I'm absolutely going to get my hands on the next book as soon as possible.

Liar City had been a really fun, rollercoaster ride. The characters were quite endearing. Liam was the best boyfriend ever, Jamey is a kick ass and lovely sister and Reece is a very prickly, angry cinnamon roll that just can't seem to keep his mouth shut. Grayson is indeed quite mysterious but seem to have a heart beneath all that stoic, emotionless façade of his.

I do love the slowburn in the book and the focus on the plot and the characters. The interaction between Reece and Grayson were quite entertaining and their banter quite hilarious but there are moments in the story where I found it can get a bit too much. The enemies to lovers trope was neatly used in here and I definitely am looking forward to what happens to them in the coming books.

The murder mystery aspect though wasn't anything really mind-blowing, but it intriguing enough to make one wonder how everything will get wrapped up. I found the overall world-building a bit lacking in this installment and the narrative was a bit heavy on the dialogue side.

Despite those little criticisms, I can't recommend this book enough. Give this book a read.

4 stars out of 5 stars.

Six pages into Allie Therin’s “Liar City,” and I was “pry it from my fingers” addicted. Ms. Therrin had unveiled an alternate reality eerily similar to our own, a mystery, a family drama, and a lead character I desperately wanted to know. Wowzer! Is this great writing!

Reese, an empath, clearly struggling with his well-being, receives a call from the “Dead Man” who says his sister, Detective St. James, is involved in a murder investigation and needs help. The speed at which Reese rushes to her reveals their close bond. The victim, a Senator known for anti-empath legislation, whose corpse was found on the boat of an anti-empath corporate mogul.

The Dead Man (who real name is Evan Grayson) is supposedly a mere legend who functions solo, under the okay of government agencies, to protect humans from “corrupted empaths.” Is he involved because Reese is corrupted? And how did Grayson get Reese’s telephone number? As the three investigate a string of murders, it’s impossible to know people’s motives, making for deviously engaging drama, where Reese manages to endanger his safety as often as Grayson (of all people) appears to protect it!

It takes genius to develop and populate a complex world, while leading both the characters and readers through their own confusions, one clue at a time. I dislike confusion and was fascinated that it drew me in, to watch behaviors, not words or perceptions, needing to learn more and more. How did this happen?

First, Ms. Therrin made me adore Reese, a man so ethical and gentle he can’t talk on the phone and drive because it could endanger others. Yet he’s tough enough to withstand the withering fear and distrust of most humans. His sarcasm is some of the best I’ve read, his only shield against those who can’t possibly imagine his internal dilemmas. Reece’s fiercely loyalty to his sister is well-earned – but at what cost to her?

In contrast, St. James and Grayson are uncannily wise, but as strong, detached and unrelatable as Reese is “everyman” - though we like them. We know all three must hide their powers, but are they truly incorruptible? Their internal conflicts bound my loyalty.

That’s part of the intrigue. How and why are so many characters emotionless, while others are attuned to the subtlest feeling? Who is lying to whom? Is Reese lying to himself? As I shivered through some pages, I was spurred to read faster, especially as Grayson must take custody of Reese to protect him. Hah, good luck with that! It was amusing and captivating to watch Grayson and Reese play off one another in an attraction that is never culminated, but sizzles in every exchange. I’ve read explicit sex scenes less intimate!

Each word, action, and nuance of “Liar City” shimmers with parallels to our own society. Classes of citizens are sacrificed through lies, to power dishonest politicians and businessmen. Readers know this world, where we wonder, “Do facts exist anymore?”

Please do yourself a favor. Get “Liar City” the first in Allie Therrin’s “Sugar and Vice” series, for masterful sci-fi/mystery world-building, unique, yet recognizable characters, spiffy dialogue, and terrific tension, all woven with spotless prose and images. I wonder if any 2023 book can top this one!!!

I am a HUGE fan of Allie Therin and this book amped that love up even more! It's such a unique story and I don't think I have ever read anything like it. Reece is an absolute delight, from his safe driving to his outrage of other people on the road to his empath nature. Grayson/The Dead Man is a layer of snark and DGAFness that gets to the heart of me. His exasperation and budding affection for Reece is so much fun. The world building and the mystery that unfolds were super engaging and I didn't want to put the book down. I loved the concept of empaths that can do no harm, the Dead Man and the supporting cast of characters. I can't wait to see where this goes in the next two books!

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Words cannot express how much I love Reece and Grayson! They are wonderfully nuanced, hilariously chaotic characters and I live for more of them. I finished the book and was craving more. Who wouldn't want more of Reece's particular brand of all-empathy/zero-chill?

This is an UBER-slow burn so don't say you weren't warned. But it's perfect! The banter is fantastic. There were several points where I cackled. And the mystery of it all is very well done, too. This felt like the first movie in what promises to be a truly delightful (and delicious) trilogy. It didn't feel so much like an ending as putting a pin in things.

I've been recommending this to everyone! I can't wait to read more!

This book had me absolutely enthralled. Ever since the Magic in Manhattan series, I have been eagerly awaiting Allie Therin's next project and this certainly did not disappoint! It's so hard to wrap my head around the fact that this book only spanned a single day because I got to know these characters so well and am already extremely attached. I don't know how I'm going to wait for the sequel without combusting because I need to see Reece & Grayson together again ASAP. This book gets all the stars — from the world-building to the plot and full cast of characters, this was a resounding success!

I don't usually read dark and gritty murder mysteries, but I really enjoyed this one. Allie Therin knows how to write great characters and a compelling, twisty plot full of mysterious empaths and danger. I was kept guessing as the story progressed, and kept on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I love the hints of slow-burn future romance, sown in a relationship of slowly growing trust. Reece is prickly and difficult and full to the brim with sarcasm (that constantly gets him and his sister in trouble). Evan Grayson - the Dead Man - is mysterious and brooding and competently takes charge of any situation and intimidates everyone into doing what he says. They make a wonderful combination (and argue constantly).

Jamie is the best sister and detective and I'm so glad she has Liam to anchor her.

I will absolutely be picking up the next book as soon as it is available. Highly recommend.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Adores for providing an early copy for review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the digital ARC to review.

This is an absolutely wild ride of a book. I’ll be honest, my memories of this book are slightly hazy because I started it at 9 pm and didn’t stop reading until it was finished and I could just about see the first light of dawn. Listen, I’m 37 years old. I cannot be pulling all-nighters anymore. But in that moment I didn’t even stop to think about it, I just kept going until there was no more book left, which frankly I was quite annoyed about.

Our main character Reece has the power of empathy, the ability to read a person’s mind and memories through touch. This ability is greatly distrusted in society, so empaths are closely monitored and controlled despite the fact that empaths are all pacifists and can’t tolerate even imagining suffering and violence. Aren’t they?

Reece finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery and in the company of The Dead Man, a shadowy figure accountable to no one and rumored to be an incredible danger to empaths. So naturally Reece, who has the self-preservation instincts of a jellyfish, teams up with him to solve the mystery and slowly have his understanding of how the world works crumble at his feet.

There are so many great elements to this story. The tension and suspense are tight without being distressing. The humor and banter is top-notch. It kept me on the knife’s edge while being tender and sweet and funny. I would kill a man just so Jamie would never feel one second of pain. It is slllooowww burn, and I have a feeling it will only get slower. It doesn’t trust corporations farther than it can throw them. It’s frankly glorious.

Overall I loved it, I’m definitely going to read it again, and I’m just going to wait here petulantly until the next in the series is released.

Excellent plot, amazing characters, a slow burn romance spanning the whole series, banter galore; just simply everything I love.
On one side we have Reece who is an empath and sassy and doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. On the other side we have the Dead Man, a cryptic mysterious man of few words who has come to investigate a crime and wants Reece by his side. To keep and eye on him, to help him, to keep him from being a menace to society with his mouth every time he gets interviewed? All of the above.
I just loved how the story started with the murder, the mystery, the introduction to a world with empaths who feel sick even just seeing violence in tv, and the way the POVs jumps from one character to the other to show us different sides of the mystery. I feel the need to have the dead man's POV in the next book, please and thank you.
While it is a murder mystery with a romance subplot, it is very slow burn, so slow that'll take the whole series for those two to have their HEA. And I'm weirdly okay with the wait because with how we saw these characters in Liar City, I feel the build it was just perfect and everything else would've felt rushed. The ending had me squealing! I do need more. Asap!

[I received a digital arc for an honest review]

Liar City is the first book in Allie Therin’s Sugar & Vice series. Reece, an empath, is shocked to be called out of the blue by a stranger and told to join his sister at a murder scene. He follows the caller’s advice only to find out that one of the people murdered is the biggest supporter of an anti-empathy bill. He never expects his caller to be none other than an agent known as The Dead Man. Reece reacts strongly to Grayson and knows he shouldn’t trust him but finds himself following him anyways. With more bodies piling up, Reece and Grayson are fighting against a power no one ever expected to be fighting.

Reece Davies was the saltiest empathy to ever feel and I loved him for it. Every snarky response and just goofy thing he did made me like him even more. He knew he should have been afraid of Grayson but instead taunted him. Reece has been questioning his abilities and the changes he’s experienced but is afraid of what it may mean. He is only close to his sister Jamey who goes to bat for him under any circumstances. He never thought The Dead Man would be someone who trusts but Grayson proves to be more than his name.

Grayson refuses to trust any empath but struggles to keep his boundaries with Reece. Reece is nothing like an empathy he’s met before. The line between hunter and hunted blurs repeated as Grayson tries to figure out who is causing mayhem in Seattle. Grayson’s history is shrouded in mystery, with rumors running wild as he gets to the city. Reece refuses to listen under any circumstance and instead of being annoyed, Grayson keeps chasing him, trying to keep him safe.

I am a huge urban fantasy fan so the premise of this story had me very excited. It did not disappoint. I will say that if anyone is going into this book expecting a smoking hot romance, they will in fact be surprised. In the case of this book it is heavy in world and character development and light on romance. I loved seeing the characters get to know each other and their histories being unraveled as the murders occur. I can’t wait to see what kind of nonsense Reece can find himself in and how Grayson won’t be able to stay away.

5 stars for Reece and Grayson’s race against a murderer to protect Seattle.

I have previously absolutely loved books by Allie Therin, but this one fell a little flat for me. I found the mysteries at the core of the story to be highly predictable, and my interest in the characters wasn't quite enough to hold me while I waited for them to figure things out. It's definitely an intro book for a series though, which I expect will only improve as we learn more about the world in future books.

4.5 Stars!

I love me some Allie Therin. There's something about how she writes that just does it for me.

So, when I found out she was beginning a new urban fantasy ? Sci fi? series, I jumped at the chance to read and review this initial book.

In this alternate universe that the author has built, Empaths are individuals(because of how rare they are) who have the ability to "read" people's thoughts and emotions so strongly that they are pacifists, vegan and overwhelmingly law abiding. Wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings even when held at gun point(it happens in this and yes it was funny 😂)

Unfortunately, as with any minority group there HAS to be politicians pandering to xenophobic bigots who are filled with hate. And it's the demise of one of such politicians that triggers the events of this fantastic book.

We meet Reece (an empath) who frustrated me to no end. Why? Because ALL throughout this book he was determined to endanger himself at every point. Some of his actions were so reckless I had to pause reading just to stare at my kindle in shock.

I acknowledge and felt bad for all he had to go to through( the discrimination and all the struggles with his abilities) but by God he was so so so frustrating. As Grayson said, he didn't have the self-preservation instincts God gave a rock. At first it was understandable but he began to wear me out pretty quickly.😒

Speaking of Grayson, I didn't expect to like him but rather ended up loving him. He was....unexpected.

The Dead Man was surprisingly witty and occasionally genuinely funny for someone so fearsome. He went toe to toe with Reece which I appreciated because everyone else(who wasn't busy discriminating against him) treated him with kid gloves(side eye to you Jamey).

Despite all my gripes with Reece above, the writing was as great as always and although some things were pretty obvious(at least to me), I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t let go( I read this all at a go-all within a day!).

Fortunately, this did not end on a cliffhanger making me super grateful but it is worth noting that it IS the initial book in a yet-to-be-numbered series so expect a lot of unanswered questions and zero romance from our MCs.

Knowing Allie Therin though(or I hope I do at least know her a bit from reading her other works), I trust 100% that the wait will be MORE than worth it in the subsequent books. So excited!

There is a world out there that equates kindness with weakness, that regards compassion and empathy as “woke”-ness rather than the essential traits that compose the best of us. That world sets the foundation for Allie Therin’s Liar City, a modern day alternate Seattle where empaths are feared at best, believed monsters the world would be better off without at worst.

The introduction to a Seattle where only two empaths reside leads with murder, extraordinary circumstances surrounding the victims’ deaths, and, even more significantly, the identity of one of the victims—a senator who was sponsoring one of the most aggressive anti-empathy bills ever written. With only two potential suspects in a crime that has been perpetrated by an empath, the question in this mystery isn’t so much the who as the how, never mind the why. An empath committing a violent crime isn’t only improbable, it’s virtually impossible given an empath’s lack of self-preservation and inability to defend themselves in favor of caring about the wellbeing of others. Witnessing even the mildest violence causes a palpable revulsion in an empath, forget inflicting it.

But as is the case with so many crimes, there are exceptions to the rule.

“The world needs the Dead Man. What the Dead Man needs can never matter.”

Anyone who has read Allie Therin’s Historical Fantasies and was charmed by them and her characters will not be surprised to hear Liar City is not only a fantastic cat-and-mouse suspense novel but is also a great intro to two characters who, frankly, couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. Reece Davies is a man who feels everything, and Evan Grayson is a man who (allegedly?) feels nothing. Reece is puppies, kittens, and baby goats in a trench coat. Evan is untouchable, impenetrable, and impassive standing on each other’s shoulders, dressed up in clothes and passing for human. He is a sentient human being, of course, but he’s called the Dead Man for a reason. Evan is far from apathetic, though. If he didn’t feel, he wouldn’t have a conscience.

Some may say it’s a bold move to begin a series with a main character as grim as Evan Grayson. Especially when pairing him with someone as guileless as Reese Davies. Presumably there is a romance brewing between them, but that’s not this book. This book is about exposing secrets and solving a series of murders, not about two people riding off into the sunset together. This is a To Be Continued. The catch is that I want to know more. Much, much more about this world and the people who inhabit it—including Reece’s sister, Jayme—which deserves all the kudos for making me curious about how a Dead Man falls in love.

There is a message in this book: about conspiracy theories, the media, fear of the “other”, performative outrage, politically motivated violence, and exploitation and greed, just to name a few. As heavy as that is, however, there is some lightness here too. The Sugar & Vice series is shaping up to be an emotional roller coaster of a read.

It's not too often anymore that a book interferes with real life these days- I pretend to be a responsible adult, performing my daily duties and sticking to my routine. But this book kind of blew that out of the water as I found myself trying to shave time from my "real life" in order to read it, even stealing time from my sleep (and trust me, that hardly ever happens).

Therin has managed to craft quite the page turner here with this genre mashup, borrowing from scifi, mystery and suspense tropes with just a hint of romance thrown in. Her setting of an alternative reality Seattle is quite unsettling as it extrapolates just enough from our present day politics to show a world in which empaths are persecuted and closely monitored despite their gentle nature. However, it appears that at least one empath has managed to overcome their natural tendencies in order to wield their powers as a weapon.

It's in this setup that Reece Davies, empath, and his sister, Jamey, find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation (she's a detective for the Seattle Police department) only to find that it's part of a greater conspiracy as Evan Grayson, AKA the Dead Man, arrives for his own enquiry. And great characters they are as they attempt to ascertain the truth of what's going on. Some other supporting characters also stand out, particularly Liam and Cora.

There's a bunch of twists and turns, with a few of them unexpected, including some revelations about Evan and Jamey, and some real moments of dread as Reece faces an enemy determined to use every means at their disposal to hold onto power. At a couple of points, particularly in the second third of the story, I thought the plot was getting a little too obtuse, but it managed to straighten itself out in time for the finale.

And one word of warning, the romance here is the ultimate SLOW burn, which makes sense considering the circumstances, with the two men just starting to make a tentative connection in this book. All in all, an incredible story in this dystopian world that's scarily plausible. I can't wait for the next installment.

Allie Therin moves from East to West and from the 1920s to the present day for her new Sugar & Spice series of paranormals set in an AU Seattle. Her début series - Magic in Manhattan - is a clever and imaginative combination of romance and magical adventure set in prohibition-era New York, and I enjoyed it a lot, even though I felt the overarching plot took a while to really hit its stride. But Ms. Therin’s latest release, Liar City, comes strong out of the gate and had me hooked right from the start. The story is an intriguing, fast-paced murder mystery where nothing is quite as it seems, the lines between good and evil are blurred and you’ll find yourself thinking about who the real monsters are and who the victims. It’s a strong start to what promises to be a compelling series, but one thing I have to say right now is don’t go into this book expecting an HEA or HFN, because there isn’t one. Even though it’s published by Carina Adores (an LGBTQ+ romance publisher) and is very clearly labelled as a romance on Amazon, it is NOT a romance in the generally accepted sense. (The two leads don’t even touch deliberately – their one accidental touch knocks one of them unconscious!) That said, this is only the first book in a series and it’s clear the author is setting up a very slooooow-burn.

Reece Davis is one of only two empaths in Seattle. Empaths can read other people’s emotions, but are subject to very strict regulations – such as having to wear special gloves whenever they are out in public, which not only identify them but also prevent them from reading people should they accidentally touch them. Empaths are avowed pacifists who are incredibly sensitive to acts of violence and would allow themselves to be hurt rather than hurt someone else – but despite that they are feared and mistrusted by many, who believe they are a threat to democracy, and this has given rise to conspiracy-theorist lobby groups and think-tanks, companies like Stone Solutions (which develops and manufactures anti-empathy devices), and to a new anti-empath bill designed to strip empaths of basic civil rights.

Reece is battling yet another bout of insomnia when he gets a phone call from an unknown number telling him that his sister, who is a detective with the Seattle PD, has just landed the biggest case of her career and needs his help. When asked, the caller says he’s Evan Grayson – which means nothing to Reece – but if there’s even a chance that Jamey needs him, Reece is going to be there. Detective Briony St. James has been called to the small Orca’s Gate Marina where three people – including a US senator, the originator of the new anti-empathy bill – have been brutally murdered aboard the yacht belonging to Cedric Stone (CEO of Stone Solutions). When Reece arrives, he can see Jamey is more than a bit rattled, and when he tells her who called him, she becomes even moreso, practically marching him towards one of their makeshift tents and instructing him firmly to stay put. The name Evan Grayson clearly means something to her, but she refuses to discuss it, saying only that she’s worried he’s going to show up.

When Reece gets the chance to check Google, he realises why Jamie was so squirrely and intent on getting him as far away from Seattle as possible. Evan Grayson is the Dead Man – but the Dead Man is just a scary story, isn’t he? A kind of bogeyman invented to frighten empaths into toeing the line, an agent who operates in the shadows and outside the law to protect the public from the perceived dangers of empathy should an empath so much as think about pushing the boundaries. But Evan Grayson – the Dead Man – is no myth. He’s real. And he has Reece’s number.

The author keeps a lot of plates spinning in this story, and does it very well indeed. While Jamey is investigating the murders from one angle, Reece has no choice but to tag along with Grayson for his own protection while Grayson pursues other lines of inquiry. Reece is not best pleased with the situation, and is never sure whether Grayson is friend or foe – remaining unenightened by the man himself who, on the one hand, seems disposed to keep Reece out of trouble, and on the other insists no empath - Reece especially - should trust him. With the death toll increasing, Reece starts to realise some pretty disturbing truths, ones he finds hard to accept at first, but which he nonetheless knows to be true, and to understand more about exactly what triggered the Dead Man’s involvement in the case. Worse, Reece is starting to realise that the change in his own abilities over the past few months may somehow be an indicator of an encroaching kind of madness which could easily be turned against everyone around him. The big question is – is the Dead Man here to help him… or stop him?

As I said at the outset, Liar City isn’t really a romance, but there’s more than a hint at the possibility of one in the slight-but-definitely-there tension that underlies the relationship between Reece and Grayson. It’s complicated, shifting between animosity, betrayal and uncertain collaboration, eventually settling on a kind of mutual respect and, on Reece’s part at least, a teeny bit of attraction. But there’s a lot in between, not least because Grayson is so inscrutable. On the one hand, there’s his gruff protectiveness towards Reece, the gentle teasing and the nicknames (Care Bear!); on the other, he’s ruthless and completely unemotional, he appears to be above the law and to have unlimited resources to do whatever the hell he wants. He’s a complete mystery and only at the very end of the book do we learn even a tiny bit about why he’s the way he is, and even then, it poses more questions than it offers answers.

I liked Reece a lot. Like Rory in the Magic in Manhattan books, he’s small in stature but snarky as hell; his propensity for sarcasm frequently lands him in hot water (and goes straight over most people’s heads) but he doesn’t suffer fools and I’m a sucker for his particular brand of scrappy. Reece may be a pacifist who throws up at the faintest hint of violence, but he’s not afraid to fight with words or stand up for what he believes in.

The story is told in both Reece’s and Jamey’s PoV, which allows the reader to follow the different aspects of the murder investigation. Jamey is great – she’s totally kick-arse, takes no crap and I enjoyed her dynamic with Grayson - but I can’t deny that the PoV switches were sometimes a bit frustrating. Also a bit odd is the fact that the Dead Man is widely believed to be an urban myth, but he inspires a very real fear, and although nobody is supposed to have met him, suddenly everyone knows who he is and what he looks like. I wanted to know more about how it was that Grayson was able to take precedence over both local law enforcement and the FBI and do whatever he wanted, although I hope that maybe that will become clearer in future books.

Despite those niggles, Liar City gets a big thumbs up from me. I liked the characters – much as in her earlier series, Allie Therin has created a small ensemble cast around her leads – the setting and the worldbuilding, and the anti-empathy sentiment is written so chillingly that it has a visceral impact. As I said at the beginning, this is a mystery with just the tinest hints of a potential romance somewhere down the line, but I think it’ll be worth the wait. I’ll definitely be continuing with the Sugar & Vice series, and I’m looking forward to finding out what’s in store for Reece and Grayson next.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of Liar City by Allie Therin. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for this ARC.

I loved this book. It was unexpectedly a fun read full of stellar character development and quirky mysteries. Reece is my new favorite character and watching him run around Seattle causing havoc was delightful. I give Liar City 5/5 stars and I will be stalking this author in the future.

Liar City is a combination of urban fantasy and murder mystery that follows an empath and an empath hunter in an alternative(ish) Seattle as they try to solve the murder of notoriously anti-empath senator.

This was an imaginative and enjoyable story with great characters and premise. I really liked our MC, Reece, whose slightly neurotic, incredibly snarky, but also loveable. Then there's the mysterious Dead Man, Grayson, who is introduced as an almost villian but becomes likeable as his reasons and motivations become clearer. I also really liked the dynamic between the two of them - a mixture of hostility and understanding and concern and frustration and underlying attraction.

The world building was creative, with lots of great details about empathy and how the world is different with it in, though it took me a little while to get my head round some of it - I was somewhat confused at times throughout the start of the book. That meant I did struggle to get into for a bit, but once that hurdle was crossed, the pages flew by.

Overall, another great read from an author who has become a automatic buy (well, request in this case) author for me!

(Review posted following an agreement being made with the Harper Collins Union).

Heat Factor: Yeah, so, we barely even know they like each other at the end of this one
Character Chemistry: I don’t know how Therin managed it, but I wanted them to touch SO BADLY even though 1) it’s dangerous and 2) they mostly snip at each other
Plot: Empaths are a persecuted group, feared for their abilities even though they have to be pacifists (and vegans) by virtue of their extreme empathy, except that there’s a triple homicide that looks suspiciously like Reece’s nightmares, and the man rumored to keep empaths in check suddenly arrives in town.
Overall: It is not actually a romance (yet), but it is SO FREAKING GOOD

The stakes of this book are immediately SUPER high, which is engaging, and keeps the pages turning from the beginning. Reece is minding his business in a diner and gets a call from a mysterious Southerner (he’s a Texan, actually) who knows more than he should about…everything. And he tells Reece to go find his sister at the homicide she’s working because she has no leads…at least no leads without the help of an empath. Before Reece has had a chance to put his phone back in his pocket, we see the waitress irrationally freaking out now that she’s realized that there’s an empath in the diner. In only a few paragraphs, I already had a clear picture of the world we were in, I could buy into the high stakes, and I was dying to know what happened next.

Together, we move through multiple different perspectives (mostly Reece’s though) as many different characters with wildly different fears and motivations try to get to the bottom of an almost unexplainable triple homicide over the course of hours.

There are so many moving parts in this book, and everyone in the book manages to stick to their own agendas. SO MANY TIMES I wanted to scream at the characters for making the wrong choice, but I couldn’t deny that they were staying true to their characterizations. Why should Reece trust the mysterious “empath hunter” who repeatedly reminds him that The Dead Man is not to be trusted? Why should Evan’s sister trust anyone else with her brother’s safety—or mistrust any of her trusted colleagues, for that matter? Why should the FBI agent believe that a solo operator with no checks to his power is actually trustworthy? Why should anyone who actually understands how empaths work believe that empaths can be harmful? But why would people who are terrified of empaths believe that they might not be the bogeymen they’re made out to be? The seemingly all-powerful—and emotionally blank—Evan Grayson is never a POV character, but he is also complex and consistent, alone and driven to be both enforcer and protector where empaths are concerned. But how is anyone who’s only ever heard rumors of him to believe even that?

Okay, but this is a romance blog. I really loved Allie Therin’s debut trilogy, but I usually don’t love trilogies because a love story honestly does not need 700-800 pages to be told. There’s usually unnecessary drama (or not enough drama) for the relationship in the later books, or the external plot takes over and the romance doesn’t matter in the later books. That said, I think I am excited about this one (but I will reserve full judgment until the trilogy’s over). Here’s why: there is a huge amount of world-building here, this story took place over the course of just hours, and the relationship has only just started, which makes a lot of sense when Reece honestly can’t trust Evan without betraying himself until Evan has proved himself by his actions over the course of their time together. It’s not until things really come to a head that Evan can see Reece for who he truly is, and Reece likewise can see that, while every terrible thing Evan has told him is true, Evan is still, er, shall we say romance hero material?

I desperately wanted Reece and Evan to come together, which I think is a great feat on Therin’s part. Reece won’t touch anyone without consent because of his empathic abilities, but on top of that, it’s not clear what would happen to Reece if Evan were to touch him, because Evan is emotionally unreadable. Just hearing Evan’s voice for the first time made Reece vomit. They cannot touch, and that only made me want it more. This was aided by Evan’s constant consideration of and care for Reece as an empath, which we actually get a clue to in their very first conversation during that mysterious phone call in the first pages of the book. Even though we never have Evan’s perspective, it’s very clear that he’s a deeply caring (but deeply lonely) person. And we are mostly in Reece’s perspective, so we also see that it’s very clear that he needs someone he can be himself and let go with. So anyway, I’m very optimistic about this relationship, even with its significant hurdles (I mean, not being able to touch is a big challenge).

And you know what else, now that I think of it? Reece is a whole unwashed mess, and Evan is described as unbelievably hot and superbly coiffed many times, but because Reece inherently cannot be attracted to looks, and because Evan is otherwise fearsome, we really don’t get all that much focus on Evan’s looks being a feature or selling point for him. I could go on, I suppose, as I continue to recall elements, but for now suffice it to say: I loved this book and I’m salty that I don’t know the pub date for book 2 yet.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.