Give Up The Ghost

By: Jenn Burke

Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux

The bigger they are, the harder they maul.

Immortal not-ghost Wes Cooper and his vampire partner, Hudson Rojas, have it all - rewarding private investigation work, great friends, and, most important, a love that's endured. But ever since Wes sent a demon screaming back to the beyond, his abilities have grown overpowering and overwhelming. He's hiding the fact that he's losing control the best he can, but it's hard to keep anything a secret for long when your partner's a former cop...and especially when your partner's a former cop who wants to move in together.

When all hell literally breaks loose in Toronto and super-strength ghosts are unleashed on Wes and his friends, he and Hudson are thrown into a case unlike any they've seen before. To save the city, Wes needs to harness his new power...and find some answers. But when he gets them, the solution to fix it all could mean losing everything.

Contains mature themes.

©2019 Jennifer R. L. Burke (P)2019 Tantor

enjoyed it as much as the first

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: absolutely
Was I invested in the characters: definitely
What did I like about the story? was fun, entertaining and well paced and both the main and supporting characters are well written and likeable. I like that Wes' sexuality (or lack of) isn't an issue for Hudson and he accepts Wes the way he is, and that Evan's depression hasn't just been ignored.
Was there anything that didn't work for me? nope - loved every second of it.

Overall comment: The PI Business is growing, Wes, Hudson and their friends battle an ever increasing number of not so friendly paranormal creatures that keep slipping through from the beyond, there is a mystery to solve,, Wes' magic continues to grow, we meet "people" from both Hudson and Wes' pasts and Hudson and Wes continue to "suck" at communication. There is so much going on in this one that is all intricately tied together at the end ... nothing worth while is ever easy 😁

Narrator comment: Greg Boudreaux can do no wrong in my book. I'm so happy he''s narrating this series, his skill and performance as a voice actor bring these characters to life and do justice to a story that shines.

Unwanted Gifts...

So, I get that Wes didn't ask for the "gift" that he received but I just wanted to slap some sense into the immortal-not ghost for "neglecting" telling all of the people around him. I just wanted to smack the silly out of him. Not telling his best friend. That said, I loved how the author's presentation of this story went at a steady pace and allowed for the exploration of all characters. I was hooked in the first book and this one just tightens the grip on my imagination. Looking forward to where we go next in the series...

Exciting 2nd book in the series

This book picks up a few months after the first book ends. Wes is keeping a huge secret from everyone and Toronto is suddenly under strange magical attacks.

A lot of book centers on the relationships between the major characters. Wes is keeping his secret because he’s afraid everyone will reject him. Hudson is up to something. The partnership in the PI firm seems unbalanced. As everyone works to solve the magical creatures problem and a burglary seems to be more than the sun of its parts tensions grow and Wes becomes more untethered.

Greg Boudreaux’s performance brings the characters to life so well we can feel their pain, anger, loneliness, desperation, and heartbreak through our speakers. The voices are consistent with how I heard the characters in my head when I read the books a while ago.

This performance was so compelling I’m moving right on to book 3 to stay in the dramatic moment.

Almost a three star

Most of the story is a cute caper, a solid urban fantasy with ok sex scenes and a really cliché liar reveal plot. The last 10 percent of the story went deep though and I was quite moved.

Dysfunctional ghostbuster family - glorious!

Once again, a solid paranormal procedural with humor, heart, and an original MM couple. This was a self contained book without a cliffhanger, although you should start with book 1 before listening to this.

I liked this book better than the first because there’s more interaction with Wes and Hudson’s oddball collection of friends: Evan the baby vampire, Iskander of the now scratchy voice, and witches Leslie and her mom. I also like that the author writes real people, who have flaws and do stupid irrational things. I love the effortless way she builds in diversity of personalities and issues, from Iskander’s conflicts between his sexuality and some of his Muslim family, to Evan’s mental health issues as a lifelong feature rather than a mere plot device or condition to be cured.

I do feel a bit cheated on the villain side of things; like book 1, we don’t really get a whole lot of villain-hero interaction, making the reveals and action scenes less meaningful. This is not a huge deal, however, considering the phenomenal rest of the book.