Give Up the Ghost (Not Dead Yet #2) by Jenn Burke

Publisher: Carina Press

Release Date: June 3, 2019

280 Pages

Buy links: Carina Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

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 superstrength 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.

Review

Sometimes I read a book and it ends up surprising me in the most wonderful way. Give Up the Ghost was such a wonderful discovery for me. Based on the blurb I hoped it would be a thrilling and fascinating tale of danger, adventure, and magic, and that’s exactly what I got; an intriguing rollercoaster ride that kept me guessing and on my toes for most of the book. But, that’s not all I got. Give Up the Ghost is also a touching and emotionally fulfilling romance. And, what’s more, the balance between action/suspense and the up and downs in Wes and Hudson’s relationship was just about perfect. Neither thread overwhelmed the other, nor did either of them feel like filler. The way the romance threaded its way through the suspense while the danger was never far away, no matter how romantic the moment meant that the story flowed smoothly and the progression of the story felt natural.

And that wasn’t the only thing I loved about this book. I’ll try to list the various ways in which Give Up the Ghost delighted me below.

I smiled when it became clear that even being immortal doesn’t mean less insecurities or even fewer ‘less than smart’ decisions.

It was rather wonderful to read a story in which sex wasn’t the end all and be all for one of the characters, namely Wes. I mean he’s not a-sexual, but he’s just not always in the mood for more than cuddling. And that’s okay. 😊 And somehow it made the times when he and Hudson do get hot and bothered together, more meaningful and sexier.

The cast of secondary characters is both inspired and delightful. In fact, I feel I do them a disservice in calling them secondary, because they really only come second as far as the love story is concerned. Apart from that they shine on the page with almost the same amount of brightness as Wes and Hudson do. As a result, the story is much richer and we get a better insight into exactly who Wes and Hudson are too.

This is the second book in a series and I didn’t read the first title, Not Dead Yet. I can’t say that has been a problem. While I have no doubt that those who did read the first book will be delighted to reconnect with this cast of characters, I never once felt as if I was missing something. I fully connected with the story and with the characters and I have to admit that I’m mightily impressed at how well Jenn Burke managed to give me all the backstory I needed without ever ‘info-dumping’.

And that will be the note on which I’ll end this review. After reading Give Up the Ghost I’m in awe of Jenn Burke’s skills as a storyteller. Considering the amount of characters in this story and the numerous threads that all needed to be tight up before the book ended, she’s accomplished an awesome feat. I have no doubt it won’t be long before I read Not Dead Yet and I’m ridiculously excited that a third book in this series will be published before the end of the year. More Wes, Hudson & Co is always going to be a good thing.