S. E. Harmon

Mmmmm. I don't read fantasy, vampire, science fiction and now paranormal. I thought I might be able to take a little ghost ... but no. It didn't appeal to me though I did my best to get onboard with it.

The detective part of the novel was quite good, as was the romance. But the presence of the cantankerous ghost Ethan, and even the murder victim, managed to hold up the book and not add anything - the only redeeming part was the way FBI agent/G man Rain Christiansen reacted to the ghostly show more stalking - I enjoyed meeting him through his first person narration.

Rain was such a mix of contradictions - I liked his weirdness. show less

It's a perfect melding of three storylines. It’s the straightforward detective story with catching the murderer...okay, as straight forward as a cold case investigation relying on the paranormal abilities of one of the investigators can be. Then it’s the way Rain’s trying to cope with his ghostly sightings, how it’s affecting him and the people around him... and finally, it’s the story of Rain and Danny. Rains mother must have been a 'flower child" in her youth to have named her show more son Rainstorm, but everyone, except her, just calls him Rain. Rain and his partner...in more ways than one...are simply amazing together and the story, though mostly about catching a serial killer, is filled with funny and clever "one liners" that catches you unexpectantly. Rain and Danny are still a work in progress, but together...they are warm fuzzies and perfection personified. The story would have received a 5-star rating except I found that the storyline kinda wanders off into realms of its own at times. Other than that, there were ghosts, a murder to solve, humor and love...what more could you ask for? I'm looking forward to more Rain and Danny in book 3. show less

Rain was an interesting as well as an unusual character. He sees and interacts with ghosts...often against his will. His monologue with himself and his opinions of those that really were trying to make his life easier, along with the sarcasm was hilarious. His partner and fiancé Danny was the calmer one. He's bossy, extremely competent and very, often overly protective. He and Rain were perfect for one another and knew just how to push the other's buttons. The exchanges between them were my show more favorites parts of the story. Their interactions with family and friends almost bordered on sarcasm at times, especially when the subject was their upcoming wedding. Danny's mother suddenly took over the plans and poor Rain was exasperated to put it mildly. It had me chuckling. Rains gift of speaking and seeing ghost seems to be one he doesn't have much control over and is both a blessing and a curse especially when it comes to when the ghost decide to turn up. Overall, it was a beautiful, spooky story with some steamy scenes on the side and a really good ending. show less

4.5

What I felt right after I finished: an intense need to squeal like a little piglet girl and clap my hands in glee.

I almost put off reading this but the gracious soul who posted on DSPs Facebook page on Sunday saying they were reading it and it was good - I think there was a mention of it being funny, and I like funny books - made me pick it up right away. Thank you, nameless DSP employee!

After glancing at some of the other reviews, I think I may have read a different book. Or then my show more tastes just vastly differ from some of others' who read this story. I didn't feel it was slow or boring or just plain bad. Quite the contrary: the story flowed nicely, it was funny and simply a great read.

Bear with me, I'm going to ramble now.

From the beginning I enjoyed Mac's snark; in a way he reminded me of [a:Rhys Ford|4968409|Rhys Ford|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1308678470p2/4968409.jpg]'s Cole McGinnis, but Mac is at least twice as snarky as Cole is. It could have easily been too much, but to me right now it wasn't.

Besides snarky, Mac is also so terribly afraid. Afraid of losing another person who's a part of his life and important to him. A person he loves. His mom left him, his past lovers left him; it's not safe to love and trust anyone. He hides behind his attitude and takes everything in stride. It's the easy way or no way.

But then he meets Jordan. Good looking, funny Jordan who gets him. And who hires him to spy on his fiancée. So, also straight Jordan.

The chemistry between Mac and Jordan was very intense and palpable from the moment they met. Harmon did an excellent job at steering them toward the inevitable: being in a relationship.

It wasn't an easy road or one without twists and turns, but it was a credible one. And the way these two complemented each other all. The. Freaking. Time was amazing.

If I liked Mac's attitude, I really loved Jordan's resilience. He'd lived his life as a straight man, for crying out loud, yet from the moment he met Mac, even with how confused he understandably was, he pursued him. I doubt he knew exactly why it was so important to him that Mac be a part of his life, he just knew he needed Mac. So he made sure he had him in his life. First, as an employee, a friend (and some parts of this were so awkward with Mac knowing exactly what he wanted from Jordan, and Jordan obviously being attracted to Mac, but not yet able to admit it to the world or himself), and then as a lover.

I think this story is as much about Mac growing as a person as it is about him and Jordan falling in love, because as Jordan made realizations about himself and his life, so did Mac. He addressed some quite painful truths about his relationships with his family, and his past lovers. He faced things he'd not wanted to think about in years, of why his past relationships had failed. Without facing the ghosts of the past, he couldn't have truly loved Jordan, not in the way they both deserve.

One of my favorite reads this year, and it would have been a full 5 stars if not for the fact that Jordan never broke up with Rachel. Sure, it was said he had done it around the time he and Mac really got together, but I missed it actually happening. Did I fall asleep in the middle of reading or was it not there? Because I feel like it should have been a part of the story. If nothing more then at least there could have been a sentence in the narration, Mac telling Jordan had really done it. Because I have to admit I thought Jordan was still with her even when Mac was practically living with him, and I was slightly confused as to how they managed to sneak behind her back. Then suddenly he's broken the engagement two months ago? I guess it could have been there, and I could have missed it, but I don't think so. Tell me if I'm wrong.

As far as the whole PI thing goes, I think that part of the story could have used some page time, and development, but as a romance novel it was fantastic. And hot. The sex scenes were intense! I love how Jordan took up on having sex with a man instead of a woman. And not just how the handled the sex, but actually having feelings for a man. Yeah, it wasn't easy for him, and yeah, maybe he didn't handle it too well all the time, but he still went after what he wanted, regardless if what he wanted was something he'd never before thought he'd ever want.

The supporting characters; Mac's family, his friends and co-workers, his former lovers, the fireman his brother set him up with... Every single character in this book was one I enjoyed spending time with. And they all fit the story perfectly. And when I say perfect, it doesn't have the same meaning as when Mac says it.

I can't remember the last time I pulled an allnighter with a book but the further into this story I got, the less I wanted to put it down until finally a little after 8 am I was all finished with it. This was positive because I was really tired, and negative because there was no more of Mac and Jordan to read about.

Long story short: Bravo, [a:S.E. Harmon|8119001|S.E. Harmon|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1397621469p2/8119001.jpg]. Write more. The sooner the better! show less