A Ferry of Bones & Gold

Almost DNF'd this book but kept going just to see how many times the author would use the phrase "hellish taint" so I could giggle like the immature person that I am (spoiler alert: it's a lot). Paranormal thrillers aren't my cup of tea but the huge info-dumps didn't help, and neither did the stereotypical badass ex-soldier Special Agent Patrick Collins, who uses every cliched cop movie line just short of "we've got company." I didn't connect with him at all, although I was more impressed with the other MC, Jono, who ironically seemed much more human despite being a werewolf.

The final confrontation was admittedly exciting, and I felt a bit of a real bond between the two MCs at the end, but not enough to make me want to read the sequel, show more [b:All Souls Near & Nigh|44566539|All Souls Near & Nigh (Soulbound)|Hailey Turner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1553224847s/44566539.jpg|67616001], or the rest of the series. YMMV, especially if you like a lot of action and paranormal weirdness. show less

A universe of magic and demons, where Gods and immortals can cross to earth for a chat. The author fed the world-building into the story without info dumping, especially helpful when you're listening while doing something else. The story threw you straight into the action and didn't let up. I got swept away with it, always trying to sneak in an extra 5 minutes listening.

The narrator was great and added an extra layer to the story.

And I really loved this couple. They worked well together. I've read read straight up romances where the MCs had less chemistry. By my definition this is more than a HFN.

I eagerly await the next story in the series.

unfortunately i am obligated to like needy but independent bottoms so patrick is my best friend now

jokes aside, i liked that both patrick and jono have a past and it's messy. and i want to know more because i know there is more.
patrick has trauma. and i appreciate it when a character has trauma coming from the past and impacts them in a way that makes sense.
jono too. abandonment issues mostly but hey, it made him into a clingy boyfriend!
they are traumatised together!
the norns said you know what you need to be traumatised together and honestly? slay norns, i'm with you on that one.

Definitely a QB¹ read, but strangely addicting. I found the combination of ex-military, magic-wielding, NYC, and inclusion of the pantheon of gods downright irresistible. I finished this and went straight (haha) on to the next.

My synopsis, aka what makes this different from everything else I've read: A very damaged² ex-military mage is called in by the locals to consult on a stalled investigation² of what seems to be supernatural serial killings. In the course of the investigation, he runs into one of NY's most powerful seers, who happens to have strong ties to the local Pack.² Solving the crimes will mean facing his own troubled past.²

There is a bit of a rocky start that feels somewhat like a first book. Turner has the tendency to show more over-explain or re-explain as she builds her world. However, I'll note that there are some readers out there that like Every Single Thing spelled out, so perhaps this technique was in response to those kind of beta readers.³ Once our hero, Pat, came into conflict with a demon and things started popping, I was able to ignore such wordy moments. (Either that, or I used my Super-Skimming Power®.)

I haven't read many (really any) military urban fantasy (excepting Larry Correia), so it was interesting to take the culture and background of someone with that focus and bring it into the UF setting. I probably stay away from that genre because of the machismo and inherent -isms (again, see Correia), but the male-romance eventually softened the testosterone angle.

Action turned out to be an interesting combination of independent-operator and team-operation, which also feels like a nice change in my reading. There's a good combination of questionable allies², as well as definitely-villains, as well as villains-but-on-our-side-now² types, which kept me guessing at how it was all going to play out. Patrick has a complicated backstory that ends up being important.²

The genre tropes and the information-dumps in the beginning really make this a candy-level read. However, the PNR tropes were strangely tolerable for me because they involved a male-male romance, although in this book, I think I'd hesitate to call it 'romance.'

Off-topic commentary follows.

I don't believe I've ever read any male-male romance before, which may or may not say something for my prejudices or predilections. Honestly, it probably does, but what it should mostly say is that I rarely read romance or erotica, and when I do, it's always a sub-plot, and apparently, it takes work to find male-male representation. The interesting thing that I discovered reading this series is that the tropes that drive me batty in normal PNR romance hardly bother me at all in the gay male romance, perhaps because I'm so outside of the norm for the leads that I have nothing to react to?

I'm spit-balling here. So there can be insta-attraction/lurv, there can be over-protective behavior, there can be the obligatory try-to-push-them-away-so-I-don't-hurt-them trope (there's gotta be a short-hand for that one), and I find it eyebrow-raising, but not eye-rolling. If one part of the male couple decides not to tell the other something, well, is that really patriarchal patronizing behavior? Or is is just, you know, emotionally stupid behavior? And what if they each take turns doing it? Neither seemed to be socially/economically 'dominant' (although perhaps one was sexually dominant?), that kind of defangs my trigger-irritation of it as a social more, and just makes it a mild plot-irritation. It was so fascinating to me how little deconstruction it triggered. Speaking of potential eye-rolls, for those who may or may not be comfortable with it, I'll note there are three quite explicit sex scenes, taking it a step or two beyond the normal PNR/UF.

So, definitely up there for quarantine reads. I burned through the next, then gave a few days before I went on to book three and four. On the upside, Turner does seem to be avoiding cliffhanger endings, though there is an overarching plot. It also seems the series is done, 'for now,' which is always a bonus. The romance has turned into a relationship, which I've discovered is kind of sweet, and not at all annoying³. The world-building has continued to enlarge, which I always appreciate.

Overall, I'd say I've definitely found it more interesting than a lot of the female-lead PNR/UF I've given a try (The One With the Graves², The One With the Vampires², The One with the Seer², The One With the Werewolf Beta², The One with the Fae and the Art Gallery², The One with the Vampires in Chicago², The One with the Weather Mages², etc., etc).
Really, probably 2 1/2 stars at the moment on overall quality, but a solid 3.5 on the QB¹ scale. For a better description of pros and cons, please see Elena C.'s review.

¹QuarantineBrain™ You've heard people relapse after recovery, right?

²Trope

³You know, the over-explanation stuff. Maybe I'm not the ideal audience here. I prefer the organic build.

⁴I know, I'm shocked too.

Hey! Guess who decided to use All The Symbols today? show less

I grabbed this on a whim during a big audible sale and I wish I had grabbed the whole series. Patrick is a mage who's been through it and now works in law enforcement and would prefer to be left alone in all things. Well surprise Patty, this book has a mate and found family.

Johno's like excuse me, that is MY emotionally damaged partner who can't listen and has very few self preservation skills and you can't have him.

My mind did wander a bit during the final battle scene because I wasn't able to keep up with who everyone was but I think that was a me issue and not a book issue.

I'm planning to read the rest of the series soon.

Apparently, Turner is my new favorite author, since I’m steadily going through every single one of her books.

This one feels like a blend of Supernatural (if the show was, you know, good) and some of the less boring aspects of American Gods with a good sexy helping of action and romance on top. I’m really into it.

A universe of magic and demons, where Gods and immortals can cross to earth for a chat. The author fed the world-building into the story without info dumping, especially helpful when you're listening while doing something else. The story threw you straight into the action and didn't let up. I got swept away with it, always trying to sneak in an extra 5 minutes listening.

The narrator was great and added an extra layer to the story.

And I really loved this couple. They worked well together. I've read read straight up romances where the MCs had less chemistry. By my definition this is more than a HFN.

I eagerly await the next story in the series.