Review by Zhan
Aug 14"Did someone call you that?"
"What?"
Grayson made air quotes. "Wildly annoying."
"Who hasn't called me that?" said Reece.
"I haven't."
Reece opened his mouth, then closed it.
"If someone's ever bothering you, you should tell me about it," Grayson said casually.
"Why? You're the Dead Man. What are you going to do about someone bullying an empath?"
"You just let me know if it happens," Grayson said, like that was any kind of answer.
An empath who is a bit different from other empaths and an empath hunter specialist trying to find and stop the killer let loose in Seattle before it's too late.
First of all, this was very engaging. Some things seemed like they weren't fleshed out as much as they could've been, but the overall reading experience was so good that it doesn't matter to me much. I cared about the characters and the storytelling was soo immersive that I swallowed it all up. The banter is good and characters have chemistry too.
With Reece having higher empathy than normal, it made sense to me that he is so anxious and prickly. I don't think empathetic people are all sunshine-y (even in real world), rather, having to deal with so many emotions all the time is understandable overwhelming.
At first, I did find Reece a bit inconsistent and even contradictory to what an empath is described to be. But later you learn what exactly happened in March and you start to understand these inconsistencies and what's going on with Reece throughout the book. I don't want to put any spoilers, but it's very subtle and gradual. I was frustrated by it through more than 50% of the book before it finally clicked.
Some things I thought were unnecessary. Like, side characters' POVs - except maybe Jamie, because she is such an important character in the story. Then, revealing information (that MCs don't have) through side characters' POVs or through excerpts at the beginning of chapters. We learn who is the killer very early and way before MCs figure it out, so...
But this didn't ruin the experience for me. I like this series so much and I can't wait for the third book to come out (as I jumped into the 2nd book straight away).
Highly recommended.
"I don't get to use that as an excuse. I'm not the one suffering-"
"But you're empathizing." Grayson shrugged. "Maybe humans aren't meant to hurt each other the way we do, and maybe that's why some hearts are too soft to stand it. Maybe there's nothing wrong with you for caring about other people's pain, and there's something wrong with everyone who doesn't."
Reece bit his lip.
"But if you keep taking in the city's anger and fear, you're gonna break," said Grayson. "So let me take some of it off your shoulders, Reece, because you can't hurt a dead man."
°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*
*General Notes*
-urban fantasy, empaths, investigation
-height difference, opposites attract, enemies to lovers.
-anxious and touch-starved MC (Reece)
-slow burn
-Both MCs are 26 years old
*Intimacy Notes*
-Top/bottom/verse: no spice in this book
-Kinks/sex notes: no spice in this book
-Other:
・protectiveness
・nicknames: Grayson calls Reecesugar and Care Bear; Grayson is known as the Dead Man.
"Did someone call you that?"
"What?"
Grayson made air quotes. "Wildly annoying."
"Who hasn't called me that?" said Reece.
"I haven't."
Reece opened his mouth, then closed it.
"If someone's ever bothering you, you should tell me about it," Grayson said casually.
"Why? You're the Dead Man. What are you going to do about someone bullying an empath?"
"You just let me know if it happens," Grayson said, like that was any kind of answer.
An empath who is a bit different from other empaths and an empath hunter specialist trying to find and stop the killer let loose in Seattle before it's too late.
First of all, this was very engaging. Some things seemed like they weren't fleshed out as much as they could've been, but the overall reading experience was so good that it doesn't matter to me much. I cared about the characters and the storytelling was soo immersive that I swallowed it all up. The banter is good and characters have chemistry too.
With Reece having higher empathy than normal, it made sense to me that he is so anxious and prickly. I don't think empathetic people are all sunshine-y (even in real world), rather, having to deal with so many emotions all the time is understandable overwhelming.
At first, I did find Reece a bit inconsistent and even contradictory to what an empath is described to be. But later you learn what exactly happened in March and you start to understand these inconsistencies and what's going on with Reece throughout the book. I don't want to put any spoilers, but it's very subtle and gradual. I was frustrated by it through more than 50% of the book before it finally clicked.
Some things I thought were unnecessary. Like, side characters' POVs - except maybe Jamie, because she is such an important character in the story. Then, revealing information (that MCs don't have) through side characters' POVs or through excerpts at the beginning of chapters. We learn who is the killer very early and way before MCs figure it out, so...
But this didn't ruin the experience for me. I like this series so much and I can't wait for the third book to come out (as I jumped into the 2nd book straight away).
Highly recommended.
"I don't get to use that as an excuse. I'm not the one suffering-"
"But you're empathizing." Grayson shrugged. "Maybe humans aren't meant to hurt each other the way we do, and maybe that's why some hearts are too soft to stand it. Maybe there's nothing wrong with you for caring about other people's pain, and there's something wrong with everyone who doesn't."
Reece bit his lip.
"But if you keep taking in the city's anger and fear, you're gonna break," said Grayson. "So let me take some of it off your shoulders, Reece, because you can't hurt a dead man."
°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*⁀°•*
*General Notes*
-urban fantasy, empaths, investigation
-height difference, opposites attract, enemies to lovers.
-anxious and touch-starved MC (Reece)
-slow burn
-Both MCs are 26 years old
*Intimacy Notes*
-Top/bottom/verse: no spice in this book
-Kinks/sex notes: no spice in this book
-Other:
・protectiveness
・nicknames: Grayson calls Reecesugar and Care Bear; Grayson is known as the Dead Man.
