It should have been the start of something wonderful . . .
Max is living the screenwriter dream. He’s not even thirty, he’s just won an Oscar, and he’s dating the gorgeous star of his movie. But after that one magical night, everything crumbles. The movie star dumps him, and his latest screenplay is a blank document that stubbornly refuses to write itself.
So Max decides to disappear into the middle of nowhere, and maybe obscurity. He’s just getting settled into his new life when suddenly someone is trying to kill him.
Gorgeous Gentry Fox seems like he wants to help, but the way he keeps showing up at just the right times is suspicious. Is he the aw-shucks good ol’ boy he seems, or part of the plot to kill Max? Just as importantly, is he single?
Where Foxes Say Goodnight is a paranormal romance featuring one heartbroken screenwriter, one down-on-his-luck hunk, some missing jewels, and a grandmother’s meddling ghost. It’s a standalone novel with a guaranteed HEA.
It was a beautiful story that fell short of its potential. Definitely very well written, because without the writing style I don't think I would have been able to finish it. I'm super tired and so it usually takes more suspense than this story had to keep me awake. Still, I think if you like murder mysteries, it's a nice little piece. I just thought the plot could have taken a lot of interesting twists and turns, but it didn't and the conclusion rather disappointed me. I really like the characters, though, and even though it's only told from Max's perspective, it's very well done and I was able to empathize with both of them. However, here too, more emotional depth would have been helpful. But with statements like this: Blazeks only fell apart in private. this is ruled out from the beginning. The sex scene, and crap was that really only one?, absolutely delicious. So, bonus for that.
I let out a pitiful little whimper and his bright eyes snapped up to meet mine, and then his free hand was winding into my hair, tugging just hard enough to make me feel it. The whimper turned into a keening moan as he pulled at my hair and squeezed my cock at the same time. Just a few more strokes and I was coming all over my own belly and his hand, lightning surging through me, shuddering with the sensations, my whole body shaking every time he thrust inside me. 😳😳😳
Note to self, I need to read more of Sam Burns!
Also funny anecdote, because sometimes I am silly: the title didn't do anything to me, I had to read later in the book itself:
When I was a kid, my grandmother had a term for the middle of nowhere. She’d called it “where foxes say goodnight.” 😲
Ha, and that's exactly what my grandmother used to say. It made me so happy to read that, it's not exactly an every day phrase and I don't really use it at all. So, thank you Sam Burns for reminding me of my granny! 😘
Audio: 5 stars, it Greg B Book: no rating, should have DNF'ed
This book was nothing like I expected, I had high hopes starting this, but then as the story progressed it just got worse. I am not going to continue the series, not worth my time or my money.
The characters were flat, and I felt zero connection/chemistry between them. And this was also a ghost story... with magic...? Idk it felt like a lot of good ideas wanted to be done, and the execution was lacking.
Overall should have said no, but here we are haha, I am just glad it was a quick read.
Have to admit that I expected a fox shifter romance but what I got was a mystery with a ghost in a support role although the mystery was more a means to an end. The story would have worked even without that part. The same can be said about Sam Burns decision to add magic into the mix which she probably only done to avoid the usual ghost issue with their eventual transit into the light or something. The romance itself had the potential to be more than just nice but suffered a bit from all the distraction by the mystery and ghost plot.
NGL, I decided to read this book solely based on the beautiful cover and the fact that Greg Boudreaux was the narrator. This was a very cozy romance with a small mystery subplot, featuring a very nice ghost, super supportive side characters, a green flag boyfriend and an MC who was both interesting and not in the least annoying.
Also, is it just me, or wouldn't it be awesome to have a prequel about the supposed original pirate family?
This is a super sweet and fast-burn insta-love book with some mystery, found family, and a dash of fantasy/paranormal.
It's really fun and the two romantic leads are the sweetest. There's a moment when Max tells Gentry that he's not a one-night-stand sort of guy and Gentry about freaks out (in a good way) because he isn't either. Both of them jump straight (ha ha) into a relationship and I was HERE for it. They are so sweet and Nadia is the BEST grandma ever. Love how she adopts Max as her grandbaby.
So cute and a complete joy. Glad I took the chance on this audiobook because it was really fun to listen to and the narrator did a great job.
I often enjoy this author's writing and characters, and even the general plots, but often the execution is a bit lacking, as it was for me here. I did enjoy this on the whole, but there was way too much going on, and the element of the supernatural was off for me--either it needed to play a bigger role, or it should have been removed as it was mostly just distracting. I liked the connection between Max and Gentry, and wish the author had taken the development of their relationship at a more realistic pace, instead of going for an insta-love, "you and your brother should move in with me less than a week after I've met you" sort of situation, which was so preposterous that I could not get past it. I know the author often writes in supernatural/shifter worlds where this kind of thing is a bit more handwaved, but it really just doesn't translate to a book set in the "real world". Even the various mysteries were underwhelming when it came to the reveal. IDK, it was fine, and enjoyable enough for what I wanted, but could have used some work.
Where Foxes Say Goodnight is a warm and sexy contemporary with a dash of mystery and a hint of paranormal. I completely loved this one and couldn’t put it down. The book has a lovely cozy feeling that let me just sink right into the story. We meet Max on a night of both a huge career high and then a big relationship low. He realizes that needs a change of scenery and buys a mansion of a house by the sea without even visiting and suddenly finds himself adapting to a totally new life. Despite Max’s fears about acceptance, he finds himself almost universally welcomed by friendly locals — including the super sexy Gentry. The two men have such an immediate buzz between them and wonderful chemistry as they circle each other a bit before finally giving in to their attraction. There is a nice heat between Max and Gentry, but also a super sweetness.
It was a nice book, but I felt like there were so many plot threads either left unfinished, or finished but not in a way I found satisfying (the evil ex, Gentry's ability to give others luck and past suffering because of it, the second house and a lot of the Nadia/past stuff). The instalove/attraction worked for me but I wanted to see more of them together, it felt like we didn't get that much of it, but I did enjoy what we got.
A sweet and quick read! A bit of an instalove/lust story, but the romance mostly worked for me. I did expect to get a little more from the mystery, though, and thought it was extremely predictable.
When you ask your boyfriend of one-day to move in with you, despite the house you're living in used to belong to your boyfriend's grandma, and despite you also asked your boyfriend's brother to move in as well... yeah, I call it INSTA 😅
But I enjoyed it enough... yes, Max seems to move on from his no-good ex quick enough (although that's also a good thing because, NO-GOOD EX!). But Gentry is a nice guy, and well, I loved the ghost touch in it.
Not sure about the whole plot... but yeah, I'll let it slide.
I've given this an A for narration and a C for content at AudioGals.
I was looking for a new author to try and when I saw that Sam Burns’ new book was being narrated by Greg Boudreaux, I decided to take a chance and give it a whirl. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I had a great experience; the narration is fantastic, of course, but the story somehow manages to have too much going on and be a bit boring at the same time, plus, it doesn’t seem to quite know what it’s supposed to be – a contemporary, a paranormal or a mystery.
Where Foxes Say Goodnight starts out feeling like a contemporary romance, with award-winning screenwriter Max Blazek running away from Hollywood after a nasty break-up and hoping that a change of scene will help him get past his writer’s block. He buys a mansion in North Carolina, sight unseen, and arrives on moving-day to find it’s inhabited by a friendly ghost called Nadia. Max is completely unfazed by this turn of events, even going so far as to ask Nadia for recipes and furnishing the guest room for her. I couldn’t help wondering why, as a ghost is not corporeal, Nadia needed a bedroom, but, eh – there’s a lot about this book that doesn’t make sense, including the fact that Max has no problem whatsoever sharing his new home with her.
Also on moving-day, Max meets the gorgeous Gentry Fox when Gentry arrives with a delivery of the furniture Max has bought for the house. He’s handsome and charming and Max is immediately smitten – but their romance is very rushed and insta-love-y. I couldn’t help thinking that the author should have spent less time on the set up – we get lengthy chapters describing Oscar night, the morning after (the lawyer’s visit), and Max moving cross-country all before we even meet Gentry – and more on developing the romance and the rest of the plot, because the mystery element, starting with an attempt on Max’s life, comes out of nowhere. (Yes, the murder mystery element of the story is mentioned in the blurb, but there’s no build-up to Max waking up one night to someone trying to smother him with a pillow!) The blurb also tries to suggest some suspicion as to Gentry’s motives, but there’s never any sense he’s anything other than what he seems. And then, right at the end, the author suddenly throws in the existence of magic which is, just like the ghost, very underdeveloped and unexplored. There are some good ideas here, but none of them are properly thought out or executed.
Just as well this is a fairly short listen, because even Greg Boudreaux’s excellent performance couldn’t disguise the poor pacing and flimsy plotting of the story. He has a wonderful line in good ol’ Southern Gentlemen and Gentry sounds every bit as sexy and charming as he should, and I liked his portrayal of Max’s slowly growing confidence. His pacing is spot on, and his characterisations and differentiation are excellent – there’s never any confusion as to who is speaking at any point in the story, and his delivery is, as always, emotionally nuanced and expressive.
Where Foxes Say Goodnight is book one in a duology – the second is Let Sleeping Foxes Lie – but reviews indicate it has similar problems to this one, so I’ll be looking for something else to listen to instead.
I admit picking up this book because of the lovely cover. And I really wanted to like it as much as the cover art, but there were just too many things that annoyed me in this story. It felt like it couldn't decide which plot to follow: a "fresh start" romance, a crime or a ghost story; and ended up trying all the above, none of them successfully. There was potential, there was promise, but in the end it was just "meh"...
*UPDATE* - there’s a sequel coming 1/11/24!! WHAT?! I’d scoured the corners of the websies looking for a hint of one after my disappointment in this one and NADA. Despite my obvious failure to procure such info… it’s happening. Therefore, I am *earnestly* adding a star to this review as my biggest gripe was its half-of-a-story vibe. I may even give a quick re-read to look at the story through the lens of it being the first in a series.
Original Review:
More like 3.5 - mostly because it felt like half a story, the first book in a duet, or series that follows the same couple for more than the first book!
I can get behind the instalove (a trope I typically abhor) of this pair for the solely reason that they weren’t declaring their immediate undying love and soulmate grossness right off the bat. When I skimmed other reviews prior to starting the book, I expected a much more obnoxious instalove trope with the comments on them moving in together immediately etc. Without spoiling any details, I will say that I wasn’t as put off as I was expecting after having full context behind the MC’s reasoning behind the move.
Oh. And here’s a *mildly spoilery* unsolicited list of things that I wish had been expanded on and why giving it 4 stars is generous (I mean there’s a whole 3 book series worth of content missing):
Rating I’d give this book: -As a standalone? 3.5⭐️ -If we got an extended & I mean EXTENDED epilogue? 4⭐️ -Added follow-up novella? 4.5⭐️ -Became the first in a series? strong 4.5/5⭐️
Petition for Sam Burns to yell “gotcha!” and give us a sequel… __me, fo sho___ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
DNF about 60% in and I don´t think I´ll come back.
The story is pretty cliché and boring: Max, the protagonist, wins an Oscar at the beginning of the story and gets dumped by his famous boyfriend. Then, suffering from writer´s block, moves to a big house in the mountains... And there he finds the ghost of an old lady.
Well, that, and a hot neighbor.
That´s pretty much it for... 50% of the book, maybe? There really is nothing much going on here. I find the story was lacking everywhere I looked. After a first look at the ghost, it gets normalized she is there, and further questions are postponed or forgotten. The romance is, like others have already mentioned in other reviews, more of lust than anything and happens fast. And when speaking about the mystery... Um... What mystery are we talking about exactly? Because I actually saw none of that. I mean, for example, Max finds a building in his recently bought lands that wasn´t supposed to be there (how is this even possible? don´t ask me, but) the thing is that, instead of going there and investigate inmediately, he wastes days asking people in the village about the building in question (???). And then, when Max finally decides to get in there and take a look, he gets scared by some rats in the place and leaves at once without finding anything.
You´ll understand why I can´t with this book anymore.
Nothing much goes on at all and, when it seems like things will get more interesting, the author does something to take it back. So nope, I cannot say I recommend this one.
That was fun. I read it in two sittings, it was so easy to read. The romance was fast but didn't feel instalove, the characters just seemed to fit together. And an endearing couple they made together. I loved watching Max come out of his shell and start to stand up for himself. And Gentry was just a gorgeous character from the start. There's some amazing secondary characters, enough that I wouldn't mind spending more time in Welling. The mystery was good enough that I didn't know who the bad guy was. But I knew it wasn't Gentry and that might be my only complaint about this book, the blurb is misleading in that it implies in a big way that Gentry is suspicious and that Max really considers him as a suspect. In reality he considers it for approximately 30 seconds, then immediately jumps into bed with the guy, and arranges for Gen to stay in the house to keep Max safe. But if my only complaint is a paragraph in the blurb then I'm on to a winner.
Sweet, sexy, small town romance with added ghosts. Highly recommended.
I really liked Max and Gentry! The paranormal aspect is different from other of the authors works and felt new. I liked the mystery, the characters, the danger, and the relationships. The book definitely kept me reading!
To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect going into this story, but it wasn't this. It was good. There was a good mystery element and a realistic enough, if rushed, romance. It's not what I expected, but it was a little predictable in parts. I have a bad habit of making notes in my kindle when a portion of writing has me guessing the plot, and I only made one small incorrect guess the entire time. The final mystery had me guessing for quite a while, though, so I would say it was overall successful.
The one thing that took me entirely by surprise was the intimate and explicit sex scene in the middle of the story. It would cause some AO3 authors to blush, I'm sure.
Started out promising cause Greg can make me instantly like any MC. When the ''romance'' plot started, I realised I was in for a lukewarm ride. Maybe it's my fault for putting much hope on this because I rarely enjoy cosy fantasy, it gets too mild for me. But wasn't this too mild for everyone? There was no chemistry or tension between the MCs, the stakes didn't seem that high for any of their problems, and the spice was on the level of boiled paprika.