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Lex Files
What is terrorizing a nature preserve near a small town in rural Idaho? Half the town believes it’s the Lake Lowell Ghost and the rest are convinced it’s a diabolical beast. With no end in sight, they need help.
Enter Special Agent Winifred Ford,Federal Bureau of Investigation. She has an eye for the unexplained and a history with the creature at large.
Joining the hunt is State Fish Wildlife Officer Daya Soto and her partner, Lexy—a specialist in wildlife enforcement who happens to be a Karelian Bear Dog.
Can the two women work together when one faces east toward logic and the other faces west toward the realm of impossibility? In an age where science and facts rule, blind trust can be a lot to ask of anyone.
Enter Special Agent Winifred Ford,Federal Bureau of Investigation. She has an eye for the unexplained and a history with the creature at large.
Joining the hunt is State Fish Wildlife Officer Daya Soto and her partner, Lexy—a specialist in wildlife enforcement who happens to be a Karelian Bear Dog.
Can the two women work together when one faces east toward logic and the other faces west toward the realm of impossibility? In an age where science and facts rule, blind trust can be a lot to ask of anyone.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 18, 2018
4 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Celeste Castro
4 books35 followersCeleste Castro is from small-town, rural Idaho where most of her stories take place. She grew up with learning differences though she always kept a journal. Her characters are a little like her, completely versed in the art of Chingóna and speaking Spanglish. When she’s not glued to her laptop, she’s digging in her garden, practicing Tai Chi or looking for something to deep clean. Celeste currently lives with her wife in Chicago-the best city on Earth!
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 15, 2018
3.75 Stars. I had fun with this book. I thought it was really entertaining. This was a paranormal/mystery with a romance, a combo I’m a big fan of. I did think the book had a few bumps, it’s not perfect, but it’s the kind of book I love to read in October. Also, how great is the title? Although I do have to mention I wasn’t big on Lex being the dog’s name, but it’s still a good title:)
This book has three main characters. One is Special Agent Ford of the FBI. Her job is to work on cases that deal with the unknown (think X Files). The other two characters are Daya a State Fish and Game officer and her partner Lexy, a Karelian Bear Dog. Lex is special in that she is trained to track down and scare large predatory animals’ way bigger than she is. The Karelian Bear Dog program is actually a real program out of Washington State. They catch bears that hang out in the city or highly populated areas, and release them into the wilderness. The dogs help scare the bears away so they know humans equal an unpleasant experience. This keeps both humans and bears safely living apart. It’s a successful program that is in a few other states and countries, but it’s hard to get funding. I appreciate that Castro thought to shed a little light on the program.
I used to be an X Files fan way back in the day. I really enjoyed reading about an FBI agent that dealt with the paranormal. This story is a little bit X Files but with lesbians. I thought the whole premise was really entertaining. It was also really different. I have not read a lesfic book like this before and I always love when that happens. I also liked that while there are paranormal parts of this story, Castro used theories that are actually talked about in real life. So yes, while you do have to suspend some disbelief, this book wasn’t really so far out there.
When it came to the romance I enjoyed that part too. You have two women who are very different but it seems to work. It’s a total opposites attract story. I did think at some times the romance was a little bumpy. It might have been the dialogue but something was a little off. What I did was to make sure not to take things too seriously. This is a book for entertainment. Once I was in that frame of mind, I was less bothered and just went with the flow. Even with some bumps, I found I really liked the mains as a potential couple.
Since this book is called the Lex Files, I’m hoping that it will mean another installment. While the main storyline is wrapped up, this book screams for a sequel to me. If so I would not hesitate to read it. If you are looking for an entertaining paranormal read for Halloween, I would consider giving this a try.
An ARC was given to me by Bella for a honest review.
This book has three main characters. One is Special Agent Ford of the FBI. Her job is to work on cases that deal with the unknown (think X Files). The other two characters are Daya a State Fish and Game officer and her partner Lexy, a Karelian Bear Dog. Lex is special in that she is trained to track down and scare large predatory animals’ way bigger than she is. The Karelian Bear Dog program is actually a real program out of Washington State. They catch bears that hang out in the city or highly populated areas, and release them into the wilderness. The dogs help scare the bears away so they know humans equal an unpleasant experience. This keeps both humans and bears safely living apart. It’s a successful program that is in a few other states and countries, but it’s hard to get funding. I appreciate that Castro thought to shed a little light on the program.
I used to be an X Files fan way back in the day. I really enjoyed reading about an FBI agent that dealt with the paranormal. This story is a little bit X Files but with lesbians. I thought the whole premise was really entertaining. It was also really different. I have not read a lesfic book like this before and I always love when that happens. I also liked that while there are paranormal parts of this story, Castro used theories that are actually talked about in real life. So yes, while you do have to suspend some disbelief, this book wasn’t really so far out there.
When it came to the romance I enjoyed that part too. You have two women who are very different but it seems to work. It’s a total opposites attract story. I did think at some times the romance was a little bumpy. It might have been the dialogue but something was a little off. What I did was to make sure not to take things too seriously. This is a book for entertainment. Once I was in that frame of mind, I was less bothered and just went with the flow. Even with some bumps, I found I really liked the mains as a potential couple.
Since this book is called the Lex Files, I’m hoping that it will mean another installment. While the main storyline is wrapped up, this book screams for a sequel to me. If so I would not hesitate to read it. If you are looking for an entertaining paranormal read for Halloween, I would consider giving this a try.
An ARC was given to me by Bella for a honest review.
August 15, 2021
An interesting paranormal read with mystery and investigation, and two badass babes, one with an awesome working dog!
At first I really did not like the MC FBI Special Agent Winifred Ford. She was bitchy, brusk, had no manners or civility, just steamrolled over everyone, and dictated things without care, concern or tact!. I was very close to not finishing, but the mystery and the special dog character kept me hooked, so I continued, but there were still some hiccups.
I really loved hearing about our other MC Daya Soto who is a wildlife enforcement agent, and her specially trained Karelian bear dog. She trained the dog, Lex, to assist her in tracking wild animals that may become a nuisance.
When gory and violent animal sightings combined with bizarre hallucinations start happening in the woods with people, FBI Agent Ford is teamed up with local wildlife expert Soto and her dog Lexy, to navigate not only the wilderness and animals, but also town politics which Agent Win, is so determined to trample over.
As I said, I reallly struggled to like Winifreds character, she's just such a hardass and while we get some explanation as to why, it still never feels good enough. That's literally just her personality. Honestly I kept waiting for even more of a reveal with her character, especially with her insistence about her timeline being so short to "solve" this case. But then, nothing more was forthcoming. So I often felt like I was missing something with her character.
There's a lot of steamy action between the two women, I appreciated that Daya didn't take her shit and called her out, but at the same time she also became far too sympathetic to her, as well, which I struggle with seeing characters treat others like crap under the guise of their own trauma, and people making excuses for that - yet them never truly stepping up, or apologising.
The heat between the women is strong, but I felt the relationship just never did go anywhere, and it felt like they were two very different people on two very different pages. They talked so well about everything, except their feelings, and it made things a bit fizzled out by the end, despite the alternate ending, my believability waned for it all.
I did enjoy the read overall, but I had my nitpicks and issues.
At first I really did not like the MC FBI Special Agent Winifred Ford. She was bitchy, brusk, had no manners or civility, just steamrolled over everyone, and dictated things without care, concern or tact!. I was very close to not finishing, but the mystery and the special dog character kept me hooked, so I continued, but there were still some hiccups.
I really loved hearing about our other MC Daya Soto who is a wildlife enforcement agent, and her specially trained Karelian bear dog. She trained the dog, Lex, to assist her in tracking wild animals that may become a nuisance.
When gory and violent animal sightings combined with bizarre hallucinations start happening in the woods with people, FBI Agent Ford is teamed up with local wildlife expert Soto and her dog Lexy, to navigate not only the wilderness and animals, but also town politics which Agent Win, is so determined to trample over.
As I said, I reallly struggled to like Winifreds character, she's just such a hardass and while we get some explanation as to why, it still never feels good enough. That's literally just her personality. Honestly I kept waiting for even more of a reveal with her character, especially with her insistence about her timeline being so short to "solve" this case. But then, nothing more was forthcoming. So I often felt like I was missing something with her character.
There's a lot of steamy action between the two women, I appreciated that Daya didn't take her shit and called her out, but at the same time she also became far too sympathetic to her, as well, which I struggle with seeing characters treat others like crap under the guise of their own trauma, and people making excuses for that - yet them never truly stepping up, or apologising.
The heat between the women is strong, but I felt the relationship just never did go anywhere, and it felt like they were two very different people on two very different pages. They talked so well about everything, except their feelings, and it made things a bit fizzled out by the end, despite the alternate ending, my believability waned for it all.
I did enjoy the read overall, but I had my nitpicks and issues.
December 28, 2019
I’m not a great paranormal follower, but here the paranormal narrative mingles with a fabulous love story.
This book is mindblowing !!
This is only the second book of Ms Castro, the first, Homecoming, was very good, but here we have a more than promising author.
A nature preserve near a small town is inhabited by something that terrorizes the population. Special Agent Winifred Ford is sent by her hierarchy to try to solve this unusual, strange and scary box. On site is State Fisch and Wildlife Officer Daya Soto, and her partner, Lexy, Karelian Bear Dog, specialist in wildlife enforcement, The two women, who are antagonist, can they, to ignore their differences to solve this case, and more if affinities between the two?
The two main characters are awesome, with a Winifred, tough, stubborn, proud, asocial, and a Daya, playful, sociable, lovable, and humorous.
Their emotional and sexual approach is absolutely well written, well described, provocative, full of emotions, and often makes me smile, thanks to the truculent dialogues.
And it is one of the few authors of Lesfic to be a Woman Of Color. We miss a lot of authors who not only advocate diversity, but also introduce Person Of Color into main characters, which is also very rare. And physical descriptions are other than blue or green eyes, or blondes and redheads, it’s new, and we're asking for more.
The writing is fluid, and of very good quality, the rich and varied vocabulary (I even had a hard time understanding some, being French, unlike other books, and I had to consult my translation dictionary often). The author has favored dialogues with endless descriptions in other books, and that is what gives the rhythm of the story. The plot is perfectly conducted, original and surprising.
Regarding the cover, "flamboyant", very beautiful, with its yellow color, here we have a change of standard books BellaBooks and that's good. Thanks to Sandy Knowles for this cover (by the way, we very rarely mention the artists of the covers, which is very damaging, knowing that a book sells for 1/3 on the visual).
I think there should be a sequel to this book, by the way, the end lends itself. But rather than continuing in the field of the paranormal, why not a mystery where could be inserted in background another love story with other protagonists.
Anyway, this book really deserves a read, it's one of the best books I've read this year (and they count themselves with the fingers of one hand), I highly recommend it. And I will follow closely the next books of Ms Castro.
Sorry if my review contains language errors, but I'm French. And the French expressions are not the same as in English
This book is mindblowing !!
This is only the second book of Ms Castro, the first, Homecoming, was very good, but here we have a more than promising author.
A nature preserve near a small town is inhabited by something that terrorizes the population. Special Agent Winifred Ford is sent by her hierarchy to try to solve this unusual, strange and scary box. On site is State Fisch and Wildlife Officer Daya Soto, and her partner, Lexy, Karelian Bear Dog, specialist in wildlife enforcement, The two women, who are antagonist, can they, to ignore their differences to solve this case, and more if affinities between the two?
The two main characters are awesome, with a Winifred, tough, stubborn, proud, asocial, and a Daya, playful, sociable, lovable, and humorous.
Their emotional and sexual approach is absolutely well written, well described, provocative, full of emotions, and often makes me smile, thanks to the truculent dialogues.
And it is one of the few authors of Lesfic to be a Woman Of Color. We miss a lot of authors who not only advocate diversity, but also introduce Person Of Color into main characters, which is also very rare. And physical descriptions are other than blue or green eyes, or blondes and redheads, it’s new, and we're asking for more.
The writing is fluid, and of very good quality, the rich and varied vocabulary (I even had a hard time understanding some, being French, unlike other books, and I had to consult my translation dictionary often). The author has favored dialogues with endless descriptions in other books, and that is what gives the rhythm of the story. The plot is perfectly conducted, original and surprising.
Regarding the cover, "flamboyant", very beautiful, with its yellow color, here we have a change of standard books BellaBooks and that's good. Thanks to Sandy Knowles for this cover (by the way, we very rarely mention the artists of the covers, which is very damaging, knowing that a book sells for 1/3 on the visual).
I think there should be a sequel to this book, by the way, the end lends itself. But rather than continuing in the field of the paranormal, why not a mystery where could be inserted in background another love story with other protagonists.
Anyway, this book really deserves a read, it's one of the best books I've read this year (and they count themselves with the fingers of one hand), I highly recommend it. And I will follow closely the next books of Ms Castro.
Sorry if my review contains language errors, but I'm French. And the French expressions are not the same as in English
December 4, 2019
heh, mmphs. I took almost two months to read a 294 page book (page count is wrong on Goodreads, I know, I have a physical copy of the book with this ISBN). Most of that was because it is difficult for me to read physical books now-a-days (though, in this specific instance, it was the size of the book, not my poor eyes).
This is one of the weirdest books I've read. Featuring one of the most incompetent FBI agents (and bosses) I've ever seen. That'd be Ford. Daya Soto was competent until the end of the book when both women put in motion a weird ass plan .
Oh, and I liked Lex the dog.
Rating: 3.25
December 3, 2019
This is one of the weirdest books I've read. Featuring one of the most incompetent FBI agents (and bosses) I've ever seen. That'd be Ford. Daya Soto was competent until the end of the book when both women put in motion a weird ass plan .
Oh, and I liked Lex the dog.
Rating: 3.25
December 3, 2019
November 26, 2018
3.75 - Nice paranormal (Romantic) mystery with an FBI Agent/Wildlife Officer teamup!
FBI Special Agent Winifred Ford specializes in cases of the unexplained, or ones involving strange creatures. When she's sent to investigate Lake Lowell Ghost, she's forced to team up with a State Fish & Wildlife Officer, Daya Soto in order to solve mystery of the slaughtered animals that continue to be found on a nature preserve just outside a small town in rural Idaho.
I really liked Officer Soto's character. She’s friendly, funny, and everybody loves her dog, Lexy. They have a bond that only certain owners and pets can have. But on the other hand, Special Agent Ford was nearly the opposite. She was abrasive, rude, arrogant, and lacking compassion. But I think that's what the point was. Castro wrote the character to develop, to have that ice queen she could melt. And while I didn't like Ford in the beginning, she certainly came a long way by the end.
The pacing was good for this type of novel. The author kept the reader in the dark about what was responsible for the dead animals. Both anxiety and urgency build throughout the book and leave you turning the page to find out what happens next, or discover the next uncovered clue.
I enjoy this type of book. While I'm not normally a big mystery fan, I will cross the boundary for a mixed genre book like this. Paranormal creatures, a little mystery, and FBI agents with an X-Files flair, all things that make a good draw for me. I'll admit the main plot of the story was of bigger interest to me than the romantic subplot, but I would certainly be interested in seeing where Castro takes this if she writes a sequel. Pairings like Ford and Soto are exactly what make a great duo for further adventures.
This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
FBI Special Agent Winifred Ford specializes in cases of the unexplained, or ones involving strange creatures. When she's sent to investigate Lake Lowell Ghost, she's forced to team up with a State Fish & Wildlife Officer, Daya Soto in order to solve mystery of the slaughtered animals that continue to be found on a nature preserve just outside a small town in rural Idaho.
I really liked Officer Soto's character. She’s friendly, funny, and everybody loves her dog, Lexy. They have a bond that only certain owners and pets can have. But on the other hand, Special Agent Ford was nearly the opposite. She was abrasive, rude, arrogant, and lacking compassion. But I think that's what the point was. Castro wrote the character to develop, to have that ice queen she could melt. And while I didn't like Ford in the beginning, she certainly came a long way by the end.
The pacing was good for this type of novel. The author kept the reader in the dark about what was responsible for the dead animals. Both anxiety and urgency build throughout the book and leave you turning the page to find out what happens next, or discover the next uncovered clue.
I enjoy this type of book. While I'm not normally a big mystery fan, I will cross the boundary for a mixed genre book like this. Paranormal creatures, a little mystery, and FBI agents with an X-Files flair, all things that make a good draw for me. I'll admit the main plot of the story was of bigger interest to me than the romantic subplot, but I would certainly be interested in seeing where Castro takes this if she writes a sequel. Pairings like Ford and Soto are exactly what make a great duo for further adventures.
This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
November 12, 2018
From the title, The Lex Files, you know right from the start that the story is a paranormal romance. I’m a fan of the genre, and with a clear nod to the X-Files series, Castro has big shoes to fill. She doesn’t disappoint. Special Agent Ford is “true believer”, but she has a hard history with the F.B.I. There are unsolved cases, trouble with a past partner and general prickliness. Now she’s met her match in Daya Soto, an officer with Idaho Fish and Game. She’s as tough as Ford, desperately wants to solve who or what is terrorizing their game preserve, AND she has a secret weapon: her partner, Lexy, a Karelian Bear dog.
Okay, can I just say, I’m a dog person. I love dogs; I would take my own everywhere if I could, and I was so happy every time Lexy popped up on the page. She’s loving, loyal, and immediately recognizes that Ford is truly a good person and made for Soto. When they begin to see it too, that’s when story really starts to smolder. The romance is inevitable in the best kind of way and super-hot.
There’s much more to like about this book as well. First off, Castro is a master of dialogue. There is one particular scene where the two leads are interviewing a birdwatching couple that is hilarious, and don’t get me started on how adorable the chapter headings are. “Federal Bitch of Investigation”, for example. The ending, without giving anything away, is completely satisfying. I was afraid that with such a long lead up, it would fall flat. But, no, the resolution works perfectly and even thematically touches on the concerns of the day.
Yep, Castro delivers.
An ARC was given to me by Bella for a honest review.
Okay, can I just say, I’m a dog person. I love dogs; I would take my own everywhere if I could, and I was so happy every time Lexy popped up on the page. She’s loving, loyal, and immediately recognizes that Ford is truly a good person and made for Soto. When they begin to see it too, that’s when story really starts to smolder. The romance is inevitable in the best kind of way and super-hot.
There’s much more to like about this book as well. First off, Castro is a master of dialogue. There is one particular scene where the two leads are interviewing a birdwatching couple that is hilarious, and don’t get me started on how adorable the chapter headings are. “Federal Bitch of Investigation”, for example. The ending, without giving anything away, is completely satisfying. I was afraid that with such a long lead up, it would fall flat. But, no, the resolution works perfectly and even thematically touches on the concerns of the day.
Yep, Castro delivers.
An ARC was given to me by Bella for a honest review.
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May 11, 2019Ugh. If I were going to rate this one, I'd grudgingly give it one star.
This should have been a DNF but I'm in the midst of a review challenge with someone and forced myself to finish. This book has gotten good reviews and I'm wondering if it is just me.
When I read the blurb and saw some reveiws I was looking forward to a campy and fun creature feature - with a nice steamy romance. The cover reminded me of the old fanfic covers people used to photoshop pics of Xena/Gabrielle onto DIY covers - tacky as hell, but you knew that they loved what they were writing and readers loved the stories. I was sorely disappointed.
The book tried to be a lot of things and didn't deliver on any of them. This is a paranormal book that couldn't even settle on what kind of paranormal it wanted to explore - Bigfoot, giant squid, hauntings, ghosts, possession ... pick one. There's a romance between the two MC but it just didn't work - no lead up either than one character staring at the other's breasts and thinking her big ass looked good in polyester - and there was no chemistry between them to speak of. Most disappointing was that Lexi, the Karellian Bear Dog, was underused and didn't really move any of the plot forward. Instead the dog (remember, that this is the Lex Files), just wandered around giving kisses and cadging treats and even then didn't endear herself to me enough to make me want to keep reading for the dog scenes - and I am a sucker for dogs.
The characters were flat and I couldn't give a rat's ass about either of them. Win was particularly unlikable and I thought that if I gave it a chance, she'd win me over - but no - she started as an asshole and continued as an unprofessional and boorish ass. I can't figure out what attracted either of them to one another - no chemistry, no investment, no reason for them to get together.
Sometimes a book I'm reading that has a less than stellar plot or unlikable characters can be saved by the writer's style/narrative. If the writing is good, I'll forgive a lot. Unfortunately, the writing style didn't work for me either - sometimes disjointed, sometimes sentence structure was just awkward and jarring.
This was definitely a miss for me. Big miss.
This should have been a DNF but I'm in the midst of a review challenge with someone and forced myself to finish. This book has gotten good reviews and I'm wondering if it is just me.
When I read the blurb and saw some reveiws I was looking forward to a campy and fun creature feature - with a nice steamy romance. The cover reminded me of the old fanfic covers people used to photoshop pics of Xena/Gabrielle onto DIY covers - tacky as hell, but you knew that they loved what they were writing and readers loved the stories. I was sorely disappointed.
The book tried to be a lot of things and didn't deliver on any of them. This is a paranormal book that couldn't even settle on what kind of paranormal it wanted to explore - Bigfoot, giant squid, hauntings, ghosts, possession ... pick one. There's a romance between the two MC but it just didn't work - no lead up either than one character staring at the other's breasts and thinking her big ass looked good in polyester - and there was no chemistry between them to speak of. Most disappointing was that Lexi, the Karellian Bear Dog, was underused and didn't really move any of the plot forward. Instead the dog (remember, that this is the Lex Files), just wandered around giving kisses and cadging treats and even then didn't endear herself to me enough to make me want to keep reading for the dog scenes - and I am a sucker for dogs.
The characters were flat and I couldn't give a rat's ass about either of them. Win was particularly unlikable and I thought that if I gave it a chance, she'd win me over - but no - she started as an asshole and continued as an unprofessional and boorish ass. I can't figure out what attracted either of them to one another - no chemistry, no investment, no reason for them to get together.
Sometimes a book I'm reading that has a less than stellar plot or unlikable characters can be saved by the writer's style/narrative. If the writing is good, I'll forgive a lot. Unfortunately, the writing style didn't work for me either - sometimes disjointed, sometimes sentence structure was just awkward and jarring.
This was definitely a miss for me. Big miss.
March 2, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this second book by Author Celeste Castro. One of the things I loved most about the Author's first book (Homecoming) was the vivid descriptions of the surrounding nature/scenery, colors, etc. I was pleasantly taken with the wonderful descriptions in Lex Files as well. It made me feel like I was also enjoying the gentle Caldwell breeze with "scents of new mint, alfalfa, and onion." I also enjoyed the character Agent Ford. It was fun to see the evolution of this powerful/successful paranormal agent (especially as the Wildlife Officer - Soto enters the picture). Overall, highly recommend. Very much enjoyed reading.
October 20, 2022
My kind of Halloween read. Creepy enough to make it festive, but funny banter and a cute pup to keep me from sleeping with the light on.
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October 29, 2018Sigh. The author has a problem with fat people. Otherwise the book would be fine.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews