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Telltale Ghosts #1
Matchmaking Beyond the Veil
Endure the company of his rival…or suffer ghostly retaliation.
Emery Belmont is a snarky, uptight realist who likes his life ordinary. Like any skeptic, he’s content using mundane explanations to write off signs of paranormal activity. That’s no longer an option when the spirit haunting his house wrecks his new kitchen, forcing Emery closer to facing the supernatural truth. Desperate for a new handyman, he unknowingly hires his hot ex-rival from high school to fix it. Paxton Santos, Emery’s former lacrosse team captain, followed in his father’s footsteps to take over the family business. Annoyingly, Emery requires his talented hands more than he needs to keep Paxton out of his life. However, getting Paxton to leave after the repairs may prove difficult with the meddlesome ghost taking a shine to him, which Paxton seems to take in his grating, good-natured stride, remaining irritatingly unruffled by numerous weird occurrences.
Emery is bombarded by mysterious paranormal hijinks, keeping Paxton at arm’s length, and deciphering things that aren't quiet what they seem. There’s nothing Emery hates more than an unfinished puzzle. In his determination to solve this one, Emery reluctantly opens himself up to new possibilities all while trying to remain firmly rooted in life the way he prefers it—orderly, logically explainable, and, above all else, ghost-free.
Join Emery and Paxton as they face off with a spirit that has no limits to how far it will go to push them together, enduring locked doors, faulty plumbing, and sharing a bed. Together they are determined to navigate their way out of this mess using any means necessary to send the ghost packing. Will they make it out of the traps awaiting them before their pesky tormenter gets any other ideas to make things worse and further blur the line between them?
Matchmaking Beyond the Veil is a 107k slow burn MM romance of rivals to friends to lovers told in single POV. Featuring a meddling ghost playing at matchmaker, forced proximity, bed sharing, ghost tours that totally aren’t dates, and tongue-in-cheek humor. This story ends on a HFN ending with a soft cliffhanger. Emery and Paxton’s story will continue in the next book of the series, Telltale Ghosts Book 2. This book contains denial, an unreliable narrator, two men experimenting with sex magic, fighting what the heart wants, steamy explicit sexual scenes and colorful language intended for adults 18 and older.
Emery Belmont is a snarky, uptight realist who likes his life ordinary. Like any skeptic, he’s content using mundane explanations to write off signs of paranormal activity. That’s no longer an option when the spirit haunting his house wrecks his new kitchen, forcing Emery closer to facing the supernatural truth. Desperate for a new handyman, he unknowingly hires his hot ex-rival from high school to fix it. Paxton Santos, Emery’s former lacrosse team captain, followed in his father’s footsteps to take over the family business. Annoyingly, Emery requires his talented hands more than he needs to keep Paxton out of his life. However, getting Paxton to leave after the repairs may prove difficult with the meddlesome ghost taking a shine to him, which Paxton seems to take in his grating, good-natured stride, remaining irritatingly unruffled by numerous weird occurrences.
Emery is bombarded by mysterious paranormal hijinks, keeping Paxton at arm’s length, and deciphering things that aren't quiet what they seem. There’s nothing Emery hates more than an unfinished puzzle. In his determination to solve this one, Emery reluctantly opens himself up to new possibilities all while trying to remain firmly rooted in life the way he prefers it—orderly, logically explainable, and, above all else, ghost-free.
Join Emery and Paxton as they face off with a spirit that has no limits to how far it will go to push them together, enduring locked doors, faulty plumbing, and sharing a bed. Together they are determined to navigate their way out of this mess using any means necessary to send the ghost packing. Will they make it out of the traps awaiting them before their pesky tormenter gets any other ideas to make things worse and further blur the line between them?
Matchmaking Beyond the Veil is a 107k slow burn MM romance of rivals to friends to lovers told in single POV. Featuring a meddling ghost playing at matchmaker, forced proximity, bed sharing, ghost tours that totally aren’t dates, and tongue-in-cheek humor. This story ends on a HFN ending with a soft cliffhanger. Emery and Paxton’s story will continue in the next book of the series, Telltale Ghosts Book 2. This book contains denial, an unreliable narrator, two men experimenting with sex magic, fighting what the heart wants, steamy explicit sexual scenes and colorful language intended for adults 18 and older.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2019
34 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Mara Townsend
6 books28 followersMara Townsend is a bisexual indie author of LGBTQ+ romances. She loves to explore intimate relationship development of the feels-inducing variety to invoke the eternal just kiss plea from the reader, as well as crafting strong platonic friendships with heaps of heart and soul. Her stories showcase diverse representation, love stories with realistic emotions—never mindless fluff, a healthy dose of humor, and a side helping of her favorite tropes.
She hangs out in fan communities online and learned how to write the kind of stories that she’s passionate about through experimental character-driven fiction based in her favorite worlds. When not writing, she can be found soaking up sunshine at the beach, traveling the world to fill in her passport, perpetually collecting plants, and reading as many fake-dating romance books as she can find.
She hangs out in fan communities online and learned how to write the kind of stories that she’s passionate about through experimental character-driven fiction based in her favorite worlds. When not writing, she can be found soaking up sunshine at the beach, traveling the world to fill in her passport, perpetually collecting plants, and reading as many fake-dating romance books as she can find.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
May 21, 2019
1.5★'s rounded down because I can’t even add this to my 2★'s = it was ok shelf because it was not ok.
This is going to be bad guys.
When I read the blurb for this I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this. I just re-read the blurb to make sure I had that feeling right and honestly, if that was the book I had read I’d be in HEAVEN. The book that blurb talks about was not this book. That blurb sounds fun, sexy, magical and right up my alley. I want to read that book.
The first sentence of this book is written as if we are going to be presented with a memory but then the story just continues on. The entire read, all 328 pages, I never knew whether I was getting a recount of the past or if I was reading the story as it happened. The first couple paragraphs should have been a huge red flag. I had to read them more than once and still didn’t know what was happening.
I’m sorry friends but this was dreadful. Reading 328 pages about a character that is a complete asshole was not fun. Emery is described in the blurb as snarky. Emery is not snarky he is borderline evil.
I should have given up but I had hope. Stupid really because the book ended up being hopeless.
I hated Emery. Until the last page I did not like him. He was not nice. He was a horrible person to every person he encountered. He was mean. He was vicious and he was immature. These characteristics were constant. He treated strangers like scum and belittled every person he met. I jotted down so many examples of his behavior that it could be the entire review but I have so much more to talk about.
Ok, let me get back on track. This book felt like chunks of a story thrown together. There was so much it felt like I was supposed to know but didn’t. There was no back story. No explanation but these things were huge parts of the story but felt like they were dropped in and I consistently felt stupid for not knowing. There also were so many scenes where it felt like a person was going to end up being part of the story because we spent enough time with them and then they were just gone. It was odd. It was like something was going to happen with them or they were going to show up later in the story but they didn't. Why spend so much time on them to begin with?
This book was so long and there was so much that had nothing to do with anything really. It took forever to even have an idea about what was happening or even why and I never really felt like I got that completely either. And when I say it took forever it might have been 70% into the story.
This was not a romance. Emery never liked Paxton. Never. Even at 90% when they were going to come together, although not romantically!!!, he still said he could find someone else. And even further, at the bitter end, he still wasn’t sure if going to a party together should be a date. This was not a romance. Maybe had we gotten Paxton’s POV I’d feel better but without it, I have no idea why he even liked Emery, he should not have. NOT A SINGLE IDEA because Emery treated him like shit on the bottom of his shoe the entire book.
I live in a Historic home, c. 1792. I am the Secretary of our Historic Society. I hate, hate, hate Historic homes being damaged in books. I hate heirlooms being destroyed. I wish none of this happened. It didn’t further the story. If anything it made no sense. It made Emery come across as ditzy. He came home to a completely destroyed newly renovated kitchen and all his family heirlooms destroyed and he just texted his friends and went over for dinner. What? I can’t even go further with this. I’m too pissed off.
Speaking of history. Emery visited the local Historic Society. The way this visit was portrayed in this book was beyond offensive. I felt ragey after reading that scene. A place like Boston? No. What was the point of this? Just another scene that Emery gets to belittle and attack someone? Luckily Paxton stopped it. Poor old lady. Not cool. There is no way in Hell that any of that would have happened like that and it was just an ugly portrayal of the keepers of our History.
I should have thrown in the towel.
I shouldn’t have finished the book.
It took me forever to finish it because I didn’t want to read it. Part of me kind of did because like I said up there, I kept having hope that something would happen and that something would change but as the 50% mark went by and then the 60% mark and so on it just got worse and worse.
When they finally had sex my Kindle falling out of my hand WOKE ME UP!
I feel bad, truly I do, I just can’t wrap my head around Emery, the story, any of it. There are so many loose ends, plot holes and stuff just freaking floating out there that I don’t know if it matters or if it doesn’t. Emery was a horrible person and it seems in this world that is ok and people like him because of it. I hate mean people and he was worse then just mean. He was spiteful and enjoyed it. There never even was an explanation for why any of this even happened!!! None of this worked for me and I really tried. Ugh.
**ARC provided by the author via A Novel Take Promotions in exchange for an honest review.**
This is going to be bad guys.
When I read the blurb for this I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this. I just re-read the blurb to make sure I had that feeling right and honestly, if that was the book I had read I’d be in HEAVEN. The book that blurb talks about was not this book. That blurb sounds fun, sexy, magical and right up my alley. I want to read that book.
The first sentence of this book is written as if we are going to be presented with a memory but then the story just continues on. The entire read, all 328 pages, I never knew whether I was getting a recount of the past or if I was reading the story as it happened. The first couple paragraphs should have been a huge red flag. I had to read them more than once and still didn’t know what was happening.
I’m sorry friends but this was dreadful. Reading 328 pages about a character that is a complete asshole was not fun. Emery is described in the blurb as snarky. Emery is not snarky he is borderline evil.
I should have given up but I had hope. Stupid really because the book ended up being hopeless.
I hated Emery. Until the last page I did not like him. He was not nice. He was a horrible person to every person he encountered. He was mean. He was vicious and he was immature. These characteristics were constant. He treated strangers like scum and belittled every person he met. I jotted down so many examples of his behavior that it could be the entire review but I have so much more to talk about.
Ok, let me get back on track. This book felt like chunks of a story thrown together. There was so much it felt like I was supposed to know but didn’t. There was no back story. No explanation but these things were huge parts of the story but felt like they were dropped in and I consistently felt stupid for not knowing. There also were so many scenes where it felt like a person was going to end up being part of the story because we spent enough time with them and then they were just gone. It was odd. It was like something was going to happen with them or they were going to show up later in the story but they didn't. Why spend so much time on them to begin with?
This book was so long and there was so much that had nothing to do with anything really. It took forever to even have an idea about what was happening or even why and I never really felt like I got that completely either. And when I say it took forever it might have been 70% into the story.
This was not a romance. Emery never liked Paxton. Never. Even at 90% when they were going to come together, although not romantically!!!, he still said he could find someone else. And even further, at the bitter end, he still wasn’t sure if going to a party together should be a date. This was not a romance. Maybe had we gotten Paxton’s POV I’d feel better but without it, I have no idea why he even liked Emery, he should not have. NOT A SINGLE IDEA because Emery treated him like shit on the bottom of his shoe the entire book.
I live in a Historic home, c. 1792. I am the Secretary of our Historic Society. I hate, hate, hate Historic homes being damaged in books. I hate heirlooms being destroyed. I wish none of this happened. It didn’t further the story. If anything it made no sense. It made Emery come across as ditzy. He came home to a completely destroyed newly renovated kitchen and all his family heirlooms destroyed and he just texted his friends and went over for dinner. What? I can’t even go further with this. I’m too pissed off.
Speaking of history. Emery visited the local Historic Society. The way this visit was portrayed in this book was beyond offensive. I felt ragey after reading that scene. A place like Boston? No. What was the point of this? Just another scene that Emery gets to belittle and attack someone? Luckily Paxton stopped it. Poor old lady. Not cool. There is no way in Hell that any of that would have happened like that and it was just an ugly portrayal of the keepers of our History.
I should have thrown in the towel.
I shouldn’t have finished the book.
It took me forever to finish it because I didn’t want to read it. Part of me kind of did because like I said up there, I kept having hope that something would happen and that something would change but as the 50% mark went by and then the 60% mark and so on it just got worse and worse.
When they finally had sex my Kindle falling out of my hand WOKE ME UP!
I feel bad, truly I do, I just can’t wrap my head around Emery, the story, any of it. There are so many loose ends, plot holes and stuff just freaking floating out there that I don’t know if it matters or if it doesn’t. Emery was a horrible person and it seems in this world that is ok and people like him because of it. I hate mean people and he was worse then just mean. He was spiteful and enjoyed it. There never even was an explanation for why any of this even happened!!! None of this worked for me and I really tried. Ugh.
**ARC provided by the author via A Novel Take Promotions in exchange for an honest review.**
May 22, 2019
Sadly, this one didn't work for me at all. I strongly disliked Emery from start to finish, and this book was S L O W. The blurb makes this sound like a joyous investigation with a snarky MC, but I didn't get snarky, and it wasn't fun or upbeat. I also noticed that, while we stayed in Emery's POV, Paxton's emotions were often described in a way that could only be known if we were in his head. I'm not sure if I'm accurately portraying what I'm trying to say and I wish I had highlighted the passages so I'd have an example.
It's not often that I rate a book two stars. If I'm ambivalent, I typically rate it as a three. I just really didn't like this. This was my first book by this author and I'm not sure that her writing style is for me.
*Received in exchange for an honest review
It's not often that I rate a book two stars. If I'm ambivalent, I typically rate it as a three. I just really didn't like this. This was my first book by this author and I'm not sure that her writing style is for me.
*Received in exchange for an honest review
June 4, 2019
A touch of supernatural but no magic for me, i finish it, i want to give another chance to mara, who knows 😒
dnf
October 1, 2019DNF @ 43%
This one sounded like so much fun but ended up infuriating me. I already know I will rant, but before I go into my main reason for not finishing, let's talk about the rest of the book.
Content warnings for the first 43% include: destruction of private property including heirlooms, almost getting hit by a bus, absolutely horrible protagonist who treats everyone he meets like shit.
The writing was mostly okay, but there were some issues around the timeline. I couldn't always tell what was supposed to be a flashback and what was happening presently. The books opens with what seems to be a flashback, just for it to.... not be one?
The beginning is also sort of aimless - it hints at things that have already happened/will happen soon, except then... noting really happens. The part that I read lacked any sort of structure or goal and didn't really seem to lead anywhere, taking several turns, introducing characters I thought would become important, just for them to never be mentioned again.
I can deal with slow plots, but one thing made me frown: WHERE WERE THE GHOSTS??? I expected there to be ghosts, or at least one ghost. And yeah, there is one - doing some creepy stuff in the background. Except.... it's totally ignored??? Emery, the protagonist, just sees these creepy things happen and then shrugs it away and then his life goes on without a second thought. There were so many little hints and it was SO frustrating because Emery just didn't react at all!!
The characterization was mostly okay, but inconsistent in small details. One moments it's "I dont keep old things out of nostalgia, I just throw stuff away" and the next "I still have an old hat from a costume party in college."
----------(After this it gets a bit spoiler-y.)----------
All that isn't ideal, but it wouldn't have been a real issue for me if not for my main reason for not finishing the book. Because in comparison to that, those other things pale completely.
That reason is Emery.
In short, Emery is an asshole.
To elaborate: He's not a lovable grump with a sharp tongue and offending snark hiding a heart of gold like the blurb would want to make you believe. Nope. Emery is an egocentric, judgemental, obnoxious and mean asshole. He treats every single character he meets horribly, with maybe the exception of his one friend. Everyone else is apparently fair game to him and my jaw dropped several times because... holy shit.
What. An. Absolute. PRICK.
This starts at the very beginning when someone saves him from being rolled over by a bus and then asks him out for a drink. Granted, maybe not the best time to pick someone up, and the way Emery acts towards the guy is tame in comparison, but his thoughts there already made me uncomfortable because of how truly nasty (as in, evil) they were. And that was just the start.
Later Emery wants to pick up a guy at a bar and goes to flirt with him. Shortly into the conversation he sees that the guy seems to have a habit of biting his nails and has an unfortunate hair implant. That's where it goes downhill. He immediately starts being disgusted (!), thinks that the guy is unhygienic, then proceeds to be disappointed the guy isn't as smooth or bulky as he assumed from afar. Instead of telling the guy he isn't interested or stopping the conversation, he lets him buy him a drink, stays seated, and rudely ignores him for the rest of the evening. The guy proceeds to show interest and flirt, to which Emery still doesn't respond with any sort of verbal rebuffal, just sneering internally and keeps insulting his appearance in the shallowest and most snobbish way possible, not to mention mean. This entire thing is made out to be the other guy's fault, and later Emery's friend joins him and commiserates about how "annoying" the guy was for not getting the hint that Emery was no longer interested... after Emery was the one to approach the guy in the first place.
All of that pales in comparison to when Paxton shows up.
Paxton is mentioned frequently even before he appears. Emery, self-proclaimed mature adult who has accomplished everything valuable in life, keeps going on about his "high school rival", who had a scholarship instead of being born rich (Emery is seriously upset by that!!!), was nice to everyone so everyone liked him (because how dare he not want to manipulate everyone!!), and on top of that DARED to be better at Lacrosse than Emery, thus "stealing" the captain position from him. (The nerve!)
It felt like every few pages Emery was thinking about this supposed rivalry that happened over a decade ago, with frequent flashbacks that very quickly bring up the question if this rivalry existed anywhere but inside Emery's own head. Paxton himself seems to think the two of them were friends (!!) Every single flashback that's supposed to show Paxton's "evilness" only made Emery seem even more petty and horrible.
Rivalry aside, Emery treats Paxton like shit. He finds out Paxton works as a contractor and immediately looks down on him, because not only was this guy not born rich and needed a scholarship to go to Emery's fancy school no, he then didn't even finish college and took over his dad's family business!!! How dare he!!! Emery is upset!!!!
I'm not even kidding, he keeps going on about this scholarship business and how Paxton is a contractor now, because Emery isn't just a regular asshole, he is also an elitist, classist snob.
Everything is always other peoples' fault, not Emery's. He keeps telling people how to feel, and whenever someone has a different opinion about something, or just likes something that Emery dislikes, he does his HUGE spiel about how the other person's is inferior to him because of that.
He is judging everything and everyone, constantly, his internal monologue is spiteful and constantly disgusted by the smallest things, and outwards he is mean and treats everyone horribly yet is never called out on that.
There is a scene where he discusses consent with an old fuck buddy, and even such an important conversation was made uncomfortable by how horribly Emery treats the other guy, who immediately apologizes just to have Emery accuse him of being a rapist, once again after he doesn't bother showing his disinterest when the other guy makes advances.
Also funny how most of the people he treats horribly and looks down upon seem to be neither rich, nor white, nor thin, just to add an every worse taste in my mouth.
And none of this gets better at ANY POINT.
Even when he gets over the rivalry - when he suddenly decides that he won't be upset about it anymore (and remember, he is a 30 year old successful businessman), he considers that maybe it was all in his head... just to never bring up that thought again, never change his behaviour and proceeds to treat Paxton horribly.
Now before you say, "But iam, you didn't even read the whole book, how do you know it won't get better later on?".... It doesn't get better.
And even if it did, there was zero character development for over 40% of this book, and quite frankly, I couldn't stand reading about this elitist, egocentric, classist, judgemental, shallow, childish, snobbish, narzissistic piece of shit anymore. It's too late - nothing he does or says could make up for this anymore.
I received an ARC & reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
This one sounded like so much fun but ended up infuriating me. I already know I will rant, but before I go into my main reason for not finishing, let's talk about the rest of the book.
Content warnings for the first 43% include: destruction of private property including heirlooms, almost getting hit by a bus, absolutely horrible protagonist who treats everyone he meets like shit.
The writing was mostly okay, but there were some issues around the timeline. I couldn't always tell what was supposed to be a flashback and what was happening presently. The books opens with what seems to be a flashback, just for it to.... not be one?
The beginning is also sort of aimless - it hints at things that have already happened/will happen soon, except then... noting really happens. The part that I read lacked any sort of structure or goal and didn't really seem to lead anywhere, taking several turns, introducing characters I thought would become important, just for them to never be mentioned again.
I can deal with slow plots, but one thing made me frown: WHERE WERE THE GHOSTS??? I expected there to be ghosts, or at least one ghost. And yeah, there is one - doing some creepy stuff in the background. Except.... it's totally ignored??? Emery, the protagonist, just sees these creepy things happen and then shrugs it away and then his life goes on without a second thought. There were so many little hints and it was SO frustrating because Emery just didn't react at all!!
The characterization was mostly okay, but inconsistent in small details. One moments it's "I dont keep old things out of nostalgia, I just throw stuff away" and the next "I still have an old hat from a costume party in college."
----------(After this it gets a bit spoiler-y.)----------
All that isn't ideal, but it wouldn't have been a real issue for me if not for my main reason for not finishing the book. Because in comparison to that, those other things pale completely.
That reason is Emery.
In short, Emery is an asshole.
To elaborate: He's not a lovable grump with a sharp tongue and offending snark hiding a heart of gold like the blurb would want to make you believe. Nope. Emery is an egocentric, judgemental, obnoxious and mean asshole. He treats every single character he meets horribly, with maybe the exception of his one friend. Everyone else is apparently fair game to him and my jaw dropped several times because... holy shit.
What. An. Absolute. PRICK.
This starts at the very beginning when someone saves him from being rolled over by a bus and then asks him out for a drink. Granted, maybe not the best time to pick someone up, and the way Emery acts towards the guy is tame in comparison, but his thoughts there already made me uncomfortable because of how truly nasty (as in, evil) they were. And that was just the start.
Later Emery wants to pick up a guy at a bar and goes to flirt with him. Shortly into the conversation he sees that the guy seems to have a habit of biting his nails and has an unfortunate hair implant. That's where it goes downhill. He immediately starts being disgusted (!), thinks that the guy is unhygienic, then proceeds to be disappointed the guy isn't as smooth or bulky as he assumed from afar. Instead of telling the guy he isn't interested or stopping the conversation, he lets him buy him a drink, stays seated, and rudely ignores him for the rest of the evening. The guy proceeds to show interest and flirt, to which Emery still doesn't respond with any sort of verbal rebuffal, just sneering internally and keeps insulting his appearance in the shallowest and most snobbish way possible, not to mention mean. This entire thing is made out to be the other guy's fault, and later Emery's friend joins him and commiserates about how "annoying" the guy was for not getting the hint that Emery was no longer interested... after Emery was the one to approach the guy in the first place.
All of that pales in comparison to when Paxton shows up.
Paxton is mentioned frequently even before he appears. Emery, self-proclaimed mature adult who has accomplished everything valuable in life, keeps going on about his "high school rival", who had a scholarship instead of being born rich (Emery is seriously upset by that!!!), was nice to everyone so everyone liked him (because how dare he not want to manipulate everyone!!), and on top of that DARED to be better at Lacrosse than Emery, thus "stealing" the captain position from him. (The nerve!)
It felt like every few pages Emery was thinking about this supposed rivalry that happened over a decade ago, with frequent flashbacks that very quickly bring up the question if this rivalry existed anywhere but inside Emery's own head. Paxton himself seems to think the two of them were friends (!!) Every single flashback that's supposed to show Paxton's "evilness" only made Emery seem even more petty and horrible.
Rivalry aside, Emery treats Paxton like shit. He finds out Paxton works as a contractor and immediately looks down on him, because not only was this guy not born rich and needed a scholarship to go to Emery's fancy school no, he then didn't even finish college and took over his dad's family business!!! How dare he!!! Emery is upset!!!!
I'm not even kidding, he keeps going on about this scholarship business and how Paxton is a contractor now, because Emery isn't just a regular asshole, he is also an elitist, classist snob.
Everything is always other peoples' fault, not Emery's. He keeps telling people how to feel, and whenever someone has a different opinion about something, or just likes something that Emery dislikes, he does his HUGE spiel about how the other person's is inferior to him because of that.
He is judging everything and everyone, constantly, his internal monologue is spiteful and constantly disgusted by the smallest things, and outwards he is mean and treats everyone horribly yet is never called out on that.
There is a scene where he discusses consent with an old fuck buddy, and even such an important conversation was made uncomfortable by how horribly Emery treats the other guy, who immediately apologizes just to have Emery accuse him of being a rapist, once again after he doesn't bother showing his disinterest when the other guy makes advances.
Also funny how most of the people he treats horribly and looks down upon seem to be neither rich, nor white, nor thin, just to add an every worse taste in my mouth.
And none of this gets better at ANY POINT.
Even when he gets over the rivalry - when he suddenly decides that he won't be upset about it anymore (and remember, he is a 30 year old successful businessman), he considers that maybe it was all in his head... just to never bring up that thought again, never change his behaviour and proceeds to treat Paxton horribly.
Now before you say, "But iam, you didn't even read the whole book, how do you know it won't get better later on?".... It doesn't get better.
And even if it did, there was zero character development for over 40% of this book, and quite frankly, I couldn't stand reading about this elitist, egocentric, classist, judgemental, shallow, childish, snobbish, narzissistic piece of shit anymore. It's too late - nothing he does or says could make up for this anymore.
I received an ARC & reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
May 24, 2019
This book was so long. Infact I took ages to finish it 'cause I kept losing interest in it. There are some things I really liked and a lot I didn't. I loved the blurb and I'd thought love the book. The whole book is from Emery's POV and I didn't like him that much. He was sort of an arsehole.
The past, the back story of ghost - I didn't understand any of it.
I loved Paxton. He's an amazing character. I also liked his scenes with Emery. But Emery is an idiot who couldn't come to terms with his own feelings. At 90% it's high time. This is slowburn at it's worst. I wanted Paxton's POV. I wanted to know what he saw in Emery.
The ghost. I didn't like it. Funny cause I love ghosts. I didn't like that he destroyed the kitchen and priceless heirlooms and all od Emery's stuff for nothing. He annoyed me with his tactics and and along with Emery's shitty attitude, I was super pissed.
The plot is really good and I think the book could have been a lot better.
*ARC provided by the author via A Novel Take PR in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
The past, the back story of ghost - I didn't understand any of it.
I loved Paxton. He's an amazing character. I also liked his scenes with Emery. But Emery is an idiot who couldn't come to terms with his own feelings. At 90% it's high time. This is slowburn at it's worst. I wanted Paxton's POV. I wanted to know what he saw in Emery.
The ghost. I didn't like it. Funny cause I love ghosts. I didn't like that he destroyed the kitchen and priceless heirlooms and all od Emery's stuff for nothing. He annoyed me with his tactics and and along with Emery's shitty attitude, I was super pissed.
The plot is really good and I think the book could have been a lot better.
*ARC provided by the author via A Novel Take PR in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
May 28, 2019
4.5 Stars. This was a really cool read. I liked Emery even though he acted like a spoiled snob. In his own mind, he has a nonexistent rivalry with Paxton. Paxton was a sweet, down to earth character who I liked a lot. He is a handyman who is called in when Emery finds his kitchen totally destroyed and he thinks his former contractor did it. Turns out it was not the contractor but a disgruntled ghost. I enjoyed watch Paxton drag Emery around to ghost tours and even a psychic to figure out what was going on in his house and the history of his home. It was like a lot of mini dates. Not only do we find out what is going on but we see Emery confront his own fears and let himself open his heart and fall in love with Paxton. In the end, they made a cute couple. The secondary characters were fun and had their backs. Oh and how can I forget the hot ritualistic sex magic, you have to read it to understand.
ARC provided by LesCourt Services in exchange for an honest review
ARC provided by LesCourt Services in exchange for an honest review
May 17, 2019
Matchmaking Beyond the Veil by Mara Townsend is the first book in the Telltale Ghosts series. It is a paranormal mystery with a slow burn romance. Since it's an ongoing serial, there is a cliffhanger type ending... no HEA yet, we are gonna have to work for that... but it's a happy for now.
The story is fun, interesting and entertaining... keeping your attention all the way. The characters are likeable and have you rooting for them. Definitely can't wait for more.
I received an advanced reader's copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.
The story is fun, interesting and entertaining... keeping your attention all the way. The characters are likeable and have you rooting for them. Definitely can't wait for more.
I received an advanced reader's copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.
August 11, 2020
Picked because it sounded fun, stayed for the ghost. Felt old fashioned in the beginning so I thought historical for a moment and then it mentioned social media. I hated Emery. I’ve never read a character that is so judgemental and whiny. The story is slow and the romance even slower. I liked the idea of the ghost and it’s matchmaking but I felt sorry for Paxton. Unsure if I’d read the next one.
June 3, 2019
I liked this book good enough but I found the story did not go with what I expected from the title. Yes, there was some slight matchmaking and there was veil and a ghost. But it just went a different way than I would have expected and I found that somewhat disappointing.
June 2, 2019
I received this book from A Novel Take PR in exchange of a review.
Meet Emery, he is a closed person who is basically married to his work, but everything changes when he goes back to his house after one day and sees his perfect recently renovated kitchen, destroyed. He sees himself in need of a contractor, a good one this time, so he calls up one that his friend recommended and is an old classmate of his. Paxton is everything Emery remembers, the golden boy, that is an amazing contractor by the looks of his site. So even if he didn't want to spend time with Paxton even again after school, he hires him. They soon find out that a friendship between then works and somehow ghost are the one messing up with Emery's house? Ghost Hunting, strange rituals and a buddy romance!
The synopsis of this book was what made me so interested and the way it's written is very descriptive and thoughtful. While at the beginning I thought to be a little bit slow, the second half of the book got me pumped! Paxton got my heart since the first time he appeared and even though it took some time for me to really bond with Emery's character I understood him until certain point. I still need all the facts about what happened in the past for him to be so traumatized by being in a relationship, but I'm happy he is taking time to think through things. Specially, his feelings for Paxton.
And needless to say that I needed to see what will happen next, right?
Meet Emery, he is a closed person who is basically married to his work, but everything changes when he goes back to his house after one day and sees his perfect recently renovated kitchen, destroyed. He sees himself in need of a contractor, a good one this time, so he calls up one that his friend recommended and is an old classmate of his. Paxton is everything Emery remembers, the golden boy, that is an amazing contractor by the looks of his site. So even if he didn't want to spend time with Paxton even again after school, he hires him. They soon find out that a friendship between then works and somehow ghost are the one messing up with Emery's house? Ghost Hunting, strange rituals and a buddy romance!
The synopsis of this book was what made me so interested and the way it's written is very descriptive and thoughtful. While at the beginning I thought to be a little bit slow, the second half of the book got me pumped! Paxton got my heart since the first time he appeared and even though it took some time for me to really bond with Emery's character I understood him until certain point. I still need all the facts about what happened in the past for him to be so traumatized by being in a relationship, but I'm happy he is taking time to think through things. Specially, his feelings for Paxton.
And needless to say that I needed to see what will happen next, right?
dnf
August 13, 2019I’m all for unreliable narrators and a very slow burn romance, but...this MC is such an entitled rich asshole, I just don’t care. Emery is absolutely AWFUL and nobody calls him out on it except maybe the ghost who lives in his house messing up all his things. He deserves all of it.
DNF @ 13%.
DNF @ 13%.
May 28, 2019
This was a bit of a slog... @.@ Lol But, I was ultimately glad I stuck with it! See my full review here: http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.co...
dnf
June 3, 2019DNF at 35%
I was super excited for Matchmaking Beyond the Veil because the blurb sounded captivating and thrilling. However, the book feels very different from the blurb. Third way in and there's no ghost, minimal amount of anything paranormal and definitely no chemistry between Emery and Paxton.
Emery is unlikable character and he's meant to be unreliable narrator, which I usually like. However, Emery doesn't have any redeemable qualities. He's privileged snob, judgmental, mean and immature, and he belittles everyone. He mentions constantly how he made his own money and didn't use his trust fund, but he's still a snob as he claims to be above menial labour. He obsessively stalks Paxton while he works, going as far as keeping a log of things Paxton does. Then there's the judgment, where he deems a person untrustworthy because they styled their hair "like it was still the unsavory parts of the nineties." And Emery's rivalry with Paxton in high school? Apparently Paxton became the captain of lacrosse team (he aimed to play professionally) when Emery wanted to be the captain (he played just for fun). That's it: that's the reason why Emery resents and hates Paxton. That just goes to show how immature Emery is. I hate the guy, and I certainly believe that he doesn't deserve Paxton, who's kind and hard-working.
For me, the biggest problem is the writing style. It's very slow and incredibly descriptive - everything from weather to clothes to house is described to detail, and it happens in every chapter. Emery also spends most of the time musing and there's not a lot of dialogue or action to balance the descriptions. It became tedious fast and I ended up skimming for pages and not missing anything. Nothing simply caught my attention in the writing style.
I really tried to continue reading this, but I can't make myself to pick up the book again. Third way in and not much have happened, certainly no ghost in sight, tedious descriptions for everything and one of the most unlikable main characters, I'm giving up. This is not a book for me.
No star rating since I did not finish
(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)
I was super excited for Matchmaking Beyond the Veil because the blurb sounded captivating and thrilling. However, the book feels very different from the blurb. Third way in and there's no ghost, minimal amount of anything paranormal and definitely no chemistry between Emery and Paxton.
Emery is unlikable character and he's meant to be unreliable narrator, which I usually like. However, Emery doesn't have any redeemable qualities. He's privileged snob, judgmental, mean and immature, and he belittles everyone. He mentions constantly how he made his own money and didn't use his trust fund, but he's still a snob as he claims to be above menial labour. He obsessively stalks Paxton while he works, going as far as keeping a log of things Paxton does. Then there's the judgment, where he deems a person untrustworthy because they styled their hair "like it was still the unsavory parts of the nineties." And Emery's rivalry with Paxton in high school? Apparently Paxton became the captain of lacrosse team (he aimed to play professionally) when Emery wanted to be the captain (he played just for fun). That's it: that's the reason why Emery resents and hates Paxton. That just goes to show how immature Emery is. I hate the guy, and I certainly believe that he doesn't deserve Paxton, who's kind and hard-working.
For me, the biggest problem is the writing style. It's very slow and incredibly descriptive - everything from weather to clothes to house is described to detail, and it happens in every chapter. Emery also spends most of the time musing and there's not a lot of dialogue or action to balance the descriptions. It became tedious fast and I ended up skimming for pages and not missing anything. Nothing simply caught my attention in the writing style.
I really tried to continue reading this, but I can't make myself to pick up the book again. Third way in and not much have happened, certainly no ghost in sight, tedious descriptions for everything and one of the most unlikable main characters, I'm giving up. This is not a book for me.
No star rating since I did not finish
(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)
May 18, 2019
I am torn about how to review this book. I was excited to receive an advance copy, and I think the concept has all the makings of a great series. But this felt to me like a draft rather than a finished book. Part of that may be that it's still in final edits, of course—but some of my concerns/quibbles are, I think, ones that should have been addressed at an earlier stage. All in all, I found it an immensely frustrating read: I wanted to love it, but I kept getting tripped up by wrong words, out-of-place idioms (and not only from the POV character, Emery, who can be forgiven some Briticisms), unresolved plot points (some of which may wrap up later in the series, but I'm not convinced that was the right choice), unsatisfying characterization, and pacing that felt off.
All that said, there was a lot to like about the book. The story unfolded in interesting ways, the secondary characters were engaging, and the setup for future books in the series is very intriguing. Oh, and the sex was delicious.
This is clearly an author who has stories to tell. For my taste, I wish she (or her editor) had pressed a little bit harder on some of the issues—particularly the big-picture ones—before getting to the review stage.
All that said, there was a lot to like about the book. The story unfolded in interesting ways, the secondary characters were engaging, and the setup for future books in the series is very intriguing. Oh, and the sex was delicious.
This is clearly an author who has stories to tell. For my taste, I wish she (or her editor) had pressed a little bit harder on some of the issues—particularly the big-picture ones—before getting to the review stage.
dnf
May 25, 2019I received a free copy of this book through A Novel Take PR and voluntarily reviewed it.
I DNF'd this one at 7%. I requested this one immediately after I read the blurb as I loved the sound of it, but then I started reading it and it just wasn't working for me. When I had skimmed multiple passages already and wasn't even a few chapters in I decided to just DNF it and pick up something else.
Something about it just wasn't working for me or with my current reading mood. Not sure whether it was the writing style or what, but it felt very slow, hence the skimming. I noticed I started skimming pieces so I could get to the point and this in the first few chapters already. And it just didn't catch my attention, there was nothing there to make me curious and looking forward to read more. Emery came across as a judgmental and even a tad rude. He just felt like an unlikable character from the start. And the phone call with his mom wasn't really a catching start of the book either. Maybe the book improves later and becomes more interesting then, but I don't think this book is for me.
I DNF'd this one at 7%. I requested this one immediately after I read the blurb as I loved the sound of it, but then I started reading it and it just wasn't working for me. When I had skimmed multiple passages already and wasn't even a few chapters in I decided to just DNF it and pick up something else.
Something about it just wasn't working for me or with my current reading mood. Not sure whether it was the writing style or what, but it felt very slow, hence the skimming. I noticed I started skimming pieces so I could get to the point and this in the first few chapters already. And it just didn't catch my attention, there was nothing there to make me curious and looking forward to read more. Emery came across as a judgmental and even a tad rude. He just felt like an unlikable character from the start. And the phone call with his mom wasn't really a catching start of the book either. Maybe the book improves later and becomes more interesting then, but I don't think this book is for me.
June 3, 2019
A good debut novel.
The idea was intriguing and I enjoyed it for the most part, especially the second half when Emery became somewhat less of an arsehole and the whole thing tightened up considerably.
A few points:
The story would have benefited greatly from Paxton's POV. It would have balanced out Emery's persistent arseholeishness and given the reader a better understanding of why he was hanging around.
The blurb was deceptive in tone. Emery isn't snarky, he's an entitled arsehole with little to no redemption arc.
The overall story could have been tighter and I'm still not sure of 1) the ghost's intent or 2) what the near accident had to do with it, was it a trigger?
Luckily:
1) I like arsehole characters.
2) I don't need a HEA (it's barely a HFN)
I'll certainly be reading book 2.
The idea was intriguing and I enjoyed it for the most part, especially the second half when Emery became somewhat less of an arsehole and the whole thing tightened up considerably.
A few points:
The story would have benefited greatly from Paxton's POV. It would have balanced out Emery's persistent arseholeishness and given the reader a better understanding of why he was hanging around.
The blurb was deceptive in tone. Emery isn't snarky, he's an entitled arsehole with little to no redemption arc.
The overall story could have been tighter and I'm still not sure of 1) the ghost's intent or 2) what the near accident had to do with it, was it a trigger?
Luckily:
1) I like arsehole characters.
2) I don't need a HEA (it's barely a HFN)
I'll certainly be reading book 2.
May 28, 2019
Matchmaking Beyond the Veil ARC Review 💜🌈💚
The book:
• 350 Pages • Contemporary • Standalone • Happily Ever After • Third-Person Narrative • MC (Emery) POV
The romantic theme:
• Second Chances • Enemies To Lovers
The read:
• Light Read • Slow Start • Takes Off @ 30% • Good Duality • Slow Burn
Heat level:
• 2/ 5 • MM scenes •
Note: There may or may not be a super HAWT scene involving ritualistic sex-magic that is saggy HAWT! 🔥🔥🔥
Story ingredients:
• High School Rivalry • Hostile Spirits 👻 • Witty Friends • Interfering Mothers •
MC1 is...
• Arrogant • Bossy • Emotionally Unavailable • Bitter • Rich • Financial Analyst
MC2 is...
• Laid Back • Rugged • Loves Life • Strong • Unconventional • Close to Family • Did not finish college • Owns Home Impr. Comp.
I have to be honest and say, I did not think I was going to like this at first. I am pretty picky about the books I choose, so that rarely happens for me. This one though began slow, and then I absolutely abhorred the MC. I wanted to throat punch him in several occasions in fact. He was such an arrogant jerk, and I struggled with the issues he had with his HS rival. This guy went on to study at Yale, and has both money, and prestige to boot and he is still mad over a boy who could play a game better than he could as a kid. Ugh...
Anyway, I adored the 2nd MC, and the story began to pick up and take off at a good pace around a third of the way in. Once that happens, the story soars.
This was my first read by this authors, but I will def be back for a second helping. 🍨
4.25 Hauntingly-Happy-Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟•🌟
I received a free copy of this book via LesCourt and am voluntarily leaving a review.💋
May 30, 2019
Slow burn MM romance ACR review
This was an ARC copy provided by the publisher for an honest review. I throughly enjoyed Emery and Paxton! It was an interesting concept to have a ghost for a matchmaker! I loved them humor and snark, the devine chemistry between the two MC's! I will definitely be on the lookout for more in this series! The story has an enemy to lovers vibe, and a very slow burn romance.
Overall I enjoyed Mara's book and although this was my 1st book of hers, it will definitely not be my last!
This was an ARC copy provided by the publisher for an honest review. I throughly enjoyed Emery and Paxton! It was an interesting concept to have a ghost for a matchmaker! I loved them humor and snark, the devine chemistry between the two MC's! I will definitely be on the lookout for more in this series! The story has an enemy to lovers vibe, and a very slow burn romance.
Overall I enjoyed Mara's book and although this was my 1st book of hers, it will definitely not be my last!
May 31, 2019
this was really interesting and a bit different in some ways. i enjoyed the characters and the writing. very good
May 29, 2019
I instantly fell in love with Emery, and I love how the author took us on a journey with him as he was forced to rethink how he viewed the world. And Paxton! Ahh what a sweetie. Everyone needs a Paxton in their lives. I was fully invested in both main characters and was left with a burning desire to read more about them when the book ended so it's a good job this is book one of a series! I'm keen to find out the plot develops over the series and very much looking forward to reading more from this author.
This review was based on a complimentary pre-release copy.
This review was based on a complimentary pre-release copy.
May 31, 2019
3.5 Stars
Okay, so here's the thing, I was so excited over reading this book. It seemed right up my alley, the blurb was very appealing to me and I absolutely loved the cover and while the writing wasn't bad—although it needed some tightening and perhaps better edition to right the mess that was the first half—that wasn't the part that nearly made me stop reading. No, that falls solely on Emery's shoulders. (This review will have spoilers galore, so if you don't want to know, turn back now).
Did Emery get better in the end? Well, I'm not sure. Maybe I hated him a little less by the end of the book? *shrugs* Still, it wasn't enough to make me want him and Paxton together, no matter if they were sort of hot together.
Paxton I liked, probably would've loved him if we've gotten his POV and gotten to know him better. He was a nice guy and he definitely deserved better, so I hope he gets it in the next book of the series, because at this rate, I just don't know if I want them together on the long run when I'm leaning more towards Run, Paxton, Run! What the hell are you still doing there? *sighs*
So, now the 20-million-dollar question, would I read a second book with Emery and Paxton as leads? Eh, it's a toss-up atm. While I didn't particularly care for Emery (okay, okay, I hated the guy with the fire of a thousand suns *rolls eyes*) and the first half of the book was a hot mess, the second part sort of made up for it. The premise was interesting, the mystery was relatively well-done and there was a good enough resolution, so it wasn't all bad and hey, I know there are a lot of readers that will enjoy it more than I did, so take my review with a grain of salt.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
Okay, so here's the thing, I was so excited over reading this book. It seemed right up my alley, the blurb was very appealing to me and I absolutely loved the cover and while the writing wasn't bad—although it needed some tightening and perhaps better edition to right the mess that was the first half—that wasn't the part that nearly made me stop reading. No, that falls solely on Emery's shoulders. (This review will have spoilers galore, so if you don't want to know, turn back now).
Did Emery get better in the end? Well, I'm not sure. Maybe I hated him a little less by the end of the book? *shrugs* Still, it wasn't enough to make me want him and Paxton together, no matter if they were sort of hot together.
Paxton I liked, probably would've loved him if we've gotten his POV and gotten to know him better. He was a nice guy and he definitely deserved better, so I hope he gets it in the next book of the series, because at this rate, I just don't know if I want them together on the long run when I'm leaning more towards Run, Paxton, Run! What the hell are you still doing there? *sighs*
So, now the 20-million-dollar question, would I read a second book with Emery and Paxton as leads? Eh, it's a toss-up atm. While I didn't particularly care for Emery (okay, okay, I hated the guy with the fire of a thousand suns *rolls eyes*) and the first half of the book was a hot mess, the second part sort of made up for it. The premise was interesting, the mystery was relatively well-done and there was a good enough resolution, so it wasn't all bad and hey, I know there are a lot of readers that will enjoy it more than I did, so take my review with a grain of salt.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
May 31, 2019
DNF-I got to the 4th chapter before I couldn’t do it anymore. Up until that point Emery was having an absolutely nonstop shitty day but it just came off as this poor little rich boy. He was so closed off that I couldn’t see to the character that I could get behind. He was on his way to visit friends and while I question if that would be the turning point it was too late.
Maybe I needed a different mindset or a push to continue on if he is in fact redeemable later but as of this moment I’m moving on.
Maybe I needed a different mindset or a push to continue on if he is in fact redeemable later but as of this moment I’m moving on.
June 25, 2019
*ARC received through A Novel Take PR*
Actual rating: 3.5
You know when you're flipping through TV channels and stumble upon one of those ghost documentaries? And someone is talking about how a ghost took over their house, kitchen appliances, and they were initially skeptical but then started believing in them? So they call some sort of "ghostbuster" person to solve all their life problems?
This book is a...little bit... like that. Except not necessarily in that order. And the person calls a 'jack of all trades' to help them instead of one of those ghost experts. And there's an added bonus of something I will reluctantly call sexual tension.
The two main characters are supposedly rivals, but I didn't feel a rivalry so much as a one sided dislike. And by one sided I mean from Emery's side. Because I definitely thought Paxton was a sweetheart. But there's room for improvement, when it comes to their relationship.
I did enjoy this book, all things considered, the pros outweigh the cons. The sexual bits are well written, it has some interesting character development (still don't like that one character, but there's development), and as I've said before, there aren't enough lgbtq+ ghost stories and well, this is one of them. But do prepare to be a tiny bit frustrated, as the plot is not as exciting as the blurb makes it out to be.
I recommend it, though.
Actual rating: 3.5
You know when you're flipping through TV channels and stumble upon one of those ghost documentaries? And someone is talking about how a ghost took over their house, kitchen appliances, and they were initially skeptical but then started believing in them? So they call some sort of "ghostbuster" person to solve all their life problems?
This book is a...little bit... like that. Except not necessarily in that order. And the person calls a 'jack of all trades' to help them instead of one of those ghost experts. And there's an added bonus of something I will reluctantly call sexual tension.
The two main characters are supposedly rivals, but I didn't feel a rivalry so much as a one sided dislike. And by one sided I mean from Emery's side. Because I definitely thought Paxton was a sweetheart. But there's room for improvement, when it comes to their relationship.
I did enjoy this book, all things considered, the pros outweigh the cons. The sexual bits are well written, it has some interesting character development (still don't like that one character, but there's development), and as I've said before, there aren't enough lgbtq+ ghost stories and well, this is one of them. But do prepare to be a tiny bit frustrated, as the plot is not as exciting as the blurb makes it out to be.
I recommend it, though.
Read
June 1, 2019Couldn't get past my dislike for Emery.
July 23, 2019
This is... this did not come together. The plot is not just slow, it's glacial, and it seems to all be in service of allowing Emery more time to verbally abuse literally everyone around him. Like this dude is a toxic, elitist asshole, full stop. He's not snarky, he's mean and cruel and vicious, and I have yet to see him treat a single person with even a modicum of decency— the only person in the entire novel he takes to at all when he meets them is a bully who is insulting someone who should be, by this point, Emery’s friend, or at least worthy of his consideration and respect. He's not even nice to the one "old friend" we met. At 20% in I was mostly bored and disgusted, I can't believe I was told that 1. this guy is a romantic lead and 2. that I'm supposed to root for him to be with the seemingly extremely decent guy he's spying on and verbally abusing. He's relentlessly cruel without even a moment of decency to try and balance him out. He's also stunningly immature-- I'd be appalled if the character was 10 years younger, much less supposedly a grown man of 30. He keeps talking about his high school "rival" and how he "took" his spot in an activity-- by 30, I expect you to be able to say the other guy, WHO ALMOST WENT PRO, was probably actually deserving of that position, especially when the other guy was a SCHOLARSHIP STUDENT who was earning his own way instead of a trust fund baby with rich parents. The entitlement leaves an incredibly bad taste about this guy, who keeps talking about a perfectly nice dude as his "old rival" when there's literally no evidence of a rivalry outside his head, just an entitled brat who was and is a jerk.
There can be a fine line, I get that, between snarky or abrasive or prickly and writing a character who's moved into, "Wow, he's kind of terrible" territory, but this is nowhere near that line; it's miles past and there are no excuses for treating people like this. Emery is the kind of person you run, not walk, away from having anything to do with in real life and who would literally have other people warning each other away from him. He doesn't need a date, he needs a wake-up call and a good therapist-- he literally even has DREAMS in which he is coercive and abusive. He's also spying on and ogling this guy who is working AS AN EMPLOYEE in his home whom he keeps verbally belittling at every opportunity, so... he's also acting pretty freaking creepy and vaguely sexual harrassment-y, Batman.
A lesser issue, compared to the marveling that this guy is pretty close to flat-out being a monster, is in the dialogue-- he's supposed to be about my age, but he routinely starts talking like he's an old man straight out of 1850? Maybe it's supposed to be differentiating him as a child of privilege, but I have never heard someone in their early 30s use "beau" unironically in 2019. His diction is really awkward and it almost reads like this book started as a historical, it happens so often.
There can be a fine line, I get that, between snarky or abrasive or prickly and writing a character who's moved into, "Wow, he's kind of terrible" territory, but this is nowhere near that line; it's miles past and there are no excuses for treating people like this. Emery is the kind of person you run, not walk, away from having anything to do with in real life and who would literally have other people warning each other away from him. He doesn't need a date, he needs a wake-up call and a good therapist-- he literally even has DREAMS in which he is coercive and abusive. He's also spying on and ogling this guy who is working AS AN EMPLOYEE in his home whom he keeps verbally belittling at every opportunity, so... he's also acting pretty freaking creepy and vaguely sexual harrassment-y, Batman.
A lesser issue, compared to the marveling that this guy is pretty close to flat-out being a monster, is in the dialogue-- he's supposed to be about my age, but he routinely starts talking like he's an old man straight out of 1850? Maybe it's supposed to be differentiating him as a child of privilege, but I have never heard someone in their early 30s use "beau" unironically in 2019. His diction is really awkward and it almost reads like this book started as a historical, it happens so often.
June 7, 2019
I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This book caught my eye because of the pretty cover and I decided to pick it up on a whim. A m/m romance about childhood nemesis and the ghost in a haunted house bringing them together? Sign me up! Honestly, after reading this book, I'm not sure where it was supposed to land on. Romance, comedy, horror. I guess it had a bit of all that. But I never really got a good sense for where the story will end up going. Another thing to mention is that this is open ended with a tiny bit of a cliffhanger (not on the romance though) so I'm sure the series will continue being about the same couple and the same house. I am not quite certain if I should classify this as a paranormal romance or an urban fantasy with a heavy side of romance.
We have a trust fund kid Emery who wants to make his own way and is a workaholic and a rugged construction worker Paxton. They met when they were in high school and were rivals for positions in the lacrosse team and haven't seen each other since. Now Emery is having a lot of issues going on with his house and Paxton's company seems to be the only one that can handle the work load to Emery's satisfaction. Just when things seem to be back to normal, the "house" has different plans for them.
I liked the characters ok and I was interested in their backstory and seeing that explored more in relation to their current romance. I didn't see that to the extent I wanted. In the end, MATCHMAKING BEYOND THE VEIL left me wanting more from this story than what we got but I don't think enough for me to read the next installment in the series.
However, if you want a cute ghost story that may make you laugh at times with a good side of romance then you may want to give this one a shot.
*ARC provided by author
Reviewed by Francesca❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤
May 28, 2019
This was definitely an interesting story. I read a pre-proofed edition, so I cannot comment on any possible errors, grammar or otherwise, in the writing; although, even in this version, there were very few. The writing flowed smoothly, but there could have been a bit more character development. However, I believe it is the author's intent to fill in more back story in upcoming book(s).
Emery gave up on love after having his heart broken at some point. He has dedicated his life to building his career so that he can be self-sufficient, rather than touching the trust fund that could keep him more than comfortable in high society for the rest of his life. He also has devoted his time and heart into restoring his historic home, his only love.
Paxton Santos went to the same private high school as Emery, but he was a scholarship student. In Emery's memory, he was the golden boy; always getting away with breaking the rules and being a bully. However, when the two are reunited unexpectedly, Paxton is not the boy Emery remembers. However, he's convinced that it's some kind of ploy.
As time goes by, Emery finds himself in a conundrum; he may have been wrong about this adult Paxton, and he might possibly be attracted to him. But, Emery does NOT do relationships, and Paxton does not do anything without feelings being involved.
Unfortunately, there is a third uninvited guest in Emery's house, and it is dead set that the two MCs should be together. You see, this ghost has unfinished business, and he is making life difficult for the two men because he is not getting his way. The two must find a way to appease him in order to get on with their normal lives.
Overall, we have an uptight, logical thinker, who might be starting to let down some of his walls; a very sweet, fun-loving, easy-going, man, who believes in commitment; and a matchmaking ghost from an era . by gone. We get the possibility of a HFN, with the promise of more to come in the author's notes after the end of the story. This is not necessarily a cliffhanger; the story is basically complete. But I was left with a lot of questions about the MCs, so I will be reading the next installment.
Happy reading!
* I received an ARC of this book and I am leaving my honest review. *
Emery gave up on love after having his heart broken at some point. He has dedicated his life to building his career so that he can be self-sufficient, rather than touching the trust fund that could keep him more than comfortable in high society for the rest of his life. He also has devoted his time and heart into restoring his historic home, his only love.
Paxton Santos went to the same private high school as Emery, but he was a scholarship student. In Emery's memory, he was the golden boy; always getting away with breaking the rules and being a bully. However, when the two are reunited unexpectedly, Paxton is not the boy Emery remembers. However, he's convinced that it's some kind of ploy.
As time goes by, Emery finds himself in a conundrum; he may have been wrong about this adult Paxton, and he might possibly be attracted to him. But, Emery does NOT do relationships, and Paxton does not do anything without feelings being involved.
Unfortunately, there is a third uninvited guest in Emery's house, and it is dead set that the two MCs should be together. You see, this ghost has unfinished business, and he is making life difficult for the two men because he is not getting his way. The two must find a way to appease him in order to get on with their normal lives.
Overall, we have an uptight, logical thinker, who might be starting to let down some of his walls; a very sweet, fun-loving, easy-going, man, who believes in commitment; and a matchmaking ghost from an era . by gone. We get the possibility of a HFN, with the promise of more to come in the author's notes after the end of the story. This is not necessarily a cliffhanger; the story is basically complete. But I was left with a lot of questions about the MCs, so I will be reading the next installment.
Happy reading!
* I received an ARC of this book and I am leaving my honest review. *
June 25, 2019
Matchmaking Beyond the Veil. A paranormal slowburn enemies (one sided) to lovers romance novel. This is the first book that I've read from this author so this gave me quite the impression. Paxton Santos was an instant favorite for me. He is incredibly wholesome, kind, considerate, and super loyal. Emery on the other hand is snarky, a bit narcissistic and some other words that could easily describe him but he's kind of grown on me. He's quite the enigma and asshole but I'm hoping he'll have great character development in the next book because I wasn't a big fan of the development in this debut book. It takes Emery awhile to realize that he needs to get his head out of his ass and be honest about his feelings towards Paxton which urked me even though this is a slow burn.
The descriptions and retellings of places and memories was great but it was a bit overdone. I found myself skipping over details that didn't matter all that much since alot of it was Emery droning on with sound wonder. I enjoyed it during the hauntings and occurrences similar to that but when it came to the scenes similar to the library when they were researching about the house's history. The humor in this book made me chuckle out loud and the banter between all of the characters was great. The interactions between Paxton and Emery really added to the build up of their relationship. This was the epitome of slow burn. Emery was so damn stubborn to stay in his bubble and lonely house and it was a blessing to see Paxton coaxing him out of his comfort zone and giving him courage. The heated scenes were mild and nice even though they mostly happened at the very end along with Emery's big revelation. The ritual scene was pretty spicy and I liked how open Paxton was about his sexual preferences which made me like him more.
This story left me wanting more from this installment than I received and it felt like the conflict was stretched more than necessary. Emery mentioned multiple times how he couldn't bear to enter a relationship again with vague reasons that weren't explored or given a backstory. I hope they'll be explained in the next book.
The descriptions and retellings of places and memories was great but it was a bit overdone. I found myself skipping over details that didn't matter all that much since alot of it was Emery droning on with sound wonder. I enjoyed it during the hauntings and occurrences similar to that but when it came to the scenes similar to the library when they were researching about the house's history. The humor in this book made me chuckle out loud and the banter between all of the characters was great. The interactions between Paxton and Emery really added to the build up of their relationship. This was the epitome of slow burn. Emery was so damn stubborn to stay in his bubble and lonely house and it was a blessing to see Paxton coaxing him out of his comfort zone and giving him courage. The heated scenes were mild and nice even though they mostly happened at the very end along with Emery's big revelation. The ritual scene was pretty spicy and I liked how open Paxton was about his sexual preferences which made me like him more.
This story left me wanting more from this installment than I received and it felt like the conflict was stretched more than necessary. Emery mentioned multiple times how he couldn't bear to enter a relationship again with vague reasons that weren't explored or given a backstory. I hope they'll be explained in the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2020
Soooo, I hated this book. That's a pretty blunt, but true statement. I finished by force of will alone and I frequently felt like I would never reach the end. The problem was that I simply HATED the main character. Emery was selfish, snobbish, and self-centered. And he was just as selfish, snobbish, and self-centered at the end of the book as he was at the beginning. He didn't even grow as a person or character. The fact that the Paxton was too much of a kind himbo to realize Emery was actually being cruel doesn't make Emery's abusive behavior less horrendous. And Paxton was a gem. I didn't want to see him saddled with Emery in the least.
Then there were the completely graceless changes of mind on Emery's part. He spends his whole life hating his highschool rival (who holds on to shit like that) and then SUDDENLY out of nowhere decides it was all one-sided and in his head. What's more, he thinks Paxton is the same as always. So, kind and generous and giving? If that's how he's always been, how am I supposed to believe anyone (except maybe a selfish, snobbish, and self-centered asshat) would think him the machiavellian villain Emery was supposed to have believed him to be. It was 100% unbelievable. The transition between never being willing to enter a relationship and desperately wanting one with Paxton was just as sudden. And the reason Emery never again wanted a relationship was never addressed, despite being harped on forever.
If you're hoping for some god paranormal fun, don't look here. It doesn't even enter the book until the halfway mark and then it's ridiculous. All in all, I am really glad to be done with this book and I will not be continuing the series.
Then there were the completely graceless changes of mind on Emery's part. He spends his whole life hating his highschool rival (who holds on to shit like that) and then SUDDENLY out of nowhere decides it was all one-sided and in his head. What's more, he thinks Paxton is the same as always. So, kind and generous and giving? If that's how he's always been, how am I supposed to believe anyone (except maybe a selfish, snobbish, and self-centered asshat) would think him the machiavellian villain Emery was supposed to have believed him to be. It was 100% unbelievable. The transition between never being willing to enter a relationship and desperately wanting one with Paxton was just as sudden. And the reason Emery never again wanted a relationship was never addressed, despite being harped on forever.
If you're hoping for some god paranormal fun, don't look here. It doesn't even enter the book until the halfway mark and then it's ridiculous. All in all, I am really glad to be done with this book and I will not be continuing the series.
March 16, 2020
Do you believe?
Old houses are great, and with enough money, which Emery has, you can hire great contractors to customize it to your perfect home. But is it coincidence or just missing death's clutches that Emery's brand new kitchen remodel is destroyed when het gets home? Or that it appears there is only one contractor that will give him a quote to fix it? Who happens to be his high school rival. Paxton was surprised that Emery called his company for services, but doesn't hesitate to get started on the project. It's just hard to tell what is really going on with Emery. Not to mention some of the weird stuff that goes on around the house.
This is an enemies to lovers book, although I'm not sure both MCs would have classified their relationship as enemies. We only see the story from Emery's POV, so if Paxton doesn't say it, we aren't sure what he is thinking. If you are looking for a book with heavy paranormal with romance mixed it, maybe not for you. This is more of a romance that happens to have some paranormal mixed in. There were lots of references to Emery's uncle, and watch, and I just kept waiting to see what that was going to mean. And is Emery only haunted by the ghost in his house, or is there more out there? I'm hoping that it was the set up for Emery and Paxton, and that future books in the series will have more of the paranormal. Then it would be interesting to see the journey of how the corporate analyst get into magic and ghost and what he does about it. I received a complimentary copy of this book and volunteered to review it.
Old houses are great, and with enough money, which Emery has, you can hire great contractors to customize it to your perfect home. But is it coincidence or just missing death's clutches that Emery's brand new kitchen remodel is destroyed when het gets home? Or that it appears there is only one contractor that will give him a quote to fix it? Who happens to be his high school rival. Paxton was surprised that Emery called his company for services, but doesn't hesitate to get started on the project. It's just hard to tell what is really going on with Emery. Not to mention some of the weird stuff that goes on around the house.
This is an enemies to lovers book, although I'm not sure both MCs would have classified their relationship as enemies. We only see the story from Emery's POV, so if Paxton doesn't say it, we aren't sure what he is thinking. If you are looking for a book with heavy paranormal with romance mixed it, maybe not for you. This is more of a romance that happens to have some paranormal mixed in. There were lots of references to Emery's uncle, and watch, and I just kept waiting to see what that was going to mean. And is Emery only haunted by the ghost in his house, or is there more out there? I'm hoping that it was the set up for Emery and Paxton, and that future books in the series will have more of the paranormal. Then it would be interesting to see the journey of how the corporate analyst get into magic and ghost and what he does about it. I received a complimentary copy of this book and volunteered to review it.
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