Ghoul Friend

Medium at Large #2

by Meredith Spies

Time to take this show on the road.The dark, creepy road with the haunted house at the end.

It’s not that Julian minds his new job. It’d just be nice if it didn’t come with so many murders. Especially when those murders end up with his not-quite-boyfriend talking to ghosts.

Or, in this case, a ghoul. Their road trip to Colorado in the name of bonding for the new show Bump in the Night takes an unexpected side trip to Budding, Texas: Home of the Wandering Ghoul and a half-dozen missing person cases in the last ten years.

Not exactly the best slogan for the tourism board.

Just another day at work.

Oscar takes it in stride, even as he’s juggling some strange shifts in his abilities and Ezra’s increasingly distant behavior, but when the Wandering Ghoul makes an up close and personal appearance one afternoon, it might be too much even for Oscar to handle.

Between trying to understand the sudden changes in his abilities and whether or not a relationship with dedicated skeptic Julian is worth the possible heartache, Oscar has an undead fanboy who won't take no for an answer.

They really should have just taken a plane.


Ghoul Friend is Book Two in the Medium at Large series and is a paranormal MM romance. It's best read as part of the series.

Genres: M M Romance, Ghosts, Horror, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, LGBT

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 13, 2021

Reviews

[Jenette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd like for this to be a case of, it's not you book, it's me, but I'm not sure how truthful that would be. This book, hell this series, has so much potential. It's got a great premise, promising world building (and I say promising because, it's taking its sweet time getting there) and it has (apparently) complex characters. What it doesn't have is a romance. Or a smooth storytelling.

Let's start with the characters because that will pave the way for the other things. I don't like any of them. Not a one. Julian is an obnoxious, obstinate asshole and Oscar is the sort of character who has just sort of floated through life without anything really making an impact. Which, for a medium, sounds a bit weird and I'm not sure how better to explain it. Whatever personality he has, whatever strength of character he had in the beginning of the series has been eroded by Julian and frankly Ezra. Who is supposed to be his best friend/brother but for all the love they apparently share they've never had a real conversation on page.

Which brings me to the storytelling/writing style. Have you ever tried to read something when you're so tired that your eyes just sort of slide right off the page and you may as well be reading an unrecognisable foreign language? That's what huge chunks of this book was like for me. There were words on the page and I'm sure they were meant to be exciting/informative/spooky/sexy but they just weren't. Every conversation and exchange in this book felt like it was missing pieces. You never feel like you have a full grasp of what's going on and there's so much time spent describing the wrong things or having some character tell us this long-winded tale that it all just gets bogged down in the wrongness of it all and my attention slid off the page.

Sometimes, if well-written, you can fumble your way through a mystery, stumbling upon answer in the middle of all the death and mystery but Meredith Spies doesn't seem o be the kind of author who can pull that off. I never feel a connection to the mystery or the ghosts or, hell, the people and I don't ever feel invested in the outcome.

And I sure as hell don't feel invested in whatever sham this romance is. Book two and Julian was contemplating being in love with Oscar but I don't see it. I don't see how he can claim to love someone he thinks is a lying conman. Okay, no I can see how he could love him if that were the case, but it's not and so what I'm expected to find lovely and romantic is the fact that these two have nothing more between them than some mediocre sex because they'll never be anything more until Julian acknowledges the truth and after two books of the same point blank refusal to accept things he's seen multiple times with his own damn eyes and experienced, I don't see it happening.

Oscar, love, have some self-respect and ditch the man who constantly belittles you, your beliefs and your abilities.

Also, those two very small hints about Julian's dead first love which are throwaway are wasted. Because I don't care about him enough to care about his past drama and his broken heart. What I care about is that it's being used as an excuse for him to be a complete asshole. Only it's not, cause it's entirely possible I read too much into those throwaway comments in this one and the apparent ghost sighting in the epilogue of the last one.

God, I wanted to love this series so much and instead it's just a heaping pile of disappointiment that has some astonishingly high ratings.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting second book in the series but lots of holes

This book starts a little while after the end of the first book with our cast of characters still feeling the effects of the events in that book and needing to deal with the fallout. While this story could stand alone you really should read the first book before this one in order to fully understand the main characters, (Julian, Oscar, Ezra, and CeCe) their background, and their motivations, especially Julian and Oscar’s relationship.

In this book, Julian, Oscar, And Ezra are being sent on a road trip to get to the destination of their next haunted place for their tv reality series. Julian’s sister CeCe is now solely in charge of the company. She has set out an itinerary for them that includes some stops along with way where strange occurrences can provide fodder for some road trip footage. A detour lands them in a place where they will get more than they bargained for.

The story is full of puzzles and “all is not what it seems” moments. It’s interesting but frustrating. A lot of stuff is thrown out there but not all of it is picked up and dealt with. (CeCe can’t find the town where they are stranded?! Come on!) The crisis moment is scary with a completely unexpected plot twist that isn’t well explained nor fully dealt with. While more may be coming in the next book we really needed more here. I can’t say more without spoilers but I can’t imagine that the person involved would really choose to leave Oscar so vulnerable.

The whole basis for the relationship between Oscar and Julian is problematic. Oscar is a medium, he sees ghosts. Ghosts are real. And yet despite all of the occurrences in these two books we are still supposed to buy that Julian is still the professional skeptic and he has a rational, scientific explanation for everything. Sorry, that’s way more far-fetched than the ghosts. Additionally, how are we supposed to buy into or root for a relationship between two people where one so vehemently denies the core of the other’s existence and identity? We see Julian struggle with it in this book but frankly, right now, I’m not buying into this relationship. And that’s problematic for me as I need to like the MCs and be able to root for them in order to enjoy the book.

Based on the blurb it looks like things will get more complicated in book three when Julian’s ex becomes part of the picture. Whether that presents a way for the author to get out of the hole they’ve dug remains to be seen but I see an even bigger hole since I can’t imagine a world where CeCe sets her brother up like that.

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have only one problem with this book. I was reading it on my iPad in the dark and I got creeped out, but that’s probably just me being a scaredy-cat. Other than curtailing my night reading I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. This book is definitely more intense than the first one in this terrific series.The main mm couple Julian and Oscar are still feeling things out as a couple and events happen in this book that make things more difficult for them. One of the things that I like about this series is that it isn’t just focusing on one relationship per book. The secondary characters also have relationships of various types. The ghost mystery in this book is one that the characters just stumble on rather than one that they go out to investigate for the show and the way that Meredith Spies paces the book is terrific. There is a definite slow burn to the story but it’s not just a linear progression of getting scarier as there are many ups and downs and other things that happen to break the tension. Honestly it’s just such a great read as was the first book and I really hope that this series goes on for many more books.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[L H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julian and Oscar are an interesting paring. A medium and a skeptic. Along with Ezra and his sister Cece they have embarked on the creation of a paranormal television series with each playing their part. The story opens with them planning the next project, a road trip where they will make a few stops along the way to see what they can find and play their parts as they explore. It starts out sounding like a plan and then it got more interesting than any of them was anticipating. Which made this second story in their saga entertaining as things are at turns scary, suspenseful and the relationship between the skeptic, Julian, and the medium, Oscar, seemed to continue to progress.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great! I love this author and this new book did not disappoint. The opposites attract slow burn romance was great. When I say slow burn I mean slow. There is some heat but it is lowwww. What I liked is that this book is plot-focused. This was spooky with some heat. The two MCs Julian and Oscar make an interesting pair. One is a skeptic and the other a medium. Together they make it work. Ezra and the others round out the case and together they create a fun book with lots of twists and turns. I definitely recommend this book!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[T Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book started off kind of slow but man, when it took off it was with a bang. Julian, a skeptic, Oscar, a medium and Ezra all come together and take this story on the road. Their adventures are fantastic. Their combined efforts are exciting and their combined emotional relationship is captivating. This book keeps you biting your lip, turning the pages as quickly as you can and keeps you on the edge of your seat up until the very end.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kkhmonrai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this paranormal read with a medium, his buddy, their tv show, and a devout skeptic, plus ghosts, ghouls, mysteries, and...murders? It was all very intriguing, and it pulled me in pretty quickly and had me hanging on to see what would happen. Some shivers and suspense, and a budding (maybe) romance between Oscar (medium) and the doubter (Julian), on a paranormal road trip.

I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

[Stephanie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

We continue to follow Julian, our resident skeptic and Oscar.

Julian, Oscar, Ezra and his sister Cece are the intriguing cast in book two. This time, they are taking the show on the road.
Highly entertaining, no shortage of suspense and let us not forget the the relationship[ in the making for Julian and Oscar.

Worthy read and the series must be consumed in order.


**I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.**

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The guys are on a trip to film their next instalment of the series on Ghosts when they breakdown in out of the way Texas.
An interesting story with plenty of ghosts and interesting characters.
I did wonder though why when they broke down in their rental they just didnt call the rental company and they would have sent a new car but then I guess there wouldnt have been much of a story.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is interesting and entertaining. It has a slow building storyline that gets more intriguing as you read. The characters are strong and likable. I really enjoyed reading it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read

Great read, Oscar, Julian and Ezra are back at it again this time in Budding Texas. The storyline is intense but exciting.

[Janeylou · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars