The Sceptic

Arcana Books #1

by Lily Morton

As the best friend of a psychic, Will Buchanan can’t help but believe in the dead. It’s the living that he finds to be problematic. However, after a spate of betrayals, he finally has the chance of a new life within his grasp, and he’s not going to risk it for anyone or anything. Staying safe is the name of Will’s game.

Jem Dawson defines the word temporary. A talented cameraman, he’s here today and will undoubtedly be gone tomorrow chasing adventure and danger. But, while he’s in York, he’s made it clear he wants Will, and Will can’t help liking the charming daredevil.

This inconvenient attraction results in Will accompanying Jem to the site of a notorious poltergeist outbreak. A malevolent spirit has targeted a family, and now the ghost hunting team for whom Jem does camerawork are going to be locked down in the house for three days.

The house is strange and filled with sinister and violent undercurrents. One by one, the group experiences threatening incidents, and as events escalate, Will has to ask himself if he's risking not just his heart but also his life with this impulsive gesture.

This is the first book in the Arcana Books series featuring characters from the bestselling Black and Blue series.

Genres: Paranormal, M M Romance, Romance, Ghosts, Mystery, Fantasy, Contemporary

365 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 2022

About the author

Lily is a bestselling gay romance author.

She lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven't had a proper conversation with her since she got her Kindle.

She has spent her life with her head full of daydreams, and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing because how else would she get to spend her time with hot and funny men?

Her latest release is Under Gorse and Stone, which is a magical Christmas story about a centuries-old dragon and his human mate.

https://getbook.at/UnderGorseAndStone

You can keep up with Lily's latest releases and read the exclusive short stories '3 Dates' and ‘Best Love’ by subscribing to her newsletter: https://bit.ly/LilyMorton-Newsletter

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Reviews

[☆ Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay, another scary ghostly tale in the Blue and Levi universe from Lily! 😁



I loved the creepy, paranormal parts of this story, as the ghost hunting group attempted to unravel the mystery of the haunted house, while capturing the otherworldly events for their YouTube channel's viewers.

I was slightly less immediately pulled into the romance aspect of the story between Will and Jem, at least not quite as quickly as I was with Blue and Levi. But the last parts of the book, after the ghost was no longer an issue, did help me in the feels department for the guys.

The humor in this one had its moments, but I did sort of feel that, at least a few times, the book was trying to make me laugh vs. it just happening entirely naturally.

I adored how both Tom and Tarquin fully embraced Blue, Will, Levi, and Gem as the sons and found family that they'd never had.

If you've read the the original Blue and Levi stories, this one is definitely worth a read and I'd rate it at around 4 stars.

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[Cadiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I reviewed The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings I made a comment towards the end of my review as such:

I LOVED Tom. I also vividly pictured Will and, while I know there's another book at least for Black and Blue (and can I just say I love this title!), I wouldn't be averse to seeing Will fall on his arse in love with someone (a rare breeds farmer would be perfect here, just saying Lily...)

Now, while Will didn't get Caden (thanks Lily for giving me my rare breeds farmer in Spring Strings) he does get his own book in The Sceptic and oh boy what a book it is!

It's a spin-off obviously from the Black & Blue series, so it's just as full of creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky, and all together ooky 😁

And, actually, there are a couple of seriously creepy bits in this one where I was very much on the edge of my seat, heart pounding, wondering just where the narrative was going to go next!

Lily perfectly balances the paranormal elements alongside the romance and, although this very much on the lower end of her steam rating, it's still beautifully intimate and very emotional as Will and Jem slowly fall in love amid the chaos of a pretty malicious haunting.

It was also lovely to catch up with Blue and Levi, Tom and the Viscount Ingram and I very much appreciated the sneaky little guest Easter Egg appearance of a certain lawyer and his husband 💗

Loved it and I cannot wait for more in the Arcana Books series.

#ARC kindly received from the author via GRR Tours in return for an honest and unbiased review

[Cæsar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Idyllic!
I'm proudly sappy about that kind of story, and I don't like when I read this word with a negative direction, beautiful story, mix of comedy, romance and really scary situations, lets not forget the steamy scenes!!! I just love a fell good book, just to have fun, I had a blast, so enjoyable! Congratulations toLily Morton!!!
The ghost plot is very intriguing, like a gay version of The Conjuring, a lighter version ;-)
This book opens a new series, it can be read as a standalone, but is part of Blue Billings Universe, which I like very much, I love all the characters and it was so good to read about then again. I believe this is the third book of this universe.

Yay! I was so happy that this story has as main characters Will & Jem, such lovable and interesting characters, their pasts and traumas, Will's past was so heartbreaking, and sadly this is the reality of so many gay people!
Both of them are unattached but for different reason, one for good reasons and choices of his own, the other for bad reasons, betrayals from his family and his ex, leaving his with so many scars, really sad.

The ghost narrative was gripping, full of mysteries, I was engaged all the way, spooky and frightening moments that made me holding my breath. I was worry about some characters many times!

The scene in the shower was deliciously hot, and the other steamy scene at the hotel room was bittersweet, both knowing that it could be their last intimate moment together, that after that job their will go in separate ways, but at the same time it wasn't just spicy sex, full of desire, they were already making love, with all the deliverance, the vulnerability, it was really sweet read the barriers coming down as they gave themselves, it was a delight!

I have this book on Audible as well, marvellous performance from Joel Leslie, I just adore a full committed narrator, I notice some flaws on the recording, specially at chapter 16, there's a huge gap, a part is missing, luckily I was reading, also there were strange sounds in the background.
Overall, his acting is just fantastic and I was very pleased

Kudos to Natasha Snow Design for the appealing art cover and RAFA G. CATALA for the photography!!!

6 🌟

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semicolons~✡~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

~2.5~

I have a burning question: How the hell did Will afford his sleeve tattoos when he'd been houseless for ten years? He has both arms done, which would cost at least 6K-8K in the U.S. I'm assuming the prices are similar in England. Where did Will get that money when he was living as a squatter? I don't think Morton thought that one through.

Another thing: Will dates men and women but tells Jem that his parents kicked out for being gay. So which is it?

I wanted to love The Sceptic because Will was such a great secondary character in the first Black & Blue book, but I just wasn't feeling Will and Jem. Their voices were interchangeable, to the point I was constantly checking the section headings to figure our who was narrating.

The romance was meh. The men spend a few days together in a haunted house chasing an evil spirit (but of course). There simply wasn't enough there for me to believe that they have a forever.

The mystery/suspense aspect of the book wasn't any better. New characters were introduced: a group of ghost hunters (Ben, Liam, Mia, and another woman whose name I forgot). The leader is Ben, and Mia wants him, as does Liam. I did not need a love triangle about random people in the middle of this already excruciatingly long story. These secondary characters took up so much page time.

The ghost plot dragged on and on. I started skimming. Scary things happen, like objects flying, and everyone keeps saying it's dangerous and they should leave, but no one leaves. It was honestly frustratingly stupid (stupidly frustrating?) and boring to boot.

I liked seeing Blue and Levi again, but overall this book was disappointing. I need to take a step back from this series. The first book was awesome, but now the material feels recycled.

Extra half star because the guy on the cover is GORGEOUS.

[Simona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am the only sceptic here.
Could not relate to the story completely.
Found heavy to read in some parts

[erraticdemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a mess of a book. The beginning dragged on forever with unhelpful callbacks to the other series this spun off from, the set up to the ghostly part dragged on even more forever, and there was a whole heck of a lot of telling and not showing. Much like the titular character I was sceptical these characters were capable of remembering anything because between one paragraph and the next they'd suddenly no longer believe in ghosts, or try to excuse ghostly behavior away as a weird coincidence, or remember they know absolutely nothing about the other person after acting very intimate, or suddenly describe a character trait about the other person that has never come up before in any context. The ghost stuff took up a huge chunk of the book as it too dragged on forever but was neatly tied up at the end with a rather lackluster climax. And then once that mess was cleaned up we finally got a little bit of romance? The whole thing read like a prologue to another book. A very long prologue as it was like 120k words.

So, why three stars? Because with a good bit of editing there is an interesting ghost story with interesting romance characters and I am feeling generous. But maybe like the inconsistent (or...erratic hehehe) characters I will forget all about this and rate it something totally different tomorrow.

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.


Read this review and more on my blog: https://horsetalkreviews.blogspot.com/

[Jennifer☠Pher☠ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-Read 2024

I'm not in the mood to write a review and I feel like this took me a bit to finish this time. It's me, not you, really, so I'm just going to leave the below review as THE review.
*******
I loved every single page of it. It was spooky, funny, spooky, romantic, spooky, sexy and fun.

Will and Jem were just such a treat together. I loved Jem's push and honesty. I loved that he'd give in if Will wanted him to. Gah. That was just such a great scene. Thank goodness for green lights, haha!

Will. What can I say? He is such a lovely character. Gentle Giant indeed. With what he faced, how he is the man he is says it all. What a fantastic human being. And man, he's funny.

That end though. Not the year later bit, although that was super nice too, just that end. God. So deserved and just beautiful. I LOVED IT!

Just the right amount of Blue and Levi too. This was Will and Jem's story for sure.

Perfect read for October and another winner for Lily Morton. I seriously can't wait to see what happens next. Are we really going to Scotland?

[Diana]

I think I am going to put this one back on the shelf. I am at 20%, and I just can't get into it. Hopefully, I'll try again soon.

No rating

[Ben Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sceptic is the first book in the Arcana Books series, and a spin off from The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings. You can start here but for maximum enjoyment, I'd recommend reading the Black and Blue series first.

Here we follow the romance between Will and Jem. Jem is a cameraman and is currently in York working with a group investigating a supposed poltergeist haunting a family's house. Filming for their YouTube channel, Will is brought on to be 'the sceptic'; to question if what's going on is actually supernatural or not. Of course Will is friends with Blue Billings so he knows that spirits do exist.

The haunted house setting was spooky and made for an creepy read. I do wish the plot and mystery of the ghost was revealed in a more breadcrumb way throughout the book instead of being mainly revealed at the climax, but it was still interesting.

The romance was also great. Will and Jem are really fun together. They have a preexisting friendship, or more acquaintanceship really, before this book starts. So the interest in one another is already there and flirting was perfect.

I'm not sure the sequel to this series will follow the same main characters, like the Black and Blue series does, but I'm looking forward to it either way.

[Maygirl7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The relationship between Will and Jem is pretty good. I like how they come together to have an on-going relationship. Neither gives up everything for a magical relationship. They both compromise to have a future together.

The plotting for the paranormal part of the story annoyed me. I was fine with the ghosts and whatnot but the plotting and the characters’ actions were dumb. Everyone is like oh this phenomenon is super dangerous. Okay let’s stay in this house because if we leave then the story will end too early. None of the characters are presented as illogical, but completely ignored the danger for no reason at all. Dumb. Lily Morton can do better.

I was able to to overlook that and finish the book. The post-haunted house parts of the book were the best parts. It was great to see Will and Jem get their HEA in a realistic way.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Near the end of the book one of the characters says “thank god that’s over,” and I could not agree more.

There are things to like here, including the characters, but overall it was a bit messy, and once 70% hit I was so ready for it to be over. The romance is very, very minimal and very slow burn. I was always confused about who’s POV I was reading from as well because both Will and Jem read exactly the same unless they were referencing their past homelessness or camera.

Like Blue and Levi’s second book, so many stupid decisions are made here, and the ghost story just drags on and on.

[Renée · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It was fine, but much heavier on the paranormal than the relationship development. Lily Morton can't write a book that I don't like, though.

[thosemeddlingkids]

DNF @ 40%

Unfortunately, not even Joel Leslie could keep me entertained enough to finish this one. I did enjoy the cameos of seeing Blue and past characters from the Black & Blue series, but don't think you'd need to read the series before trying this to know who is who - there's a good amount of backstory explanations going on.

This just felt like it slogged on and on. There's a lot of unnecessary plot line set ups going on, a meh haunted house ghost story, and meh relationship chemistry between the love interest. Also, both POVs for Will and Jem felt like the same voice, and I don't think we needed Jem's POV. I thought I was pretty much through with the book only to see I had 6ish hours left before deciding that this one isn't working for me.

This audio arc was provided by GRR.

March 2023

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. I quite liked this one!

It's a spin off to Lily's The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings series, and I would definitely recommend reading those first. She really did try to make it work as a standalone--which was honestly a little awkward as there were some quite clunky "catch-up" scenes, and generally I think you'll get more out of it with the context of the series, especially as characters from there pop up in this one. We start at kind of an odd spot, IMO, as the two MCs have met before, during a scene that technically occurred in the previous books but was entirely off-screen, and it just felt a little strange. IDK, it was fine, just felt a bit off as the author had to sort of catch us up on where they were at emotionally.

But I really enjoyed the characters, the romance build between them was lovely and not too angsty, and the ghosty stuff was properly creepy. It did feel a little odd how resistant both the characters seemed to acknowledging some ghosty stuff considering they both *knew* there was a ghost there. And the fact that Will didn't bring Blue in much earlier just didn't feel believable--clearly done for story purposes and not actually what a human would do in this situation. Lily banter was a bit OTT at times, but mostly manageable. Honestly, the biggest thing I'd have changed here is that this is told from both Will & Jem's POVs, and I really think the book would have been stronger without Jem's. He really had only a few chapters overall and I don't think his perspective added anything to the narrative, other than to actually decrease some of the possible relationship tension. It wasn't bad by any means, but I think it would have made for a much stronger and more compelling read if she'd just nixed his POV completely.

The book ends with a very solid HEA epilogue, and since this is a series, I have to imagine that unlike the Black & Blue series, this will follow different pairings, as I don't feel there's anything more to cover here. And there was at least one pairing possibility introduced in this one that would make a logical next book, and one I'd definitely be interested in reading.

[Sailor Neptuno · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Too much talking,” he calls. “We have things to do.” He pauses. “We have each other to do in case you didn’t get my meaning.”
“Your meaning was as clear as a plank hitting me in the face.”
“I’m not sure I’m up to that in the bedroom, but I promise you that I can be really inventive.”

A word of advice, don’t be like me and avoid reading this book after sunset, especially when it’s the windiest night of the year, because every single noise will make you paranoid. Unless you want to live the full experience, in that case be my guest. It was so good to read about Blue, of all the books from this author he’s definitely my favorite. But for once he’s not the main target of a ghost. This spin-off can be read as a standalone but I totally recommend reading the Black and Blue series first to better understand all these characters.



Even though, since chapter 1, neither Will nor Jem hide their interest for each other, this definitely qualifies as a slow burn. Between Jem’s present situation and Will’s past plus a ghost trying their best to haunt them slows down the relationship development a little bit. But when these two finally got time to get to know each other more their chemistry was out of the roof. I’m expecting to see their growth in future installments.




It feels so good to read about this group of friends again. This series makes me want to travel to York and see all the places named. Can’t wait for the next book!


*Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a free and honest review*

[Janet (iamltr) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read this title for a while but I wasn't sure if I had to read both of Blue's books before hand. I think you need to know who is who in the Blue series to really enjoy this.

Slight spoilers

So in here we have Will, the best friend of Blue. He is working in the bookstore (from the first series) and still very sure all people will eventually leave him

Jem is a videographer from the second Blue book. He and Will have been circling each other for a while.

Jem is gonna do the video for a house where ghost phenomena are occurring and invites Will along as a sceptic, hence the title

Things start happening from the moment Will shows up. Ben and the group decided that nothing more was going to happen and the group thinks it's all done until they start getting haunted once they leave. They bring in Blue to help.

Sidenote, it makes no sense that Blue was not involved from the beginning.

Once the haunting has been resolved, Will and Jem finally talk like grownups and decide to take a chance on each other.

Meanwhile, Will and Blue are given the bookstores and Will finally gets a home of his own.

I'm not going to lie, this was way too long. It really needed to be trimmed down.

I didn't really feel the romance in this one. I think maybe if love was mentioned before the last page, it would have worked better.

They are also going to go help Ben and Liam again, who I hope is the next couple to get their own HEA.

[Jewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! It was kinda scary in places, and I loved it. I'm glad Will found his man.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s legit scary.
Terrific tale of friends, change,
desire, home, and ghosts.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this quite a bit. It was super creepy in places and I loved how active the paranormal entity was. It was a big part of the book.

I liked the couple although I wasn’t really feeling the chemistry in the beginning. It had a sweet epilogue and they were just super nice guys who treated each other really lovely. I’m usually a lover of angsty books but this was a nice change.

A few appearances of Blue (in all his snarky glory) & Levi from the other series.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paranormal activity meets romance.

I went into this book blind knowing I already lived Blue Billings and this one did not disappoint. Will and Jem got me in my feelings. I wasn’t ready to cry while a group hunted ghosts in the suburbs but here I am.

The spooky was done well! Had me on my toes while turning pages, heart beating and all that good stuff. I may of even had some dreams about a haunted house after reading.

Will is perfection. A soft little lover in a tall, dark, and broody shell. You can’t help but to root for him the whole time, especially after knowing what him and Blue have been through. Poor guy just wants love and to be loved but is too stupid to realize Jem is throwing himself at him at all times. Jem is a perfect counterpart to Will and brings out the best in him. The cocky little bastard. I’m obsessed.

[haletostilinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much of my wanted to give this 4.5 stars rounded up, but there was some niggles I just couldn't get past to give the 4.5 stars rounded up I so wanted to give it.

Overall this was so good! I adored Will and Jem together and they were so sweet together. I loved getting Will's story and seeing him finally get his HEA.

The scary aspect of this was so well done too, it gave me that same creeped out feeling in parts of this as the first Blue Billings book did, which was kinda missing from the second one. I was very into that, after a fairly slow start. A little before 30% into this, I really started getting into this and it picked up for the rest of it.

Although part of my one star off was that somewhat slow beginning. It took me longer to get through just that beginning third of the book than the last two thirds.

There was so much to love about this, and overall I did love it, and once I really got into it, I was into for the rest of the book, and it kept my intention, and I was falling more and more in love with Will and Jem the more they started to fall for each other. All that is good, except for the slow beginning.

My only other real gripe is...well, I don't know if we're getting another book about these two (my guess is the next book being about Ben and Liam, two characters we meet in this book), but the ending made it feel like we aren't, especially with the epilogue being one year later and these two seem settled.

So going off that, I'm assuming we're not getting another book of these two, and if that's the case, then I was left feeling a little bereft at the end.

If anything, Will and Jem's ending felt very similar to Ben and Levi's ending in their first book. Like they were just starting, but there was still more growing to do in their relationship before they got to that solid, HEA state.

So what I'm saying is that with the ending we got, I wish we were getting a second book with them. And we might be? But the epilogue has me thinking we won't.

They were just starting to date for real near the end of this. There were strong feelings, maybe even love, but they weren't ready for that yet, and in the timeline, it's probably been less than a week since they started anything as well.

So to go from that, them just starting out, to a year later to them more in that solid state, exchanging "I love you's" and everything...I wish we had gotten to see the progress to that. I wanted another book with these two.

Also because we didn't get as much smut as I would have liked between these two, if this is their only story together. One full on penetrative sex scene, and one other time where they don't have penetrative sex, but still do stuff together. If that's all we get? Well I'm feeling bereft for sure.

Now I could be wrong and we might get another book with these two - because there's still steps they could take in their relationship (like marriage, perhaps?) - but I just get the feeling we won't, and that bums me out.

IF this is their only book, and IF the next book is another couple, then I feel so disappointed. If I'm proven wrong, and the next book IS about them, then strike all I've said and then woohoo, I can't wait for more!

And IF we do get another book with these two, I'll go back and change this rating even. But for now, I'm going to stick with 4 stars, because it just feels like this was it and the ending just wasn't enough for me. I wanted more of these two being in a relationship, some more smut to go along with the paranormal. What can I say, I'm greedy *shrugs*

So, for the good paranormal story element to this, with good spooks and scares to go along with it, and the great relationship between Jem and Will we got up until that ending, I give this a solid 4 stars.

But the slowness at first and the not enough ending for this couple I did come to adore I had to give this a full star off. (Which is subject to change if the next book happens to be about these two.)

And also make no mistake, I'll still be excited if the next book is about Ben and Liam, who are the obvious next couple after these two Lily will write about, but it's just that if this is all we got of Jem and Will, then it just wasn't quite enough for me.

Also to add, we get a cameo of John and Matt (which is like...the one MM book of hers I just have not read yet...I'll have to at some point!) and that means the rest of Lily's books all take place in the same universe, which means all the other Lily couples we love live in a world where there are ghosts, which is wild! And from now on, unless she explicitly states it's a different universe, I'm assuming other books takes place in a world with ghosts haha.

So I still highly recommend this, as it's still a wonderful book with a great plot and great romance, and Will and Jem were amazing characters, and I just loved seeing Will getting to meet and fall in love with the love of his life.

Still two thumbs up from me, and I'll be excited to read the next one in this series! ❤️

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, which was no surprise for me from this author, but it was a surprise due to the genre of this book. I don't like scary books. I don't read horror. At the same time, I'm realizing that an excellent ghost story can still be a wonderful thing in the right hands. Somehow, I didn't mind reading this in the middle of the night sitting alone at my dining table. With a glass sliding door behind me. And now that I'm writing that, sitting in that same spot, at 2:30 in the morning, my only answer for how I could do that is that this book is written just that well, with that much momentum to the story, and plenty of empathy for all characters, both living and dead, sweet MCs and annoying hanger-on chick alike. And now I need to finish this review and get somewhere else so I can quit freaking myself out!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will and Jen are sweet characters but I think my favourite part of this was the epilogue. I’ve read a lot of Lily Morton’s books and both Black and Blue books but didn’t love the paranormal plot in this one. It felt kind of wishy washy - why on earth would all those people stay in that house?? But then the ending was kind of sudden and I’d lost interest by then and truly felt that they probably deserved whatever happened to them, they’d had fair warning! The story was nice yet predictable romance wise. I liked Will as a character from the last book and glad he got his HEA. Jem felt a bit flat and overall I just didn’t really get the buzz I was hoping for here.

[Ana Nimity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lily Morton has done it again.

As good as she is at contemporary romantic comedy, she's even better with paranormal romance featuring psychic and supernatural phenomenon.

Don't worry, she didn't lose any of her matchmaking skills, though. Jem and Will make perfect foils for each other, and they ground this book so that its never in danger of going over-the-top with the manifestations.

And there's still humor - Lily's sense of timing is on point, building the tension until you're ready to scream, then breaking it with a quip.

You could easily read this book as a standalone, but if you've not read The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings, you should start with it and The Quiet House. If you're easily spooked, though, you may want to read in the daytime, and check behind that shower curtain when you go in the bathroom.

I love this book so much and can't wait for the next Arcana adventure!

[Megan (feral hearts club) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just so lovely!! I love Will and Jem so much. This is a great one to pick up if you’re missing Blue and Levi and their little world. Lily does such a fantastic job of mixing these sweet, heartwarming moments and characters with super spooky settings and stories. Perfect for Halloween time, or just if you’re in the mood for something sweet and slightly scary.

[ML · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a spin-off series of sorts. Will is Blue’s friend from the Black and Blue Series

Ok, NGL I’m 35% in and I’m bored. These MCs don’t really have any chemistry and seem more like friends than anything. Their banter feels forced. This does NOT feel like a Lily book at all. It is a really LONG book. I have almost 5 more hours of reading time to go.


49% in..Ben is an idiot. If his and Liam’s book is next, I don’t think I’ll read it. Actually if truth be told, I think I’ll avoid all PNR books from Lily. It’s nice she’s branching out but these books aren’t for me. I’m not sure I care enough to finish tbh. These characters aren’t that compelling. The dude characters are dolts. Lottie and Mia ugh. Mia especially trying to gain affection from Ben. I have second hand embarrassment for her.

Ben and that dumb society too. Umbra Ugh it’s mentioned 25xs 🙄 I don’t care


The humor feels off too and a bit misplaced. The dialogue is super cringy as well. I winced more than a few times. Eeek… Maybe a poltergeist has taken over Lily Morton because this is normally her strength.

Obviously I did not enjoy this. But you might. It’s definitely a series I’ll pass on.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Lily Morton’s Blue Billings books are my favorite of her works, so I was really excited to see more of Blue, Levi, Tom and the rest. I even did a reread to get back into the ‘verse. However.

Morton definitely upped the scare factor with this one; there were several moments that were extremely creepy/scary and I liked the idea of a ghost hunter crew getting more than they bargained for. The problem is the crew are a bunch of idiots and the two people who should have known better (Jem - he was in book 2 - and Will - hello his best friend is a psychic?!) keep downplaying the escalating ghostly activity. Like, I get that the characters must stay at the house or otherwise the story collapses, but also if they are voluntarily staying there then I start to lose respect for them. Morton needed to balance that out better, or truly lock them in the house/up the stakes somehow. Similarly, I understand why they didn’t bring Blue in sooner, but it felt like the characters were purposefully fighting with one hand behind their back for most of the book.

The romance between Jem and Will is on the back burner, which makes sense, but I didn’t get a sense of why they were interested in each other besides looks. Maybe that’s because their first meeting and interactions were off page? Their POVs were not very distinctive from each other, and I wished for less of Morton’s signature (OTT) banter and more of their personalities being shown during the action and actually growing closer emotionally. However the sex dynamics, especially the hotel scene, worked for me.

I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did, but still glad I read it just to get some more little scares and see Blue and Levi again. I would totally read more of their exploits!

[Lily Loves 📚 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this enough but it didn’t pull me in the same way the Black & Blue stories did. I thought the story was scary at first but it got to be over the top and just too much by the end. The story dragged , especially the last part. I loved Will and Hem but U would have loved them in a different setting even more.

[꧁•Zakiyya•꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The paranormal and psychic aspects of this book were so well-written.

If you like movies like ‘Poltergeist’ and ‘The Conjuring’ series then you will enjoy this one.

The only downside for me to how good the ghostly scenes were, was that it overshadowed the love story.

Individually, Jem and Will were interesting characters and I found myself enjoying reading about them but the moment I stepped into the haunted house, it was as if the romance faded into the background.

 

[Zen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars

I loved seeing these characters again and absolutely loved seeing Will get his HEA. The cinnamon roll deserves all good things.