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Sugar & Vice #1
Liar City
MP3 CD Format A murder has Seattle on edge, and it falls to a pacifist empath--and a notorious empath hunter--to find the killer before it's too late
It's the middle of the night when part-time police consultant and full-time empath Reece gets an anonymous call warning him that his detective sister needs his help. At an out-of-the-way Seattle marina, he discovers that three people have been butchered--including the author of the country's strictest anti-empathy bill, which is just days from being passed into law.
Soon, Reece's caller arrives: a shadowy government agent known as The Dead Man, who is rumored to deal exclusively in cases involving empathy. He immediately takes over the investigation, locking out both local PD and the FBI, but, strangely, keeps Reece by his side.
As the two track an ever-growing trail of violence and destruction across Seattle, Reece must navigate a scared and angry city, an irritating attraction to his mysterious agent companion, and a rising fear that perhaps empaths like him aren't all flight and no fight after all...
Readers will be yearning for more the minute they finish the final page. --Library Journal, starred review, on Starcrossed
Sugar & Vice
Book 1: Liar City
It's the middle of the night when part-time police consultant and full-time empath Reece gets an anonymous call warning him that his detective sister needs his help. At an out-of-the-way Seattle marina, he discovers that three people have been butchered--including the author of the country's strictest anti-empathy bill, which is just days from being passed into law.
Soon, Reece's caller arrives: a shadowy government agent known as The Dead Man, who is rumored to deal exclusively in cases involving empathy. He immediately takes over the investigation, locking out both local PD and the FBI, but, strangely, keeps Reece by his side.
As the two track an ever-growing trail of violence and destruction across Seattle, Reece must navigate a scared and angry city, an irritating attraction to his mysterious agent companion, and a rising fear that perhaps empaths like him aren't all flight and no fight after all...
Readers will be yearning for more the minute they finish the final page. --Library Journal, starred review, on Starcrossed
Sugar & Vice
Book 1: Liar City
12 pages, Audio CD
First published February 28, 2023
About the author
Allie Therin
12 books954 followersAllie Therin is a bicultural author of award-winning romance and urban fantasy. She also is, or has been, a bookseller, an attorney, a Parks & Rec assistant, a boom operator, and a barista for one (embarrassing) day.
A longtime fan of romance, mystery and speculative fiction, she now strives to bring that same delight to her readers. Allie grew up in a tiny Pacific Northwest town with more bears than people, although the bears sadly would not practice Spanish with her.
A longtime fan of romance, mystery and speculative fiction, she now strives to bring that same delight to her readers. Allie grew up in a tiny Pacific Northwest town with more bears than people, although the bears sadly would not practice Spanish with her.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 661 reviews
April 22, 2023
— 5 stars ☆
for some reason, sweater weather was playing constantly in my head when Grayson gave Reece his jacket, lmao. anyway, this was so good!
it was honestly such a masterpiece. the world-building was done so well, the alternate universe of Seattle created here?? chef's kiss. the banter was ✨immaculate✨ to say it in one word, the characters were so deeply fleshed out, I LOVED.
the idea behind this was so unique - a world where empaths exist, where they're feared for their abilities, where the line between being a monster and being a hero was so thin. where the hunter has to work with the "evil", where connections bloom from unexpected places.
the action. PERFECTION. i don't usually read much mystery/suspense, bc i'm not immediately sucked into it. and i wasn't, here too. but something about this just pulled me in and before i knew it, i was immersed! it was definitely not a love at first sight with me and this book, lmao, but safe to say i am now hooked. I NEED MORE. i need to know what's going to happen next!
Reece was such a softie sassy KING, i adored him to bits. everyone detested him for his abilities, what he could do, so he just built a layer of sarcasm and snark to shield himself. pacifist. sweet. loveable. ADORABLE. he had so many cute lil quirks i could just so completely relate to, and i loved that! 💗
Evan Grayson. the Dead Man. where do i start? he was so cold, emotionless, detached from everything. it seemed like he didn't care about anything or anyone at all. but then we see him opening up slowly, showing his personality, his utter humaneness sometimes, the way he'd always protect Reece. plus his southern accent, oh my gosh.
the romance - well, i didn't go in expecting much of that, and there wasn't. but ngl, it still managed to hook me SO SO MUCH and the torturous slow-burn - i cannot wait for more from that part. the banter between Reece and Evan had was show-stopping fr. each of those lines is etched into my head, omg. i love it. i've only read one book of them and i already know evanreece are perfect for each other. i swear tho, i already know this is gonna be soo slow and i'm going to be LIVING for the crumbs of it.
so i just have to say - the slow building trust between the two of them, the betrayals i didn't count on, the murder mystery, the cinnamon roll that Reece was, the slow-burn, the SIDE CHARACTERS who stole my heart (looking at you, Jamey) - put together a perfect read for me.
i do have to say this tho - (might have already said it once, but this needs repeating lol) don't go in expecting romance, you won't get much. i mean, i didn't really mind even tho i'm a total romance girly, bc the mystery kept me hooked enough (again, unexpectedly). but it was quite a slow start and the romance is just starting to simmer! basically, not even a kiss or touch or anything here except banter, haha.
basically, HOLY SHIT this was so good. i loved it!! i can definitely see myself rereading this gem sometime soon, bc i ADORED it. <3
thank you so much, Iz, for putting this on my radar. i've definitely found one of my faves for the year bc of you! 💗
for some reason, sweater weather was playing constantly in my head when Grayson gave Reece his jacket, lmao. anyway, this was so good!
it was honestly such a masterpiece. the world-building was done so well, the alternate universe of Seattle created here?? chef's kiss. the banter was ✨immaculate✨ to say it in one word, the characters were so deeply fleshed out, I LOVED.
the idea behind this was so unique - a world where empaths exist, where they're feared for their abilities, where the line between being a monster and being a hero was so thin. where the hunter has to work with the "evil", where connections bloom from unexpected places.
the action. PERFECTION. i don't usually read much mystery/suspense, bc i'm not immediately sucked into it. and i wasn't, here too. but something about this just pulled me in and before i knew it, i was immersed! it was definitely not a love at first sight with me and this book, lmao, but safe to say i am now hooked. I NEED MORE. i need to know what's going to happen next!
Reece was such a softie sassy KING, i adored him to bits. everyone detested him for his abilities, what he could do, so he just built a layer of sarcasm and snark to shield himself. pacifist. sweet. loveable. ADORABLE. he had so many cute lil quirks i could just so completely relate to, and i loved that! 💗
Evan Grayson. the Dead Man. where do i start? he was so cold, emotionless, detached from everything. it seemed like he didn't care about anything or anyone at all. but then we see him opening up slowly, showing his personality, his utter humaneness sometimes, the way he'd always protect Reece. plus his southern accent, oh my gosh.
the romance - well, i didn't go in expecting much of that, and there wasn't. but ngl, it still managed to hook me SO SO MUCH and the torturous slow-burn - i cannot wait for more from that part. the banter between Reece and Evan had was show-stopping fr. each of those lines is etched into my head, omg. i love it. i've only read one book of them and i already know evanreece are perfect for each other. i swear tho, i already know this is gonna be soo slow and i'm going to be LIVING for the crumbs of it.
so i just have to say - the slow building trust between the two of them, the betrayals i didn't count on, the murder mystery, the cinnamon roll that Reece was, the slow-burn, the SIDE CHARACTERS who stole my heart (looking at you, Jamey) - put together a perfect read for me.
i do have to say this tho - (might have already said it once, but this needs repeating lol) don't go in expecting romance, you won't get much. i mean, i didn't really mind even tho i'm a total romance girly, bc the mystery kept me hooked enough (again, unexpectedly). but it was quite a slow start and the romance is just starting to simmer! basically, not even a kiss or touch or anything here except banter, haha.
basically, HOLY SHIT this was so good. i loved it!! i can definitely see myself rereading this gem sometime soon, bc i ADORED it. <3
thank you so much, Iz, for putting this on my radar. i've definitely found one of my faves for the year bc of you! 💗
December 14, 2025
I will forever treasure this book because of how effectively and effortlessly it took me out of the reading slump, hooking me from page one, and generally made me FEEL. It’s not perfect, but it’s been perfect for the current me.
Multiple third-person POV fast-paced story, urban fantasy/paranormal mystery full of conspiracies and amazing characters, and a budding something between the two MCs that had me in a chokehold oh my god 😳
It’s said that empaths are all pacifists, incapable of causing harm or even an inconvenience to other people, their conscience the one and only voice driving their actions. Even the sight of weapons makes them queasy. Reece is one of the only two known empaths in Seattle, and he’s a perfect example of an earnest and righteous empath who would sooner jump under a bus to avoid hurting a fly.
But then, a triple homicide happens, one of the victims being the Senator with strong anti-empathy sentiments...and it honestly seems like a work of an empath gone rogue, with Reece obviously among the suspects. And there’s no one better to deal with empaths than the feared Dead Man.
I absolutely loved everything about this book, especially the controversy surrounding empaths and their powers, and the government trying to restrict their rights “to protect the American minds”, not seeing them as human beings (you see the parallels to our world, don’t you?). There was also this amazing “Dr Jekyll Mr Hyde” element to it all that had me at the edge of my seat, gobbling it up.
What stood out to me were the characters and their dynamics. Reece is so damn funny, sassy and sarcastic to a fault with a mouth faster than his brain, but he would do anything to help others, even to his own detriment. I have to admit, I wouldn’t want to deal with him on a daily basis, it must be a bit frustrating xD But I loved him!
Then we have Jamey, Reece’s badass protective half sister who works as a detective. Oh. My. God. This woman. I want her to pick me up and carry me around while I worship the ground she walks on. I’m kind of completely in love with her, and that usually doesn’t happen with female characters!
And the Dead Man. Evan Greyson. URGH! 🫠 Enough said. There’s so much I want to know about him, and I’m not gonna say anything else for fear of spoilers. Consider this an incentive to go read the book! 👀
The dynamic between Reece and Grayson was delicious, the banter top-notch, the pet names (every time I see Care Bear I fucking melt into a goo)! Greyson’s deadpan remarks and Reece’s motormouth sarcasm were a combo that had me giggling and kicking my feet.
Beware, though - don’t expect anything romantic out of this particular book. So far, they barely started to trust each other by the end, creating a tentative sort of...not even friendship, but an understanding. If this series wasn’t pegged as MM romance, all the crumbs leading to a future relationship could have been explained away (well, not in my brain, but that place is special xD). For the most part, it was like watching a cat play with a mouse, getting protective over it, while not knowing if it’s just a foreplay to finally eating the mouse. LOVED IT 😩😩
Parts of the world-building stand on shaky ground but I honestly, genuinely don’t care; it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed myself this much and I’m happily going with everything I’m being served in this story. And you can bet I’m jumping straight into the next book - just so I can suffer the wait for the third one. Because I’m an idiot and I thought it was a finished duology ahaHAHA. Spoiler - it is not finished. It’s okay, you can laugh 🙃
Multiple third-person POV fast-paced story, urban fantasy/paranormal mystery full of conspiracies and amazing characters, and a budding something between the two MCs that had me in a chokehold oh my god 😳
It’s said that empaths are all pacifists, incapable of causing harm or even an inconvenience to other people, their conscience the one and only voice driving their actions. Even the sight of weapons makes them queasy. Reece is one of the only two known empaths in Seattle, and he’s a perfect example of an earnest and righteous empath who would sooner jump under a bus to avoid hurting a fly.
But then, a triple homicide happens, one of the victims being the Senator with strong anti-empathy sentiments...and it honestly seems like a work of an empath gone rogue, with Reece obviously among the suspects. And there’s no one better to deal with empaths than the feared Dead Man.
I absolutely loved everything about this book, especially the controversy surrounding empaths and their powers, and the government trying to restrict their rights “to protect the American minds”, not seeing them as human beings (you see the parallels to our world, don’t you?). There was also this amazing “Dr Jekyll Mr Hyde” element to it all that had me at the edge of my seat, gobbling it up.
What stood out to me were the characters and their dynamics. Reece is so damn funny, sassy and sarcastic to a fault with a mouth faster than his brain, but he would do anything to help others, even to his own detriment. I have to admit, I wouldn’t want to deal with him on a daily basis, it must be a bit frustrating xD But I loved him!
Then we have Jamey, Reece’s badass protective half sister who works as a detective. Oh. My. God. This woman. I want her to pick me up and carry me around while I worship the ground she walks on. I’m kind of completely in love with her, and that usually doesn’t happen with female characters!
And the Dead Man. Evan Greyson. URGH! 🫠 Enough said. There’s so much I want to know about him, and I’m not gonna say anything else for fear of spoilers. Consider this an incentive to go read the book! 👀
The dynamic between Reece and Grayson was delicious, the banter top-notch, the pet names (every time I see Care Bear I fucking melt into a goo)! Greyson’s deadpan remarks and Reece’s motormouth sarcasm were a combo that had me giggling and kicking my feet.
Beware, though - don’t expect anything romantic out of this particular book. So far, they barely started to trust each other by the end, creating a tentative sort of...not even friendship, but an understanding. If this series wasn’t pegged as MM romance, all the crumbs leading to a future relationship could have been explained away (well, not in my brain, but that place is special xD). For the most part, it was like watching a cat play with a mouse, getting protective over it, while not knowing if it’s just a foreplay to finally eating the mouse. LOVED IT 😩😩
Parts of the world-building stand on shaky ground but I honestly, genuinely don’t care; it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed myself this much and I’m happily going with everything I’m being served in this story. And you can bet I’m jumping straight into the next book - just so I can suffer the wait for the third one. Because I’m an idiot and I thought it was a finished duology ahaHAHA. Spoiler - it is not finished. It’s okay, you can laugh 🙃
Read
June 11, 2026God, I feel like I’ve been reading this book for ages. I can’t seem to finish it. And I’m so pissed off because I WANTED to like it like everybody else here did !!! It started so good and the world building is fabulous (I wish we had more of it ).Unfortunately Reece is not too bright (poor guy) and so impossibly immature I just can’t.. I don’t care about him (he has no notable qualities - his sarcasm is cheap and juvenile and sometimes even assholish, he’s not even that good of an empath, his dialogues are inane and he seems too stupid to live) and I don’t care about all-mighty Grayson (I can’t seem to grasp if he’s a supernatural being or he’s just OTT omnipotent) .
Example of a “sarcastic” dialogue:
“Mr. Lane was a marine,” said Grayson, “and has black belts in three martial arts.”
“Please, Diesel’s fine,” the bouncer said.
“Diesel,” Reece repeated. “Is that your name or your engine?”
“I drive a Prius.”
Reece scrunched his nose.
“Not too bright,” Diesel said to Grayson. “That’ll be another point in his favor. The clientele isn’t looking for Einsteins.”
Even the night club bouncer deduced Reece is a bit…..dense.
His sister is not too bright either to be honest. I mean , an experienced detective to trust a stranger , (even FBI) , to follow your empath brother in such a delicate moment ..A stranger who was very much dismissive of the empaths the night before. I can’t believe she could be so gullible..Also too many POV , too many small characters it’s …bewildering .
The book oscillates between intriguing/smart AND childish/amateurish. I will finish it because I payed for it (quite a lot) and I’m curious about the mystery but I’m not yet decided if I should go on with the series. We shall see how I feel after finishing this one.
PD. The cover is gorgeous.
Example of a “sarcastic” dialogue:
“Mr. Lane was a marine,” said Grayson, “and has black belts in three martial arts.”
“Please, Diesel’s fine,” the bouncer said.
“Diesel,” Reece repeated. “Is that your name or your engine?”
“I drive a Prius.”
Reece scrunched his nose.
“Not too bright,” Diesel said to Grayson. “That’ll be another point in his favor. The clientele isn’t looking for Einsteins.”
Even the night club bouncer deduced Reece is a bit…..dense.
His sister is not too bright either to be honest. I mean , an experienced detective to trust a stranger , (even FBI) , to follow your empath brother in such a delicate moment ..A stranger who was very much dismissive of the empaths the night before. I can’t believe she could be so gullible..Also too many POV , too many small characters it’s …bewildering .
The book oscillates between intriguing/smart AND childish/amateurish. I will finish it because I payed for it (quite a lot) and I’m curious about the mystery but I’m not yet decided if I should go on with the series. We shall see how I feel after finishing this one.
PD. The cover is gorgeous.
March 28, 2026
It's been so long since I've had an ACTUALLY GOOD slow burn that I have kind of forgotten how delicious they can be when done well? And this has that real slow burn pacing...like multi book build up that makes you feel kind of feral and unhinged for the slightest touch, sort of pacing.
Don't get me wrong, I loved it, and I loved Reece and Grayson's dynamic together, but this book has me gnashing the bars of my cage hanging out for more of them and I wouldn't have complained about a little more ✨tension✨ being thrown in (although the touch starved person wanting to be touched and it not being possible for *reasons* always kills me). That being said, I know Therin isn't a spicy gal so this series is unlikely to have anything more than close door moments and so I have set my expectations accordingly lol.
“You’re not as scary as you think you are,” he said, the sour notes of the lie loud in the thin morning air.
“This isn’t me trying to scare you, sugar. When that happens, you’ll know.”
I know I can be a bit of a simple creature with how easy I am for some good antagonistic flirting but the way Grayson throws in pet names literally makes me weak. They're so satisfying!
I guess this would be considered urban low fantasy? It felt like a very unique vibe and plot and I enjoyed the murder investigation element alot and the way that empaths and their powers and pacifist nature's were used in this world was fascinating. The actual mystery itself was perhaps not the strongest? and it had a few parts where the plot lost some of its momentum but never for long enough that I lost my enjoyment in it. Also I get that Reece's thing is that he's a sassy guy, but the way his sarcasm kept getting him in trouble started to make my eyes roll a little and I completely empathized with everyone around him just wanting him to shut up lol.
Immediately diving into book two, and I'm glad that the third book is on the horizon cause I suspect I'm going to be very sad when I'm made to wait to find out the conclusion lol.
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Don't get me wrong, I loved it, and I loved Reece and Grayson's dynamic together, but this book has me gnashing the bars of my cage hanging out for more of them and I wouldn't have complained about a little more ✨tension✨ being thrown in (although the touch starved person wanting to be touched and it not being possible for *reasons* always kills me). That being said, I know Therin isn't a spicy gal so this series is unlikely to have anything more than close door moments and so I have set my expectations accordingly lol.
“You’re not as scary as you think you are,” he said, the sour notes of the lie loud in the thin morning air.
“This isn’t me trying to scare you, sugar. When that happens, you’ll know.”
I know I can be a bit of a simple creature with how easy I am for some good antagonistic flirting but the way Grayson throws in pet names literally makes me weak. They're so satisfying!
I guess this would be considered urban low fantasy? It felt like a very unique vibe and plot and I enjoyed the murder investigation element alot and the way that empaths and their powers and pacifist nature's were used in this world was fascinating. The actual mystery itself was perhaps not the strongest? and it had a few parts where the plot lost some of its momentum but never for long enough that I lost my enjoyment in it. Also I get that Reece's thing is that he's a sassy guy, but the way his sarcasm kept getting him in trouble started to make my eyes roll a little and I completely empathized with everyone around him just wanting him to shut up lol.
Immediately diving into book two, and I'm glad that the third book is on the horizon cause I suspect I'm going to be very sad when I'm made to wait to find out the conclusion lol.
Consider following my instagram
June 14, 2026
Aaah, I’m so torn 😭
This book delighted me and frustrated me in equal measures, but let’s start with the positives. Because there were definitely things I really enjoyed here:
Grayson and Reece’s dynamic was incredibly entertaining. The charming, uber-competent Grayson paired with the wide-eyed, impulsive, blurting, surprisingly snarky and sarcastic Reece was ridiculously addictive. Their banter was fun from the very beginning, and I was an easy victim for all of Grayson’s southern charm. The ‘care bear’ (🫠) and ‘sugar’, the manners, the protectiveness, the ‘you’re safe with me’ energy, and, of course, that last page 🫠🫠
Yeah. Grayson was one smooth motherfucker and I was absolutely here for it.
BUT… but… this book frustrated me too 😩
I actually started it weeks ago and ended up putting it down because I thought I simply wasn’t in the right headspace for it. The story throws you into a world full of different factions, secrets, mysteries, and terminology with very little explanation, and my exhausted brain just couldn’t keep up at the time.
Then my girl Kati (ily 💕) came along and convinced me to give it another shot, and while reading it together definitely helped, I still found myself overwhelmed a lot of the time. There were so many players, agendas and mysteries hovering in the background, but as a reader I didn’t really feel like I was getting enough information to stay grounded. Honestly, I felt confused and a bit lost more often than not lol
And I think most of that comes down to the shaky worldbuilding.
Some concepts felt underdeveloped or only explained when the plot needed them to be (if at all). The empathy system in particular sometimes seemed to change from scene to scene depending on what the story required, which made it difficult for me to understand its actual limitations and rules.
Also, despite spending so much time with both of them, neither character felt fully fleshed out to me for most of the book. Grayson remains almost entirely a mystery until the last few pages and also felt a little too overpowered, too knowledgeable and too capable of solving every problem that appeared. At times he felt almost like a deus ex machina.
Reece on the other hand occasionally crossed the line from naive into TSTL territory for me and made me roll my eyes quite a few times 🤦♀️
And beyond these traits and their abilities in general I don’t feel like I learned nearly as much about either of them as I wanted to, or even needed to, to keep me invested in them individually.
On the other hand, this whole ass book covers ONE (1) day (goddamn what a day they had and probably the longest and most packed 24 hours in existence hahahah) so maybe it’s realistic that we wouldn’t get to know them in that short amount of time? Idk man 😅
All in all, there were just too many times I texted Kati ‘who is that again?’ ‘why would he do that as an empath?’ ‘what the hell is going on, did I miss something?’ for me to really enjoy this story.
But, to be fair, this probably, definitely is a me problem. I had an insanely busy week so I could only read a chapter here and there, so maybe this would’ve been a completely different experience had I binged this book over a weekend instead. Who knows.
All that complaining aside though, I am intrigued. There are still plenty of unanswered questions, hidden agendas, and secrets dangling in front of me and I want to know what’s really going on. Also there’s that last page that kinda has me foaming at the mouth heheh
So yes, I will definitely continue the series and now that I got a better grasp on wtf is going on, it can only go up from here for me!
3,5⭐️
This book delighted me and frustrated me in equal measures, but let’s start with the positives. Because there were definitely things I really enjoyed here:
Grayson and Reece’s dynamic was incredibly entertaining. The charming, uber-competent Grayson paired with the wide-eyed, impulsive, blurting, surprisingly snarky and sarcastic Reece was ridiculously addictive. Their banter was fun from the very beginning, and I was an easy victim for all of Grayson’s southern charm. The ‘care bear’ (🫠) and ‘sugar’, the manners, the protectiveness, the ‘you’re safe with me’ energy, and, of course, that last page 🫠🫠
Yeah. Grayson was one smooth motherfucker and I was absolutely here for it.
BUT… but… this book frustrated me too 😩
I actually started it weeks ago and ended up putting it down because I thought I simply wasn’t in the right headspace for it. The story throws you into a world full of different factions, secrets, mysteries, and terminology with very little explanation, and my exhausted brain just couldn’t keep up at the time.
Then my girl Kati (ily 💕) came along and convinced me to give it another shot, and while reading it together definitely helped, I still found myself overwhelmed a lot of the time. There were so many players, agendas and mysteries hovering in the background, but as a reader I didn’t really feel like I was getting enough information to stay grounded. Honestly, I felt confused and a bit lost more often than not lol
And I think most of that comes down to the shaky worldbuilding.
Some concepts felt underdeveloped or only explained when the plot needed them to be (if at all). The empathy system in particular sometimes seemed to change from scene to scene depending on what the story required, which made it difficult for me to understand its actual limitations and rules.
Also, despite spending so much time with both of them, neither character felt fully fleshed out to me for most of the book. Grayson remains almost entirely a mystery until the last few pages and also felt a little too overpowered, too knowledgeable and too capable of solving every problem that appeared. At times he felt almost like a deus ex machina.
Reece on the other hand occasionally crossed the line from naive into TSTL territory for me and made me roll my eyes quite a few times 🤦♀️
And beyond these traits and their abilities in general I don’t feel like I learned nearly as much about either of them as I wanted to, or even needed to, to keep me invested in them individually.
On the other hand, this whole ass book covers ONE (1) day (goddamn what a day they had and probably the longest and most packed 24 hours in existence hahahah) so maybe it’s realistic that we wouldn’t get to know them in that short amount of time? Idk man 😅
All in all, there were just too many times I texted Kati ‘who is that again?’ ‘why would he do that as an empath?’ ‘what the hell is going on, did I miss something?’ for me to really enjoy this story.
But, to be fair, this probably, definitely is a me problem. I had an insanely busy week so I could only read a chapter here and there, so maybe this would’ve been a completely different experience had I binged this book over a weekend instead. Who knows.
All that complaining aside though, I am intrigued. There are still plenty of unanswered questions, hidden agendas, and secrets dangling in front of me and I want to know what’s really going on. Also there’s that last page that kinda has me foaming at the mouth heheh
So yes, I will definitely continue the series and now that I got a better grasp on wtf is going on, it can only go up from here for me!
3,5⭐️
May 19, 2026
Reece is one of those characters where you genuinely wonder how he is still alive. He makes very silly choices, runs into danger constantly and has lots of sassy quips. I can see why the other characters just want him to shut up half the time 😅 but I’m just going to embrace all his uselessness and love him for all his Care Bear stupidity.
“It’s like standing at a cliff’s edge and wrangling a lemming in a hoodie. But I’m trying.”
Evan Grayson, the Dead Man, is an interesting love interest. I’m keen to see where this slow burn takes us (by slow burn I mean we got nada so far 😆) and how a relationship is going to work out when they can’t touch each other without gloves on…
“No one should ever think they’re safe from me…your empath ass wouldn’t know danger if it handcuffed you over the hood of your car”
Love the urban fantasy vibes and how people are empaths and all that entails. It did take me forever to read this and I’m not really sure why but something about it made it very easy to put down regularly and get distracted but I really did have a great time. I am invested!
Keen for what book 2 has in store. Book 3 releasing soon.
“It’s like standing at a cliff’s edge and wrangling a lemming in a hoodie. But I’m trying.”
Evan Grayson, the Dead Man, is an interesting love interest. I’m keen to see where this slow burn takes us (by slow burn I mean we got nada so far 😆) and how a relationship is going to work out when they can’t touch each other without gloves on…
“No one should ever think they’re safe from me…your empath ass wouldn’t know danger if it handcuffed you over the hood of your car”
Love the urban fantasy vibes and how people are empaths and all that entails. It did take me forever to read this and I’m not really sure why but something about it made it very easy to put down regularly and get distracted but I really did have a great time. I am invested!
Keen for what book 2 has in store. Book 3 releasing soon.
June 25, 2026
4.5***** stars
Good thing to have started this series only now that the third and last book is about to release. There are many people, much more than two POV’s (which I honestly appreciated a lot for context) and a plot that sometimes makes your brain hurt.
And sure, I was left with a lot of open questions and would’ve wished for a more detailed world building? But I was invested from first to last page and I feel like that doesn’t happen to me all that often anymore.
Looking forward to dive into the second one. Soon. I mean, I wanna know how the author will manage to set up a romance eventually between empath Reece and empath specialist Grayson. *lol
And thank you, Pauline, for making this read even more exciting.
************
Sugar & Vice Series
Book 1 - Liar City - 4.5 stars
Book 2 - Twisted Shadows - 4.5 stars
Book 3 - Edge of Mercy - 4.5 stars
Good thing to have started this series only now that the third and last book is about to release. There are many people, much more than two POV’s (which I honestly appreciated a lot for context) and a plot that sometimes makes your brain hurt.
And sure, I was left with a lot of open questions and would’ve wished for a more detailed world building? But I was invested from first to last page and I feel like that doesn’t happen to me all that often anymore.
Looking forward to dive into the second one. Soon. I mean, I wanna know how the author will manage to set up a romance eventually between empath Reece and empath specialist Grayson. *lol
“[…] And speaking of empaths—” Grayson slid the coat from his shoulders and tossed it to the side. “Care Bear, be a peach and close your eyes so your sister and I can kick some ass.”
And thank you, Pauline, for making this read even more exciting.
************
Sugar & Vice Series
Book 1 - Liar City - 4.5 stars
Book 2 - Twisted Shadows - 4.5 stars
Book 3 - Edge of Mercy - 4.5 stars
November 22, 2025
Second reading 11/2025
I reread it as an audiobook because I finally need to make some progress in this series. My first narration by Joel Leslie, wow... it's an acquired taste for me, the variety in the voices is awesome, and now that I've started the second book, I still have his voices in my ears, which is great. But at first, I struggled with the somewhat forced-sounding voice.
First reading 11/2024
I really loved this book.
…
I had a bit of trouble getting into it because the POV is constantly changing, and not just between the two main characters. It was very confusing because I don't know how many years it's been since I've read something like this. It was also honestly a bit frustrating.
Nevertheless, the story is very well constructed and I liked the writing style, so I was drawn in. And the further I got into the story, the more addicted I became.
At the beginning I couldn't get my head around the fact that Reece is an empath and was therefore involved in the murder investigation, I couldn't understand his sister at all and then all these political entanglements.
Yes, you don't really get anything explained. So it takes time to understand everything. Phew, but I'm glad I didn't give up.
The plot is quite convoluted but fortunately progresses steadily, so it didn't get too messy. Also, I knew who the bad guy would be in the end, it was too obvious, but the motives behind everything had to be unraveled and that was well done.
Reece ... Reece is an interesting character. He has a huge mouth that constantly gets him into trouble and he's like a little baby a lot of the time. I love him. I understand that he might get on a lot of readers' nerves, but I really like this character and I had to laugh about him a lot. Somehow he also constantly tickles the protective instinct out of you, just like with other characters in this book. I'd like to cuddle him. A lot.
And then there's Grayson, who doesn't seem to be completely immune to him either, even if there are only a few tiny moments in which he shows something like affection. And that's putting it very gently.
Because this is not a romance, even if the book is tagged as such. There is no relationship, not even the beginning of one, and no interaction between the two.
I needed this, after reading such a sex-crazed book I needed something completely neutral, as far as that goes there is no complaint, I was quite happy with it.
Still, there is something of a glimmer of hope that there could be more ... Oh yes I will definitely read the next book.
Reece looked up from the elevator wall, way up, all the way to Grayson’s unreadable hazel eyes. “You don’t exist in a vacuum. I see how people react when you’re around. Every person you meet is nervous. Well, unless they’re on Team B, the people who want to bang you.”
Grayson raised an eyebrow.
Reece gestured at himself. “Obviously I’m Team A.” Lie. Son of a bitch. Reece never wanted to know which traitorous cell in his clearly unhinged brain was to blame for that. 😂🌵😂
I'm really looking forward to them getting closer, it will probably be like mating porcupines, extremely careful ...
I reread it as an audiobook because I finally need to make some progress in this series. My first narration by Joel Leslie, wow... it's an acquired taste for me, the variety in the voices is awesome, and now that I've started the second book, I still have his voices in my ears, which is great. But at first, I struggled with the somewhat forced-sounding voice.
First reading 11/2024
I really loved this book.
…
I had a bit of trouble getting into it because the POV is constantly changing, and not just between the two main characters. It was very confusing because I don't know how many years it's been since I've read something like this. It was also honestly a bit frustrating.
Nevertheless, the story is very well constructed and I liked the writing style, so I was drawn in. And the further I got into the story, the more addicted I became.
At the beginning I couldn't get my head around the fact that Reece is an empath and was therefore involved in the murder investigation, I couldn't understand his sister at all and then all these political entanglements.
Yes, you don't really get anything explained. So it takes time to understand everything. Phew, but I'm glad I didn't give up.
The plot is quite convoluted but fortunately progresses steadily, so it didn't get too messy. Also, I knew who the bad guy would be in the end, it was too obvious, but the motives behind everything had to be unraveled and that was well done.
Reece ... Reece is an interesting character. He has a huge mouth that constantly gets him into trouble and he's like a little baby a lot of the time. I love him. I understand that he might get on a lot of readers' nerves, but I really like this character and I had to laugh about him a lot. Somehow he also constantly tickles the protective instinct out of you, just like with other characters in this book. I'd like to cuddle him. A lot.
And then there's Grayson, who doesn't seem to be completely immune to him either, even if there are only a few tiny moments in which he shows something like affection. And that's putting it very gently.
Because this is not a romance, even if the book is tagged as such. There is no relationship, not even the beginning of one, and no interaction between the two.
I needed this, after reading such a sex-crazed book I needed something completely neutral, as far as that goes there is no complaint, I was quite happy with it.
Still, there is something of a glimmer of hope that there could be more ... Oh yes I will definitely read the next book.
Reece looked up from the elevator wall, way up, all the way to Grayson’s unreadable hazel eyes. “You don’t exist in a vacuum. I see how people react when you’re around. Every person you meet is nervous. Well, unless they’re on Team B, the people who want to bang you.”
Grayson raised an eyebrow.
Reece gestured at himself. “Obviously I’m Team A.” Lie. Son of a bitch. Reece never wanted to know which traitorous cell in his clearly unhinged brain was to blame for that. 😂🌵😂
I'm really looking forward to them getting closer, it will probably be like mating porcupines, extremely careful ...
June 25, 2024
An absolute knockout. Once I started I had to force myself to quit reading at 3:30 in the morning, before I got too tired to absorb the details.
The twisty mystery/suspense plot is built on a premise I've seen versions of before but never worked out with such thoroughness and complexity. A mutation has turned some people into empaths, who if they touch other people can feel their emotions and physical pain; even the prospect of danger to other people appalls them. The twist here is that non-empaths are, by and large, terrified of empaths, ascribing to empaths the power to control others' emotions and behavior. Empaths are shunned socially and are legally obliged to wear gloves that block their empathy. Legislation even threatens to strip them of basic civil rights.
The whodunit question about the murders discovered at the opening is answered quickly, but the more terrifying mysteries under the surface drive the plot. The emotional arc is equally satisfying and complicated, too. Is Evan Grayson, the holy-cats-he's-not-just-an-urban-legend known as the Dead Man, an enemy of empaths or their ally or both or neither? Why has our POV character, the empath Reece Davies, become able to sense when people are lying, and why did that ability surface after a traumatic event? The complicated relationship between the two shifts between enmity and reluctant allyship, trust and betrayal, over and over; although the mystery is resolved at the end, the emotions are very much not. Neither are questions about how exactly Evan Grayson became the Dead Man, about where Reece's abilities will lead him, about how Grayson will respond, and when (please not if! WHEN) the slowly growing connection between them will be fulfilled.
Reece's characterization was a special pleasure. His empathy shapes him in surprising ways, many of which are moving and/or sad and/or noble, some of which are straight-up funny (the running bits about his driving wound up someplace I did not in the least expect).
I suppose I could pick a few nits. One of the secondary villains is no more than a caricature. Grayson's above-the-law status and his logistical reach could maybe have used more elucidation. Do I care? Nah. I'm just panting for the next in the series and hoping that Allie Therin doesn't make me wait too long.
Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Adores for the ARC!
The twisty mystery/suspense plot is built on a premise I've seen versions of before but never worked out with such thoroughness and complexity. A mutation has turned some people into empaths, who if they touch other people can feel their emotions and physical pain; even the prospect of danger to other people appalls them. The twist here is that non-empaths are, by and large, terrified of empaths, ascribing to empaths the power to control others' emotions and behavior. Empaths are shunned socially and are legally obliged to wear gloves that block their empathy. Legislation even threatens to strip them of basic civil rights.
The whodunit question about the murders discovered at the opening is answered quickly, but the more terrifying mysteries under the surface drive the plot. The emotional arc is equally satisfying and complicated, too. Is Evan Grayson, the holy-cats-he's-not-just-an-urban-legend known as the Dead Man, an enemy of empaths or their ally or both or neither? Why has our POV character, the empath Reece Davies, become able to sense when people are lying, and why did that ability surface after a traumatic event? The complicated relationship between the two shifts between enmity and reluctant allyship, trust and betrayal, over and over; although the mystery is resolved at the end, the emotions are very much not. Neither are questions about how exactly Evan Grayson became the Dead Man, about where Reece's abilities will lead him, about how Grayson will respond, and when (please not if! WHEN) the slowly growing connection between them will be fulfilled.
Reece's characterization was a special pleasure. His empathy shapes him in surprising ways, many of which are moving and/or sad and/or noble, some of which are straight-up funny (the running bits about his driving wound up someplace I did not in the least expect).
I suppose I could pick a few nits. One of the secondary villains is no more than a caricature. Grayson's above-the-law status and his logistical reach could maybe have used more elucidation. Do I care? Nah. I'm just panting for the next in the series and hoping that Allie Therin doesn't make me wait too long.
Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Adores for the ARC!
March 25, 2023
2.5/5 stars. I thought this was poorly executed and am surprised by all the five star reviews because this book has issues that would normally lead to complaints.
To start, the worldbuilding was superficial and insufficiently explained. I felt like the author started with elements she knew she wanted to include (common traits of empaths, empaths being persecuted, empath-specific government agencies) and then added the minimum amount of connective tissue necessary to get from our existing world to one where these elements exist. Empaths are so rare that there are only two known to exist in Seattle, a city with a population of more than 700,000 people, yet in “one generation” (I’m convinced the author doesn’t know a generation is defined as 20-30 years) they’ve become the most feared element of American society to the point that an entire systems of laws and economic infrastructure has sprung up in response. And this has happened even though empaths can only feel someone’s feelings by touching them – something easily avoided and that’s nowhere near the mind-reading it’s treated as. While some of this is excusable as a metaphor for how society scapegoats minority groups and gives them outsized importance in narratives about society’s problems, I simply can’t buy that such a uniform, universal worldview would arise about such a tiny segment of the population in only one generation or that the ability to detect feelings through touch would lead to being universally shunned. No explanation is ever given of how this ability materially differs from simply having high affective empathy.
Most aspects of the worldbuilding are presented without the explanation they badly need (like why it’s illegal to impersonate an empath; I can forgive the author for not realizing that such a law would almost certainly be unconstitutional for the same reasons as the Stolen Valor Act, but I don’t feel like any thought went into how or why such a law would even arise in these circumstances, except that it was needed for plot reasons).
Worse from a storytelling perspective is that Reece’s own experience of empathy does not make sense, nor do the generalizations about how “all empaths” think and behave. Reece is so worried about anyone feeling physical pain that he cannot even talk about violence or be exposed to it in any way, even in fiction. Yet his powers are supposed to be primarily emotion-focused, and he doesn’t care at all about hurting people’s feelings by acting like a snarky asshole, which he does basically 100% of the time. It isn’t that he thinks about how his actions will hurt others but decides to act anyway for specific reasons – he just doesn’t think about it at all. This makes no sense, especially in comparison with his reaction to physical pain (which, again, is not the primary focus of his abilities). He’s also extremely moralistic but only about following existing laws (he refuses to text and drive but drives with plenty of other distractions anyway) or superficial and frankly stupid things like angrily insisting that window washers be given nets even though that’s not how window washing safety systems work. But the book never explores how he developed any of these character traits or why his empathy doesn’t affect him in more significant ways. One would expect that being born with a widely reviled power that dramatically changes your relationships with almost everyone, and that makes you think differently about human interactions, would have deep, fundamental impacts on your thoughts, values, and belief systems. But instead Reece is just your bog-standard snarky asshole character with some additional pacifism.
Characters also constantly react to him as though these behaviors are universal to all empaths, which makes even less sense. I was frustrated that the author didn’t do even the bare minimum to establish how Reece’s abilities led to this set of character traits, and that we’re supposed to believe that having the ability to detect feelings through touch would give everyone these exact same traits. Why on earth is it completely predictable empath behavior to insist that window washers be given nets???
None of this was helped by the frequent use of unnecessary storytelling shortcuts. Reece’s POV is supplemented with brief POV sections from other characters, including side characters who only appear once. This is done only to give the reader information Reece doesn’t have – and all of that information is eventually conveyed through Reece’s POV anyway. The most egregious of these is a fairly early scene of a side character encountering the murderer, which is the first time the reader learns who the murderer is, and which significantly decreases the impact of the scene where Reece finally figures it out for himself. The addition of these side character POVs makes the book worse, and I’m perplexed that more readers aren’t complaining, since this is being marketed in the romance genre where side character POVs are extremely rare and usually disliked.
The book also begins each chapter with an excerpt of a document giving us some background or flavor. Some of these are just snippets of pop culture that do add to the worldbuilding, but others are a cheap way to provide exposition that could have been worked into the narrative. And some are segments of documents that none of our POV characters have access to, so the reader learns information from them way before the POV characters do. It felt like the author either didn’t want to do the necessary work to figure out how the POV characters could give the reader all the information, or didn’t trust the readers to be able to be able to figure out these (very obvious) things without extra help.
Finally, I know this author has warned everyone that it's an extremely slow burn romance, but this first book didn't feel like a romance to me at all. What felt like 90% of the book is either dialogue or exposition, and we barely get to know Reece as a person, much less Evan. There's maybe the barest hint of attraction between them, but that's it. So I really don't recommend this if you're hoping it's going to have some pre-relationship pining, longing, attraction, etc. Reece noticing a few times that Evan is attractive does not count.
The poor worldbuilding is something I might overlook enough to give the next book in the series a try, in case it improves, but the lazy writing killed any interest I had in continuing with this series.
The 2.5/5 rating is because I got a bit more enjoyment out of the book than those I’d rate a 2.
I received an ARC in exchange for my review.
To start, the worldbuilding was superficial and insufficiently explained. I felt like the author started with elements she knew she wanted to include (common traits of empaths, empaths being persecuted, empath-specific government agencies) and then added the minimum amount of connective tissue necessary to get from our existing world to one where these elements exist. Empaths are so rare that there are only two known to exist in Seattle, a city with a population of more than 700,000 people, yet in “one generation” (I’m convinced the author doesn’t know a generation is defined as 20-30 years) they’ve become the most feared element of American society to the point that an entire systems of laws and economic infrastructure has sprung up in response. And this has happened even though empaths can only feel someone’s feelings by touching them – something easily avoided and that’s nowhere near the mind-reading it’s treated as. While some of this is excusable as a metaphor for how society scapegoats minority groups and gives them outsized importance in narratives about society’s problems, I simply can’t buy that such a uniform, universal worldview would arise about such a tiny segment of the population in only one generation or that the ability to detect feelings through touch would lead to being universally shunned. No explanation is ever given of how this ability materially differs from simply having high affective empathy.
Most aspects of the worldbuilding are presented without the explanation they badly need (like why it’s illegal to impersonate an empath; I can forgive the author for not realizing that such a law would almost certainly be unconstitutional for the same reasons as the Stolen Valor Act, but I don’t feel like any thought went into how or why such a law would even arise in these circumstances, except that it was needed for plot reasons).
Worse from a storytelling perspective is that Reece’s own experience of empathy does not make sense, nor do the generalizations about how “all empaths” think and behave. Reece is so worried about anyone feeling physical pain that he cannot even talk about violence or be exposed to it in any way, even in fiction. Yet his powers are supposed to be primarily emotion-focused, and he doesn’t care at all about hurting people’s feelings by acting like a snarky asshole, which he does basically 100% of the time. It isn’t that he thinks about how his actions will hurt others but decides to act anyway for specific reasons – he just doesn’t think about it at all. This makes no sense, especially in comparison with his reaction to physical pain (which, again, is not the primary focus of his abilities). He’s also extremely moralistic but only about following existing laws (he refuses to text and drive but drives with plenty of other distractions anyway) or superficial and frankly stupid things like angrily insisting that window washers be given nets even though that’s not how window washing safety systems work. But the book never explores how he developed any of these character traits or why his empathy doesn’t affect him in more significant ways. One would expect that being born with a widely reviled power that dramatically changes your relationships with almost everyone, and that makes you think differently about human interactions, would have deep, fundamental impacts on your thoughts, values, and belief systems. But instead Reece is just your bog-standard snarky asshole character with some additional pacifism.
Characters also constantly react to him as though these behaviors are universal to all empaths, which makes even less sense. I was frustrated that the author didn’t do even the bare minimum to establish how Reece’s abilities led to this set of character traits, and that we’re supposed to believe that having the ability to detect feelings through touch would give everyone these exact same traits. Why on earth is it completely predictable empath behavior to insist that window washers be given nets???
None of this was helped by the frequent use of unnecessary storytelling shortcuts. Reece’s POV is supplemented with brief POV sections from other characters, including side characters who only appear once. This is done only to give the reader information Reece doesn’t have – and all of that information is eventually conveyed through Reece’s POV anyway. The most egregious of these is a fairly early scene of a side character encountering the murderer, which is the first time the reader learns who the murderer is, and which significantly decreases the impact of the scene where Reece finally figures it out for himself. The addition of these side character POVs makes the book worse, and I’m perplexed that more readers aren’t complaining, since this is being marketed in the romance genre where side character POVs are extremely rare and usually disliked.
The book also begins each chapter with an excerpt of a document giving us some background or flavor. Some of these are just snippets of pop culture that do add to the worldbuilding, but others are a cheap way to provide exposition that could have been worked into the narrative. And some are segments of documents that none of our POV characters have access to, so the reader learns information from them way before the POV characters do. It felt like the author either didn’t want to do the necessary work to figure out how the POV characters could give the reader all the information, or didn’t trust the readers to be able to be able to figure out these (very obvious) things without extra help.
Finally, I know this author has warned everyone that it's an extremely slow burn romance, but this first book didn't feel like a romance to me at all. What felt like 90% of the book is either dialogue or exposition, and we barely get to know Reece as a person, much less Evan. There's maybe the barest hint of attraction between them, but that's it. So I really don't recommend this if you're hoping it's going to have some pre-relationship pining, longing, attraction, etc. Reece noticing a few times that Evan is attractive does not count.
The poor worldbuilding is something I might overlook enough to give the next book in the series a try, in case it improves, but the lazy writing killed any interest I had in continuing with this series.
The 2.5/5 rating is because I got a bit more enjoyment out of the book than those I’d rate a 2.
I received an ARC in exchange for my review.
June 17, 2023
This is a book that takes place in an alternate world where empaths exist and not everyone is a fan of them. An investigation ensues when a politician is found murdered. This politician was spear heading a bill against empaths.
Even though I did not exactly enjoy this book I do believe there is a story here. The problem was the execution of the story and the characters. The problem with the story was the author fell into several tropes. I felt like these tropes happened because the author wanted them to happen and she did not flesh them out properly. I believe I felt this way because of my beef with the characters and the lack of characterization with some of them. I think the author was trying to have a mystery within a mystery. There was the mystery of the culprit of the crime. We also had the mystery of why the characters were the way they were and this was not revealed to the end. I did not care for this. As I was reading this book I kept on wondering why this character acted this way and I could not connect with the majority of them. By the time of the reveal it was too late.
I did like the main plot of the story with the crime and who committed this crime. I liked the reasoning behind it. Unfortunately most of the characters including the main character did not do much for me. In my eyes to be so mysterious with them was a mistake that led to me not connecting with them. They would make decisions that I could not understand because there was no build up of character at that particular moment. This led me to not connecting with them which led me to not really enjoying this book. If there is a sequel I would pick it up because their reveals finally came about and I would not have to worry about that in the second book.
Even though I did not exactly enjoy this book I do believe there is a story here. The problem was the execution of the story and the characters. The problem with the story was the author fell into several tropes. I felt like these tropes happened because the author wanted them to happen and she did not flesh them out properly. I believe I felt this way because of my beef with the characters and the lack of characterization with some of them. I think the author was trying to have a mystery within a mystery. There was the mystery of the culprit of the crime. We also had the mystery of why the characters were the way they were and this was not revealed to the end. I did not care for this. As I was reading this book I kept on wondering why this character acted this way and I could not connect with the majority of them. By the time of the reveal it was too late.
I did like the main plot of the story with the crime and who committed this crime. I liked the reasoning behind it. Unfortunately most of the characters including the main character did not do much for me. In my eyes to be so mysterious with them was a mistake that led to me not connecting with them. They would make decisions that I could not understand because there was no build up of character at that particular moment. This led me to not connecting with them which led me to not really enjoying this book. If there is a sequel I would pick it up because their reveals finally came about and I would not have to worry about that in the second book.
May 18, 2026
Oh my god. I LOVED THIS!
An incredible paranormal urban fantasy murder mystery.
Reece, an empath, pacifist by nature, is able to read people’s emotions and decipher intent by touch. He’s getting new powers and the only person he can confide in is his detective sister, Jamey.
There’s a brutal triple homicide, one of the victims is a senator about to bring in new anti-empath laws.
Jamey is on the case🕵️
Urban legend and empath hunter ‘The Dead Man’ gets involved 😶🌫️
This was just SO good!
Really, there was no romance. If it develops (which I assume it will over the next two books) it’s going to be the slowest of barely smouldering slow burns … and honestly I love the dynamic between the two MMCs how it is. The dialogue was full of sarcasm and exasperation and just so much fun.
5 ⭐️ Zero complaints, it did take me a minute to adjust to the changing POVs throughout the chapters. But in the end I loved the anticipation of waiting to get back to Reece’s POV. So keen to read on!!
🤗
An incredible paranormal urban fantasy murder mystery.
Reece, an empath, pacifist by nature, is able to read people’s emotions and decipher intent by touch. He’s getting new powers and the only person he can confide in is his detective sister, Jamey.
There’s a brutal triple homicide, one of the victims is a senator about to bring in new anti-empath laws.
Jamey is on the case🕵️
Urban legend and empath hunter ‘The Dead Man’ gets involved 😶🌫️
This was just SO good!
Really, there was no romance. If it develops (which I assume it will over the next two books) it’s going to be the slowest of barely smouldering slow burns … and honestly I love the dynamic between the two MMCs how it is. The dialogue was full of sarcasm and exasperation and just so much fun.
5 ⭐️ Zero complaints, it did take me a minute to adjust to the changing POVs throughout the chapters. But in the end I loved the anticipation of waiting to get back to Reece’s POV. So keen to read on!!
🤗
March 5, 2023
NOTE: February 28th. Carina Press isn't included in the dispute with Harper Collins (which I believe is now in talks over a solution) and, as the book is now out, I have restored my original review.
*****
NOTE: November 9th. In support of the Harper Collins strike action, I have temporarily removed my review of this book as the publisher is a subsidiary of HC.
See either Allie Therin's Instagram or Twitter account for her support of this action and the striking workers or check out the Union's Tweet below.
This is effectively me not crossing the picket line.
https://twitter.com/hcpunion/status/1...
*****
This book kept me up until 4.45am because once I started reading it, I simply couldn’t stop until I knew what was going to happen to Reese, his half-sister Jamey and the mysterious Evan Grayson.
And one thing I can tell you is that never, not if I’d sat and thought about it for yonks, would I have come up with this ending.
It’s a trilogy, so of course there’s threads left open and this one has no romantic relationship between Reese and Evan yet, but you can feel the palpable tension and mysterious connection which grows between them.
The murder mystery element of this paranormal is really clever and creepily disturbing, Allie Therin has a fantastic ability to take something commonplace and switch it into something deadly.
There’ll be no spoilers here though, you need to experience this book alongside Reese and Jamey as they get dragged into the seriously scary world of The Dead Man.
There’s also a side order of sarcasm, snark and spikey banter between Reese and Evan each time their paths cross and while Evan’s Dead Man status makes him impossible for Reese to read, it’s pretty obvious to me that the sparks are there to completely ignite a fire that’s unlikely to ever burn out.
With some fabulous side characters including Jamey, her boyfriend Liam, Evan’s Medical Examiner colleague, some really horrible villains – and a serial killer that actually raises an element of sympathy – this opener delivers on all fronts.
Honestly the only thing I didn’t like about reading this book is how long I’m going to have to wait to get the second one!
I am so in love with this alternative reality Seattle that Allie has created and the fascinating characters she’s populated it with.
#ARC kindly received from the author and Carina Press via NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review.
*****
NOTE: November 9th. In support of the Harper Collins strike action, I have temporarily removed my review of this book as the publisher is a subsidiary of HC.
See either Allie Therin's Instagram or Twitter account for her support of this action and the striking workers or check out the Union's Tweet below.
This is effectively me not crossing the picket line.
https://twitter.com/hcpunion/status/1...
*****
This book kept me up until 4.45am because once I started reading it, I simply couldn’t stop until I knew what was going to happen to Reese, his half-sister Jamey and the mysterious Evan Grayson.
And one thing I can tell you is that never, not if I’d sat and thought about it for yonks, would I have come up with this ending.
It’s a trilogy, so of course there’s threads left open and this one has no romantic relationship between Reese and Evan yet, but you can feel the palpable tension and mysterious connection which grows between them.
The murder mystery element of this paranormal is really clever and creepily disturbing, Allie Therin has a fantastic ability to take something commonplace and switch it into something deadly.
There’ll be no spoilers here though, you need to experience this book alongside Reese and Jamey as they get dragged into the seriously scary world of The Dead Man.
There’s also a side order of sarcasm, snark and spikey banter between Reese and Evan each time their paths cross and while Evan’s Dead Man status makes him impossible for Reese to read, it’s pretty obvious to me that the sparks are there to completely ignite a fire that’s unlikely to ever burn out.
With some fabulous side characters including Jamey, her boyfriend Liam, Evan’s Medical Examiner colleague, some really horrible villains – and a serial killer that actually raises an element of sympathy – this opener delivers on all fronts.
Honestly the only thing I didn’t like about reading this book is how long I’m going to have to wait to get the second one!
I am so in love with this alternative reality Seattle that Allie has created and the fascinating characters she’s populated it with.
#ARC kindly received from the author and Carina Press via NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review.
March 7, 2023
2.5-3 stars
I really enjoyed the beginning but for a romance, there was nothing. Like you could feel the chemistry but no romance happened since Reece is an empath and Grayson is an empath hunter…I mean specialist haha so not even hand holding or touching of any kind happened. So if you are looking for a romance, this is slow burn to the extreme, I hope the following books have something. Being an empath in this world is frowned upon and they are the pariahs of the world. If they touch you people think they can control and manipulate you.
The premise was interesting, I was hooked from the beginning, but then Reece became a little too stupid to be alive with all his actions… and I got annoyed. Like listen to those people who are trying to keep you safe!
I think for the kindle price of $9.99 is WAAAAY over priced. Yes the writing was good but soo not worth the almost $10. I am just glad this book was on Scribd, Joel Leslie did a great job with the narration.
I was hoping for more romance, at least a kiss, hell I would have gone for a hug haha but the mystery was good..kinda.. kept me entertained at least.
Also shocked that the whole book took place in a day, like I thought at least a week went by with all that happened, but nope it was all done in 24 hours.
This also was a multiple pov book told in 3rd person. The only pov we didn’t get was Grayson’s which I felt was a disservice, but hey what do I know? Haha
I would say if you wanted a book that has mystery, some sexual tension that is very unresolved, with pretty good writing then I’d say this is the book for you haha
I really enjoyed the beginning but for a romance, there was nothing. Like you could feel the chemistry but no romance happened since Reece is an empath and Grayson is an empath hunter…I mean specialist haha so not even hand holding or touching of any kind happened. So if you are looking for a romance, this is slow burn to the extreme, I hope the following books have something. Being an empath in this world is frowned upon and they are the pariahs of the world. If they touch you people think they can control and manipulate you.
The premise was interesting, I was hooked from the beginning, but then Reece became a little too stupid to be alive with all his actions… and I got annoyed. Like listen to those people who are trying to keep you safe!
I think for the kindle price of $9.99 is WAAAAY over priced. Yes the writing was good but soo not worth the almost $10. I am just glad this book was on Scribd, Joel Leslie did a great job with the narration.
I was hoping for more romance, at least a kiss, hell I would have gone for a hug haha but the mystery was good..kinda.. kept me entertained at least.
Also shocked that the whole book took place in a day, like I thought at least a week went by with all that happened, but nope it was all done in 24 hours.
This also was a multiple pov book told in 3rd person. The only pov we didn’t get was Grayson’s which I felt was a disservice, but hey what do I know? Haha
I would say if you wanted a book that has mystery, some sexual tension that is very unresolved, with pretty good writing then I’d say this is the book for you haha
March 5, 2023
So many people
So many names!
Many POV’s
In the audiobook it left this reader scratching her head
I think it went something like this:
MC is empathic
Wears gloves—it’s the law
Anti empath folk want more a it empath laws
Anti empath senator murdered
Who did it?
Lots of stuff happens with lots of people whose names I can’t remember
One MC (it took me a while to figure out who the other MC was) doesn’t feel anything—why?
Investigation stuff
Oh, that person did it
But who’s the real baddie?
Uncovering lies
The end
And not even a snuggle
I didn’t enjoy this. Maybe if I had read it instead of listening to it, I would have processed all the names better.
You? Well, it’s a cool cover, maybe that will make up for not knowing who is who or who the MCs are.
So many names!
Many POV’s
In the audiobook it left this reader scratching her head
I think it went something like this:
MC is empathic
Wears gloves—it’s the law
Anti empath folk want more a it empath laws
Anti empath senator murdered
Who did it?
Lots of stuff happens with lots of people whose names I can’t remember
One MC (it took me a while to figure out who the other MC was) doesn’t feel anything—why?
Investigation stuff
Oh, that person did it
But who’s the real baddie?
Uncovering lies
The end
And not even a snuggle
I didn’t enjoy this. Maybe if I had read it instead of listening to it, I would have processed all the names better.
You? Well, it’s a cool cover, maybe that will make up for not knowing who is who or who the MCs are.
June 23, 2026
You know the books that sink their claws into your mind and they’re stressing you out, but you can’t. Stop. Picking. Them. Up?
Well this is one of those. I got the audio, so it was even more stressful, because when reading a book with your eyeballs, you’re a lot quicker. Yes, I increased the narration speed, but there’s only so much you can do with that 🤷♀️
All I can say is: I get the hype. It consumed me, and it consumed my thoughts. It’s an intricate and surprising urban fantasy world, where you have “regular people” and “empaths”, who - due to some genetic mutation- can access your thoughts, and because of that, they’re ostracised, with many people fearing - and discriminating - them.
Reece is one of them. He’s the brother of a police officer, and even though empaths can’t stomach violence, he’s called to the scene of a violent murder to help the investigation.
And there’s Evan Grayson, the “Dead Man”, some kind of uber agent specialised in dealing with empaths. There are shady politicians, an even more shady company owner who makes money with the people’s fear of empaths. An anti empath blogger who’s probably not as bad as you’d assume. An FBI agent who thinks that this entire case could further his career.
And a creepy killer in the loose.
Yes, there’s a tiny bit of a slow burning romance blossoming there, too, but apart from banter, there’s not much going on there (yet. But it’s a trilogy, so I’m hopeful).
There were quite a few twists I didn’t see coming, and others I smelled from afar. Not everything makes 100% sense (yet), but all in all, I had a blast.
Despite the stress it put me under 😬
Well this is one of those. I got the audio, so it was even more stressful, because when reading a book with your eyeballs, you’re a lot quicker. Yes, I increased the narration speed, but there’s only so much you can do with that 🤷♀️
All I can say is: I get the hype. It consumed me, and it consumed my thoughts. It’s an intricate and surprising urban fantasy world, where you have “regular people” and “empaths”, who - due to some genetic mutation- can access your thoughts, and because of that, they’re ostracised, with many people fearing - and discriminating - them.
Reece is one of them. He’s the brother of a police officer, and even though empaths can’t stomach violence, he’s called to the scene of a violent murder to help the investigation.
And there’s Evan Grayson, the “Dead Man”, some kind of uber agent specialised in dealing with empaths. There are shady politicians, an even more shady company owner who makes money with the people’s fear of empaths. An anti empath blogger who’s probably not as bad as you’d assume. An FBI agent who thinks that this entire case could further his career.
And a creepy killer in the loose.
Yes, there’s a tiny bit of a slow burning romance blossoming there, too, but apart from banter, there’s not much going on there (yet. But it’s a trilogy, so I’m hopeful).
There were quite a few twists I didn’t see coming, and others I smelled from afar. Not everything makes 100% sense (yet), but all in all, I had a blast.
Despite the stress it put me under 😬
May 19, 2026
Re-reading because book 3 is finally coming out!
Care Bear and the Dead Man sitting on a tree (not holding hands) 🎶
This has got to be the slowest slow burn ever, at least on my top 5 for sure. Reece, aka Mr. Empath/Care Bear, is one of two empaths living in Seattle in this world, where a mutation has occurred, and some people can detect and feel others' emotions. Of course, xenophobia is real even in fiction, and as such, the political climate is maybe not the best for empaths at the moment.
The book starts with a murder in which Reece's sister, Jayme, a badass police detective, investigates what happened and how it connects to empaths. Enter Evan Grayson aka, the Dead Man. He is the ultimate weapon against empathy, and it is literally his job to protect empaths and the world from them.
Evan and Reece form a shaky partnership as they try to find out what happened and how they can prevent further tragedy. Their banter was extremely funny, and even though Reece has too many feelings and the Dead Man none, I felt they were well-matched.
Care Bear and the Dead Man sitting on a tree (not holding hands) 🎶
This has got to be the slowest slow burn ever, at least on my top 5 for sure. Reece, aka Mr. Empath/Care Bear, is one of two empaths living in Seattle in this world, where a mutation has occurred, and some people can detect and feel others' emotions. Of course, xenophobia is real even in fiction, and as such, the political climate is maybe not the best for empaths at the moment.
The book starts with a murder in which Reece's sister, Jayme, a badass police detective, investigates what happened and how it connects to empaths. Enter Evan Grayson aka, the Dead Man. He is the ultimate weapon against empathy, and it is literally his job to protect empaths and the world from them.
Evan and Reece form a shaky partnership as they try to find out what happened and how they can prevent further tragedy. Their banter was extremely funny, and even though Reece has too many feelings and the Dead Man none, I felt they were well-matched.
September 11, 2023
Always a joy to (re-)read. <3 I can't wait for book two, I AM OBSESSED WITH REECE AND EVAN'S DYNAMIC.
______________________________
"Liar City" was freaking incredible. Absolutely wonderful, utterly addictive, and by far, one of my top reads of the 2022.
Scratch that, my favourite read of 2022.
Allie Therin has been one of my favourite authors these past few years, and her books have been my comfort reads for months and months now. But with this brand new, paranormal series, I think she's outdone herself: "Liar City" is an absolute gem of a book, and I'm pretty sure this is only the start of what will surely be a gut-wrenching, action-packed, emotional ride of a book series. If I'm feeling this unhinged about this first book, I can only imagine what the next two books will be like for Future Me: it will probably involve a lot of screeching and screaming and sobbing.
"Liar City" features some of my absolute favourite tropes, and all the stuff I adore in my reads: heaps and heaps of action and mystery, a setting and a world-building that are damn fascinating (and vividly stark, highly unusual and creative), and a cast of characters that are unforgettable.
This book is also the slowest-burn to ever burn: the romance aspect is very, very minimal in this first installment, but the enemies-to-lovers framework of their (future) romance is impeccable, and the chemistry and barely-there-but-definitely-there tension is so damn palpable, so damn delicious, I can already see myself going absolutely FERAL over them both.
I cannot wait to witness their journey towards love: it's going to be freaking great.
Individually, they are equally fantastic characters. Reece is literally the sweetest, most lovable human ever: he needs to be protected at all costs. His sarcasm, his enormous mouth, his recklessness, his obsession with careful driving, every single one of his quirks and insecurities made him an utterly lovable, unforgettable protagonist: he's an overly stressed, anxious little bean and I love him with my whole heart. The way his empathy works was so very fascinating, so kudos to Allie Therin for creating such a complex and ridiculously lovely protagonist.
Evan, on the other hand, is a whole mystery; we hardly know anything about him, but he still has me in a chokehold. His lack of emotions, his peculiar way of dealing with his enemies (or literally anybody standing in his way), his ruthlessness, his mysterious past... He's shaping up to be as unforgettable as Reece. I literally lived for any single crumb we got of his real personality; and the way he was with Reece? His Southern Gentleman act? All the nicknames? His very peculiar protectiveness and his gruff care? INJECT IT INTO MY VEINS.
“Oh, good.” Reece scrubbed the glove over his hot face. “I was wondering where we were going to have angry hate-sex.”
Oh no, his stupid fucking mouth—
“What kind of man do you take me for,” Grayson said, deadpan. “We only just met. I save hate-sex for second dates.”
Anyway, I'll be praying all the literary gods that Allie Therin will bless us with his POV for the sequel: I'd sell my soul to be able to read his thoughts and his real feelings towards Reece.
All the other side characters were as fantastic and vividly characterized as Reece and Evan: especially Jamey. She was a favourite of mine: she could walk all over me, run me over with a bus, and I'd cheerfully thank her.
And the plot? GAH, where do I start. It's brilliant and thrilling: an action-fuled murder mystery, where the heroes and villains aren't what they seem, and the lines between good and evil, between monsters and victims, are constantly blurred. I was completely addicted from the start, and I managed to devour the whole thing in literally two sittings, work obligations be damned.
So, what else can I say? Allie Therin, brava.
Her writing is majestic, and exciting and emotional and it flows wonderfully. Every time I read one of her books, I'm amazed by how much they seem to be made specifically for me: every single one of those has been a 5 star read (actually, more like 6 or 7, or 10!) and "Liar City" is no exception. It's an utterly marvelous book, an incredible, heart-stopping start to a brand new series, and I'd literally sell my soul (and quite possibly, a few of my non-essential organs) to get my hands on its sequel.
I cannot wait, and I'm not sure how am I supposed to wait: maybe by re-reading this one, and highlighting half (or all) of Reece and Evan's interactions? Yes, I think so.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
______________________________
"Liar City" was freaking incredible. Absolutely wonderful, utterly addictive, and by far, one of my top reads of the 2022.
Scratch that, my favourite read of 2022.
Allie Therin has been one of my favourite authors these past few years, and her books have been my comfort reads for months and months now. But with this brand new, paranormal series, I think she's outdone herself: "Liar City" is an absolute gem of a book, and I'm pretty sure this is only the start of what will surely be a gut-wrenching, action-packed, emotional ride of a book series. If I'm feeling this unhinged about this first book, I can only imagine what the next two books will be like for Future Me: it will probably involve a lot of screeching and screaming and sobbing.
"Liar City" features some of my absolute favourite tropes, and all the stuff I adore in my reads: heaps and heaps of action and mystery, a setting and a world-building that are damn fascinating (and vividly stark, highly unusual and creative), and a cast of characters that are unforgettable.
This book is also the slowest-burn to ever burn: the romance aspect is very, very minimal in this first installment, but the enemies-to-lovers framework of their (future) romance is impeccable, and the chemistry and barely-there-but-definitely-there tension is so damn palpable, so damn delicious, I can already see myself going absolutely FERAL over them both.
I cannot wait to witness their journey towards love: it's going to be freaking great.
Individually, they are equally fantastic characters. Reece is literally the sweetest, most lovable human ever: he needs to be protected at all costs. His sarcasm, his enormous mouth, his recklessness, his obsession with careful driving, every single one of his quirks and insecurities made him an utterly lovable, unforgettable protagonist: he's an overly stressed, anxious little bean and I love him with my whole heart. The way his empathy works was so very fascinating, so kudos to Allie Therin for creating such a complex and ridiculously lovely protagonist.
Evan, on the other hand, is a whole mystery; we hardly know anything about him, but he still has me in a chokehold. His lack of emotions, his peculiar way of dealing with his enemies (or literally anybody standing in his way), his ruthlessness, his mysterious past... He's shaping up to be as unforgettable as Reece. I literally lived for any single crumb we got of his real personality; and the way he was with Reece? His Southern Gentleman act? All the nicknames? His very peculiar protectiveness and his gruff care? INJECT IT INTO MY VEINS.
“Oh, good.” Reece scrubbed the glove over his hot face. “I was wondering where we were going to have angry hate-sex.”
Oh no, his stupid fucking mouth—
“What kind of man do you take me for,” Grayson said, deadpan. “We only just met. I save hate-sex for second dates.”
Anyway, I'll be praying all the literary gods that Allie Therin will bless us with his POV for the sequel: I'd sell my soul to be able to read his thoughts and his real feelings towards Reece.
All the other side characters were as fantastic and vividly characterized as Reece and Evan: especially Jamey. She was a favourite of mine: she could walk all over me, run me over with a bus, and I'd cheerfully thank her.
And the plot? GAH, where do I start. It's brilliant and thrilling: an action-fuled murder mystery, where the heroes and villains aren't what they seem, and the lines between good and evil, between monsters and victims, are constantly blurred. I was completely addicted from the start, and I managed to devour the whole thing in literally two sittings, work obligations be damned.
So, what else can I say? Allie Therin, brava.
Her writing is majestic, and exciting and emotional and it flows wonderfully. Every time I read one of her books, I'm amazed by how much they seem to be made specifically for me: every single one of those has been a 5 star read (actually, more like 6 or 7, or 10!) and "Liar City" is no exception. It's an utterly marvelous book, an incredible, heart-stopping start to a brand new series, and I'd literally sell my soul (and quite possibly, a few of my non-essential organs) to get my hands on its sequel.
I cannot wait, and I'm not sure how am I supposed to wait: maybe by re-reading this one, and highlighting half (or all) of Reece and Evan's interactions? Yes, I think so.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 29, 2023
Allie Therin: Who doesn’t love the “must protect this fragile baby bird by lying to them repeatly” trope??
Me: Yes, hello, I am hater #1 of this trope. You called?
AT: …But see, what if I specifically design the paranormal premise to make lying to some people good actually? See, there are these people called empaths, and if they hear too much bad stuff, they literally lose it. They’re just fragile baby birds and lying to them is actually the *only* moral and practical thing to do, and they should and will thank you for it!
Me: …oh damn. Oh no.
Here’s the situation. I DNFed Spellbound by this author and subsequently read a review that said it gave off the aura of being based on Stucky fanfiction. And now I just can’t get that possibility out of my head. Have I been Marvel-pilled?? I can’t remember if being something-pilled means you hate it or you love it, but in this case it means that when I read this book I saw Marvel EVERYwhere I looked.
Marvel politics? Check. The plot centers around a minority group with special powers which is trying to do the right thing but being persecuted by small-minded bigoted conspiracy theorists. It gives an eau de anti-discrimination, but when you dig an inch deeper you realize the minority group IS concealing the truth about their actually very dangerous and creepy powers from the public, and shadowy forces ARE breaking laws/violating rights as part of a massive coverup. Oops. 😬 Violating rights/laws/policies is bad, except when the people you like do it, and then it’s cool and good? Shout out to the police PR guy putting his personal defense of his secret coworker girlfriend into a press release and then publishing it without clearing it with the bosses first. In the story’s view, a heroic move! Classic Marvel vibes tbh.
Marvel choppiness? Check. Logic will always be sacrificed in favorite of a gag or a zinger. Like this: “’Not my fault no one pays me piles of money to hunt rich dicks who probably jerk off to their own reflection.’ Reece immediately winced. ‘I didn’t mean that.’” I get what this is meant to accomplish from a story perspective - Reece takes his righteous indignation a little too far and ends up saying something uncharitable to Grayson. Then he feels bad (see, he’s an empath but that doesn’t mean he always does the right thing - he’s a person too!) and Grayson gets a lil bit of high ground, as a treat. But all Reece said was that Grayson gets paid piles of money to hunt down people who suck….. What’s insulting about that??? If you actually think about the content of the words rather than the way they’re framed, they make no sense. Again, definitely a Marvel “we spliced the actor saying this in front of a green screen into a new scene where they’re saying it to someone new, but it still basically makes sense if you don’t think about it too hard” kind of thing.
Marvel sexlessness? Check. Look I realize this is somewhat due to the premise (it’s the “they’re into each other but they can’t touch or very bad things will happen” vibe) but like - has Allie Therin maybe not seen Pushing Daisies? There is so much potential for slow burn fun, and yet this book treats the “romance” “plot” as though it’s nonexistent. 😭 Give me a frisson at the very least!! But there’s enough about it to cover the requisites (Reece thinks Grayson is hot. Check.) and just… absolutely no more. Even any reference to sex/romance is truly in that Marvel movie PG-13 “we can make jokes about sex but NO VIBES, actors, please treat it like a Ken doll situation!” kinda way.
Look… I could keep listing Marvel-a-likes but at a certain point I do have to admit that I *did* see pretty much all of the Marvel movies (if you couldn’t tell lol), so my complaining about the style is clearly uh half-hearted.
And I want to give this author serious credit because the “must protect innocent squawky fragile little bird by controlling and manipulating them” thing being SO completely baked into the story - what a bold, funny swing! I really was not expecting that.
And the plot was actually quite good - excellent fast pace and there were some twists later on re. the empath ~mythology~ that I thought were really interesting and unexpected.
If anything I would have loved for this book to have more *story* and more *characters* and fewer zingers/punchy action moments.
The 4th/5th Amendment stuff at the beginning was also really fun for this attorney to think about - while I don’t know that I agree with the way this author has chosen to apply those amendments to the empath concept, she did it with enough detail that I wasn’t annoyed, I just wanted to discuss it with people further, which lbr for a legal topic is the ultimate compliment. Maybe all I have to say is that these authors should start giving me a call before they write this pro-cop/DOD/natsec content into their books without thinking it through. It’s possible to be bad-ass and stop the bad guys and not violate people’s rights along the way, I promise! Your characters can do it, I believe in them!
Idk in sum I guess I will say that this author is in the category of authors where if they took my extensive feedback to heart I would probably love their books! However, as it is… enh lol. I will say for anyone who did like this a lot, may I recommend No Gods For Drowning by Hailey Piper, which I had a very similar reaction to!
Me: Yes, hello, I am hater #1 of this trope. You called?
AT: …But see, what if I specifically design the paranormal premise to make lying to some people good actually? See, there are these people called empaths, and if they hear too much bad stuff, they literally lose it. They’re just fragile baby birds and lying to them is actually the *only* moral and practical thing to do, and they should and will thank you for it!
Me: …oh damn. Oh no.
Here’s the situation. I DNFed Spellbound by this author and subsequently read a review that said it gave off the aura of being based on Stucky fanfiction. And now I just can’t get that possibility out of my head. Have I been Marvel-pilled?? I can’t remember if being something-pilled means you hate it or you love it, but in this case it means that when I read this book I saw Marvel EVERYwhere I looked.
Marvel politics? Check. The plot centers around a minority group with special powers which is trying to do the right thing but being persecuted by small-minded bigoted conspiracy theorists. It gives an eau de anti-discrimination, but when you dig an inch deeper you realize the minority group IS concealing the truth about their actually very dangerous and creepy powers from the public, and shadowy forces ARE breaking laws/violating rights as part of a massive coverup. Oops. 😬 Violating rights/laws/policies is bad, except when the people you like do it, and then it’s cool and good? Shout out to the police PR guy putting his personal defense of his secret coworker girlfriend into a press release and then publishing it without clearing it with the bosses first. In the story’s view, a heroic move! Classic Marvel vibes tbh.
Marvel choppiness? Check. Logic will always be sacrificed in favorite of a gag or a zinger. Like this: “’Not my fault no one pays me piles of money to hunt rich dicks who probably jerk off to their own reflection.’ Reece immediately winced. ‘I didn’t mean that.’” I get what this is meant to accomplish from a story perspective - Reece takes his righteous indignation a little too far and ends up saying something uncharitable to Grayson. Then he feels bad (see, he’s an empath but that doesn’t mean he always does the right thing - he’s a person too!) and Grayson gets a lil bit of high ground, as a treat. But all Reece said was that Grayson gets paid piles of money to hunt down people who suck….. What’s insulting about that??? If you actually think about the content of the words rather than the way they’re framed, they make no sense. Again, definitely a Marvel “we spliced the actor saying this in front of a green screen into a new scene where they’re saying it to someone new, but it still basically makes sense if you don’t think about it too hard” kind of thing.
Marvel sexlessness? Check. Look I realize this is somewhat due to the premise (it’s the “they’re into each other but they can’t touch or very bad things will happen” vibe) but like - has Allie Therin maybe not seen Pushing Daisies? There is so much potential for slow burn fun, and yet this book treats the “romance” “plot” as though it’s nonexistent. 😭 Give me a frisson at the very least!! But there’s enough about it to cover the requisites (Reece thinks Grayson is hot. Check.) and just… absolutely no more. Even any reference to sex/romance is truly in that Marvel movie PG-13 “we can make jokes about sex but NO VIBES, actors, please treat it like a Ken doll situation!” kinda way.
Look… I could keep listing Marvel-a-likes but at a certain point I do have to admit that I *did* see pretty much all of the Marvel movies (if you couldn’t tell lol), so my complaining about the style is clearly uh half-hearted.
And I want to give this author serious credit because the “must protect innocent squawky fragile little bird by controlling and manipulating them” thing being SO completely baked into the story - what a bold, funny swing! I really was not expecting that.
And the plot was actually quite good - excellent fast pace and there were some twists later on re. the empath ~mythology~ that I thought were really interesting and unexpected.
If anything I would have loved for this book to have more *story* and more *characters* and fewer zingers/punchy action moments.
The 4th/5th Amendment stuff at the beginning was also really fun for this attorney to think about - while I don’t know that I agree with the way this author has chosen to apply those amendments to the empath concept, she did it with enough detail that I wasn’t annoyed, I just wanted to discuss it with people further, which lbr for a legal topic is the ultimate compliment. Maybe all I have to say is that these authors should start giving me a call before they write this pro-cop/DOD/natsec content into their books without thinking it through. It’s possible to be bad-ass and stop the bad guys and not violate people’s rights along the way, I promise! Your characters can do it, I believe in them!
Idk in sum I guess I will say that this author is in the category of authors where if they took my extensive feedback to heart I would probably love their books! However, as it is… enh lol. I will say for anyone who did like this a lot, may I recommend No Gods For Drowning by Hailey Piper, which I had a very similar reaction to!
Read
February 25, 2023I’ve read the first two of Allie Therin’s Magic in Manhattan series, and for the most part really enjoyed them. Insofar as I had reservations, it was that I dug the characters, but the worldbuilding and magic stuff kind of imploded.
In this case, I had pretty much the opposite reaction. I am intrigued by the setup and the outlines of this world of (newly discovered) empaths – and the backlash sparked by their supposed mind control powers – but I just couldn’t with the main character. For all that Reece is an empath, he reads like someone with the emotional intelligence, maturity, and impulse control of your average 5-year-old – with the equally strong conviction that he is RIGHT!, everyone else is WRONG! *tantrum* *woe is me*.
The constant POV shifts at least got us out of Reece’s head for a while, at the cost of being too many and too much, creating a stop-start narrative that was frustrating rather than tension-raising. Indeed, I found myself befuddled much of the time, either from baffling logic leaps Reece was making that had no grounding in the text, or obvious logic leaps Reece wasn't making that made him seem like a dunderhead.
After pulling myself through the first 20 percent or so, I put this aside in exasperation since the HCP strike had started and I figured I would be holding the review anyway. I resumed reading with a resolution to stop being Mean! Kathleen, but alas. Mean! Kathleen can only be held off so long. Indeed, it only took another section of Reece for Mean! Kathleen to come roaring back. At which point I realized that I will never buy Reece as a convincing romantic hero (I should note that the author has advised that the romance is a very slow burn, stretching out over the course of the series – so adjust expectations accordingly). And because I simply wasn’t invested enough in the mystery to push on considering my antipathy to one of the main characters (Mean! Kathleen is impatient) -- dnf with no hard feelings at 34%.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC! Much as I dislike dnf'ing ARCs, I think it's better for everyone if I peace out here. This is (obviously) my unvarnished review.
In this case, I had pretty much the opposite reaction. I am intrigued by the setup and the outlines of this world of (newly discovered) empaths – and the backlash sparked by their supposed mind control powers – but I just couldn’t with the main character. For all that Reece is an empath, he reads like someone with the emotional intelligence, maturity, and impulse control of your average 5-year-old – with the equally strong conviction that he is RIGHT!, everyone else is WRONG! *tantrum* *woe is me*.
The constant POV shifts at least got us out of Reece’s head for a while, at the cost of being too many and too much, creating a stop-start narrative that was frustrating rather than tension-raising. Indeed, I found myself befuddled much of the time, either from baffling logic leaps Reece was making that had no grounding in the text, or obvious logic leaps Reece wasn't making that made him seem like a dunderhead.
After pulling myself through the first 20 percent or so, I put this aside in exasperation since the HCP strike had started and I figured I would be holding the review anyway. I resumed reading with a resolution to stop being Mean! Kathleen, but alas. Mean! Kathleen can only be held off so long. Indeed, it only took another section of Reece for Mean! Kathleen to come roaring back. At which point I realized that I will never buy Reece as a convincing romantic hero (I should note that the author has advised that the romance is a very slow burn, stretching out over the course of the series – so adjust expectations accordingly). And because I simply wasn’t invested enough in the mystery to push on considering my antipathy to one of the main characters (Mean! Kathleen is impatient) -- dnf with no hard feelings at 34%.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC! Much as I dislike dnf'ing ARCs, I think it's better for everyone if I peace out here. This is (obviously) my unvarnished review.
March 3, 2026
˗ˏˋ ★★★★★ ˎˊ˗
֪ 🗯️ ׁ ۪ ⋆ᝆ ׁ ❝ Maybe humans aren't meant to hurt each other the way we do, and maybe that's why some hearts are too soft to stand it. ❞
︶꒦꒷₊˖˚₊ ✎‧ Trigger Warning:
❏ murder
❏ brief body horror
❏ blood/injury
❏ implied torture
❏ bigotry/prejudice
❏ mind control/lack of autonomy
‿︵‿︵‿୨ ୧‿︵‿︵‿
ABOUT
╰──ིੑ🍓ᬉ the plot…
“Liar City” is a paranormal urban fantasy that takes place in Seattle. In this world, there is the mutated gene of empathy, which allows select people to read another person’s emotions with their touch. Unfortunately, the rest of the world was not prepared for this change. Anti-empathy sentiment is strongly rooted in this world’s politics. Reece, one of two empaths in Seattle, is about to learn there’s more to being an empath than he ever realized. And his teacher? The last person he would’ve ever suspected.
Allie Therin breathes life into this alternate version of Seattle through her lead cast: Jamey, Reece’s older sister, Reece, Grayson, and several others. This is a multiple pov book, jumping from character-to-character as needed.
I admit, some aspects of this world confused me. The world building was complex, the powers not quite yet understood. The reader isn’t given all the pieces we’re playing with until the very end, and then everything sort of clicks into place. Now that I have the full perspective, I must admit there are still some answers that allude me. Stone in particular is a character whose true intention I’ll never fully understand. He hates empaths, and yet he insists on poking the bear?
There was also the subplot with Jamey and Agent Nolan that left a sour taste in my mouth. I can’t believe how easily swayed she was then.
Some of the back and forth between Reece, Jamey, and Grayson got too repetitive for me to ignore. Particularly Reece’s inability to follow directions, and Jamey and Reece continuously calling Grayson an “empath hunter.”
But the plot sparked excitement in me that I haven’t felt reading a book in a while. There was a flutter in my pulse every time the action intensified. I was on the edge of my seat, unspooling this mystery bit-by-bit, determined to unravel the deeper meaning. All the players in this game have the right amount of screen time to make the story work.
While the romance is a slow, slow burn and there’s brief moments that suggest sparks are flying, I don’t recommend this book for the romance. Yes, it uses enticing enemies-to-lovers taglines. And there is chemistry between Reece and Grayson that is palpable and endearing. The focus of the plot, however, remains on the plight of empath’s worldwide and on Reece’s… peculiar predicament.
That said, I do always think that fantasy stories using magical people who can be and are potentially dangerous as an allegory for real world bigotry is a slippery slope. I’m not sure how I feel about the oppressive force (anti-empaths) having some of their concerns validated by the story. Likewise, I think it can perpetuate a harmful stereotype by implying the marginalized group may be ‘destined’ to cause harm. While this theory is disproven throughout the events of the novel, I think the real world implications are something to consider. I admit I have always had a weakness for these kinds of stories, though. I grew up watching X-Men. And from a purely fictional standpoint, I found Reece’s journey to (startling) self-discovery captivating.
︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦‧ ₊˚・
╰──ིੑ🍓ᬉ the dialogue…
Okay. So this is the one area of the book that’s hit or miss for me, truly. Reece’s sarcasm is sometimes hilarious, sometimes cringey, and sometimes downright inflammatory. Why does he insist on giving every anti-empath fuel to add to the fire? I don’t know. The gag in the book is mildly amusing but also frustrating when you consider the harm he’s probably caused in-world for other empaths 😅
If you can get past some of the cringey lines, the dialogue doesn’t weight the story down too much.
︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦‧ ₊˚・
╰──ིੑ🍓ᬉ the cliches…
I adored these characters. I read a few other reviews and saw some people found Reece annoying. I can see where they’re coming from. I couldn’t help but love him, though. He’s not the brightest by a long shot, but he’s got heart and compassion and layers to him that a lot of other protagonists don’t. And Grayson comes off as a gruff, bad boy trope, but… well. Okay. Grayson’s character is the usual ‘but wait! There’s more!’ morally gray character who has ✨ layers and complexity ✨ but I think the way he and Reece bantered and interacted made the cliche lovable. Really, truly lovable.
The villains are pretty predictable in my opinion. It’s the complexity of empathy and what Therin did with it in her world that made the whole thing so thrilling for me. I didn’t expect her to take it in the direction that she did. Every twist and turn slowly had me going ‘aha! I knew it’ and ‘wait, what?’ and ‘oh my god. What does this mean?’ I just love books that can help me connect the dots myself while also keeping enough mystery to have me hooked.
︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦‧ ₊˚・
╰──ིੑ🍓ᬉ overall thoughts…
Is this a plot line I’ve seen before? Somewhat, yes. I think of Six of Crows or X-Men, for example. Magical characters who endure discrimination because of what they can do. But each of these stories puts their own unique twists on them. This book took all the tropes that I personally love and wrote them in a way that appeals to me. Maybe this book isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. I think it was great. A wild ride from beginning to end, there’s just enough seriousness to have your heart hammering the entire time while also keeping in enough humor to prevent it from being too traumatic
֪ 🗯️ ׁ ۪ ⋆ᝆ ׁ ❝ Maybe humans aren't meant to hurt each other the way we do, and maybe that's why some hearts are too soft to stand it. ❞
︶꒦꒷₊˖˚₊ ✎‧ Trigger Warning:
❏ murder
❏ brief body horror
❏ blood/injury
❏ implied torture
❏ bigotry/prejudice
❏ mind control/lack of autonomy
‿︵‿︵‿୨ ୧‿︵‿︵‿
ABOUT
╰──ིੑ🍓ᬉ the plot…
“Liar City” is a paranormal urban fantasy that takes place in Seattle. In this world, there is the mutated gene of empathy, which allows select people to read another person’s emotions with their touch. Unfortunately, the rest of the world was not prepared for this change. Anti-empathy sentiment is strongly rooted in this world’s politics. Reece, one of two empaths in Seattle, is about to learn there’s more to being an empath than he ever realized. And his teacher? The last person he would’ve ever suspected.
Allie Therin breathes life into this alternate version of Seattle through her lead cast: Jamey, Reece’s older sister, Reece, Grayson, and several others. This is a multiple pov book, jumping from character-to-character as needed.
I admit, some aspects of this world confused me. The world building was complex, the powers not quite yet understood. The reader isn’t given all the pieces we’re playing with until the very end, and then everything sort of clicks into place. Now that I have the full perspective, I must admit there are still some answers that allude me. Stone in particular is a character whose true intention I’ll never fully understand. He hates empaths, and yet he insists on poking the bear?
There was also the subplot with Jamey and Agent Nolan that left a sour taste in my mouth. I can’t believe how easily swayed she was then.
Some of the back and forth between Reece, Jamey, and Grayson got too repetitive for me to ignore. Particularly Reece’s inability to follow directions, and Jamey and Reece continuously calling Grayson an “empath hunter.”
But the plot sparked excitement in me that I haven’t felt reading a book in a while. There was a flutter in my pulse every time the action intensified. I was on the edge of my seat, unspooling this mystery bit-by-bit, determined to unravel the deeper meaning. All the players in this game have the right amount of screen time to make the story work.
While the romance is a slow, slow burn and there’s brief moments that suggest sparks are flying, I don’t recommend this book for the romance. Yes, it uses enticing enemies-to-lovers taglines. And there is chemistry between Reece and Grayson that is palpable and endearing. The focus of the plot, however, remains on the plight of empath’s worldwide and on Reece’s… peculiar predicament.
That said, I do always think that fantasy stories using magical people who can be and are potentially dangerous as an allegory for real world bigotry is a slippery slope. I’m not sure how I feel about the oppressive force (anti-empaths) having some of their concerns validated by the story. Likewise, I think it can perpetuate a harmful stereotype by implying the marginalized group may be ‘destined’ to cause harm. While this theory is disproven throughout the events of the novel, I think the real world implications are something to consider. I admit I have always had a weakness for these kinds of stories, though. I grew up watching X-Men. And from a purely fictional standpoint, I found Reece’s journey to (startling) self-discovery captivating.
︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦‧ ₊˚・
╰──ིੑ🍓ᬉ the dialogue…
Okay. So this is the one area of the book that’s hit or miss for me, truly. Reece’s sarcasm is sometimes hilarious, sometimes cringey, and sometimes downright inflammatory. Why does he insist on giving every anti-empath fuel to add to the fire? I don’t know. The gag in the book is mildly amusing but also frustrating when you consider the harm he’s probably caused in-world for other empaths 😅
If you can get past some of the cringey lines, the dialogue doesn’t weight the story down too much.
︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦‧ ₊˚・
╰──ིੑ🍓ᬉ the cliches…
I adored these characters. I read a few other reviews and saw some people found Reece annoying. I can see where they’re coming from. I couldn’t help but love him, though. He’s not the brightest by a long shot, but he’s got heart and compassion and layers to him that a lot of other protagonists don’t. And Grayson comes off as a gruff, bad boy trope, but… well. Okay. Grayson’s character is the usual ‘but wait! There’s more!’ morally gray character who has ✨ layers and complexity ✨ but I think the way he and Reece bantered and interacted made the cliche lovable. Really, truly lovable.
The villains are pretty predictable in my opinion. It’s the complexity of empathy and what Therin did with it in her world that made the whole thing so thrilling for me. I didn’t expect her to take it in the direction that she did. Every twist and turn slowly had me going ‘aha! I knew it’ and ‘wait, what?’ and ‘oh my god. What does this mean?’ I just love books that can help me connect the dots myself while also keeping enough mystery to have me hooked.
︶꒦︶꒷︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶꒷꒦‧ ₊˚・
╰──ིੑ🍓ᬉ overall thoughts…
Is this a plot line I’ve seen before? Somewhat, yes. I think of Six of Crows or X-Men, for example. Magical characters who endure discrimination because of what they can do. But each of these stories puts their own unique twists on them. This book took all the tropes that I personally love and wrote them in a way that appeals to me. Maybe this book isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. I think it was great. A wild ride from beginning to end, there’s just enough seriousness to have your heart hammering the entire time while also keeping in enough humor to prevent it from being too traumatic
March 12, 2023
I'm kinda maybe addicted.
March 30, 2023
I've given this an A- at AAR, so 4.5 stars rounded up.
Allie Therin moves from East to West and from the 1920s to the present day for her new Sugar & Spice series of paranormals set in an AU Seattle. Her début series – Magic in Manhattan – is a clever and imaginative combination of romance and magical adventure set in prohibition-era New York, and I enjoyed it a lot, even though I felt the overarching plot took a while to really hit its stride. But Ms. Therin’s latest release, Liar City, comes strong out of the gate and had me hooked right from the start. The story is an intriguing, fast-paced murder mystery where nothing is quite as it seems, the lines between good and evil are blurred and you’ll find yourself thinking about who the real monsters are and who the victims. It’s a strong start to what promises to be a compelling series, but one thing I have to say right now is don’t go into this book expecting an HEA or HFN, because there isn’t one. Even though it’s published by Carina Adores (an LGBTQ+ romance publisher) and is very clearly labelled as a romance on Amazon, it is NOT a romance in the generally accepted sense. (The two leads don’t even touch deliberately – their one accidental touch knocks one of them unconscious!) That said, this is only the first book in a series and it’s clear the author is setting up a very slooooow-burn.
Reece Davis is one of only two empaths in Seattle. Empaths can read other people’s emotions, but are subject to very strict regulations – such as having to wear special gloves whenever they are out in public, which not only identify them but also prevent them from reading people should they accidentally touch them. Empaths are avowed pacifists who are incredibly sensitive to acts of violence and would allow themselves to be hurt rather than hurt someone else – but despite that they are feared and mistrusted by many, who believe they are a threat to democracy, and this has given rise to conspiracy-theorist lobby groups and think-tanks, companies like Stone Solutions (which develops and manufactures anti-empathy devices), and to a new anti-empath bill designed to strip empaths of basic civil rights.
Reece is battling yet another bout of insomnia when he gets a phone call from an unknown number telling him that his sister, who is a detective with the Seattle PD, has just landed the biggest case of her career and needs his help. When asked, the caller says he’s Evan Grayson – which means nothing to Reece – but if there’s even a chance that Jamey needs him, Reece is going to be there. Detective Briony St. James has been called to the small Orca’s Gate Marina where three people – including a US senator, the originator of the new anti-empathy bill – have been brutally murdered aboard the yacht belonging to Cedric Stone (CEO of Stone Solutions). When Reece arrives, he can see Jamey is more than a bit rattled, and when he tells her who called him, she becomes even moreso, practically marching him towards one of their makeshift tents and instructing him firmly to stay put. The name Evan Grayson clearly means something to her, but she refuses to discuss it, saying only that she’s worried he’s going to show up.
When Reece gets the chance to check Google, he realises why Jamie was so squirrely and intent on getting him as far away from Seattle as possible. Evan Grayson is the Dead Man – but the Dead Man is just a scary story, isn’t he? A kind of bogeyman invented to frighten empaths into toeing the line, an agent who operates in the shadows and outside the law to protect the public from the perceived dangers of empathy should an empath so much as think about pushing the boundaries. But Evan Grayson – the Dead Man – is no myth. He’s real. And he has Reece’s number.
The author keeps a lot of plates spinning in this story, and does it very well indeed. While Jamey is investigating the murders from one angle, Reece has no choice but to tag along with Grayson for his own protection while Grayson pursues other lines of inquiry. Reece is not best pleased with the situation, and is never sure whether Grayson is friend or foe – remaining unenightened by the man himself who, on the one hand, seems disposed to keep Reece out of trouble, and on the other insists no empath – Reece especially – should trust him. With the death toll increasing, Reece starts to realise some pretty disturbing truths, ones he finds hard to accept at first, but which he nonetheless knows to be true, and to understand more about exactly what triggered the Dead Man’s involvement in the case. Worse, Reece is starting to realise that the change in his own abilities over the past few months may somehow be an indicator of an encroaching kind of madness which could easily be turned against everyone around him. The big question is – is the Dead Man here to help him… or stop him?
As I said at the outset, Liar City isn’t really a romance, but there’s more than a hint at the possibility of one in the slight-but-definitely-there tension that underlies the relationship between Reece and Grayson. It’s complicated, shifting between animosity, betrayal and uncertain collaboration, eventually settling on a kind of mutual respect and, on Reece’s part at least, a teeny bit of attraction. But there’s a lot in between, not least because Grayson is so inscrutable. On the one hand, there’s his gruff protectiveness towards Reece, the gentle teasing and the nicknames (Care Bear!); on the other, he’s ruthless and completely unemotional, he appears to be above the law and to have unlimited resources to do whatever the hell he wants. He’s a complete mystery and only at the very end of the book do we learn even a tiny bit about why he’s the way he is, and even then, it poses more questions than it offers answers.
I liked Reece a lot. Like Rory in the Magic in Manhattan books, he’s small in stature but snarky as hell; his propensity for sarcasm frequently lands him in hot water (and goes straight over most people’s heads) but he doesn’t suffer fools and I’m a sucker for his particular brand of scrappy. Reece may be a pacifist who throws up at the faintest hint of violence, but he’s not afraid to fight with words or stand up for what he believes in.
The story is told in both Reece’s and Jamey’s PoV, which allows the reader to follow the different aspects of the murder investigation. Jamey is great – she’s totally kick-arse, takes no crap and I enjoyed her dynamic with Grayson – but I can’t deny that the PoV switches were sometimes a bit frustrating. Also a bit odd is the fact that the Dead Man is widely believed to be an urban myth, but he inspires a very real fear, and although nobody is supposed to have met him, suddenly everyone knows who he is and what he looks like. I wanted to know more about how it was that Grayson was able to take precedence over both local law enforcement and the FBI and do whatever he wanted, although I hope that maybe that will become clearer in future books.
Despite those niggles, Liar City gets a big thumbs up from me. I liked the characters – much as in her earlier series, Allie Therin has created a small ensemble cast around her leads – the setting and the worldbuilding, and the anti-empathy sentiment is written so chillingly that it has a visceral impact. As I said at the beginning, this is a mystery with just the tinest hints of a potential romance somewhere down the line, but I think it’ll be worth the wait. I’ll definitely be continuing with the Sugar & Vice series, and I’m looking forward to finding out what’s in store for Reece and Grayson next.
ETA: The author has said in her newsletter that there will be an HEA, and that there are three books in the series.
Allie Therin moves from East to West and from the 1920s to the present day for her new Sugar & Spice series of paranormals set in an AU Seattle. Her début series – Magic in Manhattan – is a clever and imaginative combination of romance and magical adventure set in prohibition-era New York, and I enjoyed it a lot, even though I felt the overarching plot took a while to really hit its stride. But Ms. Therin’s latest release, Liar City, comes strong out of the gate and had me hooked right from the start. The story is an intriguing, fast-paced murder mystery where nothing is quite as it seems, the lines between good and evil are blurred and you’ll find yourself thinking about who the real monsters are and who the victims. It’s a strong start to what promises to be a compelling series, but one thing I have to say right now is don’t go into this book expecting an HEA or HFN, because there isn’t one. Even though it’s published by Carina Adores (an LGBTQ+ romance publisher) and is very clearly labelled as a romance on Amazon, it is NOT a romance in the generally accepted sense. (The two leads don’t even touch deliberately – their one accidental touch knocks one of them unconscious!) That said, this is only the first book in a series and it’s clear the author is setting up a very slooooow-burn.
Reece Davis is one of only two empaths in Seattle. Empaths can read other people’s emotions, but are subject to very strict regulations – such as having to wear special gloves whenever they are out in public, which not only identify them but also prevent them from reading people should they accidentally touch them. Empaths are avowed pacifists who are incredibly sensitive to acts of violence and would allow themselves to be hurt rather than hurt someone else – but despite that they are feared and mistrusted by many, who believe they are a threat to democracy, and this has given rise to conspiracy-theorist lobby groups and think-tanks, companies like Stone Solutions (which develops and manufactures anti-empathy devices), and to a new anti-empath bill designed to strip empaths of basic civil rights.
Reece is battling yet another bout of insomnia when he gets a phone call from an unknown number telling him that his sister, who is a detective with the Seattle PD, has just landed the biggest case of her career and needs his help. When asked, the caller says he’s Evan Grayson – which means nothing to Reece – but if there’s even a chance that Jamey needs him, Reece is going to be there. Detective Briony St. James has been called to the small Orca’s Gate Marina where three people – including a US senator, the originator of the new anti-empathy bill – have been brutally murdered aboard the yacht belonging to Cedric Stone (CEO of Stone Solutions). When Reece arrives, he can see Jamey is more than a bit rattled, and when he tells her who called him, she becomes even moreso, practically marching him towards one of their makeshift tents and instructing him firmly to stay put. The name Evan Grayson clearly means something to her, but she refuses to discuss it, saying only that she’s worried he’s going to show up.
When Reece gets the chance to check Google, he realises why Jamie was so squirrely and intent on getting him as far away from Seattle as possible. Evan Grayson is the Dead Man – but the Dead Man is just a scary story, isn’t he? A kind of bogeyman invented to frighten empaths into toeing the line, an agent who operates in the shadows and outside the law to protect the public from the perceived dangers of empathy should an empath so much as think about pushing the boundaries. But Evan Grayson – the Dead Man – is no myth. He’s real. And he has Reece’s number.
The author keeps a lot of plates spinning in this story, and does it very well indeed. While Jamey is investigating the murders from one angle, Reece has no choice but to tag along with Grayson for his own protection while Grayson pursues other lines of inquiry. Reece is not best pleased with the situation, and is never sure whether Grayson is friend or foe – remaining unenightened by the man himself who, on the one hand, seems disposed to keep Reece out of trouble, and on the other insists no empath – Reece especially – should trust him. With the death toll increasing, Reece starts to realise some pretty disturbing truths, ones he finds hard to accept at first, but which he nonetheless knows to be true, and to understand more about exactly what triggered the Dead Man’s involvement in the case. Worse, Reece is starting to realise that the change in his own abilities over the past few months may somehow be an indicator of an encroaching kind of madness which could easily be turned against everyone around him. The big question is – is the Dead Man here to help him… or stop him?
As I said at the outset, Liar City isn’t really a romance, but there’s more than a hint at the possibility of one in the slight-but-definitely-there tension that underlies the relationship between Reece and Grayson. It’s complicated, shifting between animosity, betrayal and uncertain collaboration, eventually settling on a kind of mutual respect and, on Reece’s part at least, a teeny bit of attraction. But there’s a lot in between, not least because Grayson is so inscrutable. On the one hand, there’s his gruff protectiveness towards Reece, the gentle teasing and the nicknames (Care Bear!); on the other, he’s ruthless and completely unemotional, he appears to be above the law and to have unlimited resources to do whatever the hell he wants. He’s a complete mystery and only at the very end of the book do we learn even a tiny bit about why he’s the way he is, and even then, it poses more questions than it offers answers.
I liked Reece a lot. Like Rory in the Magic in Manhattan books, he’s small in stature but snarky as hell; his propensity for sarcasm frequently lands him in hot water (and goes straight over most people’s heads) but he doesn’t suffer fools and I’m a sucker for his particular brand of scrappy. Reece may be a pacifist who throws up at the faintest hint of violence, but he’s not afraid to fight with words or stand up for what he believes in.
The story is told in both Reece’s and Jamey’s PoV, which allows the reader to follow the different aspects of the murder investigation. Jamey is great – she’s totally kick-arse, takes no crap and I enjoyed her dynamic with Grayson – but I can’t deny that the PoV switches were sometimes a bit frustrating. Also a bit odd is the fact that the Dead Man is widely believed to be an urban myth, but he inspires a very real fear, and although nobody is supposed to have met him, suddenly everyone knows who he is and what he looks like. I wanted to know more about how it was that Grayson was able to take precedence over both local law enforcement and the FBI and do whatever he wanted, although I hope that maybe that will become clearer in future books.
Despite those niggles, Liar City gets a big thumbs up from me. I liked the characters – much as in her earlier series, Allie Therin has created a small ensemble cast around her leads – the setting and the worldbuilding, and the anti-empathy sentiment is written so chillingly that it has a visceral impact. As I said at the beginning, this is a mystery with just the tinest hints of a potential romance somewhere down the line, but I think it’ll be worth the wait. I’ll definitely be continuing with the Sugar & Vice series, and I’m looking forward to finding out what’s in store for Reece and Grayson next.
ETA: The author has said in her newsletter that there will be an HEA, and that there are three books in the series.
November 9, 2022
thank you to netgalley for this arc -
I have been struggling with a way to convey how much I LOVE this book that isn't just a sequence of keyboard smashes ala a 2012 Tumblr blog and then only other way I can think to express myself is that HOLY SHIT THIS BOOK IS AMAZING.
I will say right now that this is the best book I have read this year, maybe in the last two or three years, and since it releases in 2023 it will probably be the best book I read next year too. It's like the book was handwritten with me in mind.
It's like X-Men, but you add a lot of bisexuality and the Sentinels aren't giant murder robots but instead there's only one and he's gorgeous southern man who doesn't outwardly display emotion but it's somewhere deep under the surface. The world building is brilliant, in the story itself and ingeniously done in small asides from various corners of the universe at the beginning of every chapter, you learn so much about the world from small 1--
Reece is probably one of my favorite main characters I've read in a long time. He's a pacifist by genetics, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have bite. He may not hut people physically but his sarcasm should be registered as a deadly weapon. I thought it was a brilliant way to create a pacifist character who is non-violent by design but isn't afraid to fight with his words. He's adorable, he's spicy, and he made my heart swell.
There isn't much I can say about Grayson without getting too spoilery, and I think people really need to read for themselves and find out. But what I will say is that I love him, I need to know everything about him, and that I love him.
The breakout star of the book to me though, was Reece's sister Jamey. I would read an entire book about her. She's fearless, she's a bad ass, and I'm terrified and in love with her. So much about her was a mystery through the book, but the things you learn are such a great payoff and the unique dynamic she has with Grayson is amazing. I would 100000% read a dysfunctional buddy cop book about them and love every minute.
To make a long review short, buy this when it is out, read this when it is out, and fall in love with this when it is out just like I did.
I need the second book yesterday kthnksbye
I have been struggling with a way to convey how much I LOVE this book that isn't just a sequence of keyboard smashes ala a 2012 Tumblr blog and then only other way I can think to express myself is that HOLY SHIT THIS BOOK IS AMAZING.
I will say right now that this is the best book I have read this year, maybe in the last two or three years, and since it releases in 2023 it will probably be the best book I read next year too. It's like the book was handwritten with me in mind.
It's like X-Men, but you add a lot of bisexuality and the Sentinels aren't giant murder robots but instead there's only one and he's gorgeous southern man who doesn't outwardly display emotion but it's somewhere deep under the surface. The world building is brilliant, in the story itself and ingeniously done in small asides from various corners of the universe at the beginning of every chapter, you learn so much about the world from small 1--
Reece is probably one of my favorite main characters I've read in a long time. He's a pacifist by genetics, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have bite. He may not hut people physically but his sarcasm should be registered as a deadly weapon. I thought it was a brilliant way to create a pacifist character who is non-violent by design but isn't afraid to fight with his words. He's adorable, he's spicy, and he made my heart swell.
There isn't much I can say about Grayson without getting too spoilery, and I think people really need to read for themselves and find out. But what I will say is that I love him, I need to know everything about him, and that I love him.
The breakout star of the book to me though, was Reece's sister Jamey. I would read an entire book about her. She's fearless, she's a bad ass, and I'm terrified and in love with her. So much about her was a mystery through the book, but the things you learn are such a great payoff and the unique dynamic she has with Grayson is amazing. I would 100000% read a dysfunctional buddy cop book about them and love every minute.
To make a long review short, buy this when it is out, read this when it is out, and fall in love with this when it is out just like I did.
I need the second book yesterday kthnksbye
February 8, 2023
5 / 5 ⭐️‘s
“Liar City” by Allie Therin @allietherin
"You don't have to cuff me. I'll stay put."
"You haven't stayed put even once today. You think I'm gonna take chances now?"
Admittedly, I was drawn to this book by the cover. I knew immediately seeing the Space Needle on it that it would be set in Seattle and PNW area.
I was hooked right off the bat with the Sci-Fi & Fantasy elements of the story and each chapter left me wanting more.
The sexual tension between Reece and The Dead Man is palpable and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book!
(Pub Date: 02/28/23)
Thank you to @allietherin & @netgalley for the eARC!
“Liar City” by Allie Therin @allietherin
"You don't have to cuff me. I'll stay put."
"You haven't stayed put even once today. You think I'm gonna take chances now?"
Admittedly, I was drawn to this book by the cover. I knew immediately seeing the Space Needle on it that it would be set in Seattle and PNW area.
I was hooked right off the bat with the Sci-Fi & Fantasy elements of the story and each chapter left me wanting more.
The sexual tension between Reece and The Dead Man is palpable and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book!
(Pub Date: 02/28/23)
Thank you to @allietherin & @netgalley for the eARC!
April 29, 2026
Omggggg, I can feel it building, the slow buuurrrrnnn 🔥😍🤗. Now all I have to do is not read the next book until the third is released in June…no matter how many reviewers are raving about it on my feed. Don’t do it Katyyyyy - you know betterrrrrrrr. DO. NOT. DO. IT.🥹
December 19, 2022
The good
+ Reece's sarcasm
+ Reece's excessive need to keep people on the right track, and compliment them for good decisions. Professional driver is an asshole to Reece? Compliment him for drinking water instead of alcohol. Security officer gets laid off for trying to remove Reece from a building? Argue for him to be reinstated, because he was just doing his job
+ Reece being such an angry, angry cinnamon roll
+ Reece's obsession with responsible driving
+ Jamey. She's the best sister ever
+ Liam. Jamey got damn lucky with that one
+ True enemies to lovers. I mean, I think and a few death threats count as enemies, right? Not that Reece would dare blame Grayson for any of that...
+ Reece's certainty that somewhere under the blank face, Grayson has emotions
+ Grayson protecting Reece
+ The slowburn. With characters like these, anything close to a romantic connection couldn't grow within one book. And it doesn't
+ That texting conversation in the end.
The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o This book is written in third person, with multiple POVs. These include some chapters from the bad guys and minor side characters
o I have so many unanswered questions! Now I have to read the next book and hope all of them get answered
The bad
- I only got two hours of sleep because I read this book instead of sleeping
- Everyone was all "Oooh The Dead Guy is just a myth" and stuff, and nobody really knew what he looked like. But in the book suddenly everyone knew who he was and what he looked like, and he inspired a lot more fear than an urban legend should. Confusing
Quotes
x "Is all of Stone Solutions' security watching me have a panic attack?" "There are no cameras in here and it's soundproofed." "Oh, good. I was wondering where we were going to have angry hate-sex." "What kind of man do you take me for? We only just met. I save hate-sex for second dates."
Right. So. This book was great. You should read it.
+ Reece's sarcasm
+ Reece's excessive need to keep people on the right track, and compliment them for good decisions. Professional driver is an asshole to Reece? Compliment him for drinking water instead of alcohol. Security officer gets laid off for trying to remove Reece from a building? Argue for him to be reinstated, because he was just doing his job
+ Reece being such an angry, angry cinnamon roll
+ Reece's obsession with responsible driving
+ Jamey. She's the best sister ever
+ Liam. Jamey got damn lucky with that one
+ True enemies to lovers. I mean, I think and a few death threats count as enemies, right? Not that Reece would dare blame Grayson for any of that...
+ Reece's certainty that somewhere under the blank face, Grayson has emotions
+ Grayson protecting Reece
+ The slowburn. With characters like these, anything close to a romantic connection couldn't grow within one book. And it doesn't
+ That texting conversation in the end.
The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o This book is written in third person, with multiple POVs. These include some chapters from the bad guys and minor side characters
o I have so many unanswered questions! Now I have to read the next book and hope all of them get answered
The bad
- I only got two hours of sleep because I read this book instead of sleeping
- Everyone was all "Oooh The Dead Guy is just a myth" and stuff, and nobody really knew what he looked like. But in the book suddenly everyone knew who he was and what he looked like, and he inspired a lot more fear than an urban legend should. Confusing
Quotes
x "Is all of Stone Solutions' security watching me have a panic attack?" "There are no cameras in here and it's soundproofed." "Oh, good. I was wondering where we were going to have angry hate-sex." "What kind of man do you take me for? We only just met. I save hate-sex for second dates."
Right. So. This book was great. You should read it.
July 10, 2024
Ahhhhhh I loved it!!!
Excellent plot, amazing characters, a slow burn romance spanning the whole series, banter galore; just simply everything I love.
On one side we have Reece who is an empath and sassy and doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. On the other side we have the Dead Man, a cryptic mysterious man of few words who has come to investigate a crime and wants Reece by his side. To keep and eye on him, to help him, to keep him from being a menace to society with his mouth every time he gets interviewed? All of the above.
I just loved how the story started with the murder, the mystery, the introduction to a world with empaths who feel sick even just seeing violence in tv, and the way the POVs jumps from one character to the other to show us different sides of the mystery. I feel the need to have the dead man's POV in the next book, please and thank you.
While it is a murder mystery with a romance subplot, it is very slow burn, so slow that'll take the whole series for those two to have their HEA. And I'm weirdly okay with the wait because with how we saw these characters in Liar City, I feel the build it was just perfect and everything else would've felt rushed. The ending had me squealing! I do need more. Asap!
Excellent plot, amazing characters, a slow burn romance spanning the whole series, banter galore; just simply everything I love.
On one side we have Reece who is an empath and sassy and doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. On the other side we have the Dead Man, a cryptic mysterious man of few words who has come to investigate a crime and wants Reece by his side. To keep and eye on him, to help him, to keep him from being a menace to society with his mouth every time he gets interviewed? All of the above.
I just loved how the story started with the murder, the mystery, the introduction to a world with empaths who feel sick even just seeing violence in tv, and the way the POVs jumps from one character to the other to show us different sides of the mystery. I feel the need to have the dead man's POV in the next book, please and thank you.
While it is a murder mystery with a romance subplot, it is very slow burn, so slow that'll take the whole series for those two to have their HEA. And I'm weirdly okay with the wait because with how we saw these characters in Liar City, I feel the build it was just perfect and everything else would've felt rushed. The ending had me squealing! I do need more. Asap!
January 1, 2024
I'm only mad because the next book isn't out and I have a desperate need.
This book was so fun. It was a change from the genres I'm usually in and I am dying for this super slow burn. In one corner, we have the emotionless myth of a man who is shockingly young and good looking to be The Dead Man. He's sent when people are messing with empaths and fixes the problems without jurisdiction rules from any organizations. In the other corner, we have an empath who has more sass than sense and is completely exasperated to learn The Dead Man is not only real but is someone who texts when he drives and is fussy about his hair.
This was a really quick read and I loved it. There's no real romance in this one but the foundations for potential romance are laid and waiting. We have kind of a murder mystery, dysfunctional buddy-cop, paranormal book and it was so fresh.
I'm already halfway into one of Allie's other books because I'm really into her writing style. 1920s prohibition era paranormal urban fantasy here I come.
This book was so fun. It was a change from the genres I'm usually in and I am dying for this super slow burn. In one corner, we have the emotionless myth of a man who is shockingly young and good looking to be The Dead Man. He's sent when people are messing with empaths and fixes the problems without jurisdiction rules from any organizations. In the other corner, we have an empath who has more sass than sense and is completely exasperated to learn The Dead Man is not only real but is someone who texts when he drives and is fussy about his hair.
This was a really quick read and I loved it. There's no real romance in this one but the foundations for potential romance are laid and waiting. We have kind of a murder mystery, dysfunctional buddy-cop, paranormal book and it was so fresh.
I'm already halfway into one of Allie's other books because I'm really into her writing style. 1920s prohibition era paranormal urban fantasy here I come.
May 4, 2023
I listened to this on audible. I could propably listen to Joel Leslie narrating an inner monologue of a tree growing.
This is not a romance. There is no romance. There is no slowburn. There is maybe a hint of attraction between the MCs. There is no HEA, no HFN and it’s unfair to market it as such.
To be honest I don’t see a possibility for a romance in the near future for the MCs. The worldbuilding imo is limiting. Every single thing our empath MC does or says is somehow connected to him being an empath. I’m not a fan of reducing a person to a stereotypical checklist. The repetition killed me. If the romance aspect is developed in future installments I hope it’s not the idea of a perfect empath that Grayson falls for.
Grayson was an interesting character. I think the decision to deprive the reader of his POV bore fruit.
Overall I found this book interesting. Might continue the series if the romance moves faster than a snail in book two.
This is not a romance. There is no romance. There is no slowburn. There is maybe a hint of attraction between the MCs. There is no HEA, no HFN and it’s unfair to market it as such.
To be honest I don’t see a possibility for a romance in the near future for the MCs. The worldbuilding imo is limiting. Every single thing our empath MC does or says is somehow connected to him being an empath. I’m not a fan of reducing a person to a stereotypical checklist. The repetition killed me. If the romance aspect is developed in future installments I hope it’s not the idea of a perfect empath that Grayson falls for.
Grayson was an interesting character. I think the decision to deprive the reader of his POV bore fruit.
Overall I found this book interesting. Might continue the series if the romance moves faster than a snail in book two.
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