What price would you pay to rescue a friend from hell?

For Logan Conner, the answer is almost anything. Guilt-ridden over trapping his college roommate in a ghost war rooted in Portland’s pioneer past, Logan has spent years searching for a solution. Then his new boyfriend, folklorist Riley Morrel, inadvertently gives him the key. Determined to pay his debt—and keep Riley safe—Logan abandons Riley and returns to Portland, prepared to give up his freedom and his future to make things right.

Crushed by Logan’s betrayal, Riley drops out of school and takes a job on a lackluster paranormal investigation show. When the crew arrives in Portland to film an episode about a local legend of feuding ghosts, he stumbles across Logan working at a local bar, and learns the truth about Logan’s plan.

Their destinies once more intertwined, the two men attempt to reforge their relationship while dodging a narcissistic TV personality, a craven ex-ghost, and a curmudgeonly bar owner with a hidden agenda. But Logan’s date with destiny is looming, and his life might not be the only one at stake.

Review:

Dear E.J. Russell,

This book was chosen as a buddy read in our group. The good part about it? I finished it within 24 hours and yes, I did manage to get a good night sleep, so basically I started it in the evening and finished on the long commute to and from work. It was very engaging, for that it gets solid three stars. I was entertained, and if the book manages to entertain me, I appreciate that a lot.

The bad part? Not even bad, because I am sure there are readers who loved Logan and Riley’s relationship, but an annoying one for me. Let me just say I am not one of those readers who love Logan and Riley together, because Logan made me want to slap him, shake him, yell at him for the pretty much the whole book. Riley gets his part of yelling at too, because man in the last part of the book he gets on his own high horse. Oy.

Very very flawed characters can work perfectly well for me in romance, I certainly do not require perfection and often hate it, but I have to believe at the end of the book that the characters have a future together and I’m sorry but that would be a NO from this reader.

I can just imagine the next time a big problem arises that Logan feels only he could solve, is he going to take off again? Because see at the beginning of the book I had very little problem with Logan taking off actually. Did I wish he actually talked to Riley normally and, if he did not want to give him a full version of the story, would give him something? I sure did, but I can totally sympathize and relate with the idea that you do not leave a close friend (any friend) in such an awful, horrible situation that Logan’s friend landed in. I get the need and guilt and trying to save him by all means possible.

But when Logan and Riley meet again, oh my god. If you want to “protect” Riley, maybe stay away from Riley, eh? Do not be such a selfish idiot, who is not thinking except with his dick?

And Riley deciding to save the world and save Logan from himself no matter whether Logan wants it or not? Very little irritates me more in stories than characters who think they know better than anyone else.

The paranormal storyline was great though and had a nice emotional punch at the end for me. C