Deader Than Dead by H.L. Day (Paranormal Problems: Necromancers Book #1)

TITLE: ⟫ Deader Than Dead

AUTHOR: ⟫ H.L.Day

SERIES: ⟫ Paranormal Problems: Necromancers Book #1

RATING: ⟫ 3.75/5

BLURB: ⟫ Even death can’t stop fate.

Professional thief, Bellamy, might have bitten off more than he can chew this time. Jobs have gone wrong before, but never this wrong. His moral code might be grayer than most, but it exists, and he finds himself facing an impossible choice that could cost him everything.

Necromancer, John Averill’s day just got ten times worse. One more job, his boss says. Well, that job sucks, because not only does he find himself with a gun pointed at his head, but the man he’s been hired to raise temporarily from the dead is none other than his fated mate… the man he’s been searching for all his life.

Their love story is over before it ever began. Or is it? Fate still has a few tricks up its sleeve, and the impossible might just become possible.

Deader than Dead is a 57k Fated Mates MM paranormal novel featuring villains who will stop at nothing to get what they want, a stolen artifact, kidnapping, betrayal, lies, and two men determined to overcome death itself to be together.

Content warning for death and mention of suicide.

REVIEW: ⟫ A very entertaining premise, I came to this story after reading the second in the trilogy so I kinda knew what happened. However, that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. Both John and Bellamy were fun to read about – they lived such different lives and yet when they met, they were both more than ready to accept that what they had found was something special. The fact that Bellamy was dead when they met was neither here nor there!

The plot of the mask was really interesting, as was the view into a little more of Cade and the PPB. I’m sort of glad that I read the second book first – I’m not sure if I would have read more after this one because although I enjoyed it, it didn’t grab me as much as the second in the series.

A good set up for what sounds like an interesting show-down, as well as (hopefully) finding out more about Asher and the other members of the team, I’m glad I read this but I found book two more entertaining.

The Rationale of Leander Wells by Ashlyn Drewek

Title: ⟫ The Rationale of Leander Welles 

Author: ⟫ Ashlyn Drewek 

Blurb: ⟫ Murderer. 

Madman. 

That’s what the newspapers call wealthy recluse Leander Welles after he is accused of killing four people in his picturesque hometown. Little do they know they’re half-right. 

Sent to Parkview Psychiatric for an assessment before the trial can begin, Leander falls under the care of Dr. Lorelei Clayton, an up-and-coming criminal psychiatrist. She is the one unknown element of his elaborate plot, the one game piece he has no control over. 

 Believing he’s innocent, Lorelei works tirelessly toward his freedom. But there’s just one problem — he’s not innocent. The harder she tries to prove it, the harder he falls for the one person he never expected to. 

Haunted by his past, Leander tries to envision a future with Lorelei, but the truth keeps getting in the way. If she ever learns his secret, not only could she destroy everything he spent years planning — she could destroy him. 

This is a companion/alternate point-of-view book to THE MYSTERY OF LEANDER WELLES, featuring Leander Welles' perspective instead of Lorelei's. Each book can be read as a standalone, or together. If you're a MM fan, I suggest skipping MYSTERY and starting here. There's FTB/vague MF sex scenes, but the MM angst starts in this book before continuing into DAMNATION. 

* A warning to the reader. This book contains references to abuse, self-harm, and suicide. 

Review: ⟫ I skipped the first book in this series because I seriously wasn’t interested in reading the M/F aspect of things – I’ve read three MF books recently that reminded me quite strongly of why I prefer MM. And it clearly states in the blurb that you should start here if you are an MM fan. But this book was full of Leander’s relationships (or rather relations) with women and I felt duped. 

Yes, we meet Bennett and there are delicious indications of what he and Leander could/will be to each other. But that is the extent of it and I thought that there would be more. I didn’t feel any chemistry between Leander and Lorelei, even less between him and Gracie. I have awarded the two stars for the look into Leander’s inner psyche, as well as the machinations/planning of the group to handle the whole thing about Leander being on trial for four murders. 

The twists, turns and background stories were very interesting, but the overlay of Lorelei and Gracie made this book a bitter experience for me, especially coming straight from Roan Sinclair to this. 

 I do have the next book in the series lined up on my kindle because I want to know about Leander and Bennett after meeting them in the Roan Sinclair duology, but I can’t in all honesty recommend this to fans of MM because although there are hints of it, this didn’t strike me as a MM book. Disappointed and wary going into the next one. 

2/5 from me.