“Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.” – James A. Baldwin
Title: Curiosity Killed Shaney
Author: J.C. Wallace
Publisher: Rooster & Pig Publishing
Pages/Word Count: 238 Pages
Rating: 4 Stars
Blurb: Shaney’s curiosity is always getting him into trouble, including stumbling into a ritualistic circle and being imbued with an energy that will eventually tear him apart. He soon finds that Hudson, a man he cares for deeply, might be responsible for his misfortune. Add in the betrayal of his best friend Todd and the desire of a demented occultist named Silas determined to control the energy inside of him and there seems to be no way out. Can Shaney find a way to rid his body of the nefarious energy before he dies a horrible death?
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Review: I don’t normally read paranormal fiction. This is J.C. Wallace’s first full-length novel, and my own curiosity got the best of me, causing me to step outside my little box and try something different for a change. I’m really glad I did. The only thing keeping Curiosity Killed Shaney from earning a five star rating from me is the editing. It is a delicate balance for me as to whether or not a story is good enough to overcome less than stellar editing. In this case, the story was excellent. There were just too many editing errors for me, personally to overlook.
Shaney is a clumsy, curious little man. He is infinitely lovable. He is also on probation, assigned to community service, for a reason I will let you find out on your own. Just know that the reason for the probation clearly illustrates Shaney’s loving and kind soul.
Shaney’s current community service assignment is in the morgue. Not the actual morgue. That is what he calls the thrift store he is presently assigned to. He has had some trouble with previous placements because his curiosity always leads to disaster. Well, the pattern continues at the morgue. It all seems to be going well until HE walks in. Hudson is tall, dark and handsome, Shaney’s dream man, and Shaney can’t help but try to get a closer look at him. Disaster immediately follows.
Shaney’s probe officer (I mean probation) has one final assignment for Shaney, and then he is out of options. It seems that Hudson is a handy man and does a lot of work for people who can’t afford to pay. For some reason to be determined later, the probe officer thinks putting Shaney together with an excruciatingly hot man to whom he is seriously attracted, and adding power tools to the mix, is a good idea.
All kinds of strange things start to happen to Shaney when he starts spending time with Hudson. Poor Todd, Shaney’s best friend and roommate, gets dragged into the craziness. There are funny symbols and electrical charges and explosive orgasms and a bad guy with a huge body guard. Or is he a good guy? And a really, most definitely bad guy. And Hudson is gay, too!
All I can really do in this review is use all those disjointed sentences and hope they make you curious (HAHA) enough to want to read the book. J.C. Wallace has a great sense of humor that flows right through Shaney. Curiosity Killed Shaney is original, funny, sexy and sometimes a little scary. All together that makes it a good read. There were some loose ends that need tying up, and thankfully J.C. will be doing that with a sequel. I am looking forward to it. I really wish I felt I could give Shaney five stars, but while I can’t do that, I can highly recommend that you read his story. You’ll love it.
You can buy Curiosity Killed Shaney here:
Great Review! Thanks JC, Lisa and Tina!