Title: Somebody to Die For
Series: Requiem Inc.: Book Three
Author: Kris T. Bethke
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 218 Pages
Category: Paranormal
At a Glance: A sweet romance, Kris T. Bethke continues to deliver with the Requiem Inc. series, and I can’t wait to read the future MCs I think are coming.
Reviewed By: Lindsey
Blurb: Kris T. Bethke continues to deliver with this series; Jameson and Avery hit me right in the feels, and I can’t wait to find out what is in store next in the world of Requiem Inc.
A Requiem Inc. Story
Dying is easy. New love is terrifying.
Avery Wagner quit ghostwalking when he lost his beloved anchor to cancer. Now teaching others who have the ability, he’s beginning to live again—but he’s not looking for another lover, not now, maybe not ever.
But then he meets Jameson… younger, talented, dedicated, almost perfect, even though his mouth sometimes opens ahead of his brain. And Jameson wants Avery desperately, though he’ll settle for friendship if he can’t have more.
When an emergency demands they work together in the field, Avery discovers just how perfect Jameson is. But he had a perfect love once before, and he’s scared to even consider that he might have a chance at another. Can he trust Jameson with his newly healing heart?
Review: The world built around Requiem Inc. is rich and unique. It caught my attention as I devoured the first book, Ghost of a Chance, and then solidified itself for me in the second of the series, Lost Souls Found. This is a book that shouldn’t be read as a standalone. To truly understand Avery and his backstory, as well as the bond between Anchors and Ghostwalkers and the role of the Guardians, I truly recommend starting from the beginning.
I have been awaiting Avery’s story since I read the first book. He pulled on my heartstrings with his grief at losing his bonded husband. His pain was palpable throughout the two prior books, and I wanted to see him happy again instead of lost inside the pain and sorrow. Avery has been avoiding his calling as a ghostwalker since the loss of Luke, his bonded anchor and husband. After a decade together and being in sync on every level, to have that support ripped away from him sent him into a tailspin of misery and loneliness, refusing to experience his calling without the one person that was there to share the experience and care form him. That is until Jameson, a new anchor in the program, enters the picture. Their romance is a slow burn, as both of them grow—Avery working through his grief after years of being immersed in it, and Jameson in maturity and as an anchor.
Jameson is young, but he is a stand-up guy. Immediately attracted to Avery, he begins the process of getting to know him. He has no filter and makes mistakes with Avery several times in his attempts befriend him. But what made him such a likeable character was how he admitted to his faults and worked to learn from those missteps and become a better person and anchor. Jameson is calm and caring when Avery needs him to be, and doesn’t try to push Avery when it comes to working through his pain. If you couldn’t tell, I really loved Jameson’s character. The patience and maturity he exhibited made him the perfect person to break Avery out of the stasis he had been in since the loss of his husband. I also felt for Jameson; the hurt and rejection he felt at times while trying to be accepting of his position in Avery’s life was hard to read because I adored him so dang much and wanted him to find the happiness he deserved.
While I enjoyed the story and found it satisfying, I admit it didn’t quite have the impact the two prior books did for me. I am pretty sure the reason for this is the focus on Avery’s prior relationship with Luke. Though Avery’s feelings and grief for Luke were tangible and felt very real to someone who has gone through the horrific loss of a loved one, to me there was a little too much time spent on their bond. Jameson, who doesn’t possess the anchor gene as Luke did, is constantly compared to Luke. While Jameson works hard at the role because he wasn’t born with the right DNA, he will forever be less than the anchor Luke was. It was as if Jameson was always in Luke’s shadow when it came to that connection, never fully stepping out of it. Yes, the loss of Luke needed to be portrayed, and their bond needed to be explored a little bit, but Avery and Jameson’s relationship as anchor and ghostwalker seemed to be dwarfed by Avery’s relationship with Luke and the bond they shared.
Though I had the issue with their anchor and ghostwalker bond, everything else about Jameson and Avery hit me right in the feels. From the sweetness they shared, to Avery’s journey in moving forward without letting go of his love for Luke, and the way they communicated with each other, it just worked. They were both complex, and watching them both grow separately and together was very satisfying, and hit that need for a good hurt/comfort read. Kris T. Bethke continues to deliver with the Requiem Inc. series, and I can’t wait to read the future MCs I think are coming.
You can buy Somebody to Die For here:
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