thereadingwren's review
3.0
3/5
There were a few not-so-great things in this book (crass talk of race and serious stereotyping, a type of insta-love where the characters hardly know each other and already care a hell of a lot about one another, and sex scenes that would actually be painful considering there was no lubrication used)...
BUT...
The characters and overall plot made up for it. I’d consider Vic a ‘disaster gay’ and his failures as a human being (buying a new jacket instead of washing it) just make him more endearing. Jacob is ‘the muscle’ but never acts like a jerk and is kind of a cinnamon roll. Lisa might be my favourite though. She’s badass and straightforward, all she wants to be is a cop and her sí-no is really awesome.
I loved the little crime fighting team they developed.
Because of these characters I’m probably going to read the next book in the series despite kind of awful writing.
There were a few not-so-great things in this book (crass talk of race and serious stereotyping, a type of insta-love where the characters hardly know each other and already care a hell of a lot about one another, and sex scenes that would actually be painful considering there was no lubrication used)...
BUT...
The characters and overall plot made up for it. I’d consider Vic a ‘disaster gay’ and his failures as a human being (buying a new jacket instead of washing it) just make him more endearing. Jacob is ‘the muscle’ but never acts like a jerk and is kind of a cinnamon roll. Lisa might be my favourite though. She’s badass and straightforward, all she wants to be is a cop and her sí-no is really awesome.
I loved the little crime fighting team they developed.
Because of these characters I’m probably going to read the next book in the series despite kind of awful writing.
jazgeox's review
4.0
Took me a while to get around to reading this series but I’ve finally started! I enjoyed the first book, I can’t wait to see more of Jacob’s personality and see what he’s really like. I wasn’t really a fan of how fast they got together and thought the story was quite rushed but I’m looking forward to reading the next one! ⭐️4/5
myzanm's review
5.0
Why did I ever wait so long to read this? Is was sooo good! I can’t wait to start the next book!
The world was solid. The different types of psychic was interesting. To top that off the characters were brilliant. Victor and were great even if it sometimes was hard to understand what they felt for the other.
The world was solid. The different types of psychic was interesting. To top that off the characters were brilliant. Victor and were great even if it sometimes was hard to understand what they felt for the other.
lizzy_22's review
3.0
Somewhere between a full length story and a novella, Among the Living introduces us to Victor Bayne, a 5th level medium who works as a police officer. Oh, he's also a bit of an insecure mess. But he's an endearing mess even if he sometimes over medicates to drown out the voices of the dead who always seem to pop up to chat at inconvenient moments.Victor is more capable and competent than he believes and that made him an interesting character for me. The surrounding characters are well developed and I hope that they continue to surround the cases Victor works. I also liked the mix of procedural and personal and the hot romance on the side with Vic's co-worker Jacob didn't hurt either.
Looking forward to reading more!
Looking forward to reading more!
syka's review
2.0
There's some very interesting elements as far as the different psychic powers go and I like the tone of the narration (as in MC's somewhat self-deprecating and mildly dispassionate attitude), but whether due to the short length or not, there isn't enough build-up for the case to feel tense or for the romance part to feel convincing. It also feels a bit dated and granted, it's published 2006, but to me at least it felt more noticeable than usual.
sarful's review
4.0
A great first book in a series lending itself to some intriguing supernatural world building, I suspect. I enjoy the POV of Victor Bayne.
wisecraic's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
hpstrangelove's review
3.0
(Audiobook review) The plot was refreshing and I enjoyed it. The sex scenes were decent, too - just the right balance for this kind of book.
It may not be fair to the book, but this is an example where the narrator caused me to give it three instead of four stars. It wasn't that the narration was bad - he has a pleasant voice and overall, it was pretty good, except for one character: Lisa Gutierrez.
Just because a person has a Hispanic name and comes from South Texas, New Mexico, or California, doesn't mean they speak with a Mexican accent. Every time the narrator read Lisa's dialog, I cringed - it sounded like a Cheech and Chong parady. I almost abandoned the audiobook because of it, but stuck with it because I was enjoying the plot - and I have the rest in the series as audiobooks also, so I guess I better learn to live with it.
It may not be fair to the book, but this is an example where the narrator caused me to give it three instead of four stars. It wasn't that the narration was bad - he has a pleasant voice and overall, it was pretty good, except for one character: Lisa Gutierrez.
Just because a person has a Hispanic name and comes from South Texas, New Mexico, or California, doesn't mean they speak with a Mexican accent. Every time the narrator read Lisa's dialog, I cringed - it sounded like a Cheech and Chong parady. I almost abandoned the audiobook because of it, but stuck with it because I was enjoying the plot - and I have the rest in the series as audiobooks also, so I guess I better learn to live with it.
loishojmark's review
4.0
I have postponed this series for a long time. Partly because I have been partial to reading contemporary romances, and partly because it is one of those series you just have to read, when reading MM books. And that can be a bit intimidating . But it was good. Short, but good.