Oleander House (Bay City Paranormal Investigations, #1)

Oleander House (Bay City Paranormal Investigations #1)

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3.58 of 5 stars 3.58  ·  rating details  ·  935 ratings  ·  121 reviews
When Sam Raintree goes to work for Bay City Paranormal Investigations, he expects his quiet life to change--he doesn't expect to put his life and sanity on the line, or to fall for a man he can never have.

Book One in the Bay City Paranormal Investigation series.

Sam Raintree has never been normal. All his life, he's experienced things he can't explain. Things that have colo...more
ebook, 1st Edition, 221 pages
Published October 3rd 2006 by Samhain Publishing
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Heather
Oct 24, 2008 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommended to Heather by: Collette
Shelves: e-book, erotica, m-erotica
I really enjoyed Oleander House. It is the first in the Bay City Paranormal Investigations series, and it did not disappoint. I was expecting a little bit more romance in this book, and instead I got suspense, action, horror, mystery and intrigue! I enjoyed all of those things and I cant wait to read the next in the series.

The romance element of this book focuses more on Sam and Bo admitting to their feelings for each other, as well as where they might go from here.

Intense, romantic and scary,...more
Natsroshan
I like to read stories about shapeshifters, demons but this one is my first real ghost-story.
I wanted to try it because i liked some of Ally Blue's stories and i've read lots of good reviews about this serie.

I'll say that i was really pleased but surprised to find myself liking the plot a lot: i liked it more than the romance itself!

For the romance i would give only 2 stars because i had hard time finding Bo loveable! I really like Sam's character through.
But i did not felt much chemistry bettwe...more
Sayuri_x


It is very much a story of two guys in the closet because although Sam accepts that he is gay, he doesn't really shout it loud and proud. Bo on the other hand is so far back in the closet, I think he might have a second job at Monsters Inc.

I really enjoyed the paranormal aspect of the storyline. It relied more on the creep factor, like old school horror than outright gore. I also liked how Ally showed the monotony and repetitiveness of the job. It's not all running along darkened corridors with...more
Eyre
I enjoyed Ally Blue's first entry in her Bay City Paranormal series. The story wasn't what I expected. While I must admit to lovin' some hunky, hot m/m erotica, that wasn't the focus of the book. Rather, Blue did a great job creating the characters' internal conflict. Plus, this is the first paranormal that I've read in a long time that actually gave me a spine-tingling chill. I can't wait to read the sequel.
L-D
3.5 stars

Sam Raintree has just started with Bay City Paranormal Investigations. His first job takes him to the Oleander House, where paranormal activity has been recorded and the history of the house's inhabitants is both mysterious and frightening. As the team investigates and records the unusual activity in the house, Sam tries to hide his attraction to his boss, Dr. Bo Broussard. This is easy enough to do, since Sam has had a lifetime of hiding his feelings from others, but when he begins to...more
Mitabird
I had high hopes for Oleander House. I liked it, just not as much as I thought I would. It's the first book in the Bay City Paranormal Investigations series. We meet Sam, who is hired to do technical work with BCPI. The group is investigating a haunting at Oleander House and things get really creepy. Some of the members experience a malevolent type spirit and they are trying to figure out what it is. Sam is gay, but is not out. He's attracted to his boss, but Bo is married with kids. However, Bo...more
Plainbrownwrapper
Okay, this is the third time this week that GR has insisted on treating different editions of the same book as though they were entirely different books, and only shown my review on one of the editions. I'm getting sick of this!

Here's my review once again. Please ignore if you've seen it already --

Overall I liked this one quite a bit. For the most part this was done with good logic -- and the characters actually sat there and *thought* about the implications of what they were doing and finding -...more
Furio
Slash/paranormal/SF/fantasy-fiction lady-readers will probably enjoy this short, quick novel a lot. The quality of the writing is higher than the rather low standard one usually gets from slash-fiction lady-authors.
The plot is well construed, fairly original and the writing is proficient. Dialogues are not bad, characterization not idiotic and the author even manages to build a shaky but tolerable amount of suspence.

All other readers (ladies and gents) will probably read this book on a lazy afte...more
Charly
Paranormal mystery and romance without the erotica

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 7/10

PROS:
- Wonderfully restrained physical interactions in the relationship. However, based on what happens in this book, and knowing that there are several sequels, I hardly expect that to be the case in the later books (and anticipate that the slow build-up will make the sex scenes sweeter). In this volume, though, the characters never move beyond kissing and some f...more
Raji
When I started reading this book, I had no expectations. I had never read a paranormal M/M books (except for The Long Way Home by Z.A. Maxfield, which can't be exactly classified as "paranormal"). It also helped that I had never read Ally Blue's book. Well, I had read Catching Buzz but it was a short novella so that didn't count. LOL!

I started reading this book at night at around 11:30 pm. At around 12 am or so, I needed to go to the rest room. What happened was that I had to switch on all the...more
Rebekah (Silver Lily) James
This was a suprise for me - I found it as part of the free Friday give aways for the Nook. I am not a big romance reader in general, so it is always something of a surprise to me when I like a romance book. The lead character in this book is a gay man, which I found refreshing to be honest and applaud B&N for giving it so much attention, at least with the ereader community. What seems a potentially boring premise - a group of people who are together for a week in the same house investigating...more
Kendra
I got this for free on Amazon, wanting a light fluff read. As romance novels go, it was fairly decent, although there were a few questions that kept coming back around... For instance, creepy things happen every time the guy starts feeling naughty, and he doesn't notice this? If my lusty thoughts summoned up an inter-dimensional hellspawn, I'm pretty sure I'd pick up on it pretty quickly. Also, WHAT IS WITH THE BRAID? Does the braid have magical sexy-making powers? Are all creatures drawn to the...more
Ralph
Nov 11, 2009 Ralph rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommended to Ralph by: Moderatrix Lori
Shelves: mm-romance
Sam Raintree is a computer tech who has just gotten a job with Bay City Paranormal Investigations. He hasn't even had a chance to see his new apartment in Mobile before he has a job. When he arrives at Oleander House two things happen - he meets a man who he falls for almost instantly and he feels a weird presence in the house - almost as if it's stalking him, waiting to attack.

This book is the first novel in the BCPI series and I absolutely loved it. The characters felt realistic and I really l...more
Jaime
My Review: This first book in the Bay City Paranormal Investigations series is a fast and tense read, not just because of the mystery unfolding during the investigation, but more because of the tension between the main characters. Ms. Blue has managed to create a realistic and painful bond between two very likable men that the reader wants to see resolved in a positive way. And she doesn't hand out pat answers, either. The reader is as aware that Bo has other people in his life to consider as Bo...more
Kaje Harper
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Roxie
It started good, had a good plot i liked the idea of them investigating paranormal stuff, even though i usually hate those kind of things. However it just quickly went a bit naff, the whole thing about aliens was just too weird to get my head around, and the fact that (and i really hate this) is that for pages & pages and pages, they bang on about this monster constantly then they get rid of it, in three sentances, and its like WHAAAATTTT, it was like all that build up for nothing, it just d...more
Nytetyger
This was a decent entry in the "the fantastic in our universe" type of mystery, and so much had a great gothic feel, but the book failed on the whole by having the main character obsessing sexually over another character. Yes, the pair were both men, and no that had nothing to do with my feeling of this ruining the book-- I'd have hated it as much if it were a pair of women or a man and woman pairing. Basically, you had a great story interrupted every few pages by the main character desperately...more
Dorie
This was a m/m romance novel, but one that was well written with an interesting plot aside from the personal relationship. A young man named Sam Raintree has obtained a job with a paranormal investigative team. He joins them at Oleander House, the site of their most recent investigation. He meets his co-workers, including co-owner of the business Bo Broussard. Sam feels an instant attraction to Bo, despite learning he is married with children. But if Bo is straight, why is he flirting with Sam?

T...more
Emma
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Bee
Sam's dream has come true; he's going to get to work as a paranormal investigator! Unfortunately his dream soon turns into an endless series of nightmares.

As Sam arrives to Oleander House he's met by his boss...the most gorgeous man he's ever seen. Too bad his both straight and married...or well, at lest he's married because the looks he's giving Sam are not the looks Sam usually gets from straight men. The rest of the investigators are friendly enough and Sam finds his place in the group quick...more
Genta Sebastian
Haunted Oleander House is being investigated by the Bay City Paranormal group, and their newest member, Sam, hopes to fit right in. He hadn't planned to tell anyone he was gay, but his attraction for the leader of the group, a very married Bo, soon has him hot and bothered.

The sexy dreams he has at night soon start to rob him of his sleep, and to make matters worse, the ghostly presences in the house seem focused on his desire. The sexual attraction between the two men influences every relations...more
Vicktor Alexander
Aug 12, 2011 Vicktor Alexander rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: M/M Romance Group
I enjoyed this book, although Beau pissed me off with his hot/cold act. I could sort of understand, but I'm a hopeless romantic *shrug* I was expecting him to act differently. There were parts of this book that had me glued to my Kindle screen and parts where I covered my face and read through the slit in my fingers (silly I know but I get into books the way other people get into movies). And I must say this is the first m/m suspense book I've ever read that actually made me tear up a little.

I a...more
Tami
3,5 stars. It was not really great, BUT it gave me goose bumps and it was riveting. The mystery/haunted house part was good - I might have (for a split second) been a tiny bit scared...It read a bit like a movie, if that makes any sense. So I give the stars for the good mystery.

The M/M part was not so much my cup of tea, because of: Insa-love (nearly always a no go), the waist-long raven black hair of one MC (I had a bad Anita-Blake-reminiscence...I don't like that long hair in a guy and it is...more
Styles
I presume you know what the book is about. I'm letting you know what I liked or disliked about it.

I liked this story very much. I liked the characters, the way they were developed, the story, the way Ms. Blue did what she needed to ensure she told the story she wanted to tell.

I've only just picked up the series but I'll keep reading. There's both good and bad in picking up a series that's been out for awhile. The good: I can keep reading, no waiting for the next book to come out. The bad: I've m...more
Michele ~ la Smoocherina
Apr 28, 2012 Michele ~ la Smoocherina marked it as did-not-finish  ·  review of another edition
Recommended to Michele ~ la Smoocherina by: Laura the Highland Hussy
Bo is married with kids and away from home. I just figured, I have plenty on my TBR pile without reading about a cheater.
heardtheowl
Nov. Pick-It-For-Me Challenge book rec'd by Anesthezea.
I rate kinda tough, so 2 stars for this. It was entertaining enough but the end felt unfinished. I picked up the 2nd book - still no real resolution and I feel a bit jipped.
I liked that the characters were pretty fleshed out and well likable, the premise was interesting and it read well. There were a few instances where I was unsure of whom the author was referring to, and some places where it seemed the writer forgot what had come previou...more
Erin (PT)
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Cipluk
Great story :)

Bo:
Bo - Bay City Paranormal Investigation photo 01_zpse00fea69.jpg

Sam:
Sam - Bay City Paranormal Investigation photo 3cd7dd2a3b4d2f3763f651b7aa41a06d_zpsbe85426d.jpg
Danielle
I really liked this book. I'd put off reading it because I wasn't sure about Sam and Bo's relationship. I'm a HEA kind of girl and like my stories to end that way. However, I'm really glad that I decided to go ahead and take the plunge. Sam is a lovely character that comes across as a real person. He has strengths and misgivings just like anyone else. Bo was also really interesting if somewhat frustrating at times. The whole BCPI group is just generally likable.

I really like the paranormal aspec...more
Aimee (Coffee Table Reviews)
I really liked this. It was the first paranormal book I've read that was m/m but not overly erotica. It centers around Sam who is gay, but doesn't want his new co-workers to know but ends up falling for his boss. It still had a romance aspect to it, but it centered more on the mystery. The story was very well written. I just love Ghost Hunters and I thought it was great that I could read a novel that captured the same interest as the show.

This is my first Ally Blue novel but I have to say I love...more
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