The Sceptic

Arcana Books #1

by Lily Morton

As the best friend of a psychic, Will Buchanan can’t help but believe in the dead. It’s the living that he finds to be problematic. However, after a spate of betrayals, he finally has the chance of a new life within his grasp, and he’s not going to risk it for anyone or anything. Staying safe is the name of Will’s game.

Jem Dawson defines the word temporary. A talented cameraman, he’s here today and will undoubtedly be gone tomorrow chasing adventure and danger. But, while he’s in York, he’s made it clear he wants Will, and Will can’t help liking the charming daredevil.

This inconvenient attraction results in Will accompanying Jem to the site of a notorious poltergeist outbreak. A malevolent spirit has targeted a family, and now the ghost hunting team for whom Jem does camerawork are going to be locked down in the house for three days.

The house is strange and filled with sinister and violent undercurrents. One by one, the group experiences threatening incidents, and as events escalate, Will has to ask himself if he's risking not just his heart but also his life with this impulsive gesture.

This is the first book in the Arcana Books series featuring characters from the bestselling Black and Blue series.

Genres: Paranormal, M M Romance, Romance, Ghosts, Fantasy, M M Paranormal, LGBT

365 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 2022

About the author

Lily is a bestselling gay romance author.

She lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven't had a proper conversation with her since she got her Kindle.

She has spent her life with her head full of daydreams, and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing because how else would she get to spend her time with hot and funny men?

Her latest release is The Sunny Side. It's the start of a snarky new series revolving around a modelling agency in London.
http://getbook.at/TheSunnySide

You can keep up with Lily's latest releases and read the exclusive short stories '3 Dates' and ‘Playground Games’ by subscribing to her newsletter: https://bit.ly/LilyMorton-Newsletter

Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/SnarkSquad

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Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/profile/lily-morton

Reviews

[☆ Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay, another scary ghostly tale in the Blue and Levi universe from Lily! 😁



I loved the creepy, paranormal parts of this story, as the ghost hunting group attempted to unravel the mystery of the haunted house, while capturing the otherworldly events for their YouTube channel's viewers.

I was slightly less immediately pulled into the romance aspect of the story between Will and Jem, at least not quite as quickly as I was with Blue and Levi. But the last parts of the book, after the ghost was no longer an issue, did help me in the feels department for the guys.

The humor in this one had its moments, but I did sort of feel that, at least a few times, the book was trying to make me laugh vs. it just happening entirely naturally.

I adored how both Tom and Tarquin fully embraced Blue, Will, Levi, and Gem as the sons and found family that they'd never had.

If you've read the the original Blue and Levi stories, this one is definitely worth a read and I'd rate it at around 4 stars.

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[Cadiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I reviewed The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings I made a comment towards the end of my review as such:

I LOVED Tom. I also vividly pictured Will and, while I know there's another book at least for Black and Blue (and can I just say I love this title!), I wouldn't be averse to seeing Will fall on his arse in love with someone (a rare breeds farmer would be perfect here, just saying Lily...)

Now, while Will didn't get Caden (thanks Lily for giving me my rare breeds farmer in Spring Strings) he does get his own book in The Sceptic and oh boy what a book it is!

It's a spin-off obviously from the Black & Blue series, so it's just as full of creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky, and all together ooky 😁

And, actually, there are a couple of seriously creepy bits in this one where I was very much on the edge of my seat, heart pounding, wondering just where the narrative was going to go next!

Lily perfectly balances the paranormal elements alongside the romance and, although this very much on the lower end of her steam rating, it's still beautifully intimate and very emotional as Will and Jem slowly fall in love amid the chaos of a pretty malicious haunting.

It was also lovely to catch up with Blue and Levi, Tom and the Viscount Ingram and I very much appreciated the sneaky little guest Easter Egg appearance of a certain lawyer and his husband 💗

Loved it and I cannot wait for more in the Arcana Books series.

#ARC kindly received from the author via GRR Tours in return for an honest and unbiased review

[Simona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am the only sceptic here.
Could not relate to the story completely.
Found heavy to read in some parts

[erraticdemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a mess of a book. The beginning dragged on forever with unhelpful callbacks to the other series this spun off from, the set up to the ghostly part dragged on even more forever, and there was a whole heck of a lot of telling and not showing. Much like the titular character I was sceptical these characters were capable of remembering anything because between one paragraph and the next they'd suddenly no longer believe in ghosts, or try to excuse ghostly behavior away as a weird coincidence, or remember they know absolutely nothing about the other person after acting very intimate, or suddenly describe a character trait about the other person that has never come up before in any context. The ghost stuff took up a huge chunk of the book as it too dragged on forever but was neatly tied up at the end with a rather lackluster climax. And then once that mess was cleaned up we finally got a little bit of romance? The whole thing read like a prologue to another book. A very long prologue as it was like 120k words.

So, why three stars? Because with a good bit of editing there is an interesting ghost story with interesting romance characters and I am feeling generous. But maybe like the inconsistent (or...erratic hehehe) characters I will forget all about this and rate it something totally different tomorrow.

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.


Read this review and more on my blog: https://horsetalkreviews.blogspot.com/

[Diana]

I think I am going to put this one back on the shelf. I am at 20%, and I just can't get into it. Hopefully, I'll try again soon.

No rating

[Maygirl7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The relationship between Will and Jem is pretty good. I like how they come together to have an on-going relationship. Neither gives up everything for a magical relationship. They both compromise to have a future together.

The plotting for the paranormal part of the story annoyed me. I was fine with the ghosts and whatnot but the plotting and the characters’ actions were dumb. Everyone is like oh this phenomenon is super dangerous. Okay let’s stay in this house because if we leave then the story will end too early. None of the characters are presented as illogical, but completely ignored the danger for no reason at all. Dumb. Lily Morton can do better.

I was able to to overlook that and finish the book. The post-haunted house parts of the book were the best parts. It was great to see Will and Jem get their HEA in a realistic way.

[Renée · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It was fine, but much heavier on the paranormal than the relationship development. Lily Morton can't write a book that I don't like, though.

[Miriah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Near the end of the book one of the characters says “thank god that’s over,” and I could not agree more.

There are things to like here, including the characters, but overall it was a bit messy, and once 70% hit I was so ready for it to be over. The romance is very, very minimal and very slow burn. I was always confused about who’s POV I was reading from as well because both Will and Jem read exactly the same unless they were referencing their past homelessness or camera.

Like Blue and Levi’s second book, so many stupid decisions are made here, and the ghost story just drags on and on.

[Sailor Neptuno · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Too much talking,” he calls. “We have things to do.” He pauses. “We have each other to do in case you didn’t get my meaning.”
“Your meaning was as clear as a plank hitting me in the face.”
“I’m not sure I’m up to that in the bedroom, but I promise you that I can be really inventive.”

A word of advice, don’t be like me and avoid reading this book after sunset, especially when it’s the windiest night of the year, because every single noise will make you paranoid. Unless you want to live the full experience, in that case be my guest. It was so good to read about Blue, of all the books from this author he’s definitely my favorite. But for once he’s not the main target of a ghost. This spin-off can be read as a standalone but I totally recommend reading the Black and Blue series first to better understand all these characters.



Even though, since chapter 1, neither Will nor Jem hide their interest for each other, this definitely qualifies as a slow burn. Between Jem’s present situation and Will’s past plus a ghost trying their best to haunt them slows down the relationship development a little bit. But when these two finally got time to get to know each other more their chemistry was out of the roof. I’m expecting to see their growth in future installments.




It feels so good to read about this group of friends again. This series makes me want to travel to York and see all the places named. Can’t wait for the next book!


*Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a free and honest review*

[Jennifer☠Pher☠ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every single page of it. It was spooky, funny, spooky, romantic, spooky, sexy and fun.

Will and Jem were just such a treat together. I loved Jem's push and honesty. I loved that he'd give in if Will wanted him to. Gah. That was just such a great scene. Thank goodness for green lights, haha!

Will. What can I say? He is such a lovely character. Gentle Giant indeed. With what he faced, how he is the man he is says it all. What a fantastic human being. And man, he's funny.

That end though. Not the year later bit, although that was super nice too, just that end. God. So deserved and just beautiful. I LOVED IT!

Just the right amount of Blue and Levi too. This was Will and Jem's story for sure.

Perfect read for October and another winner for Lily Morton. I seriously can't wait to see what happens next. Are we really going to Scotland?

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this quite a bit. It was super creepy in places and I loved how active the paranormal entity was. It was a big part of the book.

I liked the couple although I wasn’t really feeling the chemistry in the beginning. It had a sweet epilogue and they were just super nice guys who treated each other really lovely. I’m usually a lover of angsty books but this was a nice change.

A few appearances of Blue (in all his snarky glory) & Levi from the other series.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. I quite liked this one!

It's a spin off to Lily's The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings series, and I would definitely recommend reading those first. She really did try to make it work as a standalone--which was honestly a little awkward as there were some quite clunky "catch-up" scenes, and generally I think you'll get more out of it with the context of the series, especially as characters from there pop up in this one. We start at kind of an odd spot, IMO, as the two MCs have met before, during a scene that technically occurred in the previous books but was entirely off-screen, and it just felt a little strange. IDK, it was fine, just felt a bit off as the author had to sort of catch us up on where they were at emotionally.

But I really enjoyed the characters, the romance build between them was lovely and not too angsty, and the ghosty stuff was properly creepy. It did feel a little odd how resistant both the characters seemed to acknowledging some ghosty stuff considering they both *knew* there was a ghost there. And the fact that Will didn't bring Blue in much earlier just didn't feel believable--clearly done for story purposes and not actually what a human would do in this situation. Lily banter was a bit OTT at times, but mostly manageable. Honestly, the biggest thing I'd have changed here is that this is told from both Will & Jem's POVs, and I really think the book would have been stronger without Jem's. He really had only a few chapters overall and I don't think his perspective added anything to the narrative, other than to actually decrease some of the possible relationship tension. It wasn't bad by any means, but I think it would have made for a much stronger and more compelling read if she'd just nixed his POV completely.

The book ends with a very solid HEA epilogue, and since this is a series, I have to imagine that unlike the Black & Blue series, this will follow different pairings, as I don't feel there's anything more to cover here. And there was at least one pairing possibility introduced in this one that would make a logical next book, and one I'd definitely be interested in reading.

[Jewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! It was kinda scary in places, and I loved it. I'm glad Will found his man.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s legit scary.
Terrific tale of friends, change,
desire, home, and ghosts.

[haletostilinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much of my wanted to give this 4.5 stars rounded up, but there was some niggles I just couldn't get past to give the 4.5 stars rounded up I so wanted to give it.

Overall this was so good! I adored Will and Jem together and they were so sweet together. I loved getting Will's story and seeing him finally get his HEA.

The scary aspect of this was so well done too, it gave me that same creeped out feeling in parts of this as the first Blue Billings book did, which was kinda missing from the second one. I was very into that, after a fairly slow start. A little before 30% into this, I really started getting into this and it picked up for the rest of it.

Although part of my one star off was that somewhat slow beginning. It took me longer to get through just that beginning third of the book than the last two thirds.

There was so much to love about this, and overall I did love it, and once I really got into it, I was into for the rest of the book, and it kept my intention, and I was falling more and more in love with Will and Jem the more they started to fall for each other. All that is good, except for the slow beginning.

My only other real gripe is...well, I don't know if we're getting another book about these two (my guess is the next book being about Ben and Liam, two characters we meet in this book), but the ending made it feel like we aren't, especially with the epilogue being one year later and these two seem settled.

So going off that, I'm assuming we're not getting another book of these two, and if that's the case, then I was left feeling a little bereft at the end.

If anything, Will and Jem's ending felt very similar to Ben and Levi's ending in their first book. Like they were just starting, but there was still more growing to do in their relationship before they got to that solid, HEA state.

So what I'm saying is that with the ending we got, I wish we were getting a second book with them. And we might be? But the epilogue has me thinking we won't.

They were just starting to date for real near the end of this. There were strong feelings, maybe even love, but they weren't ready for that yet, and in the timeline, it's probably been less than a week since they started anything as well.

So to go from that, them just starting out, to a year later to them more in that solid state, exchanging "I love you's" and everything...I wish we had gotten to see the progress to that. I wanted another book with these two.

Also because we didn't get as much smut as I would have liked between these two, if this is their only story together. One full on penetrative sex scene, and one other time where they don't have penetrative sex, but still do stuff together. If that's all we get? Well I'm feeling bereft for sure.

Now I could be wrong and we might get another book with these two - because there's still steps they could take in their relationship (like marriage, perhaps?) - but I just get the feeling we won't, and that bums me out.

IF this is their only book, and IF the next book is another couple, then I feel so disappointed. If I'm proven wrong, and the next book IS about them, then strike all I've said and then woohoo, I can't wait for more!

And IF we do get another book with these two, I'll go back and change this rating even. But for now, I'm going to stick with 4 stars, because it just feels like this was it and the ending just wasn't enough for me. I wanted more of these two being in a relationship, some more smut to go along with the paranormal. What can I say, I'm greedy *shrugs*

So, for the good paranormal story element to this, with good spooks and scares to go along with it, and the great relationship between Jem and Will we got up until that ending, I give this a solid 4 stars.

But the slowness at first and the not enough ending for this couple I did come to adore I had to give this a full star off. (Which is subject to change if the next book happens to be about these two.)

And also make no mistake, I'll still be excited if the next book is about Ben and Liam, who are the obvious next couple after these two Lily will write about, but it's just that if this is all we got of Jem and Will, then it just wasn't quite enough for me.

Also to add, we get a cameo of John and Matt (which is like...the one MM book of hers I just have not read yet...I'll have to at some point!) and that means the rest of Lily's books all take place in the same universe, which means all the other Lily couples we love live in a world where there are ghosts, which is wild! And from now on, unless she explicitly states it's a different universe, I'm assuming other books takes place in a world with ghosts haha.

So I still highly recommend this, as it's still a wonderful book with a great plot and great romance, and Will and Jem were amazing characters, and I just loved seeing Will getting to meet and fall in love with the love of his life.

Still two thumbs up from me, and I'll be excited to read the next one in this series! ❤️

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, which was no surprise for me from this author, but it was a surprise due to the genre of this book. I don't like scary books. I don't read horror. At the same time, I'm realizing that an excellent ghost story can still be a wonderful thing in the right hands. Somehow, I didn't mind reading this in the middle of the night sitting alone at my dining table. With a glass sliding door behind me. And now that I'm writing that, sitting in that same spot, at 2:30 in the morning, my only answer for how I could do that is that this book is written just that well, with that much momentum to the story, and plenty of empathy for all characters, both living and dead, sweet MCs and annoying hanger-on chick alike. And now I need to finish this review and get somewhere else so I can quit freaking myself out!

[Ana Nimity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lily Morton has done it again.

As good as she is at contemporary romantic comedy, she's even better with paranormal romance featuring psychic and supernatural phenomenon.

Don't worry, she didn't lose any of her matchmaking skills, though. Jem and Will make perfect foils for each other, and they ground this book so that its never in danger of going over-the-top with the manifestations.

And there's still humor - Lily's sense of timing is on point, building the tension until you're ready to scream, then breaking it with a quip.

You could easily read this book as a standalone, but if you've not read The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings, you should start with it and The Quiet House. If you're easily spooked, though, you may want to read in the daytime, and check behind that shower curtain when you go in the bathroom.

I love this book so much and can't wait for the next Arcana adventure!

[ML · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a spin-off series of sorts. Will is Blue’s friend from the Black and Blue Series

Ok, NGL I’m 35% in and I’m bored. These MCs don’t really have any chemistry and seem more like friends than anything. Their banter feels forced. This does NOT feel like a Lily book at all. It is a really LONG book. I have almost 5 more hours of reading time to go.


49% in..Ben is an idiot. If his and Liam’s book is next, I don’t think I’ll read it. Actually if truth be told, I think I’ll avoid all PNR books from Lily. It’s nice she’s branching out but these books aren’t for me. I’m not sure I care enough to finish tbh. These characters aren’t that compelling. The dude characters are dolts. Lottie and Mia ugh. Mia especially trying to gain affection from Ben. I have second hand embarrassment for her.

Ben and that dumb society too. Umbra Ugh it’s mentioned 25xs 🙄 I don’t care


The humor feels off too and a bit misplaced. The dialogue is super cringy as well. I winced more than a few times. Eeek… Maybe a poltergeist has taken over Lily Morton because this is normally her strength.

Obviously I did not enjoy this. But you might. It’s definitely a series I’ll pass on.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Lily Morton’s Blue Billings books are my favorite of her works, so I was really excited to see more of Blue, Levi, Tom and the rest. I even did a reread to get back into the ‘verse. However.

Morton definitely upped the scare factor with this one; there were several moments that were extremely creepy/scary and I liked the idea of a ghost hunter crew getting more than they bargained for. The problem is the crew are a bunch of idiots and the two people who should have known better (Jem - he was in book 2 - and Will - hello his best friend is a psychic?!) keep downplaying the escalating ghostly activity. Like, I get that the characters must stay at the house or otherwise the story collapses, but also if they are voluntarily staying there then I start to lose respect for them. Morton needed to balance that out better, or truly lock them in the house/up the stakes somehow. Similarly, I understand why they didn’t bring Blue in sooner, but it felt like the characters were purposefully fighting with one hand behind their back for most of the book.

The romance between Jem and Will is on the back burner, which makes sense, but I didn’t get a sense of why they were interested in each other besides looks. Maybe that’s because their first meeting and interactions were off page? Their POVs were not very distinctive from each other, and I wished for less of Morton’s signature (OTT) banter and more of their personalities being shown during the action and actually growing closer emotionally. However the sex dynamics, especially the hotel scene, worked for me.

I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did, but still glad I read it just to get some more little scares and see Blue and Levi again. I would totally read more of their exploits!

[Savvy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that if you haven’t read the Black and Blue series (The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings & The Quiet House) before this book, I would really recommend you read those first. Otherwise, you will get a lot of spoilers and you might feel left out on the shared history of the main characters of The Sceptic.

This book is another haunted ghost story by Lily Morton. I usually don’t read ghost stories, because I get scared very easily, especially if I read the book at night ;) So, for the first part of the book, I just read during the day. I thought Lily did a really good job describing the haunted house and I got really into the story.

However, there were a couple of things that just didn’t work for me.

First, I couldn’t really get into the two main characters. Jem and Will are both great guys, but their description and their developing relationship just felt flat for me. I don’t know why, because I usually like Lily’s characters a lot, especially the snarky ones. However, in this story, things just felt forced to me.

Second, I am quite disappointed by the ending of the story. We have a great build up and all of a sudden, the story just sort of … leaves off? Everything is resolved, rather quickly I think and most frustrating of all is the fact that I feel like I am left with a lot of questions about the haunting that haven’t been answered or not answered to my satisfaction.

Thirdly, I am not sure the chapters told through Jem’s eyes really did anything for the story. We don’t get to see much of his side of the story and when we do, it feels a bit forced (again).

Overall, I still enjoyed reading this book, despite the points that didn’t work for me!

[suz ~Always Reading~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this enough but it didn’t pull me in the same way the Black & Blue stories did. I thought the story was scary at first but it got to be over the top and just too much by the end. The story dragged , especially the last part. I loved Will and Hem but U would have loved them in a different setting even more.

[Zakiyya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The paranormal and psychic aspects of this book were so well-written.

If you like movies like ‘Poltergeist’ and ‘The Conjuring’ series then you will enjoy this one.

The only downside for me to how good the ghostly scenes were, was that it overshadowed the love story.

Individually, Jem and Will were interesting characters and I found myself enjoying reading about them but the moment I stepped into the haunted house, it was as if the romance faded into the background.

 

[Teeny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sceptic started great and strong. Lily punched me in the heart from chapter 1 when it came to Will and she built quite the strong atmosphere when it came to the paranormal aspects! Seriously I was scared out of my freaking mind!

I loved so much the start of it, I was reading the book slowly, but to be completely honest around ch.15 I started flagging. Mainly because I just couldn’t figure out what the point of Ben’s ghost hunting group was, not that they knew, why no one was doing any kind of research, why they kept holding back paranormal things that were happening from one another and why they never called Tom to come and investigate. I get why Will didn’t want to cut Blue’s vacation short but when he was back in York why not call him? Were all of them just going to leave the family to their devices after they proved that there was indeed a poltergeist haunting the home?

And somewhere around there Jem and Will’s chemistry and connection was developing and it did, with some really strong moments, like when Will was revealing his past to Jem, but with so few interactions between them that weren’t about what paranormal thing happened to them just then or them trading banter, the end result for me was underwhelming, so much so that although I’m happy for their HEA I’m just as skeptical about it.

I really needed just a tad more outside the paranormal aspects of the story. Still can't wait for the next and I loved the art of the characters that Lily commissioned from monafinden.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4.25 stars

The Sceptic is the first story in Lily Morton’s new Arcana Books series and is a spin-off of her Black and Blue series. We have met both men before, Will as Blue’s best friend and Jem as the cameraman in The Quiet House. This story picks up a bit after that book in the timeline, with the Viscount now owning the occult bookshop next door to Tom’s shop and Will working for him. So this series gives us a chance to pick back up into this world, but shifts the focus to different main characters. I think you could read this without having read the first series, but obviously your enjoyment will be heightened by being familiar with those characters. I do think Morton does a nice job here bringing Blue into the story without letting him steal the show. He is such a fabulous character and he could easily grab the limelight here, particularly as he clearly knows more about all the ghost stuff than anyone else. We do see Blue and Levi here and they play a nice side role, but I appreciated that Jem and Will are the stars and take the lead in resolving the story conflict.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Finnegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jem is a camera-man for a YouTube channel that investigate haunted houses. He and the team is off to investigate suspected poltergeist activity, and he took Will with him. Will is Blue's (a character in other books that I have not yet read) best friend, and is not really a sceptic, but he went along with Jem as they like each other and this might be a chance to develop their relationship.

I found the haunted house terrifying. I could not believe they would stick it out at that place, I would not have slept there for a minute. The romance was cute, but I was more invested in the haunted house, and did not really care for the love scenes, as I felt it unrealistic that anyone would feel a thread of desire in such a nightmarish place!

The end of the mystery was a bit of a let down, but the end of the romance was great! So I was happy reading this book, and might read Blue's books in future.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

definitely Lily's book that I liked least of all. the story drags on at times with difficulty and the ending is pulled away in three pages

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from Gay Romance Reviews in exchange of an honest review.


I was excited to go back in to the world of Black/Blue but now with new characters and new couples. It took me a few pages before I realised that Will is THE Will from Black/Blue, aka the best friend of Blue. Haha. My head is really not active. XD And then I was even more hyped because I knew there would be plenty of awesomeness. I have been curious about Will for a while so I am excited that we get to meet him more. And not just him, but also a guy named Jem. The love interest. Oh yes~

I am a bit tired (and my head is a bit wonky) so I will make a good/not so good review. Well, OK, I guess this will just be a good review.

😍 Love that it is about Will and that we get to know more about him. Why he was kicked out on the streets, about his past love (anyone want to kick Jason’s butt with me?), about his friendship with Blue (how they met), about everything. I already liked the character from Blue/Black, but with this book I loved him. He was such a sweet giant. Always there for people. Trying to help out. My heart broke that despite not living on the street anymore and getting his life in order, he was still not 100% confident and he was still doing things because the years of being homeless shaped him. I love that he wanted to pick up his studies again and become a real accountant. Help out in the bookstore even more, because indeed, you don’t want Tom or the Viscount to handle that. XD
😍 Jem was an absolute Gem. Sorry, haha, I had to. I loved how sweet he was with Will and how he gave him time and space. How he showed that he was there for him and that he would wait. I loved that he was so into cameras and loved to travel for shows.
😍 That we get to see both these characters. The book is Dual POV and so we don’t just see Will’s thought and the story through his eyes, we also get Jem’s!
😍 The ghost! The haunting! Oh, BOY I loved those parts so much. The ghost (or ghosts) ain’t screwing around here. It seems to start off pretty calmly, but it gets dangerous fast. From a few pans stacked on top of each other to cold spots to doors that don’t open to knocking to dark shapes with ill intentions. I am so glad for the romance because seriously, the ghost stuff scared the wits out of me, especially as the climax got nearer and nearer. Just like the with Blue/Black the author really knows how to write a scary haunted house. I love that we didn’t just see what was happening to our crew but also saw what happened to the family and also what happened when another ghost society popped up to help them. Lord, I wanted to kick those guys so badly. I am glad that our crew is staying. Or well, trying, because as I said, things get very hairy.
😍 Loved that Will was trying to be a sceptic… but that it just wasn’t working out for him. He kept seeing things. Kept being the centre of things at times. It made for some funny scenes though.
😍 Loved that we saw so many of the characters from Blue/Black. Not just the minor characters but also my babies Blue and Levi! Who are still doing perfectly fine and having a great time together (with apparently oodles of sex). I love that Blue eventually decided to help out, even though he didn’t do much I was happy with his presence. And Rosalind also makes an appearance.
😍 That cover.
😍 The ghost-busting crew. Wasn’t a fan of Mia because of how she acted, and Ben definitely needs to learn that he shouldn’t provoke ghosts for extra views, but I did like Lottie and Liam instantly, and Ben later grew on me. I do hope that next time we may see more of Ben/Liam, haha, now there is two guys who should just get together already.
😍 The banter between Jem and Will was just pure gold. I had such a giggle and laugh at the things they said to each other. It was just enormously cute and they weren’t even together for most of the book so it was just even more perfect. I was so shipping these two together while laughing my butt off. They are just so cute. Making references to things, singing songs, teasing and joking. Aww!
😍 Love how Will was all like nah to Jem, this will not work out, and he probably has someone else or will leave again soon, but in the meantime kept staring at his butt, kept dropping things when Jem was looking at him, and other things. Teehee, just confess already Will. Everyone can see you like that guy (and btw he is also very much into you).
😍 That the Youtube comments even were shipping Jem and Will. Now I loved that. And loved that a certain other character was heating the fires. Oh my!
😍 That Scooby Doo conversation and big fat bonus points because I also hate Scrappy, he was the worst one by far to be added.
😍 All the penguin jokes. Poor Jem, but that is what you get. 😛
😍 The ending was a tad rushed, but I still loved it and the closure we got on the case. What had happened. Who the ghost was. And more.
😍 That last bit and what Tom and the viscount did for Will, that was just so sweet and it made me cry. These people are just too good!
😍 I was a bit worried about Jem having to go back to work + how Will thought about Jem maybe not doing the job he loves, but I am happy that all worked out and that every party is happy with it. It doesn’t always happy drama-free so thank you to Lily Morton for writing two adults.
😍 The epilogue was perfect! Love it! So cute! So sweet!

😶 Hey, you don’t hear me complain about sex. About sexy times. If anything I was rooting for them to go for it. But… maybe it was just not the time. I am happy that the characters also saw that maybe it wasn’t time, but they still went for it and I don’t know. It just didn’t feel right. Yes, I was enjoying it, but I just kept waiting for something deadly to pop out and murder everyone. Oh yes. XD

All in all, I just ADORED this book. It was so much fun. With some scary moments, tons of banter and flirting, characters to ship and root for, and more! I cannot wait what is next in this series, for real, I need the second book now. I would highly recommend this one to all in need for some cute romance along with deadly ghosts.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[The Word Nerd Reviews Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lily Morton has undoubtedly hit her horror stride with The Sceptic. As a fan of the Blue Billings series, I was looking forward to Will’s story. Will was a side character in Blue Billings, but he occurred in the story enough to pique my interest, and it was lovely to learn more about the previously enigmatic friend and protector of Blue. I loved discovering the vulnerability behind the colossal man and finding out that he wasn't quite as fierce as he made out.

The Sceptic was equal parts romance and thriller. The romance was as swoon-worthy as you'd expect from Lily Morton. Jem was Will's perfect counterbalance. They were both strong but soft, both vulnerable in their own ways. When one faltered, the other was there to support and protect them. *sigh* in a word, they were perfect.

The first 50% of this book was the scariest I've read from this author. I thought The Quiet House had its moments, but it was nothing on the baby monitor scene! I was reading The Sceptic at the same time as a friend, and she admitted she had tears rolling down her face; she was that scared! I wasn't that big of a wuss, but it certainly made me nervous! I love the movie Poltergeist (the original version), and this book definitely had that feeling initially. It was marvellous!

I loved Blue and Levi's cameos throughout the book and at the end, where they had an active part. As much as I loved Will, Jem and the gang (and I really did), I'm crossing everything I have that there will be another book for Blue and Levi, they are just two characters I can't forget.

Another thing that added an extra unique element to this book were the voices in my head, no, not crazy ones, Joel Leslie ones! I've listened to Blue Billings a few times, and I couldn't help but put Joel's voices to the reoccurring cast. It wasn't a conscious decision; it just happened. It happened with my friend, too (she's a huge Joel fan), and we're hoping he does the audio for this one too!

The Sceptic was a fantastic reading experience that quickly made a dreary winter weekend pass (the weather certainly added to the atmosphere!). I loved every moment, and just like the Blue Billings series, it will be a reread. I can't wait to read more of Will and Jem's adventures.

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[Szidi ☼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read Blue's book *yet*, but now I'm really intrigued and can't wait to read them. But now, this book, just wow. Blew my mind. I'm such a scaredy cat and this book is scary as fuck, so when the night came I just put it down and finished reading the book for day LOL. I only could read it at daylight HAAHAHAHA. It was so real like and I was scared to find some ghosts in my home... :)

The built up was phenomenal, the characters not so much (only the two MC, all the side characters were boring). The storyline and the background were 5*, the emotions and the scary things, wow.

But I think the erotica part was way too much for this story, it could have been better with a light romance part and I'd say it's an easy five star read... It wasn't needed for the plot. They were perfect without sexy times too, the book was really interesting and mind blowing on its own without sex too. So IMO it's a 4star this way. I was bored with the sex scenes, they were dry (not because they didn't have lube LOL).

But the ghosts/spirits/whatever you call them, and the scary thing they did, just wow. Phenomenal. I wasn't sleeping as easily as before while reading this book, but it was worth it. hahaha

[Barb ~rede-2-read~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confession: I haven’t disliked any of Lily Morton’s work so far, and though I’m not usually a fan of paranormal or spooky stories, I do believe this talented author has won me over.

Blue’s best friend, Will, is asked to come along with Jem, a professional photographer, on a job investigating a poltergeist, or other ghostly being, since Blue is on a well-deserved holiday. To sweeten the pot, Jem offers Will the role of sceptic, for which he’ll be paid. Will accepts the invitation because it will give him time to get to know Jem better, but anyone who knows Will also knows the role of sceptic is totally unlike this friendly and giving young man who sees the best in everyone.

The story has an incredibly interesting host of characters, all richly described and with personalities that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. And though there were moments of horror and shock, there were also moments of camaraderie and humor among the “ghost hunters” who staged a self-imposed three-day lockdown in a haunted home. And during it all, Will and Jem, who’ve been attracted to each other ever since they met, grow to recognize, understand, and appreciate their diversity and find that the things they had most in common could possibly pave the way to a future together.

But first, the hurdle of Will’s lack of faith in relationships and Jem’s worldwide travel for his photography jobs would have to be surmounted—that is, if they live through the weekend.

Lily Morton brings her vivid imagination and wonderful sense of humor to this well-crafted, fast-paced, spooky, humorous, and romantic adventure. If you’ve ever read one of her books, don’t hesitate to pick this up and settle in for an unpredictable haunting experience.