From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

P.S. I Spook You (The Spectral Files, #1)

S.E. Harmon

Start date: November 1, 2023

Finish date: November 30, 2023

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Why we're reading this: Suggested by Mtsnow13, seconded by me/Karen. This is a favorite paranormal series. Hope you will join us …more
[close] Suggested by Mtsnow13, seconded by me/Karen. This is a favorite paranormal series. Hope you will join us in this November read/re-read.

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Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Jun 28, 2017 Apolishedreader rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm

I thoroughly enjoyed this romantic, mysterious, ghostly tale.
The story is told by Rain. He is an agent with the FBI in the BAU (think Criminal Minds). He solves cases by profiling the people involved in a case. Oh, and he can also see ghosts. Fresh off a forced administrative leave (that ghost thing does not play nice with the FBI), he is given a choice on cold cases to work on without the team while he gets his head on straight. And while his boss figures out if he still fits into the team.
So, ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Feb 27, 2018 Allison rated it it was ok

Shelves: not-for-me, 2018, authors-that-don-t-work-for-me

1.5 stars rounded up because I finished it. Even though I skimmed about 75%.

This book and I did not get along. I could probably go on for ages about the things I didn't like, but I will try to limit it.

I admit I was worried about reading this before I started because I'd read some things that made me wonder if it was my book. Plus, because it has so many five star reviews, I often don't mesh with those books. But I went in hoping to be pleasantly surprised. That did not happen.

I found the MCs to 1.5 stars rounded up because I finished it. Even though I skimmed about 75%.

This book and I did not get along. I could probably go on for ages about the things I didn't like, but I will try to limit it.

I admit I was worried about reading this before I started because I'd read some things that made me wonder if it was my book. Plus, because it has so many five star reviews, I often don't mesh with those books. But I went in hoping to be pleasantly surprised. That did not happen.

I found the MCs to be childish and basically incompetent. They were so worried about being snarky and "cute" that they failed at being cops completely. I love sarcastic humor, but this was soooo "look at me being a smartass" that it drove me up the wall. This is a totally personal reaction, humor is so much a factor of the person experiencing it, that I started here because most people, obviously, don't feel this way about this book/these characters. So, definitely, this is a me thing.

This felt so derivative of PsyCop, in the beginning, that it made me uncomfortable. I mean, Rain even pulled out one of his anti-anxiety pills from his pocket, covered in lint, and swallowed it (Vic is kinda known for this). But all the good things about PsyCop were removed, and replaced with the exact opposite, so that I don't even know how to cover all of it.

The absolute lack of anything resembling actual police procedure being followed made me nuts! I love mysteries/police procedurals/cop books so maybe I am more sensitive to this, but OMG. They just did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. None of the evidence, if they'd managed to actually collect any, would have been admissible in court. You know, if you just want to write a romance about cops without actually having them do cop things then don't hinge your book around that. If you can tell me the brand name of his shirt, you can tell me that the evidence was put in an evidence bag, etc. This was my biggest pet peeve.

Finally, I just didn't care for them that much. They, especially Rain, acted like a child a good 80% of the time. The sex was sort of hot, but because I didn't connect with them at all, and I totally didn't understand what Danny saw in Rain, it wasn't that great.

I could continue on about a number of other things, but I am clearly in the minority on this one, so I'm just going to stop here. I will not be reading anything else from this author because we clearly don't mesh. This review is basically to make sure that I never let myself get talked into trying anything else. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Jan 26, 2020 Bibliophile rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Re-read 1.26.19 to prepare myself to read book 2. Still enjoyed it as much as I remembered. :)

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2018 Bogusia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: firefighters-cops-mystery-mob, ghosts, mm, the-series, 2017, autobuy-author, the-best-of-the-best, re-read, paranormal

5+ stars
I loved this book!
Can't wait to read the 2nd installment...I hope so :)
re-read-LOVE IT AGAIN :) ...more

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Aug 04, 2017 ΛNNΞ rated it it was ok

Shelves: dnf, hoopla

DNF'd at about 80% ...

Sadly, this just was not the book for me. I was ready to DNF at about 60% but kept going and could have kept going if I did not have an exhaustive reading wishlist I want to get through this summer. There were several things that did not go well for me. First, the whole paranormal thing is often a tough sell for me. I read the Jordan Castillo Price's PsyCop series and this book did remind me a little of those books (considerably less creepy and gritty). The whole ghost aspe DNF'd at about 80% ...

Sadly, this just was not the book for me. I was ready to DNF at about 60% but kept going and could have kept going if I did not have an exhaustive reading wishlist I want to get through this summer. There were several things that did not go well for me. First, the whole paranormal thing is often a tough sell for me. I read the Jordan Castillo Price's PsyCop series and this book did remind me a little of those books (considerably less creepy and gritty). The whole ghost aspect did not come across as particularly believable in this book however and at times the appearance of ghosts come across as either convenient or plotty ... which I am not a fan off. Manufactured drama is just distracting and annoying. Also a bit of a problem with this books is some aspects of FBI/Police behaviors portrayed were not that believable. One example is how these two tended to interact and interview suspects/witnesses. I cannot believe that anyone acting in that capacity would do some of the things that the MCs did on a rather frequent basis? Not to mention there is an "inappropriate" workplace relationship in this book ... just too many things to overlook ...

The author is quite talented when it comes to witty banter ... however, a typical pitfall that almost everyone who attempts this falls into, is when "witty banter" is overdone and you get something else entirely ... often "drama queen" or just a particularly irritating MC. This did not happen here ... but the snark did impact probably my least favorite aspect of this book. THE EX! I hate when an "ex" shows up in my books ... just taints the whole relationship with ghosts (different ghosts!) that I don't particularly enjoy and it is usually very difficult to navigate out of those waters without making one or more of the MCs look bad IMO. But in this case we have a saintly EX who is patient and understanding beyond what is normally the case. It doesn't matter how badly treated or how often, the "saintly EX" still LOVES and FORGIVES and is endlessly PATIENT and UNDERSTANDING. Not really realistic and does not shine either MC is a particularly flattering light ...

I found myself skimming though major portions of this book just to get through it (not a good sign). But the book definitely crossed-a-line with a scene promoting unsafe sex (view spoiler) as sexy . A hard NO! There were many reasons in this situation where this was not okay and therefore a major disappointment ...

Not my favorite read of the year ... but that probably is part of it too. The last couple books that I read were excellent so the bar was set particularly high for this one ... and it is just not my cup of tea ... ...more

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Jun 12, 2017 Susana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Rain Christiansen saw his career threatened when he gave into the insistence of a pleading ghost to approach and soothe his family. Deemed as stressed and suffering from a nervous breakdown, the before rising star of the Bureau finds himself stranded in his home town, working with his ex-lover in a cold case. But trouble follows Rain there because, on the one hand, it is true that he sees ghosts, and the bloody things won’t stop chasing him, and on the other hand, working with Daniel McKenna is ...more

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Jul 09, 2017 Lois rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lgtb

Soo, I don't know what the heck I was doing. About 30% into the book, I kind of forgot that I was reading it and started another book. And it wasn't my subconscious trying to tell me something, because I like the book.
I like the characters and the story. The guys seemed more realistic than the average alpha FBI/ cop in many mm romance books. I do like me some alpha sometimes, but a change was nice.
The story was well written and fluently. I can't wait for a sequel (I hope this will become a ser ...more

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Oct 10, 2017 Dana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, mystery, paranormal

I love a good ghost story but I'm also a chicken at times. P.S. I Spook You had a perfect amount of spirit/haunting content without traveling into a horror story. There is an element of mystery when Rain is sent to work on a cold case after he causes a stir at his FBI job. He returns to his hometown and is sent to work with his ex to solve a 5 year old missing persons case. I am totally a second chance romance fan. Especially between the same couple. The combination of non-horror ghost story, my ...more

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Aug 22, 2022 Lois - Who Reads rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: challenge-scavenger-hunt, stored-kindle-app, m-m, mystery-suspense, purchased-kindle

That was just so much fun. Rain and Danny are like the necklace in the book; they might both be a little broken, but they fit together perfectly. I loved all the snarky banter and all those moments when they lowered their barriers just long enough to get a glimpse into their hearts. Their past relationship didn’t really end, it just fizzled out because both of them didn’t know how to expose their true feelings. Now a cold case brings them together and the sparks are still there, they just have t ...more

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