Reviewed by Jennifer B.
TITLE: Catch a Ghost
SERIES: Hell or High Water #1
AUTHOR: S. E. Jakes
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 300 pages
BLURB: Everyone knows that Prophet—former Navy SEAL, former CIA spook, full-time pain in the ass—works alone and thinks only about the trouble he can cause. But his boss, Phil Butler of Extreme Escapes, LTD., has just assigned Proph not only a new partner but also a case haunted by ghosts from Proph’s past. Suddenly, he’s got to confront them both head on.
Tom Boudreaux—failed FBI agent, failed sheriff, full time believer in bad luck—is wondering why the head of a private contracting firm has hunted him down to offer him a job. Still he’s determined to succeed this time, despite being partnered with Prophet, EE, LTD’s most successful, lethal, and annoying operative, and even though the case is also resurrecting his own painful past.
Together, Prophet and Tom must find a way to take down killers in the dangerous world of underground cage matches, while fighting their own dangerous attraction. And when they find themselves caught in the crossfire, these two loners are forced to trust each other and work together to escape their ghosts . . . or pay the price.
REVIEW:
I will start by saying that I have loved Prophet from his very first appearance in the Men of Honor series. He was mysterious but could always be counted on to get the job done and provide whatever support was necessary. We never actually got very much detail about him; just enough to give a slow build up to this story. Needless to say, I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time.
This book could easily be read as a stand-alone and start to a hot new series. However, I am a fan of the slow burn, and even though I have zero patience for waiting. That’s exactly how it felt up to this point. I’m glad I had the background of the Men of Honor series behind me before reading this. That’s also why I didn’t feel lost or confused when this story began with a mysterious video.
When we see Prophet this time, he is on forced recovery with two broken wrists. He is also suffering from a degenerative something or other with his eyes that can only negatively affect his current career in a matter of time. In addition, he is being forced to take on a new partner, as well as his continual grooming to take over as head of EE, Ltd. (Extreme Escapes).
Prophet has many issues, not the least of which was his time as a POW. This man can handle torture like nobody’s business, although his body seems to be taking a more permanent dislike to the treatment. He is a bit unstable because of that, coupled with the other duties he has had to carry out over the years, which is, of course, why I love him so. He works best alone, has resigned himself to the fact he will always be alone, personally and professionally, and makes no excuses. He is also haunted by dreams and the ghost of his good friend/lover.
Tom has a few issues of his own. He’s a bit of a hot mess with his temper issues and the bad mojo that has followed his hot, tattooed, pierced self from his previous jobs. The current job appears to be a last chance for him, and though the deck seems to be stacked against him from the start, there always seems to be a bigger plan in effect.
Prophet and Tom – talk about hot stuff. Both fighters, strong and dominant, yet both damaged and vulnerable. As they investigate their first case, they spend as much time trying to figure each other out. They fight, joke, take care of one another and tear up the sheets, all while keeping secrets from each other.
The story starts out with the anonymously sent video, but as the story progresses, it becomes about the current investigation, one that is a bit personal for Prophet. Things come full circle though, and eventually ties all together in one way or another. As things unfold, Tom and Prophet continue to jockey around having some kind of relationship. Prophet never makes things easy though, and Tom quickly realizes he is also competing with a ghost.
There is a lot of action in this story, and I was on the edge of my seat through most of it. While some may disagree, I loved that there was no HEA yet for Prophet or Tom. Even though I was cursing the Kindle, I was happy there wasn’t even a HFN. Prophet still has so many issues, and Tom has a few as well. I never expected things to be easy for them and believe it will be all the more better for it in the end when it does happen, so I’m very thankful the author has taken this route. The characters are written with so much room for growth, even though they seem to have come such a long way already.
There is a bit of a love triangle here. While there isn’t any cheating, per se (they aren’t actually in a committed relationship after all), there is other flirting between Prophet and Cillian. Speaking of the super sexy and mysterious downstairs spook neighbor, Cillian, he and Prophet text and IM, and even flirt quite a bit, but have never actually met until later on in the story. There seems there could be a whole other story for Cillian, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed (and will gladly beg) that we get it.
A lot of choices are made at the end of this book, leaving me on the edge, dangling with questions and begging for more. The next book cannot come out fast enough for me, and I’m glad it won’t be too long a wait. I believe this was the best story yet in this series (I’m including Men of Honor) and certainly am not ready to see the last of any of these characters.
Jennifer’s Rating: 
PRE-ORDER: Riptide
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Jennifer B. is one of the newest official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.
To read all her reviews, click the link: JENNIFER B’S REVIEWS
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[…] in the hat another time (you can also leave a comment on The Blog of Sid Love – he’s featuring Catch A Ghost so anyone who comments there is entered in the contest as […]
I really enjoyed reading this one as well. The dynamic between Prophet and Tom is fantastic!
Kassandra
Great review!! I cannot wait to read this book!
I LOVE this review. =) Last book I bought is Catch a Ghost and he is zooming up to the top of my TBR list.
Sounds great and the review only piques my interest more. Thanks so much =)
Congrats on the new release. This sounds like a good read.
Awesome cover 🙂
Pre-ordered this from Riptide and really looking forward to reading it 🙂
Last couple of books I read were also by S E Jakes – books 4 & 5 in the Men of Honor series; I love her characters 🙂
This sounds really good, love the character descriptions. Thank you for the giveaway.
Awesome review. This book is what I’ll be buying today.
I’ve read a couple of reviews today already–it sounds very intriguing and engaging! Right now I’m reading James Lear’s THE PALACE OF VARIETIES…
Have seen good reviews about this one and have it on my TBR. RIght now I am reading Aleksandr Voinov’s Dark Soul series.
Sounds interesting and I really like the cover as I’ve always liked dreamcatchers 😀
Please throw my name in the hat for the giveaway. Thank You.
ilona
felinewyvern at googlemail dot com
The last books I bought were Billion Dollar Cowboy by Carolyn Brown and Lover at Last by JR Ward. The last books I read were Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas and The Warrior by Margaret Mallory.
Congrats on the new release. I have been waiting for this book since I saw it on Riptide’s website. Can’t wait to read it to see more of Prophet and Tommy(especially his piercings!)
Currently reading Infatuation by Nicole Edwards and starting Aftermath by Cara Dee later today. 🙂
Great review! I’m reading this one right now. So glad we don’t have to wait very long until the next story in this series is released. 🙂
I just recently finished Unbreak My Heart by K-lee Klein and Black Hurricane by Erica Pike. Enjoyed them both.
Please enter me in the contest…..anything with a ‘dream lover’ type connection has my vote. The last book I bought was the Emperor’s Consort by Scarlet Hyacinth; that was last book I read, as I am on a strict book budget. 🙁
I bought Wireless by L.A. Witt today. Actually now that I think about it I bought it because of your goodreads comment. Currently reading Clear Water by Amy Lane
Thanks for the great review, I can’t wait to read Catch A Ghost! And the last book I bought was An Unauthorised Field Guide to the Hunt by Kari Gregg.
tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com
I love her Men of Honor series. Can’t wait to read Proph’s story!!
Loved the review and loved Catch a Ghost, finished it last night and can’t wait to read it again.
*stumbles in & waves* I’m working on maybe 3 hours of sleep! Didn’t meant to wait so long to come and say hi 🙂 Thanks to Sid for hosting me and Jennifer B for the awesome review! And thank you for adding to my never ending TBR pile with the book talk…
I haven’t read this series, but it’s caught my eye several times. This story draws me the most, partyly because of the gorgeous cover, but I don’t like starting a series in the middle, so I’ll have to go back to the beginning I guess. Poor me. 😛 Let’s see… as for the questions; I haven’t purchased any eBooks today though I did receive a copy of Ashlyn Forge’s In Liam’s Wake: The Makeshift Soldier for her typo party. The last eBook I read … uh, Kendall McKenna’s Strength of the Wolf.
~ Cia anordwell (@) live.com
I’m currently reading CaG and loving it.
Book looks amazing ! Can’t wait to read it. Currently in the middle of another book. Ughh..
Great post btw !
: )
The last book I read is Tears of Tess by Pepper Winters.
stamper_sierra@yahoo.com
The last book I bought was a preorder of The Good Boy by Anne Tenino. Thank you for the cool review and the opportunity to win! This sounds like a great book.
You guys were so awesome that I asked Sid if I could giveaway a couple of Amazon GC to you guys (this is over and above the big giveaway, for which I’ll be posting the winners for tomorrow)…Anyway, just a random draw for a $10 Amazon GC…
#’s 8 & 24 – (excluding my posts)…Allison and Marie! Email me at authorsejakes AT gmail DOT com and let me know the email addy to send the GCs to. ( And you’re still entered in the big giveaway)
[…] show how opinions can be different the book was reviewed when it released in 2013 with a 4.5 star review by one of the […]
[…] show how opinions can be different the book was reviewed when it released in 2013 with a 4.5 star review by one of the […]