Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: The Supers

SERIES: Dreamspun Beyond #6

AUTHOR: Sean Michael

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 188 Pages

RELEASE DATE: October 15, 2017

BLURB:

The Supers

Hunting ghosts and finding more than they bargained for.

Blaine Franks is a member of the paranormal research group the Supernatural Explorers. When the group loses their techie to a cross-country move, newly graduated Flynn Huntington gets the job. Flynn fits in with the guys right off the bat, but when it comes to him and Blaine, it’s more than just getting along.

Things heat up between Blaine and Flynn as they explore their first haunted building, an abandoned hospital, together. Their relationship isn’t all that progresses, though, and soon it seems that an odd bite on Blaine’s neck has become much more.

Hitchhiking ghosts, a tragic love story forgotten by time, and the mystery of room 204 round out a romance where the things that go bump in the night are real.

REVIEW:

Originally I hadn’t planned to read this book, but a fellow reviewer was strapped for time, so I took it to help her out. I’ve always said that taking books from another reviewer was the best way to discover some of my favourite reads. And The Supers was no exception. I absolutely loved this story. The characters, the plot, the god damn creepy-ass setting, it all worked perfectly for me. And the most exciting news of all? It’s the first book in a new series, so there’s going to be MORE of these books!!

The Supernatural Explorers are a group of amateur film makers/ghost hunters who have the secret weapon of Blaine, their front man who can actually sense/see/communicate with ghosts. Flynn is their new hire, a tech guy whose deceased mother visits him in times of need. He can’t see ghosts, but he has a keen sense of their presence. To give Flynn some practice the group decide to spend a weekend filming at an abandoned hospital, where they’ve experienced some minor ghostly activity previously.

What occurs next could in no way be described as MINOR ghostly activity. I’m not too proud to admit that, when I began reading this book I was home alone, at night, and it actually scared me. The only setting that trumps abandoned hospital in a horror story, is mental asylum, and this hospital had a violent and scary past. The author did a brilliant job of bringing that spooky place to life (or death, haha, wow I’m hilarious) and the story included true horror elements like possessions, murder, and most importantly…maggots.

As to the romance angle, I thought that was expertly woven into the ghostly element of the story. I loved the background story of the relationship between the two men who died in the hospital in the eighties. And I loved how everything was brought together in the end, in a way that didn’t leave me shaking my head in disbelief.

Sean Michael already has a huge fan base, but I think this story is quite different from this author’s usual story. When I think Sean Michael, I think BDSM or Mannies, but you’ll find a complete lack of spanking or male nannies in this book. Even the sex was pretty much Sean Michael Lite. But it was perfect. I wouldn’t have wanted anything written differently.

I’m not usually a fan of ghost stories, but this one truly impressed and I can’t wait to read more about the “Five gay ghost hunters in a shitty van”!

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press