Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Between the Shadow and the Soul 
AUTHOR: Jamie Craig
PUBLISHER: Amber Allure
LENGTH: 103 pages
BLURB:
Ryan Jackson doesn’t expect too much from his weekend at the Shadows and Souls fan convention in Tahoe—he wants to meet his online friends, engage in a few heated debates about the plot for the upcoming season, and maybe shake the hand of the TV show’s star, Johnny Marlowe. But his weekend goes off course almost immediately after his arrival. First, the hotel loses his booking. Then Johnny Marlowe talks to him like they’re actual friends. And while his head is still spinning, a ghost attacks him in the elevator.
Despite fighting ghosts every week on television, Johnny Marlowe does not believe in the spirit world. He does, however, believe he should get to know Ryan better. Fan or not, the man is not only gorgeous, he’s down-to-earth, fun, and makes Johnny forget about the fake life he’s forced to lead and the ex-boyfriend who refused to participate in the charade. Unfortunately, every time Johnny tries to get close to the handsome ginger, something explodes or the earth shakes or lights blink out—and none of that is as sexy as it sounds.
Johnny doesn’t believe in ghosts, but he knows he has to get to the bottom of this haunting if he ever wants to get close to his biggest fan.
REVIEW:
I did not know the women writing as Jamie Craig were back! This makes me happy…. One of my favorite paranormal series is by Jamie Craig, a few years ago I read pretty much everything m/m published under that name and hadn’t seen anything published for a while. They wrote some m/f but that’s not really my thing so I stopped checking for new books some time ago. I was pleasantly surprised to see this one come out!
It is a fun story! I remember why I like Jamie Craig books, well written, great characters, with interesting plots.
Ryan Jackson shows up for the Shadows and Souls convention set at an awesome hotel in Tahoe, that I hope is real! He’s been planning this trip since it was announced, he’s a big fan of the ghost fighting show and can’t wait to meet his favorite stars and fellow fans. Of course the hotel has no record of his reservation, even though he has proof he paid (I did find that bit a little hard to believe, honestly, but that’s ok!), fortunately he is rescued and offered a room by the star of the show, and Ryan’s crush, Johnny Marlowe.
Johnny Marlowe is the pretty star of Shadow s and Souls, has recently been dumped by his boyfriend because he isn’t willing to be open about his relationship, and is now stuck at a fan convention for the weekend. His plan is to get drunk and have fun. He spies the large red headed man at the desk arguing with the desk clerk, hears his issue and spontaneously offers him his extra room. They head up the elevator to get settled in and things get weird….
So the hotel is haunted, they have an adventure and a weekend of some naughty sex. I can’t say it was the most unique plot I’ve read, it was a bit predictable, but it was fun anyway. I’ve been to a couple of conventions and similar events, I appreciated the setting and the fans. I’ve been one of them! The connection between Ryan and Johnny was fast to develop, as it needed to be in this short of a story, and was fun to watch. There isn’t a lot of background or details about either of them, but it wasn’t really needed. Johnny makes Ryan his personal assistant for the weekend, so he can make him sign a confidentiality agreement once they start to flirt, and Ryan really does try his hardest to be cool and not let on that Johnny is gay. It’s not his fault it all goes to hell! I liked the additional characters, June the organizer and Pam, a fellow fan, added some realism to the story. Paul, the obnoxious desk clerk certainly played a big part as well, plus Rachel, the hero of the story of course!
There’s isn’t a lot of sex in this story, it’s short, and more sex wouldn’t have fit. It takes place over a busy weekend, and the boys have other things going on. Namely being stalked by a couple of crazy ghosts! I can’t say much about the ghosts without giving the story away, other than to say they were creepy but sweet, once you figure out what is going on. I guess this felt a bit like an episode of a ghost hunting story, short and quick, a good plot, good connection between the main characters, a fun setting, and a satisfying ending. Both for the ghosts and for Ryan and Johnny. The writing was great, Jamie (Vivian and Pepper!) get to the point, tell a story with not a lot of extra fluff, give us a plot, characters and a solution quickly and cleanly. I hope they are back to writing m/m together as Jamie Craig, I’d certainly buy more books!
RATING: 
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