Reviewed by Caroline
TITLE: Ghost
SERIES: Executioners Book 1
AUTHOR: JM Dabney
PUBLISHER: Hostile Whispers Press
LENGTH: 157 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 18, 2017
BLURB:
Gideon Jane earned the name Ghost for his reclusive nature when he joined a group of guys in Powers, Georgia in a band called Executioners. It had been his way of settling into small town life after living in New York for the past twenty years. He loved the band and his small organic farm. What he didn’t love was being single, but it appeared it was his new reality. He didn’t want his ex back, although he did want something. What that was eluded him until the evening he walked into Nightingale’s Books.
Small town girl Harper Sage knew pain, and she’d lived with it—she had the scars both mental and physical to prove it. It would’ve been easier to hop in her car to find safety and anonymity, but Harper stayed to prove she was stronger than hurled fists and bruising prejudice. She found herself within the safety of a close-knit group of rough bikers and bar bouncers. That didn’t mean it was all perfect.
What’s a girl to do when she craves normalcy and acceptance: she just smiles. Choices are made, some with dire consequences and others that bring her closer to her dream. Will she make the right decision or finally discover escape is her best option?
Author Note: This book contains scenes of violence and descriptions of self-harm.
REVIEW:
This is the third series by JM Dabney that all kind of link back to each other with a group of fierce, loyal and often crazy men that I have grown to love. If you have read the books from the previous series then I expect like me you have been waiting for Harper’s story. This was always going to be a toughie as it was obvious that Harper had had such a tough time growing up but Ghost lays it all bare and you realise just how much she has suffered at both the hands of others and her own.
Anything different in a small town is always a talking point but for Harper, a Trans woman, her differences were not only talked about but were used as an excuse to bully her and make her feel like less. The effect this had on her mentally was heart-breaking and her coping mechanism involved pain – first from herself and then from anyone who would dole it out. All Harper ever wanted in life was to settle down and be loved but she long ago gave up on her dream and accepted the way others treated her.
Gideon or Ghost as he is known to his friends comes along at just the right time and immediately sees Harper for who she really is. He sees her personality, her humour, her strength and her weakness and he takes it all in his stride whilst offering friendship and a shoulder to lean on. He takes it slowly, careful of her vulnerability but he makes it known from the start that he likes everything he sees and he is willing to wait until Harper can accept more.
This story is painful, gritty and covers a lot of dark subjects. It’s also uplifting and gifts us with hope that you can first rise up and secondly move on. Harper is an inspiration to anyone that has ever felt that they didn’t fit, to anyone that has suffered alone and to anyone that has grabbed a chance and run with it. Ghost may have been her saviour but first of all she had to want to be saved – Ghost gave her that desire to live and slowly but surely he gave her love and trust. Definitely one of my favourites from this author so far.
Now to wait patiently for Joker’s book which I’m sure is going to be explosive.
RATING:
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