Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Purgatory Playhouse
SERIES: Magic Emporium #10
AUTHOR: E.J. Russell
PUBLISHER: Reality Optional Press
LENGTH: 185 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2021
BLURB:
The very last thing out-of-work theater technician TD Baylor should have done was blow his last ten bucks on a crapshoot. He was one couch-surf shy of homeless, for Pete’s sake. But as he was trudging along suburban Boston streets with all his worldly possessions in tow, the sign in the window of an over-the-top Halloween pop-up caught his eye: Marden’s Magic Emporium. With the way his luck was running lately, he figured magic might be the only thing that could fix his life, so… what the hell.
He didn’t realize that hell was an operative word.
Okay, maybe not hell, per se. But what TD thought were some unnecessarily kickass special effects (the three-headed dog guarding the door of the underground theater was a real winner) turn out to be…more.
Because now he’s helping to mount a musical production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Greek pantheon, and there’s more than bad reviews on the line for the performers. A good show could mean redemption for one of them. A bad show…
Yeah, did he mention that part about hell?
Purgatory Playhouse is part of the multi-author Magic Emporium Series. Each book stands alone, but each one features an appearance by Marden’s Magic Emporium, a shop that can appear anywhere, but only once and only when someone’s in dire need. This book contains a desperate theater techie, a production assistant who’s sort of, um, not alive, Greek gods behaving badly, and a guaranteed HEA.
REVIEW:
I have loved every book in this series so far, but I have to admit this has been my favorite of them all. And that’s saying a lot. If you have not read this series, you are missing out. It has just been absolutely amazing. But with this one, I got so many things that I love. Paranormal, greek gods & goddesses, someone to stand for the victims….it’s just one of the best I’ve read.
When TD shows up in Boston, expecting to be met by the man of his supposed dreams, it turns out to be a nightmare, where he is left homeless and jobless. And one his way to do something, Marden’s Emporium shows up and gives TD a chance at what he needs. A job and a place to stay for a few weeks so he can get on his feet again. But what he expects out of this job is not what he gets at all.
Instead, he gets people from ‘Limbo’ in Purgatory to put on a play for the gods. He has to put up with crap from the gods that is totally unfair, and the good part….kind of…he meets the idol of his dreams.
And this is where it gets fun. I love TD. I love everything about that man because he takes no crap off ANYONE. He doesn’t even realize how many times he’s put his life in danger because he’s had it up to the heavens with all the crap the gods are pulling and he’s going to do all he can to fight for the victims in this mess. Even if it means going against the Fates and having his own life strand cut. But he doesn’t care. All he cares about is making sure everyone else is taken care of. He cuts deals that leaves him with less so the others have more. He cuts deals and manipulates things, so the gods will see what they’ve done wrong to the people they’ve wronged and made them fix it. And it’s not made him friends in some circles. But in other circles, he’s everyone’s hero. Not that he wants to be one. And that’s what I love too. He doesn’t want pats on the back or accolades. He just wants what should be right, done right.
And then Lonnie. Sweet, sweet Lonnie. All this time thinking he’s just been on the sidelines not fighting for anything or doing anything to make a difference. When the first thing TD sees, is what a difference Lonnie makes. He just does it quietly. He fills in where he’s needed, helps when it’s needed, gives comfort, holds a hand, whatever. He quietly fills whatever role he needs to fill to make everyone happy. And I love that he and TD are so alike that way. They don’t want the pats on the back or anything. They just want to help. They want the people around them happy. And because of it, they get the happiness they are looking for too. In each other. Lonnie always wanted someone to love him and he never dreamed he’d get it with being stuck in Purgatory. But Marden’s always has a way of giving someone what they are in dire need of. And even though Lonnie didn’t visit the shop himself, it worked out for him as well.
It’s such a good story. I loved every minute of this book. I was so so happy to get to read this. You guys need to pick this series up if you haven’t already. It’s worth it.
RATING: 
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