Give Up The Ghost

Written by Jenn Burke

Narrated by Greg Boudreaux

The bigger they are, the harder they maul.

Immortal not-ghost Wes Cooper and his vampire partner, Hudson Rojas, have it all-rewarding private investigation work, great friends and, most important, a love that's endured. But ever since Wes sent a demon screaming back to the beyond, his abilities have grown overpowering and overwhelming. He's hiding the fact that he's losing control the best he can, but it's hard to keep anything a secret for long when your partner's a former cop . . . and especially when your partner's a former cop who wants to move in together.

When all hell literally breaks loose in Toronto and super-strength ghosts are unleashed on Wes and his friends, he and Hudson are thrown into a case unlike any they've seen before. To save the city, Wes needs to harness his new power . . . and find some answers. But when he gets them, the solution to fix it all could mean losing everything.

Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Aug 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9781630156800

Jenn Burke

Jenn Burke has loved out-of-this-world romance since she was a preteen reading about heroes and heroines kicking butt and falling in love. She’s been called a pocket-sized and puntastic Canadian, and she’ll happily own that label. Jenn lives just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and two kids, plus two dogs named after video game characters…because her geekiness knows no bounds.

Reviews for Give Up The Ghost

[charlotte_kinzie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review will be posted on my blog on May 3!!
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The descriptive bit: Wes Cooper is not-quite a ghost, and he’s immortal, oh yeah, and he has a whole bunch of magic almost exploding out of him. He’s keeping that part secret from his vampire, ex-cop, partner, Hudson Rojas. Basically, Toronto is being invaded by ghosts and other creatures from the otherplane and things are getting dangerous.

My thoughts bit: This book was a fun romp through the supernatural realm with one of the best Scooby gangs ever. We and Hudson lead up a team of investigators who originally appeared in the first book of the Not Dead Yet series. There’s Lexi who is a talented witch, Wes who is a baby vampire sired by Hudson, Iskander is Hudson’s business partner and the down-to-earth one of the bunch.

There’s no shortage of action in this story. There’s drama in the ranks because Wes and Hudson are both hiding secrets and the stress of that is wearing on them. New vampire Wes is trying out a relationship but he suffers from depression and it’s really beginning to pull him down. Iskander has been keeping his distance from his Muslim family because his brother-in-law is homophobic and doesn’t want him near.

I loved following Wes as he struggles with his new magical powers. He’s a sweet guy and he’s massively flawed and remarkably honest about it in his own mind. Burke definitely nailed the characterizations in this novel. Even the side characters (although I hate calling them that because they’re amazing) are developed to the point where I cared about all of them. I seriously would read another novel about any of these characters!

Don’t worry if you haven’t read the first book: Not Dead Yet. I hadn’t read the first one and there’s enough exposition at the beginning that you won’t feel left behind. I will tell you that as soon as I finish this review I’m off the find a copy of the first book because I need to know how these wonderful people found each other.

The warnings bit: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this book: lots of violence, the killing of supernatural creatures, biting and drawing blood. Some descriptions of death, mention of homophobia.

[Alexis Flanagan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing second book to the series! Can't wait fot the next to come out.

[Tamara · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Everything I said about Not Dead Yet can be said for Give Up the Ghost too. The only reason it took me a bit longer to read it is that I realized I'm not a big fan of lying (at least not about really big, important stuff) and the first part of the book is all about Wes doing just that (and being an idiot). But, all's well that ends well and that's all that mattered in the end. I'm so happy to have found this series! 4.5 stars

[andyjusty · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow. Another amazing performance that brings the book to life.

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

restoration, murder, law-enforcement, ghosts A family of overweening rich folk, a colorful house watcher, an incredibly beautiful psychic, a butchered historic house, a real home restorer, and the ghosts. And the murders. And much more!Excellent read! Even better when narrated by Xe Sands!

[cathyskye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have come to depend on Juliet Blackwell's Haunted Home Renovations series for light, fun reads that deliver my fix of wonderful old houses. Blackwell always handles the paranormal aspects of these books with a light, sensitive touch that I appreciate.In Give Up the Ghost, the story behind the ghosts and the ghosts' lives are fascinating, and the entire story moved along at a quick, steady pace. But what flabbergasted me was what Flynt did to that poor house. Why on earth someone who prefers glass, chrome, and black leather would buy an old Victorian mansion and then insist on forcing it to conform to his taste is beyond me, but I know that it happens. To say that Mel's work to undo the damage was every bit as interesting as the mystery... well... it actually plays an important part in the mystery!If you're in the mood for a light, intriguing mystery about a house with hidden rooms, secret doors and passageways, and a few things that may go bump in the night, I think it's time to acquaint yourself with Juliet Blackwell's Haunted Home Renovations series. They can be just what the doctor ordered.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was a little worried after the last book in this series, because after a string of solidly entertaining and ghostly mysteries, it was lacking hugely in plotting. Happily it was just a blip; Give Up the Ghost brings the series back onto solid footing. After spending an obscene amount of money destroying the historical integrity of a San Franciscan Victorian mansion, turning the inside into a soulless modern expanse of drywall and vinyl windows, the owners find the home haunted by a very pissed off ghost and impossible to sell. After bringing in a psychic who tells them to restore the interiors as much as possible to appease the ghost, Mel is hired to do what restoration she can. Almost immediately afterwards, the psychic is murdered. The pacing of the story was great and Blackwell introduced another ghost-story sub-plot which I thought kept things moving and interesting. She's also introduced some personal upheaval that I'd normally find to be a deal-breaker, but oddly enough, I find it welcoming. Maybe what she was doing before didn't work as well as I thought it did. The murder plotting was great: a nice distribution of clues and information meant the ending was a surprise and I love that Mel gets her questions answered through research instead of ridiculous amateur sleuthing tactics. Looking forward to seeing where Blackwell takes these characters next.