Ghostwalker Sam Jones has been half in love with Michael King since he started working at Requiem Inc. But Michael is his boss and a Guardian, to boot. Sam thinks they could make it work anyway, but Michael uses his position and his age to keep Sam at arm’s length.
When Sam continues to volunteer for the most dangerous cases, Michael has to intervene. He tells himself he’s just doing his job, but he’s always seen Sam as more than another operative, and he can’t bear the thought of not taking his chance. The connection between them has been strong from the beginning, and Michael’s telepathy adds unexpected depth and an edge to their new romance, but working together while they try to build their relationship might be the hardest part of their job if they don’t make some sacrifices.
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R *A Reader Obsessed* - 3.5 Hearts
Bethke so far has been a consistent, well rounded, and much appreciated author, and I overall liked this sequel to Ghost of a Chance - just not as much.
I knew going in that though I loved the idea of Sam and King getting their story, the fact that this was 10 years in the making, was not something that would easily sit well with me.
Was King frustrating in his stubborn insistence that he and Sam had no future based on his seemingly one sided insistence that it would never work? Absolutely. Not only did King use their age difference (which is a mere decade), but he also played the card of being Sam’s boss to really hide behind his fears of possibly not being enough for Sam, and thus denied them a chance at happiness for years. Argghhh! However, I will give points to Bethke for making King eat plenty of humble pie, and I was satisfied with how that was handled.
Just so you know, this was more about Sam and King working through several issues, mainly how to mesh their personal and professional lives. King is not only an anchor but a telepathic guardian as well, and this double whammy means King is particularly hardwired to make sure all those who are under his care are happy, content, and safe. When it comes to Sam, that instinct is magnified at least 100 fold and quickly, King’s possessive and protective urges come to the fore causing problems.
So, like the first book this centers on two people who have a deep connection, work through their problems and fears, and come out the other side extremely happy and in love. I’m thankful that Sam and King talk and solve things maturely. Was it all a bit too easy? Yes…. but again, I’m ok with that. Extra bonus points that this was oh-so-smexy just like its predecessor! Avery’s story is next, and I look forward to it come May!
Thanks to the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
YES! This is exactly what I was hoping for when we first realize in Blake’s book that there is something between Sam and Michael. This is what I needed and boy did it deliver.
When Michael anchored Sam in Ghost of a Chance and they had that moment, I was lost. We know that Sam has feelings for Michael and we know that Michael has feelings for Sam but Michael has a whole book full of reasons why nothing can happen. First it was their age difference of 10 years, and then it’s because Michael is Sam’s boss and the Guardian for the Duncan Moor branch of Requiem Inc. but Sam knows what he wants and that is Michael King.
I love how this started with Sam going into the spirit plane to help a reluctant soul cross over and Tom - the reluctant soul - later becomes someone to help Sam along the way with Michael. This whole world of ghostwalkers and their anchors is amazing to me. I love the idea of one person being able to literally be killed to enter a plane to help those who have died cross over into the light and the idea of one person being able to anchor them in this plane so they can come back and then be the one to take care of them when they are alive again is simply stunning. Even though Dom and Sam are nothing more than best friends along with being paired as ghostwalker/anchor for the last 12 years, the way they work together and trust one another is gorgeous.Sam had been half in love with Michael King pretty much from the moment they met. But he also knew it was a fruitless longing. The ten-year age difference meant nothing to Sam, but Michael held it between them like a shield.
Thankfully this is told from both Sam and Michael’s POV because this reader had one hell of a need to see where Michael really was with his feelings for Sam and we get that right away. Michael has a lot of responsibility when it comes to his operatives at Requiem Inc and being not only an anchor - with the anchor gene - but a Guardian with his telepathy he has that natural inclination to care and take care of people. To let himself be with Sam could be dangerous because of these things but make no mistake, Michael is into Sam with the same level of feelings that Sam has for Michael, he is just better at controlling his wants.
Goodness this book was so freaking fracking good. Honesty, I opened it just to peek and ended up staying up past my bedtime to devour this in less than 3 hours. I loved the bit of backstory we get with Michael and Sam when they first met and how the attraction was instant. I love that we know how much Michael wants Sam and how he tends to be different with Sam than the other operatives when it comes to taking care of him. We know that Michael would do anything to be able to have Sam and when the time comes for them to finally give in… good lord was it ever worth it.He considered each of his sixteen operatives family in one way or another. But his affection for Sam wasn’t brotherly or fatherly. It wasn’t even all that friendly. His body and heart wanted more from Sam, though he could never have it.
I love first kisses, whether they be the timid light brush of lips on lips or the first kisses that are so filled with every emotion the only thing that can happen is a clash of mouth on mouth and passion so hot I had to stick my foot out of the blankets to get cooled off. These two have the passion in spades and that one kiss wasn’t enough for me and thankfully it wasn’t enough for Sam and Michael either.
Michael and Sam have been dancing around their attraction to one another for 10 long angst and UST filled years so I have absolutely no problem with Michael’s final acceptance and surrender to Sam. We know what he wants and how hard it is for him to keep his feelings in check so I was head over feet in love with Michael when he listens to what Sam says about dating a ghostwalker and finally takes a chance on love.
It was stunning to see how these two worked together and how miserable it made Michael. Yup, I loved seeing him fight his natural urge to take care of Sam even as his anchor when it wasn’t his place. This book really isn’t about finding love, these two have been in that zone for years but this was about finding the balance between their love and what they do within Requiem Inc.
Gah! Michael, he just killed me in this. He was so raw and troubled with having to kill his boyfriend over and over again even though it’s his job, it hurts him to do it. Michael fought so hard to not love Sam but thankfully when faced with losing what he won’t let himself have, he gives in.
I have so many moments highlighted and I hugged my Nook at least a dozen times while reading this. I tried to put it down last night and go to bed but I had about 50 pages left and I had to pick my Nook back up and decided to finish. It was the best decision I could have made.He’d thought he could handle it. If he’d realized just how hard it would be, he might not have gotten involved with Sam. He might have let Sam leave and move on with his life. Michael’s heart gave a painful thump at the thought. There was no going back, and he didn’t even want to. But that didn’t make any of it easy.
So, the end of this comes up with a great solution for Michael and Sam and I loved that Dom was going to suggest it before Sam brings it to the table. I adore Dom and his partner Levi and am so happy everyone has a chance to actually be settled and happy in this book. It was great to get glimpses of Blake and Derek and their bond is still strong.
I was hoping hard that we would get a story for Avery since we met him in book one. We know about losing his partner who he was bonded to and I can’t wait to get an entire story of just him.
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