🟥 P.S. I Spook You (2017) Review - Hackneyed Harlequin | Book Waffle

P.S. I Spook You (2017) written by S.E. Harmon

It's strange that 90% of M/M romance isn't targeted at gay men like me. That's kinda bizarre, right? Not hating on it. Just something I've always found to be weird.

We follow some chap named Rain Christiansen. The dude is a do-gooding FBI detective who sees ghosts. Naturally, he gets chewed out by his boss one day for creeping on some grieving family and telling them that their daughter is in a better place. 

As punishment, his boss tells him to GTFO and solve a cold case somewhere in the country. And, for some reason known only to God, the man chooses a case from his hometown. 

You know. The town where his annoying family and hunky police detective ex live. Amazing decision. A true glutton for punishment.

I could tell this wasn't written by a man in the first few pages. The first paragraphs, in fact. The book begins with multiple long-winded descriptions of characters' appearances. Massive red flag. 

"Oh boy, it's one of them stories."

I began this post by saying I don't mind gay romances that are written for a female audience; however, the lack of a believable male voice in a first person PoV novel is something I will hate on.

The quirky pop culture asides were not doing it for me. But, more than that, there's a certain slant of male angst missing. It's difficult to describe, but it's a kind of solitude. A willingness to suffer in silence. To leave words hanging. To put on a facade of strength because you feel you have to. This is not the same as poorly communicating with your boyfriend.

Yet, even with an okay male PoV, it can still be a great novel. Unfortunately, I don't think this differentiated itself from the masses.

I get that romance novels like this are for people that churn through dozens of these in a year. Predictable setups. Predictable conflicts. Predictable characters. Trope after trope after trope getting crossed off the list. Where's my copy of Romancing the Beat?

But I'm not one of those people. I crave something unique, carnal, and intense. Trite melodrama of a cop lifting a random dude by the collar and shaking answers out of him ain't it.

The characters never felt real. The love interests barely seem to know each other despite having been boyfriends for years prior to their reunion. The FBI tech girl obsessed with vicarious romance feels like a self-insert... or agent Garcia from Criminal Minds. Take your pick. The paranormal angle existed for some unknown reason. Because, of course, the ghost can't simply tell the protagonist what happened, else this thing would be wrapped up before the romance got steamy. However, our local Casper can and does throw a silent fit when they are on the wrong track.

Are we perpetuating stereotypes about women not being able to articulate their emotions to men? Felt like the she-ghost was hoping Rain would just psychically  know what she wants. 

Hello? Based author?

At least there aren't any massive faux pas. I didn't completely dread reading it, and things do move along at a decent pace. The language is okay. Narration steers too far into Joss Whedon AO3 land, but that's contemporary romance for ya. 

In the end, I came away thinking that this book was distinctly OK. Very OK, in fact. The most OK thing that ever OK'd. Like when you go to a dinner party and you can tell your host bought everything from Costco because it has that samey, bland, OK taste that all Costco food has. Idk, man, I'm just writing nonsense at this point.

🟥 Rating: 3/10