Well, hello there
First things first, let me address the elephant in the room. I’ve been away for a bit without warning and I know that’s caused some concern. I promise, I’ll explain everything soon. I just need a bit more time (I hope to come back some time in March). I just wanted to pop in briefly to support another romance author and spread the good word about a superhero romance.
My Rating
Blurb
June aka Quick Claw
After Nik saves me, I’m hopeful things will return to normal, especially now that we’re together. I didn’t expect to be dating Black Coyote, but he’s welcomed me into his group of vigilantes, and I couldn’t be happier. Unfortunately, peace doesn’t last long in the city. Monstrous creatures have invaded Perish, and they’re targeting me. After a few attacks, I discover the reason—and the person who helps me discover it.Someone I thought to be dead.With startling revelations about my friends and family, I work with the group to prepare for the approaching storm. But I’m not sure we’ll be enough. Nik’s old enemy is unleashing a wrath—and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
Nikolai aka Black Coyote
Now that I’ve got June back, I want to enjoy life—especially since she’s my girlfriend. But Jack Napier and the Pharaohs have other plans. Mutated creatures are being released all over the city, and they’ve got their focus on June. Using all the tools we have—including new vigilantes with surprising talents—the group works to protect Perish until outside help steps in.And it’s the last person I expect.After learning pivotal news and experiencing multiple visits down memory lane, the monsters keep coming. Armed with a team ready for battle, we work to save the city. But it isn’t until a visit from an old friend that changes the direction of the war—and the fate of Perish.
My Thoughts
I’ll start by saying that A Return of Ghosts isn’t what I would typically reach for. Superheroes and superpowers are meant to be consumed in comic books—not movies, television shows, or books. If you couldn’t tell, I was a bit of a comic book nerd growing up. But, I have to admit, I was drawn in by what felt to be a Batman and Catwoman style romance (I’m much more partial to Harley and Ivy myself). I’m glad I gave A Return of Ghosts a chance.
If you’ve been around a while, you know that my ratings are based on objective criteria. I like to be as comprehensive as possible in writing my review, so as to cover as many bases as possible.
A Return of Ghosts is the second in a series (The Coyote and the Claw), and it certainly shows. There is expansive lore and history that, at first, was a bit intimidating. There were a few passages that flirted dangerously with “info-dumping” (which, can’t really be avoided when there is so much necessary backstory to compress into a paragraph). The beginning was a bit harder for me to sink my teeth into for that reason.
Fortunately, as the pages turn, the story certainly picks up. The relationship between our love interests seems to be a well-established slow burn where the bulk of the heavy lifting was done in the first book (A Royal Pairing in Perish). As we know it, in this story, June and Nikolai are in the beginning stages of a romance and flirting with the “will-they-won’t-they” line to defining their relationship. They were sweet together, but weren’t seemingly the entire foundation of the book. In fact, the overarching plot had less to do with steamy scenes and their blossoming romance and everything to do with life and death.
If you’re someone who really enjoys action, you will love A Return of Ghosts. This book was action packed from cover to cover, jolting you from one hair-raising fight scene to another. It’s clear that C.G. Coppola truly comes alive while writing these scenes.
There were plenty of twists and turns, and none of them were expected (though, my opinion may have been different if I had read the first book, A Royal Pairing in Perish, first).
I think that if you’re hungry for a superhero romance with an emotionally reluctant male lead and an emotionally scarred femme counterpart this may be the book for you.
That all being said, if you’re someone who likes romance novels to focus more explicitly on the romance (and the spice) and don’t like a lot of action/fight scenes, this may not be the book for you. I would caution anyone looking to dive into this series to start with the first book. I truly do feel like it would enhance the reading experience to know the necessary backstory and to help contextualize a lot of what’s happening.
My rating this week is based on my personal enjoyment (a 4.5 rounded up).
I do have one final (nitpick-y) note, that may not matter to anyone else. But I struggled a bit with the formatting. The subheadings that notated perspective shift were a bit too subtle for me. They were aligned to the left, the same font size (albeit, bolded) and there wasn’t any white space between them, so I found myself tripping up over perspective changes and having to go back and re-read. It’s such a minor thing, but I figured I’d note it so if anyone else has issues with things like that, they’re not entirely blindsided.
Thank you, Romance Me With Books and C.G. Coppola for a copy of this ebook for reviewing purposes.
You can find C.G. Coppola: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Newsletter and Website.
Ivy Whitaker 