Review: The Gravedigger's Brawl

The Gravedigger's Brawl by Abigail Roux

My rating: 4 of 5 stars





"If there's somethin' strange in your neighborhood. Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!" That phrase keeps running through my mind as I read this book. I'm not a fan of ghost stories so I'm not exactly sure why I picked this one up. I think I was blinded by the fact that it is written by Ms. Roux. In THE GRAVEDIGGER'S BRAWL, there are ghosts, goth, gaslights and vibrating tongue rings.

Wyatt Case is a curator at a failing museum. His fellow co-worker, Noah, sets him up with the sexy bartender, Ash Lucroix. After a couple of missteps, these sexy guys finally become an item. The conflict in this story comes through a malevolent ghost. As the violence escalates, both Wyatt and Ash are in danger.

Ms. Roux does an amazing job in this book. This is a contemporary romance with plausible paranormal developments. It's clear she spent quite a bit of time researching for this book. The facts in here are amazing and enrich the story. Ms. Roux is a master and showing rather than telling. At the end of the tale, I wasn't sure if I read the book or actually watched a movie. Her descriptions are so clear, I see it in high definition playing through my mind.

The flow of the story moves fast and smooth. The little tidbits into the character's lives really helped make it feel real. For example, the flailing Ash performed with the other bartender, Ryan, is fabulous. Ms. Roux illustrates the bar act of juggling liquor bottles and glasses so clearly I could see it. It is better than Tom Cruise and his infamous bar scene in the movie Cocktail. Incorporating the gaslight theme yet not making this book gaslight is impressive. Gaslight refers to a Victorian-esque age without the Steampunk science fiction twist. The way it ties into the Graverdigger's bar as well as the clothing style of sexy men is very appealing. It could be my personal bias as I'm a fan of goth and gaslight appears to be a sexy cousin.

Every so often in the book, a scene is described so well it's magical. And I'm not talking about the freaky ghosts. Ms. Roux does a great job of injecting creepy scary hauntings. She also elicits strong emotions from me. I'm at first skeptical of the paranormal piece. She builds upon it slowly until the end I'm freaked out of mind. I don't want to turn off any lights at night and when I sleep, I'll be hiding under the covers.

The scary story aspect aside, the sex in this book is hot. She doesn't go into graphic detail. Instead, the scenes are set up to allow the reader's imagination to run wild. Seriously, a vibrating tongue ring and two hot naked men. How is this not arousing? Almost makes me want to find a lover with a tongue piercing. This paranormal m/m romance is recommended for readers who also like things that go bump in the night.



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