MM Romance – Paranormal Mystery – Haunted House – Ghosts – Low Angst – Location England – Same Couple Series – Dual POV/1st POV
I wanted to listen to something spooky, seeing that we are getting closer to Halloween. The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings has been recommended both here and there and it looked intriguing enough,
The story around the romance was a classic man-inherits-haunted-house-story, very predictable and didn’t really bring anything new to the table. Not a problem in my opinion because it was still very well written, the world-building was great and really created some spooky vibes and both the main and the side characters were intriguing people.
The cherries on top were of course Levi and Blue. Opposites in many ways but they ended up fitting together like puzzle pieces. Blue had a tough and tragic backstory to tell while Levi had lived rather sheltered, even if he knew a bit about loss, too. Then there of course also was the fact that Blue could see ghosts. Levi was a good guy through and through, I loved how easily he offered help and support. Something that was almost a foreign concept to Blue when directed at him.
Spice wise it was a slow burn, I wouldn’t have minded some action a bit earlier but yes, that’s entirely a me-thing. But the tiptoeing around was sooo sloooow. And, another me-thing, it annoyed me that they both were having these inner monologues about doubt and stuff without sharing with the other one. You both know words, use them! I hope at the end they felt validated enough to let go of all insecurities, I wouldn’t want to listen to all that again in the next book. And I hope we get to see the grumpy book store owner again!
I just remembered: I laughed so hard when one of them told the story about the Ouija board, how it had spelled: “Fuck off Mason”. 😂
All in all, I liked it a lot! It was cute, and funny and spooky. Some heavy topics are coming up, mainly in the past/off page, but if you have known triggers it might be worth checking the CWs.
Joel Leslie as voice actor was a perfect match, his narration added a little something extra to the listening experience.
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CAWPILE-inspired rating system (original CAWPILE system by Book Roast on YouTube).
Characters 8/10
Relationships 7/10
Plot & Structure 7/10
Atmosphere & Setting (Worldbuilding) 9/10
Writing Style & Language 8/10
Intrigue & Interest 9/10
Logic & Conclusion 7/10
Enjoyment & Experience 8/10
Average Score 7.88/10
The StoryGraph Rating ☆ 4/5
Narration 5/5
Cover 3/5
Amount of Steam 4/5
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