Review: Gravedigger's Brawl

Reviewed by Jen
 

Well, this book was... different than I expected.  I am a huge, huge Abigail Roux fan. Her Cut & Run series is one of my favorites in any genre. I guess that my expectations were for something like that, and this most definitely is not like Cut & Run.

The story centers on an unlikely couple.  Wyatt is a museum curator whose job is in jeopardy. Ash is a fringe gaslight bartender, with a pierced tongue and a penchant for bottle tossing floor shows a la Tom Cruise in Cocktail.  The two meet when Wyatt's friend sets them up and they end up in bed the same night. Wyatt kind of freaks, though, and sneaks out before Ash wakes up.  The connection between them remains, despite his boneheaded move, and the two strike up a tentative relationship.

Strange things have been happening in the bar where Ash works. Could it be haunted, or is it a string of coincidences and hallucinations?  That's the big question in the book. And I'll be honest with you, despite the frequency in which I read paranormal romance and urban fantasy, I had a very hard time accepting that real ghosts were a possible culprit.  Maybe that goes back to my expectations.

Anyway, I was more interested in the budding romance between Wyatt and Ash than the haunting storyline.  It was a little up and down for me.  I found they complimented each other at times: Ash with his quirky tongue rings and Wyatt with his stuffy historical facts.  They were also hot in the bedroom (though not as hot as in some of Abi's other work... she sets her own bar pretty high.)  But the relationship was uneven in some points... and way too fast in others.  I believed in the sexual attraction, but the deeper feelings didn't entirely resonate.

It was definitely creepy.  If you like your paranormal with a disturbing vibe, this delivers that in spades.  It's full of ghastly, violent history and shudder inducing imagery.  It was cool, but not my favorite from this author.

Rating: B-

*ARC Provided by Riptide via NetGalley

Click to purchase: Amazon

Gravedigger's Brawl

by Abigail Roux

Release Date: October 15, 2012

Publisher: Riptide