Bumpy Oak Books

3 stars

**I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Josh Lanyon brings forth a murder mystery fantasy LGBTQ whirlwind romance. Cosmo is a witch who is all set to marry the love of his life, the new police commissioner, John. But when Cosmo is found at the scene of a homicide, that just might put a strain on the relationship.

If all of that sounds like there’s a lot going on, it’s because there absolutely is a lot going on. Too much to keep reigned in and properly developed, I’d say. There’s the murder mystery where Cosmo is a suspect. There’s the brand new romance resulting in a new house and wedding plans between Cosmo and John who, by the way, met two weeks ago. There’s the possibility of cold feet before said wedding, because being a murder suspect and maybe finding out the two week old romance isn’t quite as everlasting as the characters may have thought. There’s royal bloodlines and heritage rules. John’s little sister might be getting in with the wrong people, and now people are trying to kill Cosmo too? Oh, and there’s the little fact that Cosmo never told John he’s a witch.

All the pieces are there for something great. But those pieces were competing with so many other little inklings of potential greatness that nothing truly got to shine. Lanyon clearly has the capacity to write a story well, but perhaps should narrow focus to increase the impact of the story being told.

I understand that there’s a sequel in the works, but the novel ended in a very odd spot. No real resolution to a lot of the problems. No real communication between Cosmo and John or recovering from mistrust or distrust between them. It was actively confusing as to why the story was ended where it was versus rounding out even one of the many plot issues that had been started.

As such, I’m left a bit “meh”, but feel like I wouldn’t mind reading more in the series when it comes out.