Also by this author: This is Forever, The Serendipity of Karma, The Bride Wore LatexRhys Bellamy is the front man for the wildly successful 13 Shades of Red, a band hailing from New Orleans that is just a bit more then they appear. He’s sexy, caustic and on a path of self destruction that has everything to do with the fact that he can speak to the dead. A man hounded by the death of his fiancée, Rhys is a lothario of the highest caliber. His life, his band, and his agony celebrates his lost love, Phaedra, and it has made him a very popular man with the ladies, even if they will never mean anything to him. Too bad Phaedra has never and will never contact him.
When the band’s first US tour meets with some unforeseen management issues, Saffron Richards is brought in to take care of it. A veteran of the business, Saffron knows all about Rhys and his reputation and doesn’t want to become another notch on his belt. Too bad fate has it in for the both of them, and gives them an attraction neither can deny.
But life on the road with an up and coming band has its problems, from bosses to groupies to just plain old flat tires. And Phaedra, who has been watching from the mists and reveling in the misery of her lost lover doesn’t want to see him happy. Being together is harder than it sounds, especially when Phaedra crosses the veils on All Hallows Eve to reignite the love that Saffron has set to ash in Rhys. And Phaedra is not giving him up without a fight. Not because she loves him, but because she doesn’t ever want him to forget.
Melanie’s Review
For me, Giving Up the Ghost by S. A. Price was a bit of a surprise. I somehow got the wrong impression of this author’s books. I mistakenly thought they were more about sex than paranormal, so I had no interest in reading them. Boy was I wrong. I had heard good things about S.A. Price’s writing, so I thought I would look into her books a little more. I am glad I took a second look and gave this book a chance.
Giving Up the Ghost has so many great elements. It has rock stars, music, sexual tension, demons, ghosts, love, sex, and secrets. The story itself takes precedence over the sex, which is something I prefer. While the sex scenes are as steamy as you can get and well written, if the author had left the scenes out of the book, it would not have taken away from the story. If the sex had just been implied, the story could have carried itself. The writing is of good quality and the story flows nicely. I honestly couldn’t put it down once I got into it.
The relationship between Rhys and Saffron is crazy. He’s a rock star, she’s the band’s tour manager so any sort of relationship is off limits, but that doesn’t stop them. (POSSIBLE SPOILER TYPE THING HERE!) I was a little surprised at how quickly things escalate between them. I honestly expected Saffron to do a better job of resisting his charms. I suppose that’s just how things must be in the music industry when you are on tour!
Rhys has his own paranormal abilities, which he seems to have come to terms with. I would like to have learned a little more about them, or had him use them a little more, but I’m hoping we will learn more about them in subsequent books. There is also a Demon in his band and I am quite anxious to read his story. Actually, there are elements of each of the books following this one that I am excited to read about.
One thing I really liked about Saffron is how strong she is. She has a great amount of self confidence, but doesn’t come off as arrogant. She plays hard to get, but doesn’t at the same time, it’s hard to explain. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to take it, and she doesn’t have any kind of unrealistic expectations. I like that about her. Saffron is definitely a strong female character and I admire her a lot.
We are given clues through the book to what kind of person Phaedra was in life, so I was really excited to see how things were going to go with her once she made her big appearance. I was absolutely not disappointed.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series. If the rest of the books are anything like Giving Up the Ghost, S.A. Price has gained a fan for life. I would recommend this book who likes books about rock stars and romance, with a medium amount of paranormal action.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way has influenced my opinion of this book or my review.
Check out the other books
by S.A. Price!
Thirteen Shades of Red
Giving up the Ghost
This is Forever
Ophidians
Entwined by Fate
Eververse
Sugar and Sin
Silk and Steel
Duvall Inc
The Assassin, the Djinn, and the Hundred Year Wish
The Things a Djinn Can Do
About S.A. Price
Psuedonym for Stella Price and Audra Price
Bi-continental, Stella and Audra break all misconceptions about siblings. Writing as a team they have produced well over eighteen novels as well as several novella's and short stories. And nary an argument has come from it.
On their off time from writing, Audra is a makeup artist and Stella is a graphic artist and web designer, as well as the convention director for the Authors After Dark convention. They both love animals and have several including several snakes and a peacock.
Audra lives in Scotland with her husband and children, while Stella Lives in South Carolina with her dogs Moo and Poe and her husband.
