Roustabout: Carnival of Mysteries by Morgan Brice

A psychic con man bent on revenge and the necromancer investigator sent to stop him. When Bart meets RJ he doesn't realize RJ is the man he is pursuing, and RJ finds himself in trouble just when he wants to tell Bart the truth. Can Bart and RJ break a curse with their love and some help from the Carnival of Mysteries? SNik read Roustabout, a standalone from the Carnival of Mysteries series.

From the blurb:

A con man and a government agent walk into a carnival…

Bartlett Gibson is a necromancer and an agent for the Tennessee Bureau of Supernatural Investigation. He’s hot on the trail of RJ Tucker, a psychic con man who has eluded him at every turn and led him on a merry chase. Pursuit leads to grudging respect in their game of cat and mouse, which becomes a high-stakes game of seduction. Bart chases RJ to the Carnival of Mysteries and realizes that nothing is as it seems. A dark witch’s curse ups the ante, creating a deadline for revenge and redemption, and the clock is ticking.

Falling in love breaks all the rules. Can Bart and RJ stop the witch, break the curse, and find a way around RJ’s spot on the “most wanted” list before time runs out?

Roustabout is a fast-paced MM paranormal romance filled with supernatural suspense, snarky humor, crafty carnival workers, sarcastic ghosts, midway magic, hurt/comfort angst, adversaries-to-lovers tension, and a very happy ending!

Part of the multi-author, shared-world Carnival of Mysteries series. Can be read as a stand-alone.

SNik's Review:

Part of a multi-author series (Carnival of Mysteries) but all are standalone stories. Paranormal. Adversaries to lovers. Instalove. Dual POV. 

RJ is on a mission to punish all the people that have harmed his family in the past, and he has spent the last two years investigating, conning, and then publicly providing evidence to put those people behind bars. Bart doesn’t realize that the man he is instantly attracted to may be the criminal that he is being told to pursue, and once he finds that he sympathizes with RJ’s mission, it becomes more difficult to do his job as a supernatural investigator. 

This story is fast-paced and instantly drew me in, cheering for RJ’s vengeance while hoping once Bart catches up to him, they can find a way to work together. We get glimpses of both RJ and Bart’s pasts and motivations, as well as the fact that their connection is magical and deep, very quickly forming their bond.

 

The carnival plays a small part in the story, but the found family is important and supportive, and protects RJ until Bart can help him and confess his feelings. 

A fun and sweet read.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Miki J's Review:

I thought this would be a short novella (with 12 chapters) but not so. You're quickly drawn into the story with the detailed world building, backgrounds and settings but it's not an information overload... very deftly done and then add the storyline/plot & characters and I was totally enthralled.  

Told from 2 POV's - RJ/Jon and Bart - one who's seen and experienced a lot in life and the other an agent taking over a case that's not as simple as originally thought. It's not really spicy, and it does have that inst-connection/insta-love feel, but that's not what this is.  

It's also about the case (from both sides) with a touch of paranormal - so plenty of suspense and drama. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book very much.

Rating: 4 Stars

Roustabout is available to buy as an ebook or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.