Malice (Soul Chasers Book 1) by Mia Monroe

Malice is the first book in Mia Monroe's newest paranormal series, Soul Chasers. Welcome to the Afterlife where even though you're technically dead, you may not stay that way for long! Sometimes death is the beginning.


From the blurb:

His undead ex is hellbent on dragging him to a premature afterlife. It’s my job to save him without getting us both killed.

Aster

I’m dead.

Or at least I was.

Until I got the opportunity to return to the life I was abruptly torn away from. It’s a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned. I’m not done living yet.

The catch? Become a Soul Chaser. Hunt down the Horrors, deadly souls that escaped The Below and return them to the depths where they belong.

My first assignment comes all too quickly, and I’m thrown into a dangerous world where a man’s life is in my inexperienced hands. The Horror attached to Hudson Davis is particularly nasty with a vendetta that even death didn’t resolve.

Hudson is terrified, rightfully so, and if I’m honest so am I, but there’s too much on the line for me to back out now. Not just my continued journey in the Above, but the chance at something that eluded me my first go round at life—love.

To save Hudson, I have to face Malice head on and not get myself killed. Again. If I’m successful, maybe the tormented and guarded man I’m quickly falling for can see how real our connection is and I can make the most of my second chance at life.

Malice is book one in Soul Chasers, an MM paranormal romance with dark themes, mid-level relationship angst, and spice. In Malice, you can expect a traumatized writer afraid of trusting anyone new, a newbie Soul Chaser recently returned to life (with just a few strings attached), a cast of dead and undead characters, two opposites forced together against a malicious entity, the steamiest revenge, and a love that overcomes all odds.

**The majority of this book takes places in a contemporary setting.**


Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's review:

"𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎. 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚝, 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙, 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎'𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚠."

This was a very sweet romance considering the crazy situation Hudson and Aster found themselves in. This wasn't a love at first sight situation, as Hudson was pretty leery of Aster when he arrived on his doorstep out of the blue. I mean, I don't blame the man one bit. He's spent the last almost two years trying to hide from his stalker of an ex who has done nothing but make his life miserable. Hudson was basically housebound and in the end not even that could save him from his ex's wrath.

Aster is recently back from the dead as a newly minted Soul Chaser. It's his job to find escapees from the underworld and bring them back where they belong. There are some perks of the job, such as coming back to the land of the living and close to immortality, but it's also extremely dangerous. And of course the first Horror aka escaped spirit Aster is tasked with is a doozy.

This book was an interesting series opener and also included some fun side characters as well. I enjoyed meeting Crash and Wilder and I hope that we get to see more of them in the future. As a spirit himself, I don't know if Crash will ever have his own partner but I can still hope. Wilder, a seasoned chaser, is not too keen on finding himself attached to another, so I'm also hopeful we get to see him change his mind. Who doesn't love a grump finding love?

Rogue's review:

- paranormal
- forced proximity

This is the first in a new series, with some great world building and some really intriguing characters I hope to see more of in future books. Aster is the Soul Chaser of the series title, newly minted after dying prematurely and being brought back to bring errant souls to justice. Hudson has had a very tough time with his jerk of an ex Chester almost succeeding in ending Hudson's life along with his own, and it seems in death he wants to continue his abusive ways and won't leave Hudson alone. Aster is tasked with bringing Chester to justice, but he won't go easily.

Hudson is understandably wary of Aster, but is open to getting help with what's going on in the house he loves. The connection between the two isn't instant, but it is fast which is understandable with everything going on. It might also be an element of fate, too which I don't mind. Aster is given a very tough case for his first time out as a Soul Chaster but has help in the form of his spirit guide, Hudson's sister Joss and a fellow grumpy soul chaser. I liked the story, I liked the world building and I liked both Hudson and Aster. Their relationship develops quickly but it never felt rushed, it felt right for the two of them and I loved how supportive they were of each other. It felt equal.

There's a lot to like here for the first in a series, it really sets the scene for future books and I'm looking forward to more in this world and series.


Molly Otto's review:

When Aster looses his life before his time, he is given a second chance by becoming a soul chaser. Those who are tasked to return the bad sports back to the afterlife, the catch is they are harder to kill. He is taked to return the entity hunting Hudson. These two men both have been wronged in the past, so find it hard to trust what they are feeling when they spend time with the other. It is a fun balance of the mystical with real-world applications, where hey this actually could be reality. Mia did a beautiful job in intertwining this world to make you really believe this is a possibility.

Was nice to see the characters both learn to trust before things become to real. Along with a great supporting cast of both the alive and unlike. Will pull you in wanting more from this universe.

Malice is currently available as an e-book and paperback