Wormwood Summer (San Amaro Investigations, Book 1) by Kai Butler; Narrated by Greg Tremblay

If you missed this series when it first came out, walk don't run to read or listen. This is one of my favorite urban fantasy mm romance series, and Greg Tremblay is a fantastic narrator for the snarky Parker Ferro.


From the blurb:

Parker Ferro owes the fae his life. They’ve come to collect.

When the Summer Queen summons Parker to her court, the private investigator knows there’s trouble brewing. Trapped into compliance by his past debt, he’s tasked with locating a missing girl in San Amaro. Now he has to find the girl or give up his life.

Things only get more complicated when a very familiar cop asks Parker for his help on a case involving murdered magic users. With the victims completely drained of their magic, the San Amaro Police Department needs Parker’s special skill set to track down a killer. Navigating through San Amaro’s paranormal underbelly while dealing with his own past and this new case is the last thing Parker wants or needs.

Now Parker’s stuck trying to locate a missing girl, stop a paranormal war, find a killer, and resist Detective Nicholas King’s many charms. Here’s hoping he doesn’t die trying.

Wormwood Summer is a 107,000-word MM urban fantasy with a HFN ending.


SNik's review:

First in series (San Amaro Investigations). Urban fantasy. Opposites attract. Single POV. 

Fantastic urban fantasy worldbuilding, a complicated plot and great secondary cast of characters. Both main characters are very likable, Parker the snarky investigator is smart, powerful and vulnerable, and Nick the upstanding cop is kind, powerful and always competent. 

So much fun adventure and action, the book did not slow down at all for me, and all of the character interactions and introductions were important to the overall arc of the story. The relationship between Parker and Nick grows and resonates as truly caring with Parker’s internal fears and expectations of how people treat him, and Nick’s solid acceptance and willingness to have feelings for Parker and see his underlying goodness. Terrific read and listen. 

I have to say, Greg Tremblay is one of my new favs (as I am newer to audiobooks). His sarcastic Parker Ferro was so fun to listen to, I laughed out loud a lot during my listening to this book. I look forward to listening to the rest of the series as I revisit San Amaro in audiobook form, as this series is a favorite of mine.


Wormwood Summer is currently available as an audiobook, e-book and paperback, and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription