DAVID R. SLAYTON'S PAGE: Adam Binder series, 3 & 4...DEADBEAT DRUID; REDNECK REVENANT

DEADBEAT DRUID (Adam Binder #3)
DAVID R. SLAYTON
Blackstone Publishing Inc. (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$9.99 ebook, available now

Rating: 3* of five

The Publisher Says: The living cannot be allowed to infect the dead.

Adam Binder has lost what matters most to him. Having finally learned the true identity of the warlock preying on his family, what was supposed to be a final confrontation with the fiend instead became a trap that sent Vic into the realm of the dead, where none living are meant to be. Bound by debt, oath, and love, Adam blazes his own trail into the underworld to get Vic back and to end the threat of the warlock once and for all.

But the road to hell is paved with more than good intentions. Demons are hungry and ghosts are relentless. What awaits Adam in the underworld is nothing he is prepared to face. If that weren’t enough, Adam has one more thing he must do if he and Vic are to return to world of the living: find the lost heart of Death herself.

I CHECKED THIS BOOK OUT OF MY LOCAL LIBRARY. USE THEIR SERVICES OFTEN, THEY NEED US!

My Review: More wasted time with Vic, exploring this weird new "guys are hot" idea he's having, and Adam (the hot guy) separated.

This is really pissing me off. Are you trying to have your queer cake and still eat the straight-people-squeamish market?

This story, obviously, made me really mad. I thought Adam had really gotten his head around how Robert (né Bobby) was doing what he could to be in Adam's life. I though the Elven thing with Adam would go somewhere. So far we're just wandering around keeping these newly-in-love guys apart for no obvious reason. Then...surprise! There's a twist that really, really, really ramped up my annoyance because it's a total rug-pull.

I got as far as three stars because there's still some chance this could all be redeemed in book four; its existence, and my receipt of the DRC for it, are really the only reason I finished this book after checking it out.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

REDNECK REVENANT (Adam Binder #4)
DAVID R. SLAYTON
Blackstone Publishing, Inc. (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$18.99 papernback, available nowbr />
Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: From bestselling author David R. Slayton, Redneck Revenant is an exciting new chapter in the Adam Binder series.

Adam Binder’s life has never been better. Sure, he has no money, no car, no home to call his own, and he’s worried about creating a future with his boyfriend Vic, but he’s closer to his family than ever before. He’s also Page to the Elven Court of Swords, and that appointment is not without its perks—like the invisible sword strapped to his back.

But on Halloween night, Adam’s life takes a disturbing turn. Annie, his brother’s long-lost wife, turns up on her husband’s doorstep alive and well, with no memory of her death. But is it really Annie, or a Trojan horse from some new magical enemy?

To uncover the truth, Adam will need help from those he loves most—as well as a couple of friends at Rogue Community College. As he navigates a perilous maze of magical politics and battles terrifying creatures from beyond the known realms, Adam will discover a secret darker and more unsettling than anything he could have imagined.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Oh sure. Why not go into the straight people's traumadrama?

I'm glad to say I wrapped up my reading experience with some sustained Vic-and-Adam time, at least, seeing the way I've been cheated of it for most of the series. I'll give Adam and Vic my biggest props for, when they have page time to do it, really digging in to their love as a source of sustenance, frustration, irritation, and happiness...just like the real thing. It's also heartwarming that they're still, well, underclass guys not magically somehow without financial worries or suddenly imbued with a frictionless path forward. The way they handle being in therapy...! Big ups!

So what's this crap with Bobby's Annie coming back from the dead for another bite of the apple? It's not a twist I saw coming; so good for that; but it's not a relationship I care about, so I'm out.

This is obviously the start of the Rogue College books that I won't be reading. It's clear that most people do not share my sense of "this ain't what I want" so go! go! go! Author Slayton. Succeed and bring joy.

Not to me, sad to say.