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Series Review: The Brothers Sinister by Courtney Milan

Greetings and welcome to Reviews That Burn: Series Reviews, part of Books That Burn. Series Reviews discuss at least three books in a series and cover the overarching themes and development of the story across several books. This review is for The Brothers Sinister by Courtney Milan. Full Audio Here   The Governess Affair Miss Serena Barton intends to hold the petty, selfish duke who had her sacked responsible for his crimes. But the man who handles all the duke's dirty business has been ordered to get rid of her by fair means or foul. She’ll have to prove more than his match… The Duchess War The last time Minerva Lane was the center of attention, it ended badly—so badly that she changed her name to escape her scandalous past. So when a handsome duke comes to town, the last thing she wants is his attention. But that is precisely what she gets... A Kiss for Midwinter Miss Lydia Charingford does her best to forget the dark secret that nearly ruined her life, hiding it beneath her smi...

Haunted Hearts by A.K. Faulkner (An Untimely Frost #1)

True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen… 

Basil Irwin is a mild-mannered arts correspondent by day, and burgeoning necromancer by night. The trouble is he’s yet to encounter a ghost, so all his magic could yet prove useless. 

Jon Dwyer is a psychic medium, capable of interacting with - and even destroying - the dead, but his power comes at a price: the living fear him. 

When Basil and Jon meet over a rumored haunting, they agree to work together. But when the ghost proves itself not only real but also insanely homicidal, Basil and Jon are caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, and whatever feelings they might have for one-another have to take a back seat to a desperate fight for their very survival…

CONTRIBUTOR(S): RJ Bayley (Narrator)
PUBLISHER: Ravensword Press
YEAR: 2014
LENGTH: 140 pages (3 hours 9 minutes)
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Romance
RECOMMENDED: Highly

Queer Rep Summary: Gay/Achillean Main Character(s).

Basil and Jon meet under unexpected circumstances when they both show up to the same probably-haunted dwelling. Basil is trying to find out whether magic and ghosts are real, and Jon is trying to disperse ghosts in-between job hunting. 

I like this as an introduction and as a story in its own right. There's a nice balance between worldbuilding and characterization, especially in such a short tale. The audiobook is excellent, conveying Jon's very dry sense of humor with ease. 

I first encountered Jon and Basil as secondary characters midway through the Inheritance series, so I was already familiar with them. I like seeing how they started out, and this novella came out before any of the Inheritance series, so it can be read before even JACK OF THORNS if one were so inclined.

Graphic/Explicit CW for grief.

Moderate CW for homophobia, violence, death.

Minor CW for ableist language, sexual content, murder.

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