The action, mystery, and heat are kicked-up another gear in this second installment of Turner's addictive, original and immersive Soulbound series.
— Layla Reyne, author of the Agents Irish and Whiskey and Trouble Brewing series
Nobody writes like Hailey Turner. Her world building is extraordinary, as are her edgy action scenes. However, she never loses sight of her central relationship, or her razor sharp and witty characters.
This series is amazing.
— Bestselling author, Lily Morton
All Souls Near & Nigh
by Hailey Turner
Series: Soulbound 2
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date (Print & Ebook): March 19, 2019
Length (Print & Ebook): 104,100
Subgenre: LGBTQ Urban Fantasy
Reader Warning: This book contains on page sexual assault.
Synopsis
You can’t bargain with death if you’ve already sold your soul.
Special Agent Patrick Collins has been reassigned by the Supernatural Operations Agency to New York City. Learning to navigate his new relationship with Jonothon de Vere, the werewolf he’s now soulbound to, is nothing compared to dealing with territorial disputes between the vampires and werecreatures who call the five boroughs home. But the delicate treaties that have kept the preternatural world in check are fraying at the edges, and the fallout is spilling into the mundane world.
Manhattan’s club scene is overrun with the vampire drug known as shine and the subways have become a dumping ground for bodies. When the dead are revealed as missing werecreatures, Patrick and Jono find themselves entangled in pack politics twisted by vampire machinations.
Learning to trust each other comes with problems for both of them, and the gods with a stake in Patrick’s soul debt aren’t finished with him yet. Bound by promises they can’t break, Patrick and Jono must find a way to survive a threat that takes no prisoners and is stalking them relentlessly through the city streets.
Old and new betrayals are coming home to roost but the truth—buried in blood—is more poisonous than the lies being spun. Trying to outrun death is a nightmare—one Patrick may never wake up from.
All Souls Near & Nigh is a 104k word m/m urban fantasy with a gay romantic subplot and a HFN ending. It is a direct sequel to A Ferry of Bones & Gold, and reading the first book in the series would be helpful in enjoying this one. Please see the disclaimer in the Look Inside for content some readers may find triggering.
Author Hailey Turner says All Souls Near & Nigh is: An exciting sequel that builds on the series plot and will keep readers wanting more!
Q&A with Hailey Turner:
What comes first, the plot or characters?
This is like the chicken or the egg question. For me, it’s a mixture of both. I feel my characters play off the plot, but I need the outline of the book and series to really create a character and their motives. Characters and plot are pretty intertwined when I create a book, so I can’t say one comes first above the other.
Describe a typical writing day.
I usually write in the morning and evenings around work on weekdays, and for a block of hours on the weekend around errands and time spent with friends and family. On weekdays, I get up early in the morning (I’m talking 5:00am here) to get some writing in before work. I try to make time to write every day otherwise it would be difficult to finish a book if I didn’t.
How do you come up with the titles to your books?
I like to have themes with my titles and they tend to have the same sort of word structure for the entire series. For my Metahuman Files series, the titles spoke to the missions in each book. For Soulbound, every title has a hint of the mythology I’ve incorporated into that particular book. It varies with every series but I honestly can’t start a book without a title.
Excerpt
“Bloody hell, mate,” Jono swore, reaching for Patrick. “What happened?”
Patrick kicked the door shut behind him, which was fine with Jono because it gave him something sturdy to shove the other man up against. Gently, though, because Jono didn’t know what other injuries Patrick sported besides the ones on his face. Jono framed Patrick’s face with his hands, staring at the slightly swollen nose with a strip of medical tape arching over the freckled bridge and faded bruises around bloodshot, tired green eyes.
“I took a potion. I’m fine,” Patrick said, blinking at him.
Jono rolled his eyes before sliding his right hand down to Patrick’s throat, discreetly scent-marking him. The stench of travel, of too many bodies packed too closely together, clung to him. Beneath that was a hint of forest and blood, neither of which stopped Jono from worrying. Beneath all that was the familiar, bitter scent that was Patrick’s alone, and it felt like coming home to Jono.
“Fine doesn’t look like you took several punches to the face.”
Patrick’s mouth quirked at the corners. “Gonna kiss it better?”
“Cheeky. Could’ve just asked rather than go out looking for a fight.”
“Hazard of the job.”
“Bollocks.”
Jono shook his head before leaning down to gently press his mouth to Patrick’s. Those familiar plush lips immediately parted, letting Jono in. The quiet sigh he drank down told him more than words how tired Patrick must be. The mage wasn’t one to show weakness, even amongst friends, but Jono had started to learn the little quirks and half-hidden actions that spoke of Patrick’s true feelings.
Patrick was still a hard read on the best of days, soulbond or not, but Jono was figuring him out.
Carra's Review
If you haven’t read anything by this author, you need to be asking yourself why. It took me long enough to start, and after these first two books in the Soulbound series, she has easily become one of my favorite urban fantasy authors. Here in All Souls Near & Nigh, she continues with the highly descriptive writing that gives readers an excellent sense of setting; I could easily picture the surroundings in each scene, which served to enhance my enjoyment of the story.
I was once again completely sucked in to the Soulbound world—I barely stopped reading for food and bathroom breaks. It’s almost impossible to start reading this and not lose time because you become consumed with the story. The action, suspense, and intrigue is constant, and the plot well thought out and bolstered by solid mythology references (and I do so love mythology being brought into the urban fantasy stories I read!).
Be advised—there is a LOT going on, and there are a large number of secondary characters just like in the first book. The author does include a glossary at the end if you need to refer to it to keep things straight. There are also mythological beings from multiple pantheons mentioned, and for ones I wasn’t familiar with I did pause to look them up so I could have a better sense of what to expect from them. Even with so many characters, with each one introduced I kept falling further down the rabbit hole, and didn’t want to break away.
Besides the major conflict that involved gods (because of course anything that involves them is major), there are other issues cropping up including the ever more strained relationship between Jono and the New York god pack alphas, Patrick’s complicated association with the vampire Lucien, other were-creatures entering the picture, and one larger than life creature who doesn’t realize his true nature (yeah, yeah, I know that’s vague but you know…anything else I say would spoil it for you). Oh, and let’s not leave out Patrick and Jono’s own relationship which continues to evolve—as does their pack.
I strongly recommend you read A Ferry of Bones & Gold before you start All Souls Near & Nigh; it lays the groundwork for the Soulbound world and the initial development of Patrick and Jono’s relationship. You may find yourself a little lost at times otherwise. The extra time it will take you is worth it though…and once you make it through both books, I think you’ll agree with me that they’re worth the 5-star ratings I’ve given them both. You should be aware that here in book two there is one brief scene that may be disturbing to some readers, so be sure to read the content disclaimer at the beginning of the book just in case. This book is meant for readers 18+ for adult language, some graphic violence, and sexual content.
About the Author
Hailey Turner is big city girl who spoils her cats rotten and has a demanding day job that she loves, but not as much as she loves writing. She’s been writing since she was a young child and enjoys reading almost as much as creating a new story. Hailey loves stories with lots of action, gritty relationships, and an eventual HEA that satisfies the heart.
Newsletter: You can keep up with Hailey's future projects by joining her newsletter, where you can instantly download two free Metahuman Files short stories and the Soulbound short story Down A Twisted Path: http://eepurl.com/cAEejL
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