Timy reviews The Reanimator’s Remains, the third book in Kara Jorgensen‘s romantic fantasy mystery series, The Reanimator Mysteries. Out on October 19, 2024!
Review(s) of previous book(s): The Reanimator’s Heart, The Reanimator’s Soul
I’ve got an eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Series: | The Reanimator Mysteries #3 |
Genre: | Fantasy, Romance, Mystery |
Publisher: | Fox Collie Publishing |
Date of Publishing: | October 29, 2024 |
Trigger Warnings: | death, blood, anxiety, ableism, self-harm, abuse |
Page count: | 391 |
Possible fit for The Sound of Madness Reading Challenge 2024 prompts:
Joker prompt that goes with anything: Now We Are Free
Anywhere Away From Here | Kiss My Ass |
Handwritten | You Are My Home |
Psycho | Summer Jam |
Addicted | New Song |
The Mystic | Say It |
Queen of Kings | The Legend of Mother Swan |
Accidentally in Love | Through Glass |
White Flag | Road to Joy |
Sob Story | Give That Wolf a Banana |
Always Halloween | Kill Your Conscience |
Therapy | Ghosts & Monsters |
Low Life | Chasing Stars |
An autistic necromancer, his undead love, and a covenant that must be broken.
Oliver Barlow never knew what happened to his parents. With a note from his mother as his only lead, Oliver had given up hope of ever learning the truth. But when the dead start rising in the town of Aldorhaven, Oliver jumps at the chance to take the case if it means he can investigate the last place his parents were seen alive.
Felipe Galvan would like to be anywhere but Aldorhaven. Between protecting Oliver and Gwen, dealing with distrustful townsfolk, and an unexpected letter from his estranged parents, Felipe is already stretched thin. But when he is suddenly plagued by whispers from the woods and nightmares from his past, Felipe fears he is only one misstep away from becoming the monster he was meant to be.
Far more sinister things than the dead lurk in Aldorhaven’s woods. A centuries old bargain has been broken, and the only thing that can satisfy it is Oliver’s blood. Together, Oliver, Felipe, and Gwen must finish what Oliver’s parents started, or they too will be ensnared by their devil’s bargain.
When I decided on a Goo Goo Dolls song for the first book, I knew that I would pick Iris sooner or later (which happens to be one of my favorite songs ever), but I wanted to wait and choose the right moment. Now, I don’t know yet what book 4 will bring us, so I’m going to use it now.
The Reanimator’s Mysteries is one of those series that I got obsessed with in 2024. I pre-ordered book 3 as soon as I was finished with book 2, and wasn’t expecting to be able to write an early review, but as it happens, I also got an eARC from the author, and so here we are. Absolutely no complaints on my part.
A bit of housekeeping: While it’s not necessary, but it’s highly recommended to read The Reanimator Mysteries #2.5 short story that’s available from Kara Jorgensen‘s website, for free. It’s not important for the main plot in The Reanimator’s Remains, but it gives context to a side plot, and also gives you a glimpse how well Oliver handles traveling of any sort, even if for a vacation… Plus, who doesn’t want to read more about Oliver and Felipe?! I’ll try my best not to spoil what’s in that story. Speaking of spoilers, this is a third book in a series, and even though every book revolves around a different case, it still might have some mild spoilers regarding the overall story arc, but I’ll be very careful.
In The Reanimator’s Remains, both Oliver and Felipe are forced to face their families, although in very different ways. While Oliver never knew his parents, nor knew what happened to them, Felipe grew up on his family’s compound and was trained in the Galvan way, honed to be a weapon and forced to hide his real self. When a case takes them to Aldorhaven – what many consider to be a murder town (a place where magic is strong and causes weird deaths and a lot of violence in general) – Felipe is less than happy. Especially as they are taking Gwen with them (yay!). But Oliver wants to take the case and visit the secluded little town, because that’s where his parents were from, based on a note he found in his late grandmother’s home. And he wants the answers he was denied in all his life.
Aldorhaven turns out to be a weird little town, surrounded by the Dysterwood everyone fears, and in which only one family can enter and leave harmlessly. A family that’s tightly connected with the Mayor, and who runs the whole town (they also founded it). And while to the Jarnsgren family death wasn’t an unfamiliar occurrence, their number greatly dwindled in recent years. But that’s not why Lewis Allen decided to involve the Paranormal Society – as it happens, the dead don’t always stay dead, and they even attack people. Tension is high, and people are afraid and angry due to the Mayor doing fuck all. They are also suspicious about the people coming from the Society, which doesn’t make Felipe, Oliver and Gwen’s job any easier.
And if that wasn’t enough, not only things start to get out of hand, but Felipe starts having dreams about his childhood that are pretty traumatic. Lack of sleep and lack of sufficient food take a toll on him for sure. And Felipe being Felipe, he keeps his struggles from Oliver, not wanting to worry him, when he already has enough to deal with already. Which of course comes back to bite him in the ass.
Since this is the third book, I’m not going to sing praises about Felipe and Oliver again, let’s just say I still love them. They are great together. I was glad to see Gwen getting more spotlight, but I still could have done with more (sorry not sorry, I love Gwen). As with every book, there are also a couple of new characters. Jorgensen‘s real strength are the characters, they just come alive on the pages, whether you like them or not.
As for the plot, some of the reveals I saw coming, although most were well executed. My only minor complaint is regarding the deaths in the Jarngren family – I would have liked a bit more depth to how Felipe came to the conclusion he did, because that felt like it came out of the blue a bit. But overall, I didn’t really care about these issues, because at this point I just want read about these characters. I don’t even care if they don’t do anything. I finished reading in a weekend – could have finished in a day, but wanted to make it last a little bit longer. The good news is, there is one more book coming in the series, but the bad news is that I need to wait a year. Whatever am I going to do with myself until then?!
The Reanimator’s Remains is another excellent addition to the series, in which both the stakes and the emotions get higher than before. We get a deeper look into Felipe and Oliver’s past and we watch them getting way out of their comfort zones, while still hanging on to each other. I just can’t enough of these characters and Jorgensen‘s writing.
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