Series Review Part I – Insight (The Community Series) by Santino Hassell

I won’t regurgitate the synopsis so if you haven’t read that, start there. I also won’t give spoilers and ruin the story so I try not to say too much about what happens.

Let me start my review by saying that I’m not totally a para girl…that would be one of my co-bloggers. She is all about everything paranormal. And while I’ve read books with ghosts, vampires, witches, warlocks, gods, goddesses, monsters and shifters, a mystery or suspense book with psychics is probably my favorite trope of the paranormal romance genre. My above-mentioned co-blogger is a friend I’ve known for over 20 years. I’m pretty sure she’s a precog…and if she has a dream, I listen and listen well. I absolutely, wholeheartedly believe in psychic ability.

Now, this is only my second book by this author. His work comes HIGHLY recommended by a credible source (Jessie – why didn’t I listen to you sooner???) so he’s kind of on my radar now. (Yes, I know I’m late to this game.) The other book I read was so different than this but damn I love his writing style.

This is a complexly woven story that after a slow start had me on the edge of my seat. This is not a quick read because there is A LOT going on and there are several characters, all of which are critical to the story, some of which we still don’t know everything about. All I know at this point is that I love Nate and Trent, the jury is still out on a handful of characters, I’m disgusted by several characters and want a few other characters to just die.

Nate is a mess and it’s no wonder with what we learn about him. Trent is ridiculously smart and immediately attracted/drawn to Nate, mess notwithstanding. Their banter is entertaining which is surprising for such a heavy story. Trent handles Nate’s psychic abilities well but shows major vulnerability in their relationship which endeared him to me. Their romance isn’t at the forefront but grows gradually throughout the story and the bottom line is they need each other.

And we seriously need to talk about the sex scenes. I’ve read intimate scenes with a god and goddess and the physical act between them destroyed rooms…nice, but didn’t leave ME panting. The initial sex scene between Nate and Trent, with Nate’s empath abilities was damn near life changing. My palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy… Sorry about that but it is so ACCURATE! I felt like I was IN the book with them, like I had empath abilities; and had to put my kindle down for a minute to get my breathing back under control so I could continue reading. Has that ever happened with any of you? Did I mention how much I like his writing?

The only thing I wish we had is Trent’s POV. I’m a HUGE fan of dual points of view and I REALLY wanted to be in Trent’s head at several points in the story.

This is not a cliffhanger per se, but you are left wanting book 2 immediately and you definitely don’t have all the answers at the end. Thankfully, all 3 books in the trilogy are out now so go buy them all and lock yourself in your room for the weekend!  I’m off to read book 2 now.