Rating: 3🌈
I had high expectations for this story given the main character of Russ Dorian, but several elements made Heart & Soulless just not work for me.
First, Russ is a very interesting, compelling character that Sterling’s been developing over the series of stories. I’m sure that all the readers have been waiting for his backstory to be revealed to explain parts of his character and behaviors.
The horrific background supplied certainly supports the narrative of his current life and actions. Russ remains throughout a multi-dimensional character with the ability to show depth and different facets of his personality to the people important to him here in this story. That’s great character building.
The issue is that it didn’t extend to the other main character of Dr. Cassius Ambrose, who’s basically a one note character. It’s “oh no, the past sucked, my fault, my brother’s fault, I blame you too for your own destruction. (Insert red flag here) we can’t forget the past “ . Same conversation and over again. Flags. A personality Sterling has created that wasn’t relatable. IMO , so much so that I couldn’t understand what Russ saw in him except an old horrible past when he was 20 years old. And Cassius was much older who could have prevented some of the worst moments. More flags.
Sterling, even at the end, never has Cassius improve on his dubious personality. And it hurts the entire story. One in which the reader can see the “surprise “ coming a mile away.
The story written in 2021 even dates itself by its continual references to a character’s Tesla in a highly positive light without other context.
So Owen’s story is next and I believe that the last of the Bisbee Bachelors. The town is amazing and the central characters a wonderful group. This just happens to be not a favorite.
The Bisbee Bachelors’ Club :
- Haunted Hearts #1
- Moonlight & Madness #2
- Unhappy Medium #3
- Grave Expectations #4
- Riddles & Rivals #5
- Shadows & Reservations #6
- Heart & Soulless #7
- Specters & Sparks # 8
Buy link
Heart & Soulless (The Bisbee Bachelors’ Club Book 7)
Blurb
Russell Dorian’s dark past has finally come back to haunt him. An old enemy arrives in Bisbee with a grudge and what may be a cursed object and Russ has no one to blame but himself. As usual. Russ has always played by his own rules but he’s never played with hearts and hopes because he knows what it’s like to be cheated and to lose everything. But all those painful wounds are ripped open when Dr. Cassius Ambrose turns up, looking just like his deceased older brother and Russ’s former lover, Kingsley Ambrose.
That’s what one does when they receive a cursed object in the mail and are nearly killed by it. Right? Cassius’s house was burned down so he’s come to Bisbee to return the Pompeiian fresco to the sender and settle the score. But a mystery and a murder leave Cassius stranded in the quirky former mining town and he has to turn to Russ and the rest of the Bisbee Bachelors’ Club for help. Can Russ and Cassius let go of the past and solve the mystery before the fresco finds its next victim? There’s no denying the heat or escaping their history when they touch, but will Russ give his heart one more chance and learn he’s not as soulless as he believes?
- Publisher: Bawdy Books (October 21, 2021)
- Publication date: October 21, 2021
- Language: English
- Print length: 193 pages
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 