Vortex Conundrum

Ghostly Guardians, Book 2

By: Louisa Masters

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Wanted: one demon hunter. Beware the matchmaking ghosts.

After years managing a haunted hotel and estate, I thought things were good. Sure, the ghosts can be a handful—nosy, opinionated, interfering—but they’re also friendly and fun. We have a system. Everything was under control.

Cue hysterical laughter.

But after a minor blip with a demon in the basement and a vortex to the spirit world, the ghosts swear they have no more secrets. The danger is gone, and we’ve done everything we can to make the vortex safe. It should be fine. Nothing’s come through it for 50 years.

It’s never that easy at Mannix Estate.

Lucky for us, the demon expert we met online is willing and able to help us out. I’m so grateful, I’d willingly kiss his feet. Until he arrives and opens his mouth.

Connor is...a jerk. But he’s a sexy jerk who’s doing us a favor, so I’m going to be polite no matter what. Even when he makes me mad. When he flirts hard. When the roof falls in and we have to share a bed. When we realize the vortex upstairs is just the beginning.

Suddenly, Connor’s real strengths shine. Beneath the smoking-hot yet annoying surface is a heart of gold, and I don’t think I can hold out against it…or that I want to.

©2022 Louisa Masters (P)2022 Louisa Masters

the value of mellow

very good continuation of "spirited situation"
the ghosts keep doing their thing, and keeping everyone on their toes,
the human visitors are weirder than ever,
the vortex gives away more of it's mystery, as new paranormal characters come on the scene
and our friends at mannix estate get paired out in funny and mellow adventures.
looking forward to the next installment

WOW!

This book was awesome and I couldn't stop reading the book. I'd more than enjoyed this book, loved it.

3.5 Stars 🌟

This was the second book in a series that I was really excited about. I found the series on a lark and it really drew me in. For some reason, this second book just did not have the same impact on me. If I had to put it into words, it just felt flat. Everything had a kind of superficial layer on it. It's like we were only getting the highlights of the story without delving into the characters and THAT was what made the first book so good.

Don't get me wrong, I still liked the book. I was just a bit bummed that it did not grab me the way I was hoping it would. We still get to see the ghosts - though definitely not as much - and we did get to see the returning characters from book 1.

The romance pairing of this book was odd. Connor comes across as, well, as a jerk. I wasn't even sure where we were supposed to see the chemistry because most of all, he was downright annoying. Kieran is a really nice guy. He is responsible and caring and the hotel is his baby. Connor just came in and treated him like man candy...and not in a good way. If it was a male treating a female co worker in that way- it would have been downright offensive so I'm not sure why it was okay in this instance. Maybe I'm reading too much into this but it just didn't click for me. Kieran is annoyed with Connor for most of the book and them BAM all of a sudden, they are a couple.

Other than that - I do LOVE the premise. I love the secondary characters and I would definitely read another book in this series.

So Much Fun!

This title has well written characters, snark, and friendly ghost! Combine that with a sweet romance and demon fighting and you have a recipie for hours of entertainment. I only wish I knew if there'd be another book in the series! I'd buy it immediately.

Love it

I was so happy that we are back to Mannix Estate and this one is for Kieran. So, the lovable Skye gets possessed by a body-hopper and the crew at the manor has no clue what to do. So, they reluctantly contact Conner, who helped them get rid of the demon from the last book, and as for his help. As soon as Conner shows up, he knows there is a gateway open & he isn't going to leave until something is done about it. We find out how the vortex/gateway came to be & the person that set that into motion gets what is coming to him. Even though Conner comes off as a jerk when we first meet him, deep down he just wants to find someone to love & who will accept him for what he does & that he might need to leave on a moment's notice. Kieran is also shielding his heart and doesn't want to admit he is so very attracted to Conner. I loved when the ghosts "locked" Conner & Kieran in the basement playing matchmaker, they are so much fun. I can't wait for the next book.

Wonderful

Another great story in the series. Kieran and Connor are so opposite. Connor loves to drive Kieran crazy, they’re matched well. Love the narration.

Vortex Conundrum

Loved it. Of course, Louisa wrote it so it’s going to be great.

Highly recommend.

Nick does a wonderful job bringing everyone to life too.

Good

In some ways I like this better than the first book. Connor is a bit of a jerk but I kind of like that about him. Nick J Russo was amazing as always. I can't wait for book 3.

More of The Same, Can't Complain

I suppose the first thing that stands out a bit, once you have four books in the series is how half of them use alliteration and half don't, which is slightly twitchy for me. Vortex Vexation didn't get a space on the table? Anyway, we could always pretend that was on purpose since vexation did also seem to be a bit of a theme here.

Character, story, and general feel all pretty much match the first book. We get to see more expansion for Connor with him joining the cast. I'm sure he's not for everyone, but as someone who works front desk for a municipal government and is of the equal opinion that most people are too stupid to live, I do rather love this boy. I also adore Kieran and the teasing/sniping the two get into.

Once again, I think things could go a lot farther in terms of the interactions and feelings in the relationships. I think Masters has a general trope of not-quite insta-love, but basically feels that way when everything else is supposed to be a bit more on the realistic side. Con and Kier definitely aren't the worst for this, and they do get a tiny bit of time for this to develop, but you also sort of start to feel the relationships speeding up a bit as more pairs join the series and there are less books to expand things with.

Overall, another nice read to enjoy and not overly think about. Solid set up and execution. Like the first, another contained story that feeds into the larger world.

My Gosh. I loved this.

Absolutely fantastic second book in this series, I can’t wait for more in this evolving story!

This narrator is fantastic and absolutely brings all of these characters to life in the best way!