Brief Encounters

Title: Loose Change (Petit Morts #15)
Author: Sean Kennedy
Length: 12,635 words (47 pdf pages)
Publisher: JCP Books
Genre: contemporary paranormal
Rating:  A-

Blurb:
If there’s one thing you can always count on, it’s change. But the shift in Chance’s job description is one change he could have done without. It’s an ill-fitting role, and his displaced colleague is just as much in the dark as to its purpose as he is.

Chance finds matchmaking particularly irksome from his lonely post behind the counter of Sweets to the Sweet. From Belfast to Auckland, Bruges to Los Angeles, he works his magic, hoping that sooner rather than later his own fate may be fulfilled.

Thus far, Chance’s only reward for a job well done is more of the same. Since he’s had enough with going through the motions, he decides it’s time to make a big splash. Will management take notice?

Review:
I’m very interested to see what everyone else thinks about this story. I really liked it, finding its different take on things rather unique. However, it’s far from your typical Petit Mort story and as such some readers may not enjoy it as much.

In many ways this story is a bridge between the standard stories where Chance facilitates love and the developing story arc between Chance and Hunter. Much of the story is taken from Chance’s point of view and it is here that all the pretense is stripped away and we see the real Chance. He’s frustrated by his existence and growing increasingly impatient about being dumped in various locations by the will of the gods, or whoever it is that determines where he goes next. He also longs for some permanence in his relationship with Hunter. This is all shown though a series of vignettes of snatches of conversation with Hunter mixed in with short scenes where Chance brings his ‘Ones’ together. At first these short scenes were surprising, especially as there’s a curious mix of present and past tense used, mostly effectively. After a while, once I realised that this story was going to be a bit different, I settled into the narrative.

The tone of this story is also quite dark and bittersweet in places. The first part of the story, which is focused on Chance’s feelings for Hunter and some of the people he meets in his shop, contained some scenes where things don’t always go right, where Chance’s unique abilities leave him able to see the future but unable to help. I liked how we see some compassion, and even confusion in Chance during this first part, as so often he comes over as smug and all knowing. It was good to see that he wasn’t always so self-assured.

About half way through the story Chance’s frustrations come to a head and he does something which spreads his power far and wide. For me this was the most fascinating part of the book, as we are blown into the city of Los Angeles, picking up various snippets of newly formed relationships. This part left me with a smile on my face, and even a tear in my eye at how romantic this was. The author cleverly managed to create whole stories out of a few paragraphs during each snippet, before we are blown onto the next and showed a breadth of storytelling whilst always keeping the focus on Chance.

Any criticisms of the story come from the unusual style. It was a bit choppy, and at first I couldn’t see where the story was headed. It came together though into a cohesive narrative which managed to give Chance and Hunter’s story some forward thrust whilst also retaining the essentially romantic nature of the series as a whole. The Chance/Hunter story gains a lot of momentum in this book and I’m very curious to see the consequences Chance’s actions in the remaining two books of the series.

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Title: Spirits and Second Chances (Petit Morts #13)
Author: Sean Kennedy
Length: 50 pages, 13,740 words
Publisher: JCP Books
Genre: m/m, contemporary paranormal
Rating:  A-

Blurb: Wes Jackson doesn’t believe in ghosts. His Fremantle ghost walk is for entertainment purposes only—right down to the psychic medium (aka his mother) who’s always shocked to find “presences” on his tours…four times a week.

If ghosts were real, the Fremantle Round House would be teeming with them. Australian convicts built the forbidding walls, and after the prison outgrew it, mental patients were locked away within its stark cells. But preternatural activity? None. Any trepidation Wes usually displays while leading his tour through the tunnel beneath the Round House is pure theatrics—until the longtime partner he split with turns up, and ghost of their relationship rears its head.

Can Chance help them resurrect the spirit of their lost love?

Review: Wes’s life has finally come together in many ways. He’s happier after quitting his stressful 9 to 5 job and starting a Haunted Tour company leading tourists around the old buildings of his city night after night, while his mother Maeve pretends to see ghostly apparitions to give the tourists a little more entertainment. He has come to realize, however, that what he thought was a new beginning, a post-Farid life, is really just a facade of happiness over a mundane existence that is achingly bereft of his ex-boyfriend Farid. On what seems to be a regular night’s tour the ghosts of the Fremantle Round House, Wes’ closeted ex-boyfriend Farid, and Chance’s gentle prodding all intersect, while Wes tries to fight his way out of the melee. Is there ever any way to resurrect a relationship that ran an alternate course from the one everyone desired? Should you feel the need to re-write your own history, or is it easier to move on? Like many of their other differences, Wes and Farid have different ideas about their relationship as well, when they reunite in the midst of Chance’s supernatural orchestrations.

The relationship in this story is front and center and from Wes’ POV as he tries to continue his life after breaking up with Fariz. He still has doubts, though, that are constantly at war with his anger at Fariz. It seems then, that he’s also confused why he should be angry when he’s the one that broke up with Fariz and kicked him out of their apartment in the first place, though it was the result of an ultimatum for Fariz to come out to his family. Not only is he confused, but his life is stagnant. I liked both Wes and Fariz a great deal, though their relationship has a lot of problems — mostly a distinct lack of partnership. It is both of their faults in a way, and they each seemed to have their reasons to let the relationship dissolve instead of battling together for it. This story is really about second chances, and what problems are worth putting up with to take it.

The great thing about this series is that each author has their own interpretation that comes out in their stories. I always look forward to reading Sean Kennedy’s Petit Morts stories because the writing` always have a sense of casting off the mundane and slipping on the sublime absurd. While often fun to read, Sean Kennedy’s Chance seems to encourage the characters to embrace the present and cast off the past, the prose usually with a tone that is somewhat ridiculous, which makes them all the more fun to read. This story is no different, through the use of “Dutch Courage”, which ultimately makes the characters a bit sappy and melodramatic (or maybe that was just Wes’ amazing mother Maeve).The twist ending is fun and sweet, though no longer a surprise from Chance after his behavior is the past few stories.

I have to admit that no matter how much I love getting more information on Chance, my favorite stories have been where he’s been subjugated to the marginal role of matchmaker, which is mostly the case in Spirits and Second Chances as the present confusion of Wes and Farid’s relationship battles with their past happiness. All in all, a solid addition to the series that I really enjoyed reading.

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