Lily Morton - Black and Blue #1: The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings

 

Levi's boyfriend cheated on him and his mother died. Thankfully, he inherited a house in York and can start a new life there. Not so thankfully, the house is haunted. Doors opening, windows opening, lights flickering... Think a hunting phase in Phasmophobia. 

And then he meets Blue Billings. An almost homeless man who does Ghost walks for a living. Basically touring York and the sites of killings. 
It also turns out that Blue can actually see the ghosts. And that he's not the only one in York who can. And then the two of them start to try to unravel the mystery of the house Levi inherited. And at the same time, they start to fall for one another and end up in a relationship together. Which, not really a shocker, considering this is a BL novel. 
Still, it's well written and worth a try. It seems to be the first book in a series. Which, good. At least I have some inspiration as to what to look for when I finish all the books I currently have. Oh, and I didn't actually read this book. I listened to it in an audiobook format. That way, I could listen to it at work. At least during the days, I'm alone in the office. When my colleague is there with me, she turns on the radio. And considering she doesn't speak English and does not know about my preference for reading BL, she probably wouldn't like my choice of books anyway. 

So, back to the story. Blue and Levi investigate and even take a trip to London to talk to someone that is supposed to know something. It seems like the one people think did the killings, didn't do it at all. Or, not all of it. She did kill the guy, but only because otherwise, he wouldn't stop. 
Also, her diary is missing almost the whole time. Until it isn't and they finally figure it out. And then they are stuck with a friendly ghost that is obsessed with cleaning and won't let them of the hook if they are messy. 

The book is well written and interesting. There were times I lamented people coming into my office because it meant I had to pause the book. 

There are serious moments and there are funny moments. There are also moments when you want to just bonk them on their heads and force them to get their act together. But all in all, I enjoyed it. And the frustrating moments weren't as bad as this one moment in the new Netflix series Alice in Borderland. But more about that in a future post. 

If you like ghost stories and BL, this is definitely something for you to consider. And considering it definitely has more than one book, you'll have something to read (listen to) for a while. So give it a try and then you can come back and tell me what you think. Though please, if you know what the other books in the series are about, don't spoil it for me, kay? 

~AnnElfwind

Written on the 13th of December, 2020