Wormwood Summer

San Amaro Investigations, Book 1

By: Kai Butler

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Parker Ferro owes the fae his life. They’ve come to collect.

When the Summer Queen summons Parker to her court, the private investigator knows there’s trouble brewing. Trapped into compliance by his past debt, he’s tasked with locating a missing girl in San Amaro. Now he has to find the girl or give up his life.

Things only get more complicated when a very familiar cop asks Parker for his help on a case involving murdered magic users. With the victims completely drained of their magic, the San Amaro Police Department needs Parker’s special skill set to track down a killer. Navigating through San Amaro’s paranormal underbelly while dealing with his own past and this new case is the last thing Parker wants or needs.

Now Parker’s stuck trying to locate a missing girl, stop a paranormal war, find a killer, and resist Detective Nicholas King’s many charms. Here’s hoping he doesn’t die trying.

Wormwood Summer is a 107,000-word MM urban fantasy with a HFN ending.

©2021 Kai Butler (P)2021 Kai Butler

Great Story

A really good listen, I binged it in one night. It gave dresden mixed with Dark mage.

AMAZING STORY + AMAZING NARRATOR = MASTERPIECE

Wormwood Summer BLEW. ME. AWAY.

This is one of those reviews I type in a frenzy immediately after finishing a book because it’s so good and I just have to get all that emotion and appreciation written down right away. This story has everything I love: mystery, suspense, adventure, memorable characters (every single one of them), several seemingly unrelated plot threads that tie up nicely into a big picture at the end, AND a love interest/romance angle that speaks to me.

Even with M/M romances being more plentiful now then when I was a teenager, I still feel so grateful when an author writes the kind of romance angle I always wished were in a story when I devoured fantasy/urban fantasy/adventure stories as a young adult. Back then, when 99% of all the books I could get my hands on were totally heteronormative, even when the story was good, it was like looking through a glass door at something I could never see myself being part of. Stories like Wormwood Summer heal me, by allowing me to picture myself in that world, and accepted in that world.

Then, you have the amazing story itself. Engaging from the very start, full of unexpected twists and turns. Now, I admit: when I read a plot synopsis involving the Fae and werewolves, I wonder in the back of my mind how formulaic the story will be. Wormwood Summer is a breath of fresh air in that regard. Despite the familiar elements, it totally eschews the formulaic and I almost never could figure out what would happen next—and I LOVED that. The world of San Amaro, and the lives of the characters who live there, are incredibly rich and vivid and makes for an enjoyable wild ride.

And last but definitely not least…can I just say that Greg Tremblay is the most amazing narrator. Ever. His range, his accents, the feeling and emotion he puts into the audio performance adds yet another amazing layer to this story. He brings Parker’s snarky voice to life in a way that makes you feel like Parker is talking directly to YOU. From the way Greg delivers even the narrative lines (to say nothing of the brilliant delivery of the dialogue) with feeling and, at the right times, sarcasm, to the way he even announces the next chapter with a little bit of inflection here and there based on what going on in the story….wow.

Wormwood Summer has become an instant favourite of mine. GO READ IT.

Good story. Good narration.

The first time I read this book, I enjoyed it, but I found myself rushing through the story to get to the most exciting bits. Greg Tremblay's narration helped me enjoy the pace a bit more. The plot is interesting and the action is fairly constant. I would like to see a bit different approach to building chemistry between the two main characters. Something isn't quite clicking for me just yet. I am looking forward to seeing how things progress in the next few books, and in the free shorts offered by the author.

Adventerous Urban Fantasy Alert!

Sooo good! Warm scrumptious sex scenes, driving adventure, and a well built and complex world of magic that feels more expansive than what was laid out in a single book.

Fantastic and whimsical paranormal investigation romance

I’m so glad I took a chance on this book! Kai Butler is a new author to me, but I’m a big paranormal investigation fan so I went for it. This has everything I love in a paranormal investigation book - a magic-using main character who is super powerful but also kind of a disaster, a mystery that keeps me guessing, lots of different paranormal creatures, an interesting magic system (the fae magic was SO COOL!), a fun cast of side characters, and romance! Bonus points for the romance being queer!!! My favorite paranormal investigation books have all been MF, like Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series, Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series, Meghan Ciana Doidge’s Dowser series. I’ve been looking for a good MM one and had yet to find one that really was what I wanted, and I’m so thrilled to finally find it in this book!

I’ve just finished the audiobook having read this book originally a year ago. I was excited to see it was voiced by one of my favorite narrators so I had to have the audio version! Greg did a fantastic job for the most part. Not sure he’s the best at accents but that’s ok. I enjoyed this just as much the second time around! I’ll definitely get the audiobook for book 2 as well which I loved just as much!

If I could give it six stars I would

It has been a while since I have enjoyed an audiobook as much as this one. The story is great and imaginative. The narration is amazing; Greg Tremblay is fantastic. I can’t wait to start the next book.

Great Audiobook

This is a great start to a fun story. The characters are lovable and well developed. Can’t wait for the next one.

“Can I finger you?”

I mean… What is there to say? I find it end strange-that writers of this genre have no problem getting into the my nudist detail of sex, except the prep. While I’m sure most people who read this know how gay sex works, I’m imagining some team, or a curious adult on any sexual orientation, reading or listening to one of these books and then deciding “hey! I want to try this“ anyway off the soapbox and onto the meat; this writer is pretty good Dash mechanics are decent, though some mistakes were made, the dialogue is good, the setting, characterization, magical system unfortunately some subplots were dropped; did the writer forget Parker‘s abandoned car? He explains that Parker is not exactly the most altruistic or noble person, but when Parker finds himself about to be evicted, one of his clients offers to pay his bill, and he decides “oh no, I couldn’t except your money.“ I don’t know it was hard to read this book because of the almost split personality of the writing. If you reading this, or like most readers, and you’re just looking for a fun read and you’re not too picky about details, then you’ll probably give this five stars like many other readers. If, however, you are a more discriminating reader, some of the errors in this book might Also feel a little irritated and discouraged. I would say “give this book a try.” Of this review helps and if there are any errors, it’s because I’m visually impaired and I have to dictate and it’s not easy to proofread on my phone thanks

Loved it

It was complicated and not simplistic, if that makes sense.
I cannot wait to hear the 2nd book!!

Best book ever

Hands down, this book has the best gay romance I have ever read in a book series. If you are wanting to read a book that doesn’t play on cliche tropes, check this one out. The characters are beautifully written in way that draws you in and leaves you wanting more. The magic system in the book universe is one of the greatest. As someone that has studied different magic systems for my own writings, this one feels fresh and new. It uses things I would have never thought of. The sense of humor is delightful charming and witty! I am already getting the next book!