Quick Take
- Narration: Greg Boudreaux brings Maz Amani to life with a dry wit and genuine warmth – his timing on the comedic beats is precise without feeling rehearsed.
- Themes: found family, haunted houses, reluctant belonging
- Mood: Cozy and lightly spooky, with genuine charm and just enough mystery to keep things moving
- Verdict: A delightful opener to what promises to be a series worth following – E.J. Russell at her most accessible and most fun.
There’s a specific kind of Saturday afternoon audiobook – the kind you put on while you’re doing something else and then abandon the task entirely because the story has pulled you in too completely. Ghostridden is that kind of book. I was supposedly cleaning my kitchen when Maz Amani started describing his surprise inheritance, and I gave up on the dishes somewhere around the second chapter.
E.J. Russell opens the Ghost Townies series with a premise that sounds almost too simple: broke ghostwriter Maz inherits a house from an uncle he’s never met, drives to a small town in coastal Oregon, and finds the place haunted in ways he can’t quite explain. What elevates this above the crowded cozy-paranormal field is Russell’s voice – specific, funny, and genuinely affectionate toward her characters without being precious about them. Maz is a skeptic by temperament, which is exactly the right kind of protagonist for a haunted house story.
Our Take on Ghostridden
The setup works because Russell doesn’t rush past the ordinary before introducing the extraordinary. We spend enough time with Maz’s financial precarity, his couch-surfing Portland life, his persistent skepticism about the too-convenient inheritance, that when the strangeness begins it feels earned rather than imposed. The house itself is described with loving detail – a pristine Queen Anne, no termites, no rats, but very much occupied by something the synopsis leaves pointedly unnamed.
This is book one of what looks to be a small-town ensemble series, and Russell uses the opening installment wisely. The mystery is not particularly complex – several reviewers note this, and it’s not a flaw so much as a genre choice – but the character work is rich enough that you’re invested well before the plot demands it. The supporting cast of Ghost, Oregon residents is drawn with the kind of specificity that makes you believe in a place: distinct voices, particular preoccupations, the sense of a town with history.
Why Listen to Ghostridden
Greg Boudreaux is the reason this works as well in audio as it presumably does on the page. Boudreaux is a known quantity in the M/M audiobook space, and he brings his customary precision to Maz’s narration. The comedic passages land cleanly – there’s a running bit about Maz’s cat that Boudreaux plays with perfect deadpan – and the warmer emotional moments don’t feel forced. At just under six hours, this is a single-sitting listen if your afternoon allows it. The pacing never sags.
Reviewers who came to this book from Russell’s Fae Out of Water trilogy noted that this feels both familiar in its warmth and fresh in its setting. Those who arrived without prior Russell experience reported the same experience: a new favorite author with a catalog to explore. That kind of reception usually means the book is doing something right that isn’t easily reducible to craft technique – it’s the harder thing of making readers feel at home.
What to Watch For in Ghostridden
Listeners looking for complex mystery plotting or high-stakes paranormal action may find this too quiet. The tension is atmospheric rather than procedural. The romance develops slowly – one reviewer came expecting heat and got courtship, which they ultimately appreciated – so if you need the relationship to move quickly this may frustrate you. These are genre calibration notes rather than criticisms. Russell knows exactly what she is writing, and she executes it with care.
The ending is more of a series-opener than a standalone conclusion. The central mystery resolves, but enough is left open – including, notably, what role a character named Oren will play going forward – that this functions as an invitation rather than a complete story. For readers happy to commit to a series, that’s fine. For listeners who prefer standalone resolution, worth knowing in advance.
Who Should Listen to Ghostridden
Perfect for fans of cozy paranormal M/M fiction who want something with genuine wit and character depth rather than just trope execution. Strong recommendation for listeners who enjoy small-town ensemble casts and slow-burn romantic development. Less suited to listeners who need thriller-level tension or explicit content – this is courtship, warmth, and a pleasantly creepy house, not anything darker. First in a series, so come prepared to continue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have read E.J. Russell’s earlier books to enjoy Ghostridden?
No. This is a brand-new series with new characters and a new setting. Familiarity with Russell’s Fae Out of Water trilogy is not required, though fans of that series will recognize her approach to found-family dynamics and small-community worldbuilding.
How explicit is the romance content in Ghostridden?
Mild. At least one reviewer came expecting explicit content and found courtship and atmosphere instead. The romantic development is present throughout but unfolds slowly and without heat. This is a cozy with romantic elements rather than an explicit romance with a cozy backdrop.
Is Greg Boudreaux’s narration a good fit for the comedic tone of the book?
Excellent fit. Boudreaux handles the dry humor with precise timing and brings genuine warmth to Maz’s first-person narration. The cat-related passages in particular benefit from his deadpan delivery. This is one of those narrator-material pairings that feels obvious in retrospect.
Does the mystery plot resolve fully, or does this end on a cliffhanger?
The central mystery of the book resolves by the end, but threads are left open for the rest of the Ghost Townies series. It functions as a satisfying standalone opening chapter of a larger story rather than a frustrating cliffhanger, but listeners who prefer full closure may want to note that this is a series opener.
