Member Reviews
Deep and intricate world building across numerous realms.
Adam is still figuring out who he is and what his family's history means for his future.
The narrative, pace, characters, and magical realms are all fascinating.
Thank you to Netgalley and the published for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.
A good continuation to a compelling story. The characters are great and the plot is compelling. Looking forward to seeing what happens in the next installment, which is always a good sign for any series.
A gay wizard in the South takes on evil, Death and her Reapers, and the possibility of a dead father who may or may not be a warlock. Add in a war plot of elves against elves, a classic car, a chance at love, and some trippy travels, and you have yourself a very good sequel.
Did you ever hear the one about the elf, druid, and warlock that walk into—no, not a bar—but a trailer?
Trailer Park Trickster (Blackstone, 2021), David Slayton’s follow up to White Trash Warlock, offers urban fantasy alternating with backwoods spookiness. If you’ve thought of warlocks as tall elegant fellows with a British accent and a swirling velvet cloak, think again. Adam Binder is a newly made warlock from Guthrie, Oklahoma, who grew up in a trailer park with a violent father and a chain-smoking mother. After his father’s disappearance and a stint in a mental hospital for seeing visions, Adam took refuge with his kindly Aunt Sue, Guthrie’s local fortune teller.
While Adam, in the first book, deals with an evil spirit in Denver, a dark force is gathering in Guthrie. Trailer Park Trickster opens as he dispatches his first victim—Adam’s beloved Aunt Sue. Adam rushes back to Guthrie for her funeral, and finds his dysfunctional Goth cousin and estranged aunt cooking up meth in Sue’s erstwhile cozy trailer. Things only get worse after that. Adam’s love interest, Vic, a policeman, wants to support Adam through this time of crisis, but instead gets sidetracked in a long road trip with Elf Queen Argent, leaving Adam to try to pacify his crazy cousin, win the trust of the local sheriff, and find out the identity of the dark Druid who’s killing off Adam’s relatives.
I was plesantly surprised when reading this book. The character, his family and background is interesting. The setting is unique. The bad guy's are properly bad and the authors take on Fairies and the underworld is creative.
The main character is not a magical powerhouse, and although his powers develope through out the book, I have high hopes that he will not turn into a mage of godlike powers like so many urban fantasy protagonists do.
Will recommend..
ok, at the start I’d like to clarify that I did indeed request this book without realizing it’s a sequel. so my apologies for that. HOWEVER I did read the first book so I’m here to judge both.
firstly, I hated these characters. the main character was an unbearable stuck up wimp with no personality. I wanted to punch him. the love interest was even less tolerable.
secondly, these books had a very odd pro cop vibe. I didn’t like it.
thirdly, in a lot of scenes the mc, who’s white, felt guilty about being white. bestie, it’s ok to be white. complaining about it is so annoying and pathetic.
fourthly, there was some weird love triangle here that I didn’t know how to grasp. I thought we were beyond that trope already?
fifthly, I can say this because I’m gay- for a fantasy book, too much of it was focused on the main character being gay. it’s like that was his only personality trait. and tbh it felt like that lmao.
and, most of all, this book just like the previous one was so random. maybe it was random to be funny? idk. but if you combine random plots that make no sense with one-dimensional, boring characters you get this very bad blob of absolutely nothing. bad idea.
overall, this wasn’t for me. can’t really say anything more. wouldn’t recommend personally.
After multiple reviews told me this was book two in the series (I checked them out after I felt slightly lost in the story) I realized this is a series that must be read in order. The writing was well done, and for someone who has read and enjoyed book one, I can see this being a great read. All in all would recommend checking the series out.
I want to thank NetGalley for the advanced copy of Trailer Park Trickster by David R. Slayton. Even though I squandered my time to read this book in advance of publication, I did not waste any time devouring the book once started. It was like turning the page from the end of the first book in the series (White Trash Warlock) to the next. The transition was seamless, and the characters were there waiting for me. Vic and Adam continue their adventures in the magical world and face trials and tribulations as the battle between the dark side and good magic continues. The character development and family connections pull at the heartstrings. The cliffhanger leaves me anxiously waiting for the next book.
Just remember, it’s always darkest right before it goes pitch black.
I was really looking forward to reading this novel after reading White Trash Warlock. Thank you for giving the e-arc, NetGalley. (I apologise for the lateness of this review; exams kept me away.)
This book's prequel concluded with a fresh start. Adam was seen driving back to Guthrie, Oklahoma, in the dark, back in his hometown. The Binder family is being pursued by something evil, and Adam must understand out why the Binder line appears to be cursed in order to protect them. Meanwhile, Vic is in the other world with Argent and Silver, getting caught up in fae politics while worried about his silent link to Adam.
The dual narratives were one of my favourite aspects of this novel. Vic is a part of a broad drama involving the elves as Adam investigates in Oklahoma, and he begins to grapple with the nature of his connection with Adam. The two stories complement one other, providing a deeper knowledge of both the individuals and the worlds in which they live.
This series' world-building is outstanding. I appreciate the tarot-based elf hierarchy and the magic system. The author's descriptions are amazing, and I particularly enjoy Adam's depictions of emotions as colours and the author's descriptions of the magical world that runs parallel to ours. I really like Adam and his family's shaky, developing trust. He's still suspicious of them, and rightly so, but there are signs that he's getting better.
Vic was one of my favourite characters in the first novel, so having a glimpse inside his mind as the second POV was a real delight. Vic is a fantastic character, and I have a feeling he'll be pivotal in everything. I was equally as involved in Vic's part of the tale, and I'm hoping we'll see a lot more of him in the future.
In Trailer Park Trickster, we spend a little more time in the Spirit Realm and become embroiled in the immortals' politics. Silver goes through some fairly amazing transformations that will undoubtedly affect the route the narrative takes, while Argent continues to be a really interesting character that captivates and retains my attention anytime she is in the frame!
All I need now is to get my hands on the next book in the series as soon as possible.
White Trash Warlock was such a pleasant surprise of a book for me, so I couldn't wait to dive into Trailer Park Trickster.
Now, I want to preface this by saying that I did thoroughly enjoy this book. That being said, I was surprised by the fact that this book focuses more on Adam and Vic battling their own issues separately rather than being united throughout the story. However, it is still done brilliantly.
This story really digs in to the family secrets that Adam has and the reader gets intimate insight into just how dysfunctional his family really is. When it comes to Vic, the reader gets to experience just how wild the magical world is with Vic's new abilities.
There were a few moments that I thought the pacing of the plot lulled in the middle, but overall the story was fantastic. And with that cliffhanger, I can't wait for book 3!
Trailer Park Trickster by David Slayton
Trailer Park Trickster by David Slayton is a phenomenal sequel about Adam Binder, a young gay man who has some magic who delves deep into a secondary world that he’s been going back and forth between for years. This book is in the aftermath of taking down the spirit they call Mercy, that was inhabiting the city of Denver. He and his love interest Vic are slowly settling into a tenuous and budding relationship, when suddenly Adam receives bad news and runs back to his hometown. The story splits off at that point into two story arcs; Adam’s and Vic’s. Adam is dealing with a harrowing family history while Vic becomes more acquainted with the other world in his way to help Adam
Throughout the story you are pulled back and forth between the two, always hoping and routing for them and their relationship. Slayton does a fantastic job at describing the other world that you can practically see it with your own eyes. His characters are perfectly flawed and so very human that you can’t help but relate to them and their journey. This book is a fantastic representation of LGBT and POC, showing Vic’s journey to accepting himself as a Hispanic bisexual man and Adam’s journey to accepting that there is more to life for him as a gay man who grow up in a rural homophobic area.
This book also delves into how family isn’t always perfect but growth is always achievable.
I would rate this book 4.5/5 stars, for its imaginative plot line and realistic characters!
I loved every anxiety inducing second of it. Yeah, it made me anxious, angry, made me gasp and just stare into nothingness for a while. And the ending? Cliffhanger, seriously? I can't wait a whole year!! I just can't!!
We have two POVs, two different journeys. Two boyfriends who really need to sit down and have a conversation. A real one. Everything happened, one thing after the other, and they barely had time to breath before being thrown into another really wild ride! Action and magic packed, this series is amazing and it takes you to different worlds, quite literally.
I loved the first book in this series and liked this one. I enjoyed it and I like how the author developed the story and the characters as we get to know more about Vic and Adam's family.
The story is told by two POVs (Adam and Vic) and found the Vic part a bit complex and sometimes confusing.
The Adam part flows and is quite exciting.
I can't wait to read the next story as the book closes with a cliffhanger.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Growing up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, wasn’t easy for Adam Lee Binder. He was a kid who heard and saw and spoke to things not of this world and because of it, his mother and brother had him committed to a mental institution, ostensibly for his own good, but it was a hellish place only Adam could see the truth of. His time there left its share of resentments and scars, nearly as many scars as his father had left on Adam’s soul when Robert Binder Sr. took any opportunity to beat his youngest son; so routinely and so mercilessly, in fact, that one day Adam’s older brother, Bobby, murdered their dad with a hammer blow to the skull and then, with his mother’s help, buried Robert under a pile of rocks out back behind their trailer. That brand of justice very well may have come with a hefty price tag and deadly payback plan.
Adam checked himself out of the facility when he turned eighteen, and hitchhiked to the one place he hoped he’d be welcomed, his aunt Sue’s place, where he stayed until he was called to Denver to help his by-then-estranged brother with a problem only Adam had the potential to handle. Dysfunctional doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of this family’s dynamic, but all these things combined have not only made Adam who he is today, they’ve also served to bring him to the place David R. Slayton leaves him at the end of Trailer Park Trickster.
And oh my, what a cliffhanger it is too.
Lest you think the accumulation of all these experiences might have left Adam callous, hard, disaffected, let me assure you he is not. Cautious? Yes. Unobtrusive? He’s tried. Earnest? Always. Secretive? Without a doubt. Soft-hearted? Unquestionably. Adam is as kind and gentle a man as he could be, far kinder and gentler than the worlds he exists in, around, and between, that’s for sure, and I adore him to bits. The weight of his family’s dysfunction has left its share of burdens on Adam’s shoulders now, which adds stress and tension to his already broken heart when Sue dies unexpectedly. But she’s not the only family member whose life comes to an abrupt end, and unless Adam can put a stop to a dark and murderous druid—a dark and murderous druid who might or might not be his dead father, and one who is hell-bent on pruning the Binder family tree—said dark and murderous druid will only continue to grow stronger.
That Adam has been keeping secrets from his brand-new boyfriend, Vic, figures into the story and works out just about how you’d expect it to, given the nature of those secrets. They’re BIG ones, and all I can say is Slayton came after me and my emotions with a vengeance and absolutely crushed it in this continuation of the Adam Binder series. But, as if one spectacular storyline weren’t enough, readers are treated two, two spectacular storylines in Trailer Park Trickster, when Vic, who also happens to be a Reaper—yes, Death herself is the boss of him—inadvertently gets caught up in elf politics as well as a none too insignificant family drama when Argent the Queen of Swords takes Vic on a detour to the Other Side and they, along with Argent’s brother Silver the Knight of Swords just, you know, happen to save the planet and all its human garbage from complete and total annihilation.
Much to the benefit of this installment, and the series overall, we get chapters told from both Adam’s and Vic’s points of view, which kept the pace running full speed ahead into all sorts of gruesomeness and danger and mayhem and intrigue, and this also gives us the opportunity to get to know Vic much better since we didn’t get much of a chance to in White Trash Warlock (let’s just say there were extenuating circumstances). The contrasts between him and Adam and their respective families couldn’t be more blatant, and I loved the way Vic’s family played a part in the story right when he needed them the most.
White Trash Warlock was amongst a select few of the very best books I read in 2020. Trailer Park Trickster was on a short list of my most anticipated books in 2021 and is now on my Best Of list for the year. And I mentioned that cliffhanger? It only means book three in the Adam Binder series has jumped to the top of my Must Read list in whatever year David R. Slayton releases it.
This follow up to White Trash Warlock was everything that I could have hoped for and more! Adam is back in his hometown of Guthrie, Oklahoma, and on the hunt for answers about the fate of his Aunt Sue. This novel digs deep into the Binder family history, introducing new characters and old secrets. It also visits places steeped in memories, both good and bad, for Adam, like his aunt's trailer and the home where he grew up. Adam's past is riddled with trauma and betrayal and I liked that in this book we get more communication and reconciliation between Adam, Bobby, and their mom. Vic also gets a chance to see the place that Adam hails from, though his journey there, at the side of Argent, elf and Queen of Swords, is plagued by misadventure. While Adam is dealing with problems close to home, Vic is learning more about the magical world he's now a part of and his role as a Reaper. I enjoyed getting more in depth with Vic's character and I also liked seeing more of his family. He and Adam are total opposites and this book definitely gets into those differences.
This book has it all: family drama, plot twists, dark magic, action, revelations, and two men trying to find their way to each other through a mess of lies, differing views, and inherent differences. I loved book two of the Adam Binder series and I'm anxious to know what happens next!
I was looking forward to this book after reading the second, so I dived in. Adam is on better terms with his family, but when his great aunt Sue dies, he hurries to where she lived. What follows is a discovery of who he is, who his family is, and what his place in it is. Not only that, I think that Vic goes through some of the same things. I loved this book in that not only did it have a great mystery, a voyage of discovery, and great writing, it left me feeling like I knew the characters so well that they felt like old friends. There were upheavals, secrets revealed, and new threads to discover in more books. I am really looking forward to seeing my friends again in the next book! Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Thank you so much, NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing, for the chance to read and review this book in exchange of an honest review.
I LOVED White Trash Warlock and I was over the moon when the publisher accepted my request to read the sequel!
Forced to come back to Guthrie for the funeral of his beloved Aunt Sue, Adam finds himself, again, involed in a fight against the dark druid, who decide to prey on his family. Everything seems to be linked to Adam's father's death, years ago. Who is the deadly and mysterious druid and what is his plan?
Grieving his family's losses, watched by the police, apart from the man he loves, Adam decides to learn more about his family, their magic and himself
Meanwhile, Vic and Argent the Queen of Swords are beyond the Veil of the mortal world, trying to protect the whole humanity from deadly elves.
Trailer Park Trickster is the brilliant and heartwrenching sequel of White Trash Warlock and I loved every single page. The story is told by Adam's and Vic's POVs, that intertwine and the reader is able to follow their different path, Adam in his investigation in the mortal world, Vic with Argent in the Immortal one, their feelings, actions and thoughts. I really loved reading their POVs, it was intense and amazing being able to know how they felt for each other, their fears, dreams and hopes, while facing deaths, losses, mysteries and past traumas.
Adam is such a complex character, weighed down by his past traumas, resentement and anger towards his family, but in the second book it was nice to see him trying to connect more with his mother and brother, to move on and forgive them. They, mostly Bobby, help him in his investigation and fight against the dark druid and the mystery surrounding him. Adam struggles with his memories, powers and with his feeling for Vic, his fears, not used to such a strong bond between him and someone else, not used to relationships, to be surrounded by new people who love him. It was painful, relatable and heartwrenching seeing him and Vic struggling with their own feelings, loving one other, but needing to talk and be open with each other.
Vic is another brilliant character, who finds himself involved in a world he doesn't know, meeting elves and gnomes, struggling to understand who he is, what are his powers as Reaper, his bisexuality and his first relationship with a man.
I liked to follow Adam in his investigation, with computers and libraries and family history, while Vic was in a wolrd full of magic, dealing with immortals and powers and danger. The characterization is amazing, the relationship between characters very realistic. I love Adam and Vic together, it's clear they love one other and thet fear, hope and dream like a normal couple, but with magic and elves and Reapers!
The plot follows two stories and it's full of twists, secrets, mysteries, such a wild rollercoaster!
I can't wait to read the next book after this cliffhanger!
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and David Slayton for the ARC of this book!
What a wild ride the second book to Adam Binders story was! Slayton has always entangled magic within his words and this book is no different. Vic and Adam’s story, though told separately, was held together with a bond that just radiates off the page. I loved the mystery of it all, and though Adam was doing less magic in this book, we still were able to see the Other Side and all its wonder. I felt this was important because it allowed the reader to get that connection Adam so desperately needed with his own family instead of finding it elsewhere (like he had so many time’s when he was younger). It created that much needed family development and care that Adam deserves. Slayton leaves us on another cliffhanger that parallels so similarity to how the first book left off that, in a way, it feels like it was always meant to end there. An Ouroboros— constantly eating itself to be reborn.
Trailer Park Trickster is out THIS Tuesday, October 12th!
In the second book of the Adam Binder series we have two prospectives. We follow Adam, back home in Guthrie, as he tries to solve a mystery. An evil druid is targeting his family and he needs to know who and why. The other timeline follows Vic, as he deals with some elven drama.
I love Adam, hes so adorable, sweet and kind. I liked the story, was very fun. This book was a quick read. I like the idea of a non-powerful magic user as the main character and, of course, the LGBTQ+ rep. I'm particularly attached to this series because I'm from Oklahoma.
Only thing I wasn't too excited about was the cliff hanger at the end. I NEED THE NEXT BOOK.
Highly recommend this series if you want a light but fun queer fantasy.