"The Tribulations of Ross Young, Supernat PA" Review

Let’s move from one book by A.J. Sherwood with a super-long title to another: “The Tribulations of Ross Young, Supernat PA”. This one, too, is a comedic male-male erotica book which was originally a collection of shorter stories which bring the two main characters, human Ross Young and vampire Glenn Reagan, closer and closer together as all progresses. It’s just as much fun to read as the last of her books I wrote about (“How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy”), even if it’s more urban fantasy than high fantasy. It’s just as weird, just as fun, and just as re-readable, at least for me.

According to the foreword of the book, the whole story was originally written as a series of shorts for the author’s newsletter recipients. As A.J. Sherwood never really intended to publish the story in book form — despite now having done so —, she felt free to dive deep into all kinds of fan fiction ideas and all kinds of references, be it the ‘Aunt May’s’ gas station where Ross works in the first story or titles like “This Isn’t the Dog You’re Looking For”.
When the author compiled the stories for publication, she added a few extra stories, describing certain events from the stories from Glenn’s perspective (as the main story is strictly told by Ross, not changing viewpoints between chapters as in “How I Stole…”). Like this, we get some fun extra stories.

Now for the story as a such. Ross Young is a college student who works the better-paid night-shift at a gas station. He’s taken some time off college to be able to build up some savings for the rest of his classes and that’s why he has taken the job in the first place. While working there, he’s already realised that there are some strange, supernatural creatures coming in. He’s grown used to it and deals well with vampires, werewolves, fairies, and many other beings in the same way he would deal with regular customers. To him, they’re nothing else, and he’s all about customer service — and deadpan reactions, which also endears him to quite some of them. He’s unshakeable, but doesn’t try to use the knowledge to blackmail anyone, which endears him even further to the supernatural community.
One night, a vampire comes in and offers him a new job. Glenn Reagan, the clan master of a clan made up of different supernatural beings, needs a new Function — a human PA or secretary who can organise things for the clan and make sure all runs its course in daylight as well as at night. Not to mention that there’s a lot of shenanigans to get clan members out of. Ross is hesitant about it — after all, he wants to finish his education, so how could he take a job like that? After a fire elemental destroys the gas station, though (and Ross only escapes through luck, prior achievements, and a vampire carrying him out of the still hot building), Ross takes the job he’s been offered and becomes the new Function to the clan. Glenn promises to support him through college as he, too, has an interest in Ross being even better at his job.
From there, more shenanigans happen, some lighthearted — like the werewolves of the clan adopting all the dogs from the local shelter —, some less so — like Ross being kidnapped by one of Glenn’s old enemies. Yet, all of these stories also serve to deepen the relationship between Ross and Glenn, leading to a well-developed romance in the end.
The clan is made up of many weird, yet friendly members who represent different supernatural species: there’s a full pack of werewolves, there’s kobolds who man the garage, there’s dwarves who do construction work, there’s a witch and a wizard (not just a difference in gender, but in magic use), there’s different mythological beings from all over the world.

Ross feels drawn to Glenn — and not just for the other man’s looks, either — from the very beginning, yet he fights the attraction for quite a while, worried first about a relationship with a vampire, then about a relationship with his boss (which could turn horrid, no doubt about that). Both can be intimidating, but both can also be good. It’s only well into the stories that they start dating (unsuccessfully at first, thanks to the clan) and only at the end when they get serious about their relationship.
The relationship also doesn’t feel forced. Glenn cares for Ross as he’s caring for all in his clan and Ross is caring for Glenn as a PA and as a friend, not just because ‘he’s hot’ — although Glenn is. As they grow closer, their relationship shifts, as it would for everyone.

There are some stories which include more bloody scenes, but they do not take the stories as a such out of their ‘comedic and comfy’ zone. Nothing is described in too much detail, the bloody things happen, but they’re not in the main focus (again, very much as in “How I Stole…”).
For me, the book has made its way on my regular rereading list, it’s a good one to curl up with at the pool or on the couch on a rainy day with a beverage of your choice. I have read into it again several times, choosing the stories in the order in which I wanted to read them after having finished the book once. They’re still fun, Ross’s internal comments on the situation are still hilarious, and the developing relationship between him and Ross is still just so sweet.
There’s actually only one sex scene in this one, so it’s much easier to skip if that is what you want to do. Of course, you can also read it, it’s good. It is, at least nominally, an erotica and not a romance story through this, but it also makes for a great romance story if you’re more into those.

On the whole, A.J. Sherwood’s “The Tribulations of Ross Young, Supernat PA” is a really fun book to read. It has an urban fantasy setting which doesn’t take itself too seriously. It has good and sometimes outright weird characters. It has a nice, slow-burn romance. It has some bloody bits which do not erase the humour in it. If you enjoy more ridiculous stories, you will definitely enjoy this one, so give it a look if all of this sounds interesting to you.