Tag Archives: ghosts

Haunted on Bourbon Street

Book Review of Deanna Chase’s Haunted on Bourbon Street

Leave a reply

haunted on bourbon street14031401I grabbed Deanna Chase‘s Haunted on Bourbon Street from the Amazon KDP list…twice it would seem. (Thus the two covers) I didn’t even know it was possible to download the same book twice on Amazon. I guess the ASIN changed at some point or something. Anyhow, as the time of posting it appeared to be free again.

Description from Goodreads:
Jade loves her new apartment–until a ghost joins her in the shower.

When empath Jade Calhoun moves into an apartment above a strip bar on Bourbon Street, she expects life to get interesting. What she doesn’t count on is making friends with an exotic dancer, attracting a powerful spirit, and developing feelings for Kane, her sexy landlord.

Being an empath has never been easy on Jade’s relationships. It’s no wonder she keeps her gift a secret. But when the ghost moves from spooking Jade to terrorizing Pyper, the dancer, it’s up to Jade to use her unique ability to save her. Except she’ll need Kane’s help–and he’s betrayed her with a secret of his own–to do it. Can she find a way to trust him and herself before Pyper is lost?

Review:
I was pleasantly surprised by Deanna Chase’s Haunted on Bourbon Street. I think I expected something a little more H.P. Mallory-ish…more sexual tension and humour. I don’t mean to suggest that there wasn’t plenty of both, but rather it isn’t the focus of this book. In a sense this is as much a mystery as a paranormal romance. They have to investigate and identify the ghost, find out what he wants, find out how to defeat him, and find out how to get on with life.

I liked Jade. While she came in with some preconceived notions about strip clubs and those that work in them, she eventually proved herself to be open minded and mentally flexible. She also had a good strong backbone… though one of these days I swear I am going to do some sort of research project on how often otherwise healthy, well-balanced women in romantic fiction manage to twist ankles while in the presence of sexy men who can carry them away…and maybe even go on to explore how often they then end up in said sexy man’s bed. Here we find a woman who apparently can’t even turn 90° to the right without injuring herself. Sheesh!

Dodgy balance aside, I really did like Jade. It was also nice that her empathic ability was integral to her personality, but not to saving the day. Well it was, but you know how sometimes in books the main character will have one strong skill and somehow it is the only thing that is needed to single-handedly save the world? Not so much here and that was refreshing.

I thought Kane was not only super sexy, but a sweet heart to boot. Pyper was a firecracker. I did have a little trouble deciding what an LSU graduate (one presumes she graduated in the absence of information to the contrary) was doing working in a strip club, but I was willing to accept it. Kat, Dan, and Ian filled their roles, but I felt little for them.

The twist wasn’t all that difficult to guess, but it also wasn’t so obvious that one felt there wasn’t a need to finish the story. I did think things got a little convoluted there at the end. Yes, I suppose I could call it action packed, but the whole feel of the novel changed with the increased pace. Plus, it all felt a little convenient. I know a week was supposed to have passed, so obviously the group worked hard to pull it together. But since the reader isn’t party to any of this it felt wrong. Does that make sense?

I’m glad to have given it a read at long last and would be more than willing to read the continuation of the series.

 

The Ghost and the Graveyard

Book Review of Genevieve Jack’s The Ghost and the Graveyard

Leave a reply

The Ghost and the GraveyardI grabbed Genevieve Jack’s The Ghost and the Graveyard from the Amazon KDP list.

Description from Goodreads:
Left destitute by an unscrupulous ex-boyfriend, Grateful Knight takes her father up on his offer to live rent-free in a house he hasn’t been able to sell. Desperate to make a new start, Grateful tries to overlook the property’s less desirable features, like the graveyard that stretches to her back door. On the bright side, the unbelievably gorgeous cemetery caretaker, Rick, is dead set on helping her feel at home. She vows to take things slow, considering her recent disastrous relationship, but is baffled when she literally can’t keep her hands off of him.

When things in Grateful’s house start moving on their own another man enters her life, a sexy ghost with a dark secret. Magical forces are at work in the tiny town of Red Grove and they’re converging on Grateful. Solving this ghostly mystery won’t be easy and with the caretaker becoming increasingly jealous of her spectral relationship, Grateful may be forced to choose between the ghost and the graveyard.

Review:
I really quite enjoyed this book. That’s despite it being told in the first person present tense, which I generally hate and involving both a love triangle and insta-lust, which usually drive me crazy. The book somehow managed to overcome all of its handicaps and provide an enjoyable read. And it did it with surprising ease. The magic irritation-nullifying ingredient? Humour. The Ghost and the Graveyard is funny. Yes, yes it’s hot and steamy too, but that wouldn’t have been enough to overcome my dislike for the parts that make up its whole. I needed Grateful’s quick wit and sarcastic internal monologue for that. She’s a great heroine. She manages to stay strong and sure of her own sense of self in the face of some fairly severe identity shake-ups. She might have gone weak at the knees in the face of Rick and his awesome sex appeal, but she was never weak-willed. I respected that.

Rick was a surprisingly complex hero. He was simultaneously strong and fragile, loyal and of a little untrustworthy. I’m sure (in my own imaginings) that there will be a lot more to him and his backstory in the future books. I liked Lucas too. He was like a lost puppy, but I was a little tired of his whinging by the end of the book.

I was a disappointed that the book didn’t quite wrap up by the end. Don’t get me wrong it ended OK, but only one small part of the larger whole was solved. There were a lot of loose threads about. I’m always left wanting when that is the case. It’s a shame the next book isn’t out yet.

Soul Survivor

Book Review of Rosanna McCoy’s Soul Survivor

Leave a reply

Author, Rosanna McCoy, sent me a review copy of Soul Survivor .

Description from Goodreads:
Awakening from a coma, University of New Mexico’s Professor, Grayson Lane, finds himself in a living nightmare. He remembers a delivery truck hitting him while out on a leisurely run, but he has no memory of his near-death experience in ICU or his soul encountering the soul of Sophia Cruz, the woman lying in the hospital bed next to his.

Bewildered by the entanglement of Sophia’s ghost, Grayson seeks the help of University of New Mexico’s parapsychologist, Dr. Prothro. But Grayson is skeptical of Prothro’s explanation, and he does not believe Zuri, his long-time lover, has become too busy with her pottery business to spend time with him.

Zuri is horrified when Grayson reveals the ghost that is possessing his soul to be that of Sophia Cruz, the dead wife of State Senator Domingo Cruz, the predator who is sexually extorting her. Dom is powerful and dangerous, and when Grayson tells her that Prothro suspects the Senator of murdering his wife, she pleads with him to steer clear of Dom.

Desperate, Zuri also turns to Dr. Prothro for help. He enlists Tate Edwards, a PI with a ghost of his own, to help her break free of Dom’s control. But none of them are prepared for the events that unfold when the ghost of Sophia Cruz begins using Grayson to accomplish her revenge on those who have betrayed her

Soul Survivor has ghosts in it, but I wouldn’t call it a ghost story. They play a decidedly secondary role. After a traumatic head injury Grayson Lane can see ghosts, meanwhile his girlfriend Lani can see monsters (and not the supernatural kind). He probably got the better end of that deal.

The book is very well written. Most of the characters are sharp and well defined. I especially like Tate and, though I know it probably makes me a bad person, Spyker. But I had a hard time reading it. This isn’t a happy, happy, joy, joy type of book. Lani is stuck in hell and the reader is forced to ride along side her. Luckily McCoy wasn’t inclined toward titillation and avoided being gratuitous. I don’t think I could have finished it if she had described the details of what we know Lani went through. But she is especially strong and determined to survive.

It has a happy ending of sorts, but I didn’t find the it particularly gratifying. I think that some people will though. Those who are comfortable with the idea that the rewards for a life well led come in the next will stand up and cheer. Those of us who want it here and now and aren’t so sure about the whole heaven thing might feel a little disgruntled. I did, as I often do when strong religious themes are sprung on me unexpectedly. I would have preferred the book without, but suspect the author wouldn’t have cared to write it that way. (But what do I know?)

The cover doesn’t really do it justice. Overlook it. The book is worth reading.