Rating: 4 Stars
Source: NetGalley
Description: Nina Linden is trying to get away from her past mistakes so is thrilled when she gets the job to redo the gardens on the island of billionaire Deacon Whitney. There's a little catch though - the house is haunted and not always by the nicest of ghosts. Soon Nina, Deacon and the others are trying to solve a century old murder mystery, find lost jewels and fight off a truly awful interior designer.
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Why I Picked This Book: I can never resist people restoring a tumbledown mansion and if you throw a ghost into the mix I'm even more curious.
My Impression:
Pros: Ever read a book that is exactly right for your mood? That's what this was when I picked it up. I'd been battling a cold and wanted something that I didn't have to work to get caught up in. I wanted a fast and fun read and this delivered on both counts. I loved how we got the back story of Deacon and the island. Having Jack relay it to Nina on the boat over was brilliant. Both the reader and Nina learned it at the same time so we didn't have the stiff retelling of the story. Plus we got to know Jack and he's pretty great. He also gives us a good picture of Deacon from a long time friend's perspective. I loved the interaction between Nina, Cindy, Dottie, Deacon and Jack. The banter was funny but in a lot of ways felt natural or the way I would want to talk. I do love a good group of strangers turned friends turned basically family story and this is a good one. Deacon is adorable! He's a geek turned cool guy due to money but is hanging on to his geekness. By geekness I mean more of a David Tennant playing the 10th Doctor geekness not bad glasses and snorty laughes. The science fiction mentions sprinkled throughout were fun. Deacon is definitely in my top 5 favorite guy characters right now. The Jack and Cindy story was kind of fun and I like how things were explained. The ghost story part was interesting and there was a twist that I liked.
Cons: I liked Nina okay but her character kind of faded against the vividness of the others. I also found the subplot with Nina's boss a bit too much. There was so much going on that this didn't seem necessary and didn't really fit. It is my understanding that Harper has written a lot of paranormal type books and this is a straight up ghost story. There's no other worlds or creatures lurking about. So if you're looking for more paranormal
Overall: This isn't a deep get you thinking kind of read but more of a light, fun and frothy kind of book. It was the perfect sick in bed book. I loved the characters and the story. Despite a couple of minor flaws this book was just fun.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Definitely!
Would I Recommend this Book?: Yes, this is a great book when you want a light read particularly if you enjoy a good ghost story.
This sounds like something I would like! I love it when I am reading a book that is just perfect for my mood in that moment.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a fun book! I really enjoyed it!
DeleteI was considering this. Another blogger said she wished it had more intensity to the story, but sometimes we are not looking for anything more than a light read, so thanks.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there wasn't much intensity but for me at the time that was a good thing. Definitely not something if you want scary and ominous but perfect if you want light and fun.
DeleteAs you know I did the audio and I we rated this similarly . While it was lighter then I expected it was a fun read. I think the audio helped with the characters.
ReplyDeleteActually your review was what made me pick this one up when I was having a hard time focusing on a book. I think part of the reason I really liked it was because I knew what to expect.
DeleteThis sounds so good. I've been wanting to read this author for awhile.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed it! It's a super fast read.
DeleteI'm definitely with you on the boss subplot - it wasn't really needed and it would have been more interesting if one of the characters on the island had taken on the baddy's agenda.
ReplyDeleteExactly! There were enough characters who weren't involved in relationships that I think it would've worked.
DeleteLight and frothy is how I prefer my ghost stories. This is already on my (huge) TBR list but I will bump it higher! Good review!
ReplyDeleteI think you'd really enjoy it. It was one I wanted to keep picking up.
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