Nina Linden is hired to landscape a private island and she thinks this will be the chance for her to rebuild her failing business. Rick, her partner, and ex-boyfriend have tried to destroy her career after she left him when she realized he had been swindling money from their company. Deacon Whitney, the man she is working for is planning on renovating the derelict Whitney estate on the island. The problem is that the place is said to be haunted by the lady of the manor that was killed a century before...

The thing I really enjoyed with this book was the nerdiness and the banter. Deacon Whitney may be a billionaire, but he is also a computer geek with who loves old cult fantasy movies like Flash and Kull. He is a rich guy who dresses in superman t-shirt. I thought I was over that whole rich guy, poor girl thing, but that was before I finally found myself reading a book about a nerdy billionaire. There is a lot of flirting between Nina and Deacon in this book and really funny nerdy banter between them.

We also have Jack and Cindy, Cindy is cleaning up the place and Jack is the architect and they have a past history, well Jack asked Cindy out on a couple of days and then she never heard from him again, and she is still pissed of despite the fact that it was years ago. And Jack just doesn't understand why because he doesn't remember that. So Cindy is making him really miserable and he can't understand why because people usually like him.

Then there is Dotty, Deacon's fun loving and impulsive cousin that arrives at the island to write a book about Catherine and Gerald, the women killed and her husband, the suspected killer. She instantly befriends Nina and Cindy and the three of them are having a blast, well when they are not being spooked.

The story in itself wasn't that surprising. I mean it was easy to see the how it all would turn out for both Nina and Deacon and Jack and Cindy. I mean I like them, but the book is very much a paranormal romance, with a big emphasis on romance. The paranormal part was just not the books strongest part, for instance, I suspected the ending quite soon, there was in my opinion just two ways it all could end and my suspicion turn out to be the right one since. And all the parts when there are spooky things happening, well it was was never in any way terrifying. I think humor just got in the way to really make it a good haunted house story. But if a less terrifying paranormal book about a haunted house you are after then this is a very good choice.

I was quite pleased when all the women Nina, Cindy and Dotty instantly like each other and there were no women that were a jealous bitch, then Regina turned up. So typical. Also, it was hardly surprising that Rick, Nina's ex would have a role to play in this book.

So all and all, the humor was great, the character likable, the romance kind of OK despites its obvious pairing, but the story a bit weak. I was just never worried that something would happen to the main characters and the ending was just not that thrilling. One thing I liked was that is a stand alone paranormal book and not part of a series. There are so many series out there that it's nice with a book that isn't planned to be part of a series. As far as I know at least...

3.5 stars

Thanks to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

more like 4.5 stars. it was not the most unique plot or setup ever (4 stars), but it was so very beautifully done (5 stars) ( )

This was a totally cute standalone by paranormal author Molly Harper about a landscaper who goes to work on a project at a mansion on an island on the US east coast and finds it haunted. Nina is a sassy, great main character, and her romance with nerdy, comic book loving, reclusive billionaire Deacon (who owns the mansion being restored) was cute to read. There are cute side stories as well with the minor characters. A nice stand-alone.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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Good but kind of a hot mess. Nothing really gelled, but it tried. And I was not buying a couple aspects of the haunting, such as the evil spirit thing. It's an early work of the author, and I understand she finds her voice as a writer later on. ( )

One of the creepiest things I've ever read, riding the line between atmospheric horror and romance. Really well executed, and totally not what I was expecting. Yep, books that set out to be over the top horror don't even make me blink, but this got to me quite effectively. ( )