Review: Modern, Sexy Paranormal Fun!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 3, 2012
I devoured this one in one sitting. Devlin Muir's life literally exploded on the same day he discovered he inherited a haunted house on the New England coast. The kicker is that he's got to maintain residence in spite of the ghost in order to keep the house. Not being a believer, Devlin figures this is going to be an easy task, especially when he meets the lovely owner of the town's art-supply store. A struggling artist slowly killing himself in mundania, Devlin sees the house as a fresh start and...it's not like he has a lot of options. But he soon finds out the 200 year old ghost isn't the scary kind--she's the sexy kind, and she wants Devlin. All of him. If he can't escape her clutches, he could end up like his relatives and former male residents of the house--drained dry.I love hero-centered stories because they're not as common as heroine-centric stories in the romance genre. Devlin is a very likable guy and it's easy to picture him as a Johnny-Depp, hipster-ish artist. What's interesting is that he's not the usual alpha hero whose already made zillions and has his entourage already in place. Along with an enchanting love interest, Devlin discovers a handful of quirky new friends with unique perspectives to his predicament, and it will take all of them working together--and a touch of magic--to disentangle Devlin from the ghost's greedy clutches and give everyone their happily-ever-afterlives.This novella is fast-paced, has tension in all the right places, and a hero you can't help but like, along with a cast of side characters that I'd have a blast reading about in subsequent novellas. SK McClafferty paints Jenna's Cove as an interesting, quirky little New England town with history and superstition and rich local legend, a place I felt I'd recognize even in the short space of the story. I read the kindle version on my smartphone and the file is well-constructed, with no formatting errors or weirdness, providing a seamless reading experience.If you like paranormals with a light touch of humor, a saucy, sexy heat level, and characters who skip melodrama, you'll love this story. By the end, I was even rooting for the ghost to find happiness. If the author decides to expand this story or this world, I'll be buying the next ones!