Haunted Hearts by Kimberly Dean

​PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Publication date: 10/03/2018
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: No

Guest Review by mom, romance fanatic, and (someday) published author Summer Raines!

Halloween is right around the corner! If you’re in the mood for a slightly sexy ghost story, give this book a try. I started reading it around midnight because I couldn’t sleep. Big mistake. I realize I’m a pretty big chicken, but I had to stop reading until daylight. I got pretty spooked!

Putting it under the Romance Rehab microscope, I did notice a problem. I felt like the physical side of things developed too quickly. But hey, if I was single and alone with a hot cop… who knows what I would do. I’m just not convinced they had time to go from enemies to lovers if I understood the timeline properly. It’s still a good read if you like mysteries involving apparitions. It’s a fast read, so expect things to evolve quickly.

Callie inherits an old house in the country and she’s excited to leave the big city of Boston behind. The house is in worse shape than she expected, but she rolls her sleeves up and sets out to turn it into a showplace. She makes repair after repair, yet nothing stops the strange noises going thump in the night.

Things disappear from under her nose. Lights and appliances have a mind of their own. She’s trying to be brave, but her nerves are already frayed when she hears footsteps echoing down the hallway. Time to call the only person she’s butted heads with in the small town—the stubborn police chief, Carter Landry.

Chief Landry knows the old place isn’t haunted no matter what town legend says. He’s convinced that someone is scaring Ms. Thompson and it’s his job to put a stop to these Halloween hijinks. Sure, he could let a deputy handle it, but this spunky blond brings out his protective instincts.

Carter decides to spend the night on Callie’s couch, so he can catch the perpetrators in the act. All he accomplishes is fueling the flames of mutual attraction between the two of them. And what bewilders Callie the most is the fact that nothing happens when the Chief is around. She starts to wonder if what the ghost has been after all along… is Chief Landry.

I don’t know why I do this to myself. I don’t enjoy being scared, but I can’t stay away from the stories with spooks in them! It freaks me out when it’s well written (which this one is) yet I keep reading them. If you’re tempted by stories of spirits like I am, you’ll enjoy this one. I even laughed out loud a few times because of Callie’s smartass comments.

Does it crush the romance stigma? Even though the book is great, the romance moved too quickly so I have to rate it a 4.

Full disclosure: We received an ARC from NetGalley, free of charge.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
This book might not CRUSH the romance stigma, but it strongly discourages it.

Other reading suggestions
We don’t read too many ghost paranormals around here, but one we DID love was Phantom Embraceby Dianne Duvall. ​

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