A Spirited Manor

I should never have chosen this book. I don't remember what genre it was given. If it said "supernatural" that would have been a hook for me. It was also a short book, and I get those to fill in the time at the end of a month. Usually fast reading. This was not fast reading. I should have been more attentive to the summary of the book. Written in a Gothic romance style, I was so bored that I had trouble making headway in this book. I was halfway through the book before anything "exciting" actually happened. There was no reality to the characters, themselves - even the main character, Clara. Apparently, this is the beginning of a series with her as the main character. Seems like a joke. She was not particularly insightful or commanding. All she was, was a "sensitive" to the spirits from the other side. Early on she sees a ghost, and that is how she gets involved with these people and drawn to this fatal séance. She doesn't seem to get very emotional about this ghost (I would have wet my pants). There is so little real emotion shown from the characters, as people begin dying, that I really found this book hard to take seriously. It is an Agatha Christie novel (a room or house where people start dying, though no one can come in or out), with the supernatural thrown in. If it's just a mystery, make it a mystery and forget the supernatural. If it is a horror book, make it more horrific, rather than saving the real horror for the last chapter. What made this book so unappealing to me was the totally unrealistic reactions of the people in this book. They were cardboard stereotypes. That is acceptable in an Agatha Christie mystery, but not in a horror story. Maybe the fault is mine, and I should have taken the "Gothic" description more seriously, especially the ridiculous sudden romance of Clara and the medium. It wasn't bad enough for one star (which I rarely give), but two is the best I can do for it.

I did like this book surprisingly enough. However, in the end it failed to do the one thing you expect a mystery novel to do. It didn't explain why anything had happened. We can maybe suss out the how but why is completely left out. No reasons, no motive. Just an offended comment that could maybe point to an, "because evil is evil" mentality. Info crucial to seeing more is left out, and the book ends on a bizarre twist that seems to invalidate the rules we learned of ghosts before. Something that may be explained in the second book, but leaves readers of the first feeling cheated.

I enjoyed the author's fast-paced writing style, and the writing itself was fine besides a handful of typos, but there were few items that led me to give this novel 3 stars.Firstly, the romantic aspect of this story progressed far too fast! SLIGHT SPOILER, DON'T CONTINUE READING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW. She saw him--did not even personally meet him--first at a theatrical performance. The second time she met him at the manor house, and within the time span of a night she was suddenly madly in love with him and he made the pain and grief of the loss of her first husband disappear.Secondly, there are some loose ends and discrepancies that the author either forgets about or just does not bother to tie up. One includes the matter of the deaths in her new house. SPOILER: It is indicated that one death occurred in the house Clara purchased, which is why it took so long to sell, but near the end of the story it is revealed the entire staff was killed. The most confusing part, at the beginning of the story it was mentioned the police thought the dead woman (who was the presumed one death) had committed suicide, but how could the Police have thought that when the entire staff was murdered? Why was it not mentioned that at least three deaths occurred in the house, which would be considered a gristly murder? Makes no sense. There were two other cases like this, but describing them would give away too much of the story.In conclusion, I do not think I will be purchasing the other novels of the series. Too much did not add up in this novel.

Don't be fooled by the beginning of this story, it's not an historical romance, and it's not what you think it might be from the beginning. But, the story unfolds and is quite fun.The story begins to weave the tale of Clara O'Hare a recently widowed woman who has purchased a new house. As she experiences some strange things in her new home, a story unfolds. Once the story gets going, I felt like I was reading an old Agatha Christie who dun it book. It's got a vintage feel that wraps up in a so not vintage ending.The book is a fast read, and it's free for the Kindle edition. So give it a shot.

The book had a good premise,sounded interesting. The further into the story I got the more detected I became. There's a lot of telling what the main character is feeling but no way to connect with her. The characters are one note.The romance is unbelievable. Not much happens in the beginning and it was rushed at the end. Nothing made much sense, there were some spelling and grammar issues. Honestly thought it was a debut author but when I found out it was supposedly a best selling author, it floored me. Usually I don't give bad reviews. I think it's more beneficial to contact the author to give feedback so they can learn and go back and edit. That's with new authors. This one should've known better. Don't waste your time. I know I'll pass on anything from this author in future.