WANTED: ONE GHOST by Loni Lynne – Review + $20 Amazon Card Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Wanted: One Ghost! I’m happy to share my review of this sexy, romantic and ghostly story. After my review, don’t for get to check out the giveaway for a $20 Amazon gift card.

She’s a historian with a unique touch—her touch just brought history to life.

Stuck in ghostly limbo for 238 years, James Addison can’t move on to an afterlife. After being falsely accused of treason and executed, fate’s cursed him to remain an earth-bound specter until he meets a historian sent to research his past. Distrustful of fate, Dr. April Branford wants to be taken seriously, but her unique ability to divine history by touching objects seriously compromises her credibility. Her latest assignment? James Addison, a legendary colonial ladies’ man with a shadowy past. Without much to go on, she doesn’t hold out much hope to discover the man behind the legend until the day she accidentally touches him and brings him back to life. With the help of family and ghosts from James’s past, they unravel the truth. But after falling in love and with time running out, it’s hard for April to believe in fate and a future where forever is now.

Purchase Wanted: One Ghost: * Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Goodreads *

My Review:

In a word: A sexy paranormal romance filled with smart women, a story rich in history and authentic details, lots of intriguing ghostly characters, with a romance that transcends time.

“This happens to be 2012, James. Your archaic ideals went out when my grandmother burned her bra at Woodstock in the 1960s!”

Dottie cleared her throat. “Actually, I burned my bra at a sit-in while I was protesting in Washington D.C., dear. Woodstock was a music fest. Your uncle was conceived there. For the record, I wasn’t wearing a bra.”

I’ve always been drawn to ghost stories. I’m pretty sure I’ve had a few brushes with the spirit world myself (at least I hope that’s what they were!) and I am thrilled to be part of the tour for Wanted: One Ghost. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.  Loni Lynne has thoroughly researched the pre-Revolutionary War era of colonial America and brought some characters from that time period, literally, to life. She even introduced me to an artifact I’ve never heard of before. (More about that later).  I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery, a story with lots of historical details, and a good smattering of sexy, romantic fun.

April is a historian who has been hired by a mysterious man to research some land holdings in Kings Mill, Maryland. Her boss, Kenneth Miles, is a descendent of James Addison, the man who supposedly owned the original mill. If April can find proof of this, Kenneth will be able to purchase and develop the land. But the details of James’ life and death are few and far between, and April has her work cut out for her.

Until one night when April joins a walking tour of the historical site where James was supposedly executed, she meets up with no other than the ghost of James himself. James seems to be stuck in a time loop, journeying back and forth between the past and present, and unless he can unravel the mystery of why he was killed, he may be stuck there for eternity.

April’s “gift” of psychometry, the ability to glean information from the past by touching objects, often helps her as a historian. But when she unwittingly touches James’s gravestone and brings him back to life, her research job becomes a whole lot more complicated. As she gets closer to the facts about James’s death, she puts herself in danger. Can April bring the truth to light before the past tries to destroy her?

I think my favorite part of Wanted: One Ghost was the humor. Lynne brings two things together that shouldn’t be—the past and the present—and amplifies the differences between the sexual mores, clothing styles and attitudes towards women of the present time and the 18^th century.  James is a rakishly handsome womanizer with a reputation for multiple sexual partners. When he first meets April, he sees her merely as a frail woman who ought to do whatever he says. Luckily, April sets him straight and proceeds to educate him about the strong and independent women of today. But the misunderstandings between them are so much fun and made me chuckle as I was reading. As annoying as it was to hear James say things like “You will use the facilities and get back in bed, or by God, I will put you there,” it worked well to show how different their worlds are, and to make the reader wonder how on earth these two will ever get along.

April has an amazing support system in the form of a group of women relatives: her Aunt Vickie, her Grandma Dottie, and her mother. All three women are blessed (or cursed!) with some sort of psychic ability. Apparently it runs in the family, which is where April gets her psychometry from. I loved Vickie and Dottie in particular. April knows she can count on them to help her out with the dangerous situation she finds herself in—trying to help some very upset and terrifying ghosts move on.

The historical details added a wonderful layer to the story. Not only do we get James’s point of view and learn about life in his time period, but we get to see April looking for clues and researching old documents and photographs. One particular item that fascinated me was an object called a chatelaine that plays an important part in solving the mystery. This piece of jewelry, worn by the lady of the house and made of individual chains that held important and useful items like keys and scissors, is described by April as the smartphone of colonial times. Here is one example of a chatelaine:

I just love learning new stuff like that, don’t you?

You can’t have a paranormal romance without the “romance” part of the story. Lynne delivers big time with a few sexy scenes between April and James that made my toes curl. The author adds lots of sexual innuendo and banter between the two that made me laugh. I also liked the oddity of the main character falling for a man who starts as a ghost and then becomes flesh and blood, but it’s anyone’s guess how long this phase will last. Will James go back to being a ghost after the mystery is solved? Or will he move on? As April’s feelings for James get more and more complicated, both of them are wondering just where this relationship is going.

A thoroughly satisfying ending made me smile, and I’m betting you will, too. If paranormal romance with lots of humor and strong female characters is your cup of tea, Wanted: One Ghost won’t disappoint.

Many thanks to the author/publisher for supplying a review copy.

About the Author:

Born in Michigan, Loni grew up all over the mid-west. From Michigan to Texas and everywhere in between before joining the Navy and meeting her Army husband. Together they were stationed in Hawaii for four years before returning to settle close to family in Maryland. Raising two beautiful daughters, Loni went from being a domestic goddess to a writer and finally a published author when her husband gifted her with a laptop,portable hard drive and a membership to Romance Writers of America for her birthday. He then challenged her to, ‘finish a book by her next birthday,’ and she did it! A few years later she was blessed with one of those novels, Wanted: One Ghost, as her debut novel.

Find Loni Lynne: * Facebook * Wanted: One Ghost Facebook Page * Twitter * Website *

And now for the giveaway! One winner will receive a $20 Amazon gift card.

Giveaway Rules:

Giveaway begins August 19th and will end September 13th 11:59 EST. The winner will be announced on September 15th on Loni Lynne’s Facebook page.

Open to U.S. residents only

We are not responsible for items lost in the mail & have the right to disqualify anyone, at any time.

Personal information given by the applicant in the giveaway will never be shared. All information is deleted once the giveaway ends.

To enter, simply click the Rafflecopter button below. Good luck!

Thanks to Christine Marie Book Publicity & Promotion for organizing this tour: