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Louisa Masters’ Spirited Situations is the first in a new series of paranormal romances entitled Ghostly Guardians. It’s a fun, light-hearted read with a spooky vibe and a fun cast of characters, and I enjoyed the author’s lively, easy-to-read style – although if you’re looking for a story that’s going to scare the pants off you and make you want to hide behind the sofa, this isn’t it.
Josh’s lifelong ability to see and hear ghosts has seriously screwed up his life in a number of ways. He’s never alone, and it can be really difficult for him to distinguish between the living and the dead – as ghosts look like regular people to him – and many’s the job or roommate or boyfriend he’s lost because he (as they thought) started talking to thin air, or because the sudden appearance of a ghost has made him jump for no reason… and learning to drive is a big no-no; he could end up with a car full of ghostly distractions or ghosts jumping out into the road in front of him as a joke and… just no. Being constantly surrounded by ghosts who are so delighted that he can see and hear them that they can’t leave him alone is exhausting, and he’s tired of not fitting in or being able to have anything approaching a normal life. But he’s hopeful that might change soon; he’s applied for a job at the Mannix Estate, an old country house that is now a museum and immersive historic/re-enactment experience that is reportedly “haunted as fuck”. It’s this last part that is the real attraction for Josh:
“… if a staff member should happen to be caught talking to “nobody”, he could claim to have been chatting with a ghost, wink wink, and the guests would probably think it was part of the whole “immersive” experience.
Josh is nervous, but the interview goes well, despite the presence of a ghost sitting in and continually yelling at Kieran, the interviewer and manager at the estate. Josh has to work hard to make out he doesn’t see or hear her – and is stunned when Kieran calmly tells him that everyone at the estate can see the ghosts, that there’s something about the place that enables them to sometimes manifest. Josh can’t believe what he’s hearing – and gladly accepts the job. At last, he’ll be somewhere he doesn’t feel so out of place all the time, somewhere he can let down his guard and be himself. This has the potential to be life-changing for him and he’s determined to make a success of it.
Things are complicated however, when Josh is being shown around the grounds and sees the familiar face of the big, muscly guy he’d picked up in a bar the night before, fucked all night and then run out on in the morning so he could get to the interview on time. It turns out that Ewan is the estate’s blacksmith – and even though the attraction they’d acted on the night before is as strong as ever, Josh isn’t going to risk losing his perfect job and the chance to have a (mostly) normal life by getting involved with a colleague. Or that’s the plan, at least. But you know what they say about the best laid plans…
The first part of the book breezes by as Josh settles in and we get to meet the secondary cast of humans and quirky ghosts, an odd bunch who bicker and tease but would clearly do anything for one another. I liked that we were given time to get to know them all before the plot kicks in, and that they’re all very distinct personalities. The two leads are likeable, although Josh is the more strongly characterised of the two. He’s sweet and he’s been through a lot; I enjoyed seeing his confidence grow once he accepted nobody would ridicule him for seeing ghosts and that he could actually be useful to both them and his human colleagues. Ewan is a big, brawny hottie and I liked that he’s so protective and caring towards Josh, but honestly, he’s pretty two-dimensional, and I’m hard pressed to remember much about him. The chemistry between them is decent, but the romance is basically insta-love and I don’t understand why, when this is only the first in a series, the author has to have them suddenly throw ILYs around with no real build up when it would have been much more satisfying to have developed the relationship and built to an HEA across two or three books.
Despite that, Spirited Situation is entertaining, and Ms. Masters does a good job of building a growing sense of unease in the second half when the spooky stuff comes into play and we start to learn the truth about what’s in the basement! The book has a lot going for it – the characters, the gentle humour, the plot and the author’s assured writing style – but the weakness of the romance means I had to drop the final grade down a bit. I can’t give Spirited Situation a wholehearted recommendation, but I enjoyed it enough to say that it’s worth a look if you adjust your expectations and take it for the warm and spirited (!) bit of fun it is.
Buy it at: Amazon or your local independent retailer
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Grade: B-
Book Type: Paranormal Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 19/02/22
Publication Date: 02/2022
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
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I finally read this book. I liked the author’s writing style and the humor. However, I do agree that there needed to be more shown of the development of Josh and Ewan’s relationship. I felt like a lot of that was glossed over in favor of the paranormal storyline and world building. For this type of story (MM paranormal romance with ghosts), I would say that Lily Morton’s The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings did it better. However, that all being said, I did enjoy the book and will definitely be reading the next in the series.
This book was recommended in the newsletter of some author I follow (I can’t remember which author anymore!) but I had never heard of Louisa Masters. Although I tend to read very few paranormals, it looked rather fun so I put it on my Amazon wishlist to think about (I don’t have KU). Now that I have read Caz’s review, I might get it!
I’ve been aware of Louisa Masters but this is the first book of hers I’ve read. It’s not especially memorable, but it’s an easy, fun read.
Sometimes, that’s just what I want :)
If this series is like Masters’ other series, Hidden Species, each book will be about a different couple, so that may be the reason for the insta-love. I enjoyed the two books of that series on audio, narrated by Joel Leslie. Their nothing super original, but fun. I’d be interested to see if Joel narrates this series.
There are certainly other characters who could have their own romances, but I’d rather LM had concentrated on developing this one better before moving on to another couple. There are story threads left over though, so I might pick up the next one. (I’ve just looked at Amazon and it says Vortex Conundrum is Kieran’s book.)
If I find out abotu audio I’ll let you know.
If a book is in KU, does AAR still get something if we use your affiliate link? Just wondering since KU is about page reads as opposed to a static price point. I want to make sure I support the work you do.
I have no idea, but I assume not as we only get commission on actual purchases. I’m sure Dabney will know more – I’ll point her this way.
Nope. KU is a nightmare for us, honestly. And, I think, for most authors.
This is good to know, thank you.