Love & Ghosts by Carrie Pulkinen

Since I love everything about New Orleans, Love & Ghosts did not dissapoint. A common heroine who is new to the city and a princely son of ancient riches who become friends over a shared love of the film The Princess Bride make for an incredibly passionate couple. Although the author does miss an opportunity to reflect some of the city’s rich variety by sticking with an all-white cast, supporting characters, both living and ghostly, brighten up our main characters’ lives and stories and contribute to the adventure.

Emily actively rejects all paranormal claims, valuing reason and logic above everything else. When Emily pours a salt ring around her bed, as is her nightly custom to stave off nightmares, the reader quickly realises that Emily’s incredulity is of the “protesting too much” sort. From there, the plot concentrates around Sean’s need to get beyond Emily’s barriers and convince her that he is aware of the reality of ghosts.

Sean has experienced ghostly encounters throughout his life and has figured out how to maintain control over them and keep them from getting in the way. He runs a Ghost Tour business in New Orleans and is a gifted artist who frequently uses ghosts as the subjects of his portraits. Although wealthy, Sean is not the typical alpha billionaire hero; he works for a living, plays laser tag with his staff, and comes across as a gentle, romantic guy.

RELATED STORIES

The Hunter: A Nightingale Novel by T.M. Dawson

10 Most Anticipated Thriller, Mystery and Suspense Books of Summer 2023

April 28, 2023

39.4k

Broken Brotherhood by Rasheem Rooke

The narrative walks the reader through Sean and Emily’s initial interactions and dates while skillfully establishing their chemistry. Their interactions with the paranormal aspects and how those interactions impact their affections for one another make up the main plot. Here, the world-building is straightforward and understated: there are ghosts. Both Sean and Emily are aware of that, but although Emily is scared of the power she has seen them use, Sean loves it.

In this book, Emily, in a reversal of traditional gender roles, provides readers with a classic grovel scene. The wording is fluid, the rhythm is just right, the characters are engaging, and their connection is palpable. The relationship is ultimately charming and pleasant, with just the right amount of spookiness from ghosts to make you sigh and say, “As you wish.

About The Book

Psychic medium Sean LeBlanc runs the most popular haunted tour company in the French Quarter. For years, he’s been challenged by the loudest, most unbelieving critics, but he’s always come away changing their minds. Until now. When the toughest skeptic he’s ever met turns out to be the woman of his dreams, he makes it his mission to win her heart and dispel her disbelief.

Communicating with the dead is easy. Convincing her his ability is real? Not so much. Emily Rollins is a rational woman who doesn’t believe in ghosts, so when a mysterious wooden box arrives on her doorstep, she brings it inside without a second thought.

But the box contains a sinister force that threatens her sanity and her life. She’s starting to fall for the alluring psychic, but if he can’t convince her to exorcise her demons—from her apartment and her mind—they both might end up communicating from the other side…