KLB Tour Stop: Giving Up the Ghost (Review) |My Need To Read

Title: Giving Up The Ghost
Series: n/a
Genres/Themes: paranormal romance, mystery, love after loss
Author: Melissa Ecker
Length: 75,000 words
Excerpt: here

Quick Take:
This is a paranormal romance with lots of heartfelt emotion, though it still had plenty of sizzle to satisfy PnR fans.

Book Description (via publisher):
Kylie McAllister has it all until her world is shattered by the death of her husband, Jackson, in a car accident. After a year of grieving, Kylie uses the proceeds from Jackson’s life insurance to purchase a plantation home on the outskirts of New Orleans to start over with their daughter, Abby. Confirmed bachelor, Ryan LaCroix, has no intentions of settling down with anyone, let alone his best friend’s widow, but somehow Kylie and Abby find their way into his heart.

After discovering an old Ouija board in the attic of her new home, Kylie unwittingly opens a cosmic door to an incubus who pretends to be the dead husband she is so desperately struggling to let go of. She falls deep under his potent spell of delicious sex and malevolent obsession while he gradually drains her life to fortify his own. By the time she realizes he’s an imposter, she is powerless to stop him. Together, with Jackson’s subliminal guidance and the help of a kind voodoo practitioner, Ryan and Kylie wage a fight for her life against the evil entity.

Review:
Loss of a spouse. From the get-go (read: the book description), one knows that this book is not likely to be full of sunshine and slapstick, or even an abundance of purely physical pursuits. Melissa Ecker's paranormal romance takes a difficult situation and builds upon it to be much more than just a devastating life event.

But speaking of said event. I think it's a testament to the author's skill as a writer that this book had me swimming in tears within the first three chapters. That reaction wasn't brought about simply because "someone died," but because Ecker really drew out the devastation and desperation that the protagonist (Kylie McAllister) experienced as a result of her loss.

This loss has enduring effect on the heroine, but not for the reasons one may think. This story does not feature a long struggle of guilt at being a surviving spouse, nor does it have Kylie hesitating to eventually want to find love again. This is a ghost (or mysterious presence ^_^) story, in which a sequence of events following Kylie's loss leads to a haunting. A very malevolent, but steamy, haunting.

There's certainly a decent amount of heat to be found in this story (though it's by no means at the level of erotica, Ecker's typical genre stomping grounds). Even given the sensuality factor in this book--which was delectable, let me tell you--there was a lot of emotion. It's in that respect that I felt the tale was really stand-out. The concern, care, anger, frustration, sadness, fear...all of these expressions were vivid and believable.

A note for those typically averse to ghost stories: don't fear this one. This book won't keep you up at night pointing a flashlight at the closet. It might keep you up for a different reason, however, and will likely make you think twice about that next sexy dream. ^_^

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

"I really liked it"

Want to check out more by this author? Visit www.melissaecker.com for excerpts, other titles, and info on appearances. KLB Tours will be giving away a themed trading card as well as an e-copy of Giving Up The Ghost, so be sure to mosey on over there!!!

Giving Up The Ghost - Virtual Journey Schedule