#Review of Lured By the Ghost Rake by Marianna Green w/a rafflecopter giveaway! @Mariann33278009 #ghoststory

Lured By The Ghost Rake

by Marianna Green

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Romance, Ghost Story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

When Elda Elwood goes on a visit to her actor lover Jake Reynolds’ ancestral home, she is drawn by a portrait of his ancestor, eighteenth-century rake Lord Lucas Lovegrove.

She learns the tragic story behind the viscount’s marriage to the innocent young heiress Rose Ashworth.

Elda senses that the portrait has strange powers and that the house is haunted by Lovegrove’s predatory and sexual ghost…

And what is the secret of the sinister pagoda on the grounds?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE: The book is on sale for $0.99. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

It was a miniature pagoda, reminding Elda of the one in Kew Gardens. This one was far smaller and less ornate, rising to seven floors. They walked through the damp wild garden with rhododendron trees and bushes bright with blossoms, following a path through the bamboo plantation, the wet, stirring fronds catching at their clothes with a whispering noise.

It seemed to Elda was almost like a medley of human voices. One was stronger than the others, faint but enticing: Come to me…Come to me…  

Silence fell like a cloak about them as they approached the pagoda, their footsteps muted on the moss-grown stone slabs surrounding the building. From the distance it had looked grand and ornate. A stab of disappointment shot through Elda as she saw how it had fallen into ruin.

Sun and rain had splintered the external woodwork, while the windows were dirty and cracked, with lichen growing around the frames. The red paint on the doors was flaking, the iron on the balconies rusted, the ornamental heads which decorated each layer falling apart. 

Jake tried the doors, to find them locked. “That’s got to be down to some health and safety law. I’m guessing the floors are rotten.”

Through the grimy windows, they could see a collection of ruinous furniture, nameless debris, and dust. Elda noted an old upright piano, some battered chaise longues, and the faded murals painted on the walls. In the centre of the room, a spiral staircase was covered in fallen debris…

…As Elda gazed in at the circular room inside, she could see it both as it was, and over that in a transparent layer, how it had been over two hundred years ago.

It was a fine room, perhaps twenty feet across, with gaudy murals of dragons, mountains, and other eastern images. It was luxuriously furnished, with the archaic furniture and piano all as new. 

There was a group sitting and listening while Lucas Lovegrove played and singing at the instrument. His voice was outstanding, bringing the stilted words and formal melody of the old song to life. Naturally, his voice lured. The women could not keep their eyes off him.

 

This book is creepy, sent shivers up my spine and yes, I read it in one sitting.  Big mistake.  I dreamt of this book which I never do.  This review is going to be brief because if I say too much, I will spoil it.

Elda is fantastic.  Ms. Green does a great job with her characterization of Elda and doesn’t muck it up with a bunch of filler that is not needed.  Same with Jake.  The story takes place over a couple of days, so Ms. Green does an excellent job of keeping the reader engrossed with just the week.  You will learn everything you need to know and that’s it.  The secondary characters are equally as important to the story.  I loved both Elda and Jake.  He never doubted her when he could have been but he was skeptical at first.

I really wanted to hate Lord Lovegrove but I just couldn’t.  Once I got his story, I felt bad for him.  He messed up with Rose and he just didn’t know what to do about it.  Haunting people seemed like the right thing to do…not.  The haunts are nicely drawn out and the ending one is one for the books.  Man, Ms. Green has a fascinating mind to be able to write that.  The ending is great.  I really felt the remorse and sadness from Lord Lovegrove in the end.

Overall, I really liked the book.  It was creepy, fascinating, and I would highly recommend it to ghost story readers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Marianna Green lives in the UK, has a geekish fascination with English Literature and History, and has an irrepressible sense of humor.

 

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Mariann33278009

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8058693.Marianna_Green

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 

Marianna Green will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

RAFFLECOPTER:

a Rafflecopter giveaway