Title: The Reluctant Ghost Whisperer
Series: Barrow and Sparrow: Book One
Author: Neptune Flowers
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
Length: 74 Pages
At a Glance: While there was a unique twist on the whole “I see ghosts” concept, and there was quite a bit of humor, I struggled with connecting to Adam and Johnny’s relationship and had difficulty finding my flow reading this one.
Reviewed By: Lindsey
Blurb: All you need is love, or so they say!
Owning a building company means long hours, lonely days and too much physical labour.
When Adam Barrow employs a fit, capable guy, life begins to look up. His business thrives from the extra muscle, and so does Adam. Being around chatty Johnny really helps the time fly past. Adam is shy and inexperienced in ways of the heart, but very soon his awkwardness eases and he finds himself flirting and having fun.
Johnny Sparrow has a mysterious past and seems to have a knack of stirring up inexplicable presences. From the day he arrives on a motorbike, weird things begin to happen, like strange noises and creepy mists. Even motorbike Angus has a personality!
All you need is love, but can Adam find the strength to confront the ghostly goings-on? Can Johnny find a use for the egg whisk, and can Angus really carry them both to safety?
A story of paranormal divas, supernatural aromas and head-over-heels romance.
Barrow and Sparrow book one.
Review: It sucks writing reviews like this. I can see why others would enjoy this story, but… for me? Sadly, it just wasn’t quite what I was looking for. While the book was okay, and there was plenty of humor to be found, it didn’t sink its claws into me. I didn’t hate it, but nothing really jumped out at me to make me love it either. I found my mind wondering rather than connecting, and in this case, I really think the writing style was one of the main issues.
Some of the things I appreciated, oddly enough, were also part of the problem on this one, a double-edged sword, like Adam’s voice. His internal dialogue was quirky, and there was quite a bit of wit in his observations. However, being told strictly from his POV, the relationship and paranormal plot fall into that dreaded situation where I felt I was told rather than shown. I never really felt like I got to know Johnny, except for how Adam saw him; he lacked any presence on-page for me. Towards the end there was a bit more depth revealed of his character, but still, minimal development and Johnny never really had a clear, distinct voice. While Adam was fleshed out for me, everyone else was sort of there and not really making an impact, including one of the other main characters—which is something that tends to be one of my main necessities. If there is a romantic plot/subplot and I’m unable to connect to the characters who are part of that romance, chances are the rest will fall flat to me.
Another one was the present/past way of telling the story. Kudos for trying something new, but it was a risk. One that didn’t pan out for this reader. The delivery worked against my being able to truly immerse myself into what was going on. The story begins in present time, which is written in italics, then jumps to six months in the past. Most would call it a flashback, but the issue here is the majority of the first portion of the plot is centered around what happened six months prior. So actually the “present” tense is more of a flashforwards, with little snippets to let the reader know something had happened and is on the horizon, but not enough information to quite figure out what may have occurred to get Adam and Johnny to the present day. Since the entire first half of the book is the constant flipping back and forth between the two-time timelines (until the two merge into one around the halfway point), I was continually being thrown out of Adam and Johnny’s fledgling relationship and weird paranormal experiences and then trying to get back into the flow after being tossed back to the past again. It was jarring instead of smooth; rather than intrigue me and keep my interest, it had the opposite effect. Instead, I began to get irritated. Honestly, had the “present” day been removed from the first part of the story and it began in the middle (where the present and past meet), I probably would have been able to get more engrossed from the start.
There was a unique twist on the whole “I see ghosts” concept which I enjoyed. The use of kitchen gadgets was certainly unexpected, and there were instances it gave me a bit of a smile picturing the different situations and Adam’s thoughts on them. It wasn’t scary, rather more of a comedy and on the more lighthearted side. I can’t say I didn’t find enjoyment in portions of The Reluctant Ghost Whisperer, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I struggled with connecting to Adam and Johnny and their relationship, and had difficulty in finding my flow reading this one. Because of these key factors, I was never really able to become fully engaged and don’t really see myself following this series in the future.
You can buy The Reluctant Ghost Whisperer here:
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