Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Quick Thoughts: Ghost Hunter

Ghost Hunter

by Jayne Castle
Book 3 of Harmony series

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  3.5 Stars

Return to the "fascinating" world of harmony...
Where deadly energy ghosts lurk in the ruins of an ancient alien civilization.  Where dust bunnies prove to be loyal pets.  And where a ghost hunter will discover that a woman's heart is the most dangerous adversary of all...

Local Guild boss and powerful ghost-hunter Cooper Boone is everything botanist Elly St. Clair could ask for-—the handsome, strong, and silent type.  Maybe too silent.  For when Guild secrets threaten her career at the college, Elly has to call off their marriage—-and leave small-town life behind...

But starting over in the thriving metropolis of Cadence City isn't easy, especially when one of Elly's new friends disappears in the eerie catacombs beneath the streets.  Cooper turns up just in time to help Elly investigate.  And as the mystery deepens and dangerous ghost myths and legends come to light, Cooper makes it clear he intends to stick around—-and this time he's holding nothing back...


To be honest, it's a little strange, but despite how readily I got into this book, and how much I enjoyed it, I don't really remember all that much about it, which is why it get's a half a star less than when I first finished reading it and thought: "Ooh, that was fun!"

Because, yes, the reading experience was fun:

I liked the book well enough and even though certain events were pretty predictable, it was still an entertaining read.  Elly and Cooper were pretty cute together, even with all their misunderstandings and communication problems.  Cooper is a very likable main character if only because he's so socially awkward, despite being the broody, alpha, muscular and sexy Mr. Guild Boss that he is.  And he's a librarian and a historian!

The highlight of this book would probably be the romance, honestly--it was, indeed, quite a sweet one, even if kind of strange.  Cooper and Elly were engaged to be married, but due to their own problems communicating with each other, Elly calls off their wedding and runs away to the larger city of Cadence.  I love that when we see Cooper again, he's got his mind set on "The Plan" to get Elly back, because everyone around him has assured him that Elly wouldn't last long in a big city away from home.  "Give her a while to adjust and she'll realize she belongs back in Aurora Springs," was pretty much what everyone--Elly's parents included--were saying.  But when he arrives in Cadence and sees the new life that Elly has set up for herself, and notes how much more carefree and relaxed she seems to be, his entire well-laid plan just kind of crumbles and he realizes that he needs an alternative plan if he's going to convince Elly to come back to him.

But being a bit socially awkward, he seems to fumble a lot of things, least of which happens to be his own confessions of affection for Elly.  They guy obviously loves her, but he can't manage to say it the right way, which just keeps pissing Elly off.  Instead of telling her that he has feelings for her, or that he loves her, or that he cares about her, he randomly inserts a lot of "For the greater good of the Guild" bullshit that just manages to infuriate Elly even more.

Anyway...

Murder, mayhem, danger, suspense, etc...  The world of Harmony created by Jayne Castle becomes slightly more evolved as we read this book, and I'm having fun learning all the new possibilities.  As I'd already stated, the murder mystery and the crime aspects are rather predictable, but that doesn't deter me from enjoying the book.

The characters are all colorful and full of background and life.  I don't say much about Elly, but she was a resourceful, great heroine to follow.  Nothing out of the ordinary from the typical Mary Sue heroine, but at least she wasn't a hundred percent damsel or anything of the like.

And then there's Rose.  The dust bunny.  Dust bunnies in this world are just so much adorbs, it's not even funny!  I wish I could find a decent dust bunny picture.  Again, I'd totally make dust bunnies from Harmony my mascot.  Although I might have to fight some copyright issues first, I suppose.


***

2016 Reading Challenges:
Goodreads Reading Challenge
BookLikes Reading Challenge


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