Early Review: Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper & Book Blogger Buzz

Hello & happy Monday.
If you celebrate the Solstice, Merry Litha!

This post will feature a book review and some exciting news at the end... enjoy :)

At the Romantic Times Convention this year, I had the good fortune to sit through a panel on the history of New Orleans where the panelists asked the audience questions. If you answered correctly, you got your pick of the books available. And, as fate would have it (or the effects of peer pressure), I picked this one:

This is my first Molly Harper book and I was a bit worried about reading it. My friends have hyped her previous novels and absolutely love all of them. Yes, that's right - all of them. I was uneasy about reading this because I was worried I wouldn't enjoy it as much as my friends thought I would (and/or at all) and concerned about their reaction if that happened to be the case. Also, doesn't it happen to you that when something is hyped too much, it has the tendency to fall flat? I was both excited and anxious to start this book. Here's the blurb on the back cover:

When Nina Linden is hired to landscape a private island off the New England coast, she sees it as her chance to rebuild her failing business after being cheated by her unscrupulous ex. She never expects that her new client, software mogul Deacon Whitney, would see more in her than just a talented gardener. Deacon has paid top dollar to the crews he’s hired to renovate the desolate Whitney estate—he had to, because the bumps, thumps, and unexplained sightings of ghostly figures in nineteenth-century dress are driving workers away faster than he can say “Boo.”

But Nina shows no signs of being scared away, even as she experiences some unnerving apparitions herself. And as the two of them work closely together to restore the mansion’s faded glory, Deacon realizes that he’s found someone who doesn't seem to like his fortune more than himself—while Nina may have finally found the one man she can trust with her bruised and battered heart.

But something on the island doesn't believe in true love…and if Nina and Deacon can’t figure out how to put these angry spirits to rest, their own love doesn't stand a ghost of a chance.

 Nina is a landscaper and is hired by billionaire, Deacon Whitney, to work on an abandoned -and haunted- house owned by his ancestors over a hundred years ago. To become a part of the team to help renovate the house, Nina and the rest of the hired team are required to live on property until the house is completely remodeled -which could take months to finish. She slowly but easily becomes friends with the OCD queen, Cindy, Deacon, his friend Jake and his cousin, Dotty. 

Together, they become a close-knit team, working together to a achieve a common goal. Unfortunately, the house they are working on is haunted. The hostile ghosts of Deacon and Dotty's ancestors are said to roam the halls of the house, rumored to be because of an affair gone deadly (you know that pun was intended).

Fast forward to the present, the current living inhabitants of the house are witnessing the leftover paranormal energies these ghosts have left behind and trying to solve this century-long mystery.

Through out the mystery and paranormal elements in the novel, you can find romance as well. Deacon and Nina begin to hit it off as well as some pent-up sexual tension and history between Cindy and Jake. 

Better Homes and Hauntings is a hilarious, sexy and unique story for any and all old-school Scooby Doo fans out there. All in all, Molly Harper has created a ghost story where the ghosts are in fact, real (or as real as ghosts can be) and the only uncovering at the end of this mystery is the mystery itself. 

Definitely loved this book and enjoyed her prose so much that I am looking forward to picking up some of her previous novels.

Basic info. about this book:

Name: Better Homes and Hauntings

Author: Molly Harper

Publishing Company: Pocket Books
Publication Date: June 24, 2014

Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal Romance, Mystery, Fantasy

Rating (out of 5): 5.0

Recommend? Yes

Where it can be purchased:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Author's website: Mollyharper.com/

Author on goodreads: goodreads

    On to the big announcement..

The Book Blogger Buzz Tour is coming here!

Starting in July, a group of book bloggers are uniting together to talk books, blogging and everything in between. All sorts of book bloggers, all kinds of topics! We don't discriminate. And we want you to join the discussions! Follow the tour, join in on the conversation and maybe even win a Kindle Fire or equal Amazon GC or Paypal cash. Winners choice.

Book Bloggers promoting Book Bloggers!

It all beings July 1st!

Follow the Tour:

07/01/14 .............................................................. Mama Kitty Reviews appearing on Me & Reading Topic: Reading for Enjoyment vs. Reading for Reviewing - the difference in the reading for enjoyment and the toll that reading review copies had done to our hobby. 07/02/14 .............................................................. Me & Reading appearing on Contagious Reads Topic: Why are you a reader? 07/03/14 .............................................................. Raw Books Online appearing on Delicously Wicked Books Topic: What I look for in the book blogs I follow 07/04/14 .............................................................. Reading is my Treasure appearing on Jenna does Books Topic: What YA has taught me / how it has affected my life 07/07/14 .............................................................. Chapter Break appearing on Reading with ABC Topic: Ten reasons you CAN'T read and you are dying on the inside. 07/09/14 .............................................................. Contagious Reads appearing on Reading Black & White Topic: Organization tips and tricks 07/10/14 .............................................................. Second Run Reviews appearing on Bibliognome Topic: Books you feel need more attention. A top ten list. Tell why you think they need to be read by everyone. 07/11/14 .............................................................. Fiktshun appearing on Once Upon a Twilight Topic: Rant: Things you wish others would stop "judging" other book bloggers on 07/14/14 .............................................................. Bibliognome appearing on Chapter Break Topic: You've been asked to write a short story starring a gnome character, what would the gnome be named and how would the story go? 07/15/14 .............................................................. Gwynn White appearing on Reading is my Treasure Topic: What last books in a trilogy or series do you wish you had never read? Why? 07/16/14 .............................................................. Reading with ABC appearing on Ali's Bookshelf Reviews Topic: Your Favorite Blogger Moment. Recount it. 07/17/14 .............................................................. Reading Black & White appearing on My Midnight Fantasies Topic: What are those wonderful things you see in other blogger's reviews and think are wonderful? Or what do you like to see in other blogger's reviews? 07/18/14 .............................................................. Ali's Bookshelf Reviews appearing on Second Run Reviews Topic: Your Biggest Blogger Fail. Recount it. 07/21/14 .............................................................. Parajunkee appearing on Midnyte Reader Topic: Are you creative or just depressed? A mental survival guide for bloggers. 07/22/14 .............................................................. Deliciously Wicked Books appearing on Stephanie's Book Reports Topic: After Fifty Shades. What's the next big thing? 07/23/14 .............................................................. Stephanie's Book Reports appearing on Raw Books Online Topic: What trends do you hope are popular next in Romance/Erotica? 07/24/14 .............................................................. Jannelle Reads appearing on Parajunkee Topic: What trends do you want to see next in book blogging? 07/25/14 .............................................................. Midnyte Reader appearing on Harlequin Junkie Topic: Audiobooks vs. ...regular books? 07/28/14 .............................................................. Jenna does Books appearing on Fiktshun Topic: Hardcover vs. Paperback 07/29/14 .............................................................. Once Upon a Twilight appearing on Gwynn White Topic: Rant: Things you wish other book bloggers would stop doing 07/30/14 .............................................................. My Midnight Fantasies appearing on Mama Kitty Reviews Topic: My favorite animals to read about in fiction - or my favorite paranormal shifter characters and why. 07/31/14 .............................................................. Harlequin Junkie appearing on Janelle Reads Topic: Dealing with your first negative review from an author you've enjoyed connecting with on social networks.  

Yay! Can't wait to get started and be a part of this amazing event. And don't forget, you can win a Kindle Fire, Amazon gift card, or CASH by just following our blog posts!

Also, please be sure to let me know if you pick up this book & what you think!

&& here is where you can find me on the interwebz:

Twitter: twitter.com/jannellereads

Instagram: instagram.com/jannellereads

Facebook: facebook.com/jannellereads

Goodreads: goodreads.com/jannellereads

Tumblr: jannellereads.tumblr.com/

Until next time-

❤❤❤

-Jannelle