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Ghost of a Chance by Jade Falconer

Blurb:

When Ryan found out he’d inherited a title and a castle from a long-lost relative, he traveled to Scotland to learn about his heritage.

But along with his birthright came a few complications: the castle is haunted by his ancestors, and they’re not happy about it. Ryan’s out and proud, but when he meets straight boy James, he falls for him. Is their relationship doomed, or do they have a Ghost of a Chance?

*Reviewed for Manic Readers Reviews

Review:

Ryan has just found out that he’s inherited an Earldom, complete with its own haunted castle in England (although the author does alternate between being in England or Scotland, so choose whichever you like). Since his career in Hollywood is not exactly skyrocketing right now, he decides to head to England to fulfill the obligations of his inheritance. When he arrives, the car supposed to be waiting for him never shows up and he wanders into a local pub, hoping to find some help. When he finds James, he ends up with more than he ever imagined.

James, a fellow American, offers kindly to drive Ryan out to the castle and then proceeds to stay through a somewhat humorous and tangled web of ghosts, confusion, and flirting.  Ryan is an interesting character with his multiple tattoos, pretty hair, makeup and comfortable openly gay attitude. He’s a cross between a twink and a more masculine character. He sometimes shows maturity and insight, however, that is often offset by immature actions and language.

Ryan is initially attracted to James but decides for some unknown reason that James is straight. He later confirms this by seeing James’ beige apartment. Apparently all gay men decorate in shades of pink? The reasons why Ryan feels he has to hide his attraction to James, which he doesn’t actually hide, are vague and undefined based on the snap judgment that James is not gay. However, James’ actions show he is attracted and interested in Ryan. James flirts steadily with Ryan from their initial meetings, as well as responding with comfort and ease to Ryan’s many physical touches.

For men who have only met within two to three days, James considerable comfort with Ryan both verbally and physically, to the point of sharing a bed, show the opposite of a supposed straight man not sexually attracted to other men. The continued commentary that James was straight led to a repetitious and artificial conflict where truly none existed. This stilted and unbelievable conflict was easily resolved as well when James admits to a repressed gay encounter from his youth. Upon remembering this, James happily admits to being gay and thus the now deeply in love couple can have rampant, hot sex for the rest of the novel.

The additional story arc of the ghosts was creative but ultimately shortchanged in between the “is he or isn’t he” gay debate and the prolonged happy ever after. Perhaps added to lend weight to the idea that sexual orientation is hereditary, the extensive line of all gay Earls was ridiculous. However, the earl ghost Percy was delightful; showing the promise the author has when stepping outside clichés and thinly woven plots. Percy was creative and entertaining, adding a lighthearted humor and depth to the one dimensional characters.

Overall this wasn’t a horrible book, for all its faults. The author has potential with creativity and imagination but would benefit from refraining from using stereotypes. Also pick a destination. England is not Scotland and they sadly aren’t interchangeable as destinations. The book could have used much better characterized figures as well as storyline that didn’t resolve itself within a few words. It’s a quick, easy read with a nice pace and if you can get past certain clichés and stereotypes, the occasional witty dialogue and entertaining highlights lend a fun, flirty air to the story. It’s a light read for anyone looking for something with hot sex and fluff characters.

Get it here!

My review at Manic Readers Reviews was unpublished.

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