Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann Published by Penguin on May 21, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+ / General, Fiction / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780593336663Love brings down the haunted house.
Lucky Hart has a special affinity for the supernatural but almost no one takes parapsychology seriously. She’s estranged from her family, lost her friends, and has been rejected from graduate school. Twice. But her big break finally arrives when she gets insider info about a troubled production company. Every actor on their new show mysteriously quits after spending three nights inside Hennessee House, an old Victorian with a notorious reputation.
After scheming her way onto the show to investigate, Lucky meets Maverick Phillips and chemistry instantly crackles between them. He tempts her in ways no one ever has, challenging and supporting her, and making her finally feel seen. Their connection is so palpable everyone notices it–including Hennesee House.
Now Lucky and Maverick’s relationship has a challenger: the lonely, sentient house desperate for her undivided attention. As love begins to clash with career, Lucky refuses to choose one over the other because everyone deserves a happily ever after, even houses with haunted hearts. But when all her plans begin backfiring one-by-one, she realizes that if she wants to have it all? She'll have to risk everything.
This could possibly be I read this during a stressful time (job interview and waiting to find out if I got it) but it was a little slow to get started and in the middle.
Both Lucky and Maverick are adorable, as individuals and as a couple. Of course, Rebel stole the whole show, absolutely love her probably because she reminds me of my own niece. The relationship that Lucky builds between each of the characters is so well done and carefully thought out. Lucky is able thanks to her ability to connect with all of the other characters but Kann writes it in just a way that it doesn’t feel invasive or rude when Lucky does read someone.
The whole mystery of Hennessee House was to be honest a bit boring. I only just finished it and don’t remember much of what happened or what was going on in the house. I was really excited about a haunted house cause those are always fun, but with a cozy fantasy romance like this, I felt like it would be similar to the episode of Doctor Who with Idris. It was similar to that with Hennessee scaring all the previous caretakers but there wasn’t an emotional payoff that I was expecting at the end of the novel.
I do absolutely love reading stories by Black authors! I also love reading romance stories with ace representation, especially with a Black ace character. The scenes where Maverick and Lucky discuss their needs and how her relationship to sex works is so well done; Maverick bending over backwards to make sure he’s not pressuring or pushing Lucky to do something she doesn’t want is completely adorable.
I will say that this is still a book I’ll keep on my shelf and an author whose books I’ll still read.
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