A fraud?
Or the find of her lifetime?
Vanessa Steele retreats to her grandmother’s beach house
to heal after she loses her job and her fiancé. When she finds that Grandma’s
enlisted hunky Dion Livingston and his brothers to investigate suspicious
paranormal activity, the intrepid reporter’s skeptical of their motives. But
her own investigation discovers that Dion’s the real deal. And any supernatural
energy? Pales compared to the electricity that erupts when the two of them are
together…
A good book about two people who are at crossroads in
their lives. When Vanessa loses her job as a morning show host in Atlanta and
her fiancé dumps her the same day, Vanessa heads to Sunshine Beach and her grandmother.
She'll stay in one of Arletha's rental cottages while investigating her options
and regrouping. Her reporter suspicions kick in when she hears Grandma hired a
trio of ghost hunters.
Dion and his two brothers help people identify paranormal
activity in their homes. They've developed an excellent reputation and even
have a producer interested in filming their work. Dion is the natural leader of
their group. When their parents died, Dion gave up his college scholarship to
stay home and raise his two younger brothers. He took a job with the city
public works department, where he's been for seventeen years.
I had a little trouble liking Vanessa at first. I
understand that she was protecting her grandmother, but she was flat-out rude
in her first conversation with Dion. I felt as though she could have handled
things without being so confrontational. On the other hand, I loved Dion. He understands
her protectiveness and responds calmly.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between
Dion and Vanessa. Underneath Vanessa's antagonism were sparks of attraction
that she tried to resist. Dion felt the same and wanted to get to know her better.
I loved his idea to have her tag along on one of their investigations, giving
her a chance to know him and see what they do. She made me angry with her
disrespectful attitude in front of his clients, and I wouldn't have blamed him
if he'd dropped her right there. He's persistent, though, and eventually gets
through to her, and she lightens up a bit.
There are some terrific scenes of them together as they get
to know each other. Vanessa's independent streak gets her in trouble at one
point, and Dion comes to her rescue. When their attraction becomes too much to
resist, each knows there is an end date but believes they can keep their hearts
intact. But as time goes on, those feelings grow deeper. However, both have
issues that keep them from believing they can have a future together. Vanessa
is actively looking for a new job and knows that it won't likely be close to
Sunshine Beach. She doesn't have much
confidence in long-distance relationships. Dion has some significant
insecurities. His last relationship ended when the woman left, claiming he was
too boring and looked down on him because of his job, but he wants a home and
family of his own.
Vanessa and Dion's path to a happy future faces a few
hurdles. When Vanessa gets hired at a new job and a new town, do they attempt a
long-distance relationship or call it quits? When Dion faces disappointment at
work, does he stay where it's safe or spread his wings? I ached for Vanessa and
Dion when her attempt at encouragement ran against his insecurities, and they exchanged
harsh words. I liked that they didn't allow them to fester but confronted the
misunderstanding quickly. I loved the surprise that Dion had for Vanessa on
Valentine's Day.
The ghost hunting aspect of the book was fascinating. I
liked the pragmatic approach, using research and science rather than
sensationalism to get to the root of the hauntings. Even though it isn't his
dream, I liked how Dion supports his two brothers in pursuing the TV show. I
loved the section where the trio gets to work on Arletha's house, accompanied
by the tv crew. I was glued to the pages as they went step-by-step through the
process. The conclusion was terrific and made me cheer for Arletha and the
brothers. 
Or the find of her lifetime?
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