Thursday, October 31, 2013

Book Review: Lancaster House by Taylor Dean


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

It was hard to decide what book to review for Halloween. I don't read horror so those books were out. When I saw that Taylor Dean was going to have Lancaster House and The Middle Aisle on sale through tonight, my pick got so much easier. Be sure to pick them both up--$.99 is such a great price. Once you finish Lancaster House, you will want to have The Middle Aisle available!


Lancaster House, by Taylor Dean
2012, 304p, Clean Paranormal Romance
My Rating=4.5 stars
Source: Won an e-copy in a giveaway

A PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Zoe Grayson needs a change. So, she moves to another state, purchases an old, dilapidated 1920s Victorian Mansion, and sets out to restore it to its former glory. As she begins the restoration, she finds herself falling in love with the old house . . . not to mention its illustrious builder, Mr. Lancaster. Zoe becomes obsessed with the house as she discovers its secrets; hidden rooms, secret passageways . . . and a mysterious man who seems to think the house is his. Who is he? More importantly, how does he live in her home unseen and unheard?

The unexpected answers leave her reeling—and questioning everything she’s ever known. To her dismay, Zoe’s actions land her in the local psychiatric hospital, scheming for ways to return to Lancaster House . . . and the love of her life.


A paranormal romance sounded like a perfect Halloween read! An old house with lots of secrets that is supposedly haunted, psychiatric hospital, mysterious man, mystery and clean romance. It all sounded like a great recipe to me! 

We start with Doctor Channing, a psychiatrist in a psychiatric hospital, meeting with his patient, Zoe Grayson. She's believed to be schizophrenic and suffering from hallucinations and very dangerous. She's also believed to have killed two men and is suicidal. For two weeks, she's said nothing. She wants her house and life back, though, so she starts to open up to him. The story is told in flashback and we get her story piecemeal with commentary from Dr. Channing throughout. She starts by telling him about Lancaster House, and then we learn more about the mysterious man (Andre), her ex-fiance, and everything else that's happened to bring her to the hospital. Is Zoe sane or crazy? That is the question!

Once I started reading, this book was hard to put down. I loved getting the story piecemeal and was anxious to find out what would happen next. There were also quite a few twists and turns. Zoe is likable and I felt that her obsession with her new life with Andre was realistic. She knew she would be viewed as crazy so tried to act normal but it became difficult. I loved reading their story and look forward to reading more! There are a few swear words and some passionate kissing which I consider clean. I recommend this to anyone looking for a great paranormal mystery with some clean romance!


I first heard about these books when Taylor Dean was doing a blog tour. She wrote a lot of guest posts on this story and she has also shared them on her blog. To read them (16 in all), start here. She shares the conversation that prompted her to write this, her inspiration behind the house, excerpts, creepy stories about haunted houses, stories behind the covers, 1920's slang used in the book, and Dr. Channing. I read these at the time and when I finished reading Lancaster House, went back and read them again, and enjoyed them a lot more!


I actually only had time for Lancaster House but The Middle Aisle is waiting to be picked up soon!

The Sequel to Lancaster House

Zoe Grayson is back in Lancaster House, ordered to bed rest for the duration of her unexpected pregnancy. Doctor Wade Channing, her overzealous psychiatrist, is living in Lancaster House, taking care of her, waiting on her, and tending to her every need. It seems to be the perfect arrangement.

There’s just one catch.

She has to tell him her story—everything that has happened in her life since the moment she escaped from Serenity Hills. It’s been quite an adventure to include renovating another home and a walk down the middle aisle.

But, that’s all over now. Nothing is real. It never was.

How did she end up in this miserable situation?


Amazon * Smashwords


Author Taylor Dean
 
Taylor Dean lives in Texas and is the mother of four grown children. Upon finding herself with an empty nest, she began to write the stories that were always wandering around in her head, quickly finding that she had a passion for writing, specifically romance. Whether it’s paranormal, contemporary, or suspense—you’ll find all sub-genres of romance in her line-up.


1 comments:

Taylor Dean said...

Hi Melanie! Just found this posted on your blog and wanted to say thank you for your wonderful review! Much appreciated!

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