Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Diana Biller for the ARC to review. I love historical fiction and this one contained a ghost. I loved the character. They were fun to read. Very easy to read and enjoyable. I highly recommend.

Gothic and moody I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Alva is running from the memories of an abusive spouse. She escapes Europe amid scandal and purchases an old abandoned Manor, rumored to be haunted, that she plans to refurbish...if the ghosts don't chase her away that is. Sam is an adorably absent minded professor that wants the chance to study the haunting and is falling in love with her. The author seamlessly blends a marvelous love story with a scary ghost story. If you enjoy romance and twisty suspense this is the book for you!
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hmmmm....Where to begin? How about here: The Widow of Rose House is the kind of book that sneaks up and before you know it, you are so mentally and emotionally engaged, that you can't put it down until the very last word.
There are some distinguishing aspects of this book that make it a cut above. First, although there is a suspenseful, paranormal component to the story, that is beautifully intertwined throughout the story, the central themes aren't horror-filled or creepy. Secondly, both Samuel and Alva are intelligent, and there conversations draw us into the lives of two complicated, fascinating people. Professor Samuel Moore is quirky, kind, strong, and a humble genius. The way we see him love his family and Alva are completely endearing.
Lastly, the quality of Diana Biller's writing blew me away. The story keeps momentum, is darkly atmospheric, and kept me riveted. Although this is not a genre that I'd typically pick up, I'm now a loyal Diana Biller fan.

This story is well worth your time and $.

The Widow of Rose House is a unique mix of historical romance and gothic ghost story. Mrs. Webster has been scandalized and has returned to the States to pick up the pieces of her life. Sam is an eccentric invention who wants to hunt ghosts in his free time. These two are polar opposites but that made the story work. Mrs. Webster is world wary after all she has been through and Sam is kind of clueless of the world since he spends so much time in his own head! The story takes place in the late 1800's in New York City-not a time period I have ever read fiction regarding.

Honestly, The Widow of Rose House is delightful because of Alva and Sam. These two characters are the type you just simply love. To see what Alva has endured (and continues to endure) makes your heart hurt for her. Sam is so endearingly quirky he is a perfect yin to Avla's yang. Their romance is inevitable because you can see right away how perfect they are for one another. Sam is determined to have his best life and pursue whatever he fancies, and Alva needs someone like him in her life. Despite the heaviness of a battered widow and a haunted house, this book had lots of laughs.

While there is a ghost story aspect, it isn't necessarily focus of the story. However, there were a few creepy moments that provided tension to the story.

Honestly, I was really surprised to know The Widow of Rose House was a debut! I think Biller has a wonderful future ahead as an author because her words were emotive and passionate. Overall, this was a delightful surprise of a story!

One of my favorite bloggers, Natasha is a Book Junkie, recently talked in her Facebook group about reading this book and how amazing she thought it was. I take what Natasha says to heart, and Diana Biller has taken a couple of my favorite tropes and melded them into one fantastic story!

This is my first time reading a historical romance combined with some paranormal and I absolutely loved it! This book is categorized as Gothic Romance, which I admit is a trope I am not familiar with, but will be one that I plan to research thoroughly now that I've had a taste!

I truly felt for Alva, her life has been less than glamorous even though she comes from a very prominent family. And her married life was even worse, so she has really had no guiding light through it all, having to rely on her own inner voice to make decisions.

Sam was so refreshing as a male character. He was such a good man. That was what Alva thought of him, he was a good man. He bore no pretenses and he was scatterbrained and couldn't seem to match his socks, but he stood up for what was right and he helped those who needed a hand, and he knew exactly what he wanted, and he wanted Alva.

Even though there is a paranormal element in this story, it isn't a creepy book, and in fact the ghost story per se doesn't really come to a head until the end of the book. The majority of the story centers around Alva and her journey to restoring her name that has been besmirched, and how Sam helps her to see what her truth worth really is.

There are plenty of entertaining secondary characters that come along for the ride. This story moves at a steady pace and I found myself not being able to put the book down until I turned the last page. I'm highly impressed that this is Ms. Biller's debut novel and I very much look forward to seeing what she has in store for us in the future!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Alva is a widow, recently returned to New York from France. She has a scandalous and notorious reputation, dating back a couple years, since the estrangement from her brutish husband, the death of whom did nothing to help improve her reputation. She has been accused of affairs, flings, and orgies; men are constantly propositioning her. She sees no need for a man in her life, does not wish to be beholden to any man and finds these propositions to be incredibly tedious.

Hoping to create a life for herself in New York, she has purchased Liefdehuis, a dilapidated mansion in Hyde Park. To build her own income source, she plans to capitalize on her notorious name and publish her own book on interior design, based on her restoration and redecoration of Leifdehuis. Rumor has it though that the mansion is haunted and if she has any hope of hiring a crew to restore it she must prove that either there is not ghost or that the ghost has moved on. Professor Samuel Moore, from the famous Moore family of scientists and inventors, may be her only hope.
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This book was so much more than I was expecting, I loved it. What I expected was a light historical romance with a hint of romance, and this went so much deeper. I was so invested and the characters and storyline and I wa squeezing in time to read any chance I had.

I don't want to give anything away and ruin it for anyone else so I'm going to be incredibly vague here. I loved Alva and Sam. He was such a dear and such a dork, I found his character to be incredibly amusing in his absent mindedness. Honestly his entire family was a gold mine and probably my favorite aspect of this book.

Alva was a flawed character. She had a difficult past, which she is still learning to cope with the trauma as she worked to build an independent life for herself. It's a learning curve and she has a couple stumbles, but that just made her all the more human and more relatable of a character.

I will say no more to make sure that I don't spoil anything. I love historical fictions, I love historical romances, and I love paranormal fiction; this book ticked all those boxes for me. This book is for sure going on my favorites shelf.

This is not a clean romance, there is one quite detailed intimate scene and another shorter one. So if you're looking for a clean romance this may not be the book for you. But you could also skip these sections, as the rest of the book is clean. Further there is not much of an authentic historic voice in this book, everyone has a much more modern voice than would be expected. But I enjoyed the book so much and was invested in the story enough that this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the chance to read and review an eARC of The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller. This is my honest review.

Thank you to Net galley and the publisher for allowing me a chance to read this work.

This is the story of Alba a woman who has been hurt and emotionally abused but gets to start a new life after her husband is killed in a robbery.. she decides to take her future into her own hands and buys a home in her home town that is rumored to be haunted. Soon after work starts the workmen suddenly quit. She meets a scientist who has an interest in the stories of the haunting and would like to study the house and the possible ghosts. What follows can only be described as a live story with a ghost story needing to be solved thrown in. I liked how the author balanced out the blooming relationship between the two main characters and also the mystery and research of the house. Definitely a great read. The only thing I wish the author would have ended with is exactly what happens to the brother in law in the end. But I have a good idea or maybe the author wanted us to drawn our own conclusions

The Widow of Rose House is a very enjoyable and satisfying read. It is a story of second chances and redemption. This book is a mix of different genres and multiple themes - suspense, mystery, paranormal, romance, abuse, bullying, and mental illness. Above all else, The Widow of a Rose House is an engaging romance novel with a paranormal twist. Most importantly, it has an unusual take on haunting and ghosts, which I found clever and captivating. This is not your usual ghost story by any means!

Our heroine Alva is a strong woman with a traumatic past who is determined to rely only on herself. While Alva is a complex character, she is richly developed and very likable. She has just bought an old house that is rumored to be haunted. At the same time, she is trying to overcome her past and her distrust of other people. Alva is on a journey of self-discovery to reclaim her life and her happiness.

A perfect foil and a delightful character himself is Sam Moore, a member of a family of scientists and inventors. His family is highly appealing and I would love to see more stories about them, especially Maggie, who loves French fashion and explosions as well as Henry who is an honorary family member since the age of 10 and Sam’s BFF. Sam is the epitome of the absent-minded professor, interested in inventing anything that will make life easier, such as a boot lacer-upper. He is quirky, endearing and downright lovable, determined to win over Alva. It also helps that Sam is very interested in studying ghosts.

There is a lot of witty banter between Alva and Sam that will put a smile on your face. You cannot help but root for this adorable couple. They make for an engaging and clever team that works well together in discovering and identifying the ghost. In fact, I could totally see a series of books featuring them as ghost hunters, solving the mysteries and freeing the ghost(s).

As a debut novel, Ms. Biller has quickly made a name for herself with The Widow of Rose House and I look forward to reading her next story.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press - St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for an advance reader. Opt in exchange for my honest review.

I am not always a fan of historical fiction, but The Widow of Rose House was so much more than that. It is a romance, a ghost story, a mystery and a book with a strong female lead character. I requested it from NetGalley because it centers around a fixer upper house that is rumored to be haunted. I seem to always be involved in a fixer upper, so I enjoy reading about other people who have bigger issues with theirs than I do with mine. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this preview copy.

A humorous debut romance—and a ghost story too

I would like to thank Diana Biller, St. Martin’s Press/Griffin, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Spoilers

I devoured this book. Started it late in the evening and would have had it finished before noon the following day if other obligations hadn’t demanded my attention. I still finished it within 24 hours. Loved it!

First I need to clarify the tone and genre of this book. I went in thinking it would be a dark, serious, spooky gothic that focused on a mystery surrounding a ghost and with a subtle romance building between the characters. No, no. Those elements are there—but this is primarily a romance packed with humor. Humor! And it was well written to boot. I was absolutely delighted.

Yes, the main plot was definitely about Alva and Sam; in the course of falling in love, Alva had to learn to trust and Sam had to face reality. They were brought together by an old run-down house Alva had recently bought, as she was writing a book about interior decoration; a house Sam, an eccentric scientist, wanted to study the moment he heard of it and the lore surrounding it. In other words, the house gave them a reason to interact at all. Studying and exorcising it required them to spend time together. Add a dash of natural attraction, stir the pot, and you’ve got yourself a romance.

As for the tone, the story had its dark corners and lurking shadows; don’t let my excitement over the romance make you think it’ll be silly and light. There’s weight to the tale and maturity to the characters. It’s simply not as dark and serious as I expected.

Most of my notes aren’t notes, they’re funny bits I highlighted. The first funny thought Sam had—“The old man’s mustache had…things…in it.”—startled me a bit; I figured it was an anomaly, a case of the author not being able to resist the opportunity for a gag even though it didn’t suit the character’s mentality. But a few pages more and I realized humor not only suited Sam’s mentality, but that humor was organically inherent in his absent, utterly irreverent manner and glass-half-full outlook on life.

Sam was the first thing I fell in love with in this book and was easily my favorite part of it. He was like a cheerful, friendly, loving mash-up of Sherlock Holmes and Sheldon Cooper with the added bonus of actually being interested in sex. It didn’t escape my notice, however, that he lacked flaws. Rich, famous, successful, intelligent, handsome, charming, physically fit, family-oriented, kind, optimistic, a happily considerate lover—the list goes on. Maybe we’re supposed to consider his easily diverted focus, absentness, and irreverence as flaws, but if that’s the case, Biller messed up because those traits came across as absolutely adorkable to me, especially the absentness. To be fair, though, if I had to deal with him in real life, my infinitesimal capacity for patience would be depleted real fast. And I’d never be able to live with him, unless he kept his hurricane-aftermath level of tidiness confined to his lab. Just imagining the mess made me shudder.

The book gave him the flaw of selfishness in that he didn’t truly appreciate his good fortune and was somewhat naive. It was reaching, because he was more than willing to meet dark reality head-on, and he was conscious of taking his good fortune for granted. He thought he was terrible because he still took it for granted even though he was aware that he was taking it for granted. See what I mean by reaching? Rather contrived. Honestly, I’d give him points just for being aware of it. No one who met him would believe he didn’t thank the powers that be for his life.

Alva was a good character, very sympathetic, but I didn’t become as enamored of her as I did of Sam. She was the straight man to his funny man, and she played her part well. I liked when she would forget she was supposed to be dour and forlorn and get caught up in logistics and calculations with Sam. Watching her become accustomed to his quirks and personality was heartwarming. Her resisting and refusing him got pretty old, but it wasn’t annoying enough to cause me to dislike her.

The ghost story wasn’t exactly disappointing, it was again a matter of not being what I expected. It wasn’t the most intriguing or spookiest ghost story I’ve read, but Biller executed it well enough. Some readers may get confused trying to sort out reality from illusion; I got turned around a bit myself, but I kinda just plunged ahead and gradually understood what was going on.

The only other thing I noted was the unnecessary setting stamps that began four or five of the chapters. Except for perhaps the first one, to let us know exactly where and when in history the story was unfolding, we didn’t need them. Changes in setting happened quite often and I followed those as well as the passing of time easily; Biller did a good job orienting us within the narrative. I’m not sure why they thought a few of the chapters needed it stated. Maybe they removed them in the final copy.

I eagerly anticipate Biller’s future work. I have no idea if she intends to tell the stories of the other characters in the book—namely Henry, Benedict, and Maggie—all wonderful and endearing, along with Sam’s parents—or if she wants to continue giving Sam and Alva mysteries to solve, or if she means to leave this as a stand alone and write something completely new and unrelated. Whatever it is, I’m game.

….Not gonna lie, though, I’d love to see more of Sam and Alva. I want to see them with a baby or small child. I bet I’d bust a gut at the mischief Sam and his progeny got up to. I’m sure the kid would be blowing things up before they were two. I’d be happy with a short depiction of Christmas with the Moores. It doesn’t even have to have a plot. I just want to see Alva finally have a great Christmas with a big, loving family. She so deserves it.

My favorite funny moment:

“…Maisie said love was more important than food, and Cook screamed and threw a pan at her, which missed but upset the cat, and then the cat tore up onto the counter and knocked off the sauce Cook’d just finished, and so they were all in a right fuss when I left, ma’am.”

…Alva eyed [Liza] with respect. She’d only counted three stops in the entire monologue… “I hope the cat has recovered from her shock.”

“She was faking, if you ask me,” Liza said darkly. “Lickin’ her paws when I left ma’am, lickin’ the sauce right off her paws.”

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There are rumors that the house was haunted but Alva Webster always thought the house looked lonely. Alva's dreams of renovating the house and publishing a book on it are hindered after the workmen abandoned the house in fear of ghosts. A famous scientist and inventor, Sam Moore's interest in investigating the paranormal activity might help Alva. Sam is also intrigued by Alva's beauty and courage in the wake of her past marital scandal. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Netgallery. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. This is a delightful well written romance. There are interesting characters, questions about the different ghost stories, romance, a few steamy scenes, intrigue, and suspense. I don't want to spoil the book by describing it further. Sam's interest in inventing solutions to everyday problems lends a lot of humor to this book. For me, he is also one of the perfect heroes in literature. I love this book. I am hoping there will be future books that focus on Sam's family and his best friend Harry.

I wasn’t aware that this a debut book by author Diana Biller and she wrote a remarkable story. There’s a mix of romance, angst, a paranormal aspect, and family.

I felt such empathy for Alma after learning about her childhood. Alma grew up in a wealthy family, but she was pretty much relegated to the background, where her parents were more concerned about their status and so she grew up with little affection or attention. Through an unfortunate meeting and incident, she marries quickly and moves to Europe with her husband. You will see that events of their marriage are mentioned throughout the book and realize it was not a happy one. Once Alma is widowed and returns to America, she buys an older home and wants to renovate and write a book about it.

During this time period, it was difficult for women to have access to certain things or the ability to act without a male, which seems difficult to comprehend in our much more modern times. She also has an unfounded reputation, and few want to speak to her or be seen with her.

When she meets Sam, he wants to visit her house to check the ghost stories he’s heard. She initially declines but eventually allows him access.

I love Sam – he makes me laugh as every time he sees something, his scientific mind starts working to find a new way to make a process better. His entire family are scientists and are well known throughout the country for their experiments and patents. They are a lively family, that really like and love each other, and Sam grew up surrounded by familial love, the wonder of learning and providing new things for the world. There is a stark contrast to how Alma and Sam grew up.

There is a definite connection between Sam and Alma but due to her childhood and marriage, she is wary of trusting anyone and knows her reputation could hurt someone else’s chances in life. She can’t help but come alive when she spends time with Sam, and while he irritates her, the pull is just too much. Sam could be in the middle of a conversation and then see something and start working on another problem. He is so intelligent but has that absent-minded professor aspect. He is just so sweet, kind and thoughtful and becomes enamored with Alva. I loved the interactions between Alma and Sam and it was almost painful to see how much in love Sam became with Alma and yet she tried to withdraw from him.

The story is mostly based in 1875 and I enjoyed learning about that time period. It seems difficult to believe how much technology was in use at the time and the experiments and patents that were ongoing.

The townspeople won’t work in the house because of ghosts and yet no one seems to have the same story which is an interesting view. Sam sets up several types of equipment and try’s different experiments to see if he could get a response. There are times when the suspense is heightened based on the house and as Sam and Alma work to figure out why the house is haunted. Alma definitely has some fears from her former husband and the house seems to bring out the fears of certain people.

I also enjoyed Sam’s friend Henry who was like a brother to him. As a lawyer, he takes care of the family who had taken care of him from a young age. I don’t know if there will be a sequel but would love to see Henry find love! This was a wonderful debut novel and I look forward to more from this author.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this work and find a new author to follow.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.


I was anticipating a ghost story, but Diana Biller gives us so much more in her first novel. Alva Webster comes from a violent marriage with a husband that was physically and emotionally cruel. As a widow, her ability to trust and develop new relationships is seriously impaired. When she meets Professor
Sam Moore, she falls head over heels. He volunteers to investigate the stories of ghosts in the home Alva has purchased. Ultimately, she hopes to write an interior design book about the restoration project of her home.

I especially enjoyed the dialog between the main characters. It was entertaining and refreshing. It made the on-again off-again romance between Alva and Sam that much more believable.

This was a romance with an underlying supernatural story. The characters were two good hearted people trying to do the right thing.

The Widow of Rose House is the debut novel of Diana Biller. I was wondering how a book that was an intersection of Gilded Age New York, ghosts, science, domestic abuse and gothic romance could possibly turn out well. It didn't turn out well.....it turned out BRILLIANTLY! Seriously, this is one of the best books I've read all year! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Ms. Biller will write more books featuring the genius and loving Moore family.

Alva Webster is a widow who has recently returned to New York from Paris. It was a horrid marriage, and sensational rumors have followed her back home, turning her into a pariah. She has bought an old mansion that she is going to refurbish, and she will document her project in a book for the new middle class. Except...it seems the house may just be haunted. When she meets Sam Moore, a brilliant scientist from the famed Moore scientific family (truly, not a dim bulb in the whole bunch!), he tries to convince her to allow him to investigate. It's not easy saying no to Sam, and the investigation begins. As the relationship between Alva and Sam heats up, the ghost and Alva's past begin to wreak havoc in their lives.

The story was unique and exciting, but it was the wonderful characters who made it shine so brightly. Alva had a miserable life, first at home and then after marriage. She didn't let it break her, though she was willing to sacrifice happiness with Sam so she wouldn't bring him down. And Sam? One of my favorite heroes EVER, I kid you not! He was a genuine genius, and his mind wandered from his surroundings when a brilliant invention popped into his head. He was always slightly disheveled in dress, and every available space in his home was covered in "bits and bobs" of his work. Though a physically strong and protective man, he did not hesitate at all to let the ones he loved know how much he cared for them. He was extremely funny, and often didn't seem to notice the effect he had on women. I actually loved the entire Moore family. Henry, Sam's best friend, attorney and honorary brother, was also a particular favorite of mine. After just one book, Diana Biller is definitely on my favorites list. I can't wait to read more!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

I had a blast reading this book. It was my first five star read in many months. What is there not to love? The hero is a sexy, passionate inventor. I don’t know how anyone cannot love him. The heroine hasn’t had the best time in life, but she is so courageous by doing what it takes to change it. There is ghost hunting. This book is just perfect for a person like me that doesn’t want anything too scary. If you don’t pick this up, you are doing a disservice to yourself.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

An old-fashioned ghost story reminiscent of the kind seen in classic Hollywood movies. Not too scary and often funny and whimsical. Reminds me of the Uninvited or something along those lines. The second half of the novel turned a little more modern than it should have, but perhaps those kinks will be worked out before publication. Recommended for those who like Halloween but not a very scary one.

This book took me a few chapters to get into but once I was into it I was hooked. Diana Biller weaves an original tale of suspense and love with strong characters. The pace is quick and the attention to detail is second to none.

This was an excellent debut novel. The only reason I'm giving it four stars and not five is because some dialogue did not seem right for the time period, it seemed modern. But overall the atmosphere in the book is very well created.

I loved finding out where things were going to go romance-wise between Sam and Alva as well as witnessing their banter and relationship development.

The acknowledgements were touching in this book and I liked how there was the allusion to paranormal/ supernatural aspects there too as I felt this added to the uniqueness of the book and tied in well with its main themes.

What was interesting to me was that The Women at Rose House started out as a NaNoWriMo project. As a regular participant in this event I know what it is to produce a novel in a month. Even after all the edits and aftermath of this writing event it takes work to get a manuscript in shape and Diana Biller's work gives me hope for my own manuscripts.

It was refreshing to see a novel that had started out life in this way become available for early review and I feel honoured to be on the blog tour.

Thanks to Diana Biller and St Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

4 stars

Don't believe in ghosts? This novel will make you think again. The romance in the book is gripping.

The plot is like a mix of Casper and Ghost in its romance/ humour straight-talking style and is a very different historial fiction novel and held my interest more than many novels in the genre which tend to focus on the struggles and hardships of a particular period in history. The novel is rich and layered because of the paranormal and romance aspects so I did not feel weighed down with the struggles of the characters but instead fascinated with the ease with which Biller writes and weaves the plots.

The Widow of Rose House is surprising, gripping and romantic.

A great novel for the month of Halloween!

This is quite simply a love story. A beautiful love story with steamy sexy times. And a haunted house. I was thinking I was going to read more of a Gilded Age/Gothic combo, but the focus is so much more about a rather funny couple falling in love.

In short, I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was absolute fun.
We have widowed Alva-the papers have written nasty things about her and people believe them to be true. The truth is she left an abusive marriage. She comes back to America to restore a crumbling mansion which everyone believes to be haunted. Alva is to sensible to believe it.
We have scientist/Professor Samuel Moore who's family are also scientists and inventors. He's intruigued by Alva and jumps at the chance to find out if it really is haunted by ghosts.
Sam tries very hard to court Alva and she refused because she doesn't want him involved in her "scandals".
I did find their relationship interesting. Together they discover the ghosts and the horrible consequences of possession.
I really liked Sam's family and the banter and obvious love they have for each other.

This book was received from the Author, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own

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Mrs. Alva Webster is left widowed after a disastrous marriage to an abusive spouse She returns to the US to start her life over and launch an interior design career.
Alva invests in a once-grand, now ramshackle mansion as a project to reinvent herself as an interior decorator. Unfortunately, it might be haunted. Problem arise because one wants to work on the house.
Alva doesn't believe in ghosts but Samuel Moore does. Enter Samuel Moore and his entire wonderful family. A captivating family of scientists who are on the forefront of electrical science research among other scientific investigations.
A Good thing for her that Professor Sam Moore is very interested in ghosts and not at all interested in social convention! More to the point, he's interested in Alva.

A wonderfully well-written story full of family drama, ghosts, chemistry fueled heated romance, unexpected twists, and turns, Alva and Sam have a chemistry that is off the charts. They cannot be in the same room together without the heated romantic chemistry between them causing sparks to fly. A ghost-hunting adventure with sweeping romance with a hint of mystery