I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After spending some time in London for her cousin's wedding, Phoebe Marcham is more than happy to be home at Glendale once more. She adores her time in the country, and with friends, both old and new. Duncan Armstrong, who is spending the summer with his old friend is drawn to Phoebe, and both are intrigued by the tale of Simon Marcham and the ghost which haunts Phoebe's home, just wanting to be laid to rest. As they seek out the truth of Simon's story, and the star crossed lovers of the past, their own romance blooms.

This book was a pleasant read, and though I normally don't like ghost stories, the tale of Simon and his lost love was an enjoyable one that kept me hooked. I did find some of the characters, particularly Phoebe's aunt a little annoying, and the number of points of view were a little over the top. Even so, I was pleased with how Phoebe and Duncan's story progressed, as well as Simon's search for the truth.

I spoke recently about my delving deeper into Romance in my review for Knock Down Dragon Out. I also mentioned my dislike of Romance where the couple meet and immediately get along, with nothing standing in their way (such as each other or society, especially applicable to Historical Romance). I like couples with tension, either because they can’t help but bicker, or because their love is ‘forbidden’, or because of, well, any other reason.

Unfortunately, The Ghost of Glendale is another instance of a couple meeting and just instantly getting along. Initially I liked Phoebe – an independent ‘spinster’ at 24, who helps manage Glendale. Right from the get-go there’s hints at a darker history to the house, and part of me was hoping for something with a little hint of the Gothic to it. There’s indications early on that the Marcham’s do not get along with their nearest neighbours. Shortly after, Phoebe comes across Duncan while out riding. My instant thought: Oh, I wonder if he’s linked to the family they have a feud with…

Nope – though that could have possibly been slightly more interesting.

I want to emphasise this is a perfectly fine book, but for me it didn’t really reach above ‘fine’. It’s written well enough, but quite quickly I found the characters to be boring, except for the older folks who had some funny moments! There’s a bit of tension added when Phoebe’s aunt joins them, but her attitude disappears quickly and she becomes almost a totally different woman. Almost every time something interesting seemed like it was about to happen, it either didn’t, or it veered into a situation that was quickly resolved and over with. The ghost plays a small role, but even the ghost wasn’t exciting, appearing now and then to make the characters feel chilly for a second before disappearing.

I also think the ‘mystery’ became fairly obvious to the reader quite quickly, and the longer it took for the characters to find out more, the more frustrating it became.

The ‘obstacles’ that did come between the pair just felt forced in, and essentially resulted in both characters acting really petty, to the point of annoyance, even when in one instance Phoebe learns Duncan’s very reasonable excuse for disappearing, and explains he doesn’t know when he can return but that he will, and she mopes about thinking how she might never see him again, when there’s nothing that shows that.

Again, this isn’t a bad book as such, but it lacked real tension and at times felt like it dragged. The two elements that drew me to the book – the romance and the mystery – were a bit of a let-down, but if you enjoy couples who get along and work to solve something together, maybe this will be a bit more up your alley.

I received a copy of this book from publishers Sapere Books – views remain my own.

Excellent mixture of romance and adventure. I really enjoyed this book and the main protagonists are very well drawn. Overall a great read. Many thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the Author for a very entertaining story

I was about halfway through when I gave up on this book, and I'd really only persevered to this point because it was so short, but nothing much seemed to be happening! Added to that, it was written so clunkily that I struggled to engage with the story. There was a lot of explanation of back story through conversation, which just sounded weird. ("As you know, this happened in the past and it made that person feel this way.")

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I initially picked up The Ghost of Glendale from NetGalley as I was intrigued by a ghost aspect in addition to a romance plot. Despite its 4-star average, I’d give this novel a three out of five-star rating, and that’s being a bit generous. I received a free copy of this book in return for a review, and all opinions expressed within are my own.

Miss Phoebe Marcham is humming through her life as a 24-year-old spinster, which doesn’t have much going on other than keeping track of her father and their estate. One day, while she’s taking her morning ride she runs into Duncan Armstrong, a friend of her neighbor, and ends up inviting him to look at her family’s statues. While showing him a statue of her ancestor Simon and his lover, who died under mysterious circumstances, Simon’s ghost comes to them to ask for help. In order to help Simon, they must solve a riddle, but the answer is harder to find than they think, and family obligations get in the way when Phoebe’s aunt and cousin come for an unexpectedly extended visit. Will they be able to help Simon?

I selected this novel because I was intrigued about a combination ghost-romance story, but the ghost aspect was quite disappointing, as was the romance. The writing was good but, as another review pointed out, it did seem to have a lot of dialogue that people wouldn’t normally say aloud. Concerning not saying things aloud, the most confusing part of the plot for me was Phoebe and Duncan’s communication with Simon.

I thought it was quite unrealistic that Simon manifested to Phoebe and Duncan only as a cold breeze, yet managed to tell them about the riddles they had to solve just by chilling the air. I also don’t understand how the riddles came about, especially in a physical form. Supposedly, someone in the family had to have created them about Simon, but if they created a whole riddle system with a solution, why not just put Simon to rest themselves? That didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Finally, Simon’s resting place was so close to home (and another reviewer thought of this as well), why couldn’t he just have gone there himself? There are many logical questions with very few answers about The Ghost of Glendale.

The romance between Phoebe and Duncan should have been the main focus of the story, but it seemed as though the interactions with Phoebe’s family and friends were way more prevalent. Phoebe and Duncan have fairly fleeting interactions and somehow fall in love. I think we, as readers, could have had a much different experience with this book if it had focused more on Phoebe and Duncan and their interactions rather than Phoebe’s interactions with the people around her.

The characters in this book were also a little flat and weak; Duncan was more rounded as we dug into his past a little bit, but we didn’t learn much about Phoebe, her cousin, her neighbor, or anyone else beyond what was necessary to the story. I would have rather had more detail to make the characters seem more realistic.

The last fault I have with The Ghost of Glendale is that everything was engineered to wrap up so neatly. There weren’t any complications (aside from one in which Phoebe had her locket stolen, which added more to an already-overloaded storyline), which just seemed unrealistic. Somehow, Phoebe was married, her cousin was married, the hundreds-year family feud was resolved, Phoebe’s aunt changed into a sunny personality, and Duncan forgave his mother, all in one book! I feel that this book could have been unpacked and extended into a couple volumes to add the necessary detail and expansion on the characters that it so badly needed.

So, to conclude, it sounds like I thought this book was absolutely awful, but at least it was readable and the writing style was alright. I just didn’t think it made much sense as a whole and could have been unpacked to explore some things more deeply.

A charming, engrossing and hugely enjoyable Regency romance, The Ghost of Glendale is a fabulous tale sure to appeal to readers who like their historicals exquisitely-written, evocative and historically accurate.

In Regency England, gently bred young ladies are expected to make suitable matches and marry into good families. Phoebe Marcham had been expected to follow that trajectory, but she was not like the other empty-headed girls in society who cared only for fripperies, ball gowns and parties. Phoebe was not prepared to compromise when it came to her happiness. She was determined to marry only for love and not for position or status. Phoebe wanted what her parents had: a marriage built on a foundation of love, respect and fidelity and she would much rather remain alone and unmarried than shackled to a man she did not love. Phoebe had resigned herself to spinsterhood, however, her perfectly ordered life is quickly thrown into disarray with the arrival of a handsome adventurer who turns her life upside down…

Duncan Armstrong rides into Phoebe Marcham’s home wood one day and immediately bowls her over. Charming, sophisticated and devilishly daring, Duncan is like no man Phoebe has ever met before. Having always been haunted by the mystery of the Marcham family ghost, Simon, who has been a spirit in torment for over two hundred years, Phoebe is stunned when, rather than ridiculing her, Duncan vows to help her solve this quandary!

Thrust together by fate and united by an attraction that simply cannot be denied, will Duncan and Phoebe manage to lay old ghosts to rest and find the happy ending they so richly deserve? Or is Phoebe destined to remain on the shelf as Duncan goes off on yet another hair raising adventure?

Natalie Kleinman has a wonderful gift for writing historical romance and The Ghost of Glendale is an enchanting, charming and spellbinding read that I devoured in a single sitting. Rich in humour, pathos, action and adventure, The Ghost of Glendale is written in the best tradition of luminaries of the genre such as Clare Darcy, Alice Chetwynd Ley and the queen of the Regency romance herself, Georgette Heyer.

With a wonderful heroine, a charismatic hero, a ghost and plenty of drama, danger and romance, The Ghost of Glendale is a Regency tale readers of historicals should not miss!

Very nice paranormal romance, I really liked the heroine and was intrigued to see how the mystery unfolded. Well written and a nice enjoyable read. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

I don't normally bother with paranormal romance but this wasn't too much with well written character's and very low key romance a short enjoyable read.

I received this from netgallery in exchange for an honest review as given above.

Regency England. Phoebe Marcham is 24 years old and by the standards of the day practically on the shelf.
She has not been successful in finding a husband despite two seasons in London, much to her Aunt's dismay
but fortunately for an enlightened father who sees no reason to chivy her to find a partner, she lives a
well settled and contented life in Glendale, their family home.

A visit from her Aunt upsets all her serenity and her father's as well as the lady can be a demanding one.
She is bringing her daughter with her which compensates as the cousins get on well. Entertainment has to be
arranged and Phoebe calls on her friend Rupert to help. Rubert's good friend Duncan from Scotland is also
there and there seems to be an immediate attraction between the two men and the two young ladies.

There is however a resident ghost whom Phoebe is adamant lives in the house and is restless because of a
love affair which was doomed and which ended in his beloved dying in a storm. Duncan is very keen to help
Phoebe uncover the history of the story and finding journals and diaries in her mother's drawing room and
then calling on the help of the other side - the girl who died, they try to piece the pieces of the tragic
story.

The story is thus two genres - one the love story between Phoebe and Duncan and the ghost who is restless
and is finally put to rest.

A little bit of a historical romance coupled with the paranormal this was a pleasant story to read.

A ghost story with a difference. The resident ghost who is a very gentle and benign bAckground presence needs to have his own mystery solved. He chooses our heroine and hero to help and in so doing, sets them along their own path to romance. A very pleasant read, one I’d recommend to others.

This was so much better than I thought it would be!! We have an impulsive heroine, who has not met a man who interests her yet and she is 24 years old. Her mother passed away when she was young, and she takes care of her father's house and estate. She meets one of the neighbor's guests, who is lost, this is the hero. She rides with the hero back to the neighbor's property and the hero falls in love. They meet again as the heroine has family over and she plans dinners and parties.
The story is based on the tale of one of the heroines ancestors was not allowed to marry his love and he haunts the house. Using her mother's research, the heroine and hero embark on an adventure to help the ghost move on the the other side. This is a great story because they fall in love while helping the ghost with his unrequited and lost love.
This story was well written with descriptive settings and characters that added to the story. There was some adventure in this romance and the story was intriguing. The main characters developed and grew during the story.
I recommend reading this story and give it 4 stars.

The genre is more attractive at the outset. It is historical paranormal romance , though the blurb was what fascinates the most , the premise and characters are equally good. One of the best holiday reads ever. Would definitely recommend it.

A different type of book to read with a resident ghost. who is sad and has a large problem. I did enjoy finding out how the story enfolded and ends. There was plenty to keep me interested and l liked the main characters. I do recommend that the book is read.

It was a pretty good story i liked the whole spooky setting with the ghost that was in this estate that people said was like a family ghost. I like to see the story unfold. I liked that it was set in historic times i also want to thank you for approving me to read it first, I wish it was longer 14 chapters was a bit short I hope there is a sequel.