DNF at 50%

This one just isn't for me. I struggled to connect with Vanessa and was annoyed by her jumping to conclusions.

I’m in Vanessa’s camp on the ghosts and love that she tries to understand the brother’s process and research. She is trying to protect her grandma as she see fit. The brothers are so much fun and love that Dion is so cool and loves his family and town. It's a slow one but so much fun.

When I saw Synithia Williams had a paranormal romance series with a trio of Black ghost hunter brothers in the works, I couldn’t hold in my excitement. As a Black long-time romance reader who loves paranormal romance, I can never resist ones with Black characters. Summoning Up Love, Book 1 of her Heart & Soul series introduces Dion Livingston and his brothers, who investigate paranormal activity, and Vanessa Steele, a tv news reporter, determined to protect her Grandma from their nefarious schemes. After losing her job and fiancé on the same day, Vanessa goes to her grandmother’s beach house to give herself time and space to heal. Inconveniently, her grandmother has hired Dion and his brothers to investigate suspicious paranormal activity at her beach house. When Vanessa finds out, she’s skeptical of their motives. So she uses her reporting skills to investigate them and the alleged paranormal activity on her own, only to discover that they are legitimate.

Williams’ vivid and detailed description, skillful plotting, appealing use of language, and intriguing story drew me in from the first scene. When she first meets them, her description of Dion and his brothers from Vanessa’s perspective is something else. Despite her readiness to read them for trying to take advantage of her grandmother, she gets distracted by their attractiveness and forgets herself for a moment. I love that Williams adds their physical descriptions with specific details. So often, romances don’t include enough specifics like that. I like how each of the brothers has his specialty area, and I look forward to reading the upcoming books in the series. Dion is the steady, calm, responsible older brother willing to sacrifice to keep his brothers together, safe, healthy, and happy after their parents’ deaths. Tyrone is the hot-tempered brother that has a way with the ladies. Wesley is the techie, peacekeeping middle brother.

Williams deftly develops her complex, likable, and relatable characters, who organically evolve within the novel. Her natural and lively dialogue and use of language give the book a lighthearted yet suspenseful tone and lovely pacing, which keeps the pages flowing. I love the relationships among all the characters, especially Dion and Vanessa. The attraction is instantaneous, primal, and mutual. Their chemistry is electric, and the fiery, sweet, sexy, and flirty banter flowing between them reflects the changes in their relationship from antagonistic to friends to lovers. Despite themselves, they are unable to resist their attraction to each other. But the way they encourage one another is sweet and special, considering how briefly they know each other before becoming involved. The connection between them is deep and fills in those spaces they didn’t realize needed to be filled.

I would have enjoyed a bit more paranormal activity and suspense. Nevertheless, Williams nicely balances the romance and suspense while focusing more on the relationships between the brothers and Dion and Dion and Vanessa and the challenges causing Vanessa and Dion stress and anxiety in their careers. Summoning Up Love is a sweet, steamy, slightly angsty, funny, and lightly suspenseful character-driven paranormal romance about sacrifice and taking risks for love and achieving your dreams.

Advanced review copy provided by HARLEQUIN - Romance via Netgalley for review.

A delightful small town romance with light paranormal elements. After Vanessa's life implodes, she moves back to the town where her grandmother lives. Only to discover that a local group of ghosthunters want to investigate her grandmother's house. Vanessa, hard hitting reporter and skeptic, is not having it. Even if these three ghosthunters, all brothers, are eye wateringly hot.

This book is strong in relationships. Both MCs have well developed family stories, and Vanessa's love for her grandma shines through. The tension between the MCs is also very strong. One thing that really stands out is the amount of story that happens in the predawn hours - Vanessa was a morning reporter for years, and Dion works with a crew for the city. Their time in the Waffle House is oddly magical.

I know it's a category and needs to keep moving, but my primary criticism is that I would have liked a little more story in the wrap up - the resolution happened really fast.

All in all, a novel twist on a small town romance and really really solid.

I really REALLY enjoyed this read by Synithia. She is quickly becoming an auto buy, safe reader for me. I skimmed the blurb for this book so the tidbit of paranormal in this book was a surprise, but I love the way it was woven into the brewing love story. Well written, great pacing, characters I care about. I loved this read!

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.

#netgalley

Absolutely wonderful and I loved both characters in this romance plus, I like how the characters were developed throughout the story and Vanessa's own journey as well too. Hoping to see more books in the future from this author.

The first in a new series by Synithia Williams - which is going to be great!

My first book by Synithia is leading me to several of her back catalogue reads (I had already picked up a couple before being approved for this ARC), and now I can't wait for the rest of this series. It was a great start and I'm intrigued by the other characters, as it will follow the three brothers.

Book 1 is about oldest brother Dion, a seriously sweet and lovable guy right from the get-go, and Vanessa, a very down-on-her-luck gal who loses her job and fiance at the same time, and returns to her grandmother's town (where she visited as a kid), to regroup. Immediately on arrival, she meets Dion and his brothers who are local legends that investigate places that are said to be haunted - and she meets them arriving to investigate goings-on at her grandmother's. Since she is not a believer and worried this trio is con-men, looking to take her grandmother for a ride, she shoo's the thirst-trap boys away before finding out the entire story, from her grandmother and the beautiful men. She keeps running into Dion around the small town, and of course not only is she quite attracted to him (mutual, of course), but slowly he is able to try to get her to understand what the ghost investigations is all about, and get her to come along one day and see what they really do, with the hopes that she will let them investigate what is happening at her grandmother's.

Very well written, fun and loveable storyline, with great characters - can't wait for more of the series!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Harlequin Romance, and this is my honest feedback.

A clever and well written story featuring fleshed out characters and an unusual plot that mixes romance with a pinch of paranormal.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
This is a fun book that really stands out in the Harlequin Special Edition catalog, There’s a great balance of small-town vibes with a subtle infusion of light paranormal, so while it does bend the genre somewhat, it still feels grounded in its genre and setting. I enjoyed the exploration into the ins and outs of a ghost hunting show, and I love that that premise will carry over the series.
Both leads are interesting, with them both being at a crossroads in their lives. I appreciate how figuring out what they want was balanced with the romance to make them more fleshed out, and it felt like a believable transition from a fling to the real thing.

Synithia Williams writes a really fantastic category romance and I'm extremely intrigued by this new series. Vanessa heads down from Atlanta after her life sort of implodes to stay in one of her grandmother's rental properties. It's shortly after she arrives that she meets Dion, coming into her grandmother's home to help her grandma deal with her grandfather's ghost. Vanessa is understandably convinced that he's a scam artist, which makes the sparks flying between them just a tad inconvenient. The plot of this book essentially unfolds as Dion and his brothers work to convince Vanessa that ghosts are real and they are actually not scam artists so that Vanessa will stop standing in the way of her grandmother's home being used to film a pilot for a show about the brother's ghost hunting adventures.

But what's going on between Vanessa and Dion and for each of them separately is really what made this book work for me. The two of them have a pretty immediate connection that they resist for their own reasons. Vanessa's life is in flux and Dion is settled into this town. The push pull between them and the things they want gives this book the perfect level of angst to keep you reading to find out what will happen, without ever drifting into gut punch territory. It was a very solid read!

Additionally, one of the things Williams does so well is really establish a full community in all of her books and this one is no exception. I am very much looking forward to the next books in this series!

When I think of romance/ women'sfiction, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day.

Honestly, this book nailed what it set out to do! A skeptic aspiring journalist and a ghost hunter. Great tension, because she thinks he's taking advantage of her grandmother. An incredibly satisfying conclusion. A quick read and a really fun and lively romance.

Black Ghost hunters? Paranormal,romantic suspense. Sign me up! This was so different for a Harlequin book and not the soap opera driven goodness from Synithia Williams that i am used to. I’m itching for the next book. Dion and Vanessa were quirky and charming. Loved it

4.5 stars rounded up

Dion is one of a trio of brothers who investigate ghosts, on top of a day job. Vanessa is a curvy heroine who won't believe it til she sees it, and isn't sure she wants them investigating on behalf of her grandmother. She's only in town til she finds a new job, but sparks are flying nevertheless.

This was so great! For such a quick read we get a lot of character development and well executed passing of time. I loved the characters, their relationship with each other, and the level of depth for a shorter book. Dion is an amazing guy and I was rooting for him to have something for himself because he's always sacrificing for other people. Also this book might make you hungry! After reading about bacon and pecan waffles I dragged my husband out for breakfast while the kids were at school.

I'm always a fan of Synithia's books and this one was no different. I look forward to seeing the other brothers get books as well! I received an advance copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

I was so looking forward to this book, and it did not disappoint! I loved the small-town setting, the ghost-hunting details, and the low-angst romance between Vanessa and Dion. I particularly liked Dion's arc as he grows into his confidence and realizes that he is, in fact, allowed to reach for what he wants and deserves. The resolution of the haunting plotline was very sweet and satisfying as well!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

When Vanessa loses her job in Atlanta as well as her relationship, she returns to her childhood summer home in South Carolina to lick her wounds. So imagine her surprise when she realizes that her grandma thinks that she may be haunted by the ghost of her late grandfather. Soon after she learns that her granny has hired the town's local Ghostbusters, she is determined to put her foot down and stop this ghost nonsense, if only she can put an end to her searing attraction to its ringleader Dion first.

I really enjoyed Summoning Up Love, it was an lovely small town romance with really great paranormal elements. Vanessa and and Dion were two strong characters whom you rooted for individually and together. The romance was not sacrificed to promote the paranormal elements which will please most romance lovers. I would love to see Ms. Williams write a paranormal romantic suspense in the vain of Heather Graham because I think she has the writing skills to do so, I thought the paranormal elements of the books were really well done. I cannot wait for the next installment. I rate 4.25 stars