Ghostly, Haunting, and Romantic

This is a delightful collection of haunting, spooky, and romantic stories. There is mayhem, murder, but best of all, there is romance. Beware of ghosts that might steal your soul. There could be a woman, wandering the castle, seeking revenge against those who wronged her. What is that scratching noise you hear in the walls? Is it real, or could it be your imagination? Mystery, romance, and mischief are sure to delight and entertain. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who like historical romance with mystery, suspense, ghostly encounters, Gothic Castles, and haunting narratives.

A Midnight Requiem is a must read anthology if you love spooky stories and historical romance. So many favorite romance writers, brooding heroes, and plucky heroines in this 2022 collection. Solid stories that make you swoon.

This is a wonderful collection of spooky and romantic short stories. There is mystery, ghosts, other things that go bump in the night, and romance that will appeal to almost everyone's taste. There are plenty of stories here to keep you reading and they are long enough to satisfy but short enough that you won't get bored. I loved this collection of historical romantic spooky stories and would highly recommend it for anyone who wants a spooky really but nothing to harsh for them. I will definitely pick this book up again to reread some of my favorites in this collection.
I received this free copy from Net Gally for an honest review and the thoughts and feelings of this book that I reviewed are my own.

Perfect timing by Dragonblade! Sixteen amazing authors provide a variety of Halloween stories and romance to entertain you this Halloween season! There are plenty of ghosts, a ghostly curse or two, as well as some ghostly haunting, and unexplained noises.
I loved having the variety of stories, and really enjoyed the entire collection!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this free arc. This stories were wonderful and sweet. I really enjoyed them.

Crumbling castles, ghostly spirits, dark and stormy nights abound in this collection of 16 spooky stories of historical romance. New and rekindled love are helped along by the spirit world. I can only imagine the fun the authors must have had writing these stories! Written by some of my favorites and a great chance to sample new-to-me authors. I enjoyed reading this in the days leading up to Halloween.

Such a huge compilation of authors for this collection by DragonBlade- you cannot help but win! I love sets like these because you have such a variety and every one of these authors is top notch. I always recommend collection sets, you just cant go wrong.
I received an ARC and my review is voluntary.

Dragonblade has put together a collection of wonderfully scary stories by some very talented authors. All the stories have all the elements of Hallowe’en and a dash of romance. All are great reading!

The Phantom Bride by Katherine Le Veque – Sir Lucas de Lara discovers a ghostly curse when he stops to rest at a crumbling manor. Is the young woman a ghost? Maybe, maybe not. At any rate, he continues his travels, or does he? Spooky story with a spookier epilogue.

When the Night Closes by Chasity Bowlin – Tess is sent from the Darrow School to be companion to Maxim’s grandmother. There is something not quite right on the estate. She decides that the best thing for everyone is to discover who the ghost is, and what she needs. A scary adventure ensues.

The Secrets of a Moonlit Night by Elisa Braden – Thomas is a bit grumpy and likes to be left alone. Elizabeth is governess to the children at the estate neighboring his. When the curious children invade his space, Elizabeth comes to find them. The resident ghost seems to like Thomas and Elizabeth, so she tries a bit of ghostly matchmaking. This one is a bit scary, but has a lot of humor.

Highland Ghost by Elizabeth Rose – Caitlin came to the MacKeefe clan when her sister Kellina married Nash. As part of an alliance, Caitlin is to marry Laird Ian MacBain. Ian failed to tell her he is under a curse, that will include her. Her reaction and their story is a little unpredictable. Will Caitlin stay? Will the curse be broken? Ghosts, curses, bonfires, celebrations MacKeefes, and Moutain Magic make this a great Hallowe’en story.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Such a great collection of stories from some of my favorite historical romance authors. Special shoutout to Kathleen Ayers, Elise Brade, and Anna Bradley. They have written some of my favorite series in the past couple of years so it's always fun to get more.

A must read!

A Midnight Requiem: The Ghostly Hour is a wonderful collection of romantic spooky stories you can read any time of the year. The collection is written a by a large swath of authors with different tastes so I love the variety. While I did enjoy some more than others, they are all good. I think my favorite is Loved by the Laird.

This collection would best be read by a fire with a nice cuppa. (with a light on)

Definitely recommend.

Haunted houses, ghostly graveyards, and restless spirits, you know you are in for a treat when a group of historical romance authors come together to bring you a collection of ghastly delight and spectral passion.

Ghostly Lover - Mary Lancaster 5 Stars
Dragan & Grizel Tizsa travel to Cathlinn House to investigate the death of Richard Cathlinn’s fiancée. It was lovely to meet Griz & dragan again plus their young son. A well written murder mystery with a ghost only Griz seems to see

The Duke’s Bluestocking - Celeste Barclay 5 Stars
Lydia Abbington was best friends with Kelsey MacNeil until Kelsey died. Keith MacNeil left home to escape his horrid father the Duke of Dorset but secretly returns for Kelsey’s funeral where he sees Lydia & is struck by her beauty. Five years later Keith returns as the Duke of Dorset & meets Lydia again. A wonderful short story with a soul not at rest, pirates, a horrid villain & a toe curlingly lovely romance. I loved it & the epilogue completed it to a tee but the author does write the best epilogues
This anthology of over a dozen stories was a treat, some I liked more than others but they made for a collection I can dip into. I also loved that some of the authors featured characters who had appeared in some of their other books
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Historical novellas with a side of spooky...

Its a recommend, peeps. For some spooky historical novellas by some well known authors: Nicole Locke, Anna Bradley, Elisa Braden and more. A little bit gothic, a little bit fun, some instant connections, but mostly entertaining reads.
Recommend.

An amazing read. I absolutely love Elisa Braden and Kathleen Ayers so this was a no-brainer find for me.

Perfect To Read Anytime!

What a beautiful selection of ghost stories each with their own take on a Spooky and Haunting theme. The first one threw me as I didn’t expect such a haunting story and ending.

Each story had its own special appeal! I always love a great anthology it always includes stories from authors I follow and introduces you to new authors some of which I will be looking out for in the future.

An entertaining few days read, enjoy, I would definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Dragonblade for an ARC of this book.

Over the past year Dragonblade has become one of my favorite publishers and collections like this one are a big reason why. I love reading new works from authors I have read before as well as getting introduced to new authors. I don't think there's a weak story in the bunch and I found I really enjoyed all of them (which is impressive when there are so many). Here's a quick rundown the of the stories in this collection:

The Phantom Bride (K. Le Veque) - Of all the stories in the collection this is probably the one you don't want to read right before you go to bed. It might be the shortest (I don't know for sure) but it packs a lot of creepiness in to so few pages. The ending is what really stuck with me even days after I finished it.

When the Night Closes (C. Bowlin) - This is a pretty traditional ghost story. Creepy old house, kind of creepy butler, and secrets from the past. Luckily for Maxim, the dowager likes to meddle and Tess is not the kind of woman to let a mystery stay a mystery.

Ghostly Lover (M. Lancaster) - I had read another book featuring Griz and Dragan so I was excited to see what these crime solvers had in store for me this time. I would describe this story as a whodunit with a ghostly aspect.

When the Midnight Bell Tolls (M. Greyson) - This story features characters from a series. I had read one of the books in that series, so I had a basic understanding of the time travel part of the story. One thought I had a couple of times while reading this was, since Lyla is from present day had she never watched an episode of Supernatural? You salt and burn the body of the evil entity! Other than that, this is pretty good vengeful spirit story.

The Dauntless Girl (W. Blake) - This is a follow-up to a previous novella. Although it might give you more backstory for Ariadne and Francis, it is not necessary to have read the first story. A ghost mystery with a bit of a twist. And I loved watching Ariadne and Francis as a ghosthunters kind of team.

Loved by the Laird (J. Eaton) - I loved Mara's initial annoyance with Callum for making the trek up to her castle. Everything between these two was great - their banter, their chemistry, just everything.

The Midnight Flame (M. Wine) - Not so much a ghost story as a legend and a bunch of superstitious townsfolk. Poor Alanna, she did have some really terrible luck. Kidnapped from her bed, tied up and left in the cold, locked in a tower, attacked by a spy, and dumped into a freezing cold river. But by the end you get the sense that maybe her luck is turning around.

The Secrets of a Moonlit Night (E. Braden) - Ghost as matchmaker. Thomas and Elizabeth are obviously perfect for one another, they just needed a little nudge (in the form of being locked in a cellar together) from a ghost. Elizabeth's charges add a nice bit of humor to the story too.

A Lady's Revenge (N. Locke) - I'm sure a lot of us wish we could have an angry ghost whip things at men who upset us. Lucky for Reggie, Sian was willing to hear him out before letting the ghost do too much damage.

The Haunting of Rose Abbey (K. Ayers) - You've got to respect a woman that lies about being a woman to a future employer and then feels no remorse for having done so. And then you have to love the way she stands up to her grumpy employer. And if that's not enough, how could you not like a ghost who looks out for our heroine when she is in danger? I liked that Edwina wasn't easily scared off and was ultimately able to solve the mystery surrounding Rose Abbey.

Highland Ghost (E. Rose) - It's funny, when I read Kellina's story I was frustrated with Caitlin for not listening to her and in Caitlin's story I was frustrated with Kellina for brushing off her siter's fears of being wed off to a man she had never met. This was more of a family curse story than a straight up ghost story, but the ghosts do make a few appearances. Lucky for Ian, Caitlin was not the type of woman who could wait 24 hours to read a note.

Where the Wolf Howls (M. Pride) - This is the start of a new series coming out soon which I will most definitely be checking out. Part ghost story, part time travel, part soulmates. This is probably the saddest story in the collection. And the time travel aspect may give you a headache if you spend too much time trying to figure it all out (hopefully it will all make more sense in the series).

Harrowing Hall (S. Purington) - This is a follow-up to a Lyon's Den story (which I will be reading because I would love to see how Maude and Blake met) and a prelude to another series (which I can't wait to read). Maude is definitely the type of woman you want to have as a friend. There's a nice little twist involving the ghost that I did not see coming.

The Witching Hour (A. Bradley) - You could call this one the story of the kind-of ghost. Having Sylvie take on a ghostly form during the witching hour was a clever take on a ghost story. I loved the scenes with her and James, especially the one where she finds herself stuck on the bridge during the storm.

The Duke's Bluestocking (C. Barclay) - The love story is a good one, but the ghost part of the story was a little weak. I would have liked Kelsie's ghost to having played more of a role in everything that was going on.

Great collection of authors! Some of the novellas are a little underdeveloped, but all are entertaining, and definitely less cheesy than Christmas collections (though I'm a sucker for those!). Elisa Braden's story was a standout.

Special thank you to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
A Midnight Requiem: The Ghostly Hour: An Historical Romance Collection is a spooky, fun anthology from some of my favorite historical authors. The collection is released on October 25th so grab your copy! There are sixteen different novellas from authors like Celeste Barclay, Chasity Bowlin, Elizabeth Rose, and more! My favorite story was The Secrets of a Moonlit Night by Elisa Braden. I love Elisa Braden and this short ghostly romance was lovely and had such an interesting secret identity!

This is a definite treat of ghostly, spooky and yes romantic historical romances. A wonderful collection of 'haunted' stories and there's lots here to keep you reading through the night if you dare.

A Midnight’s Requiem: The Ghostly Hour
An Historical Romance Collection

Excellent collection of stories by wonderful authors – some old friends and some new ones to add to my authors to read again. These can be read one after another or spread out over days to at Halloween or any time of the year. I am about halfway through the stories and will read them all but want to get this review up to let others know that it is definitely filled with interesting, varied, and intriguing stories.

* There are ghosts – malevolent and benign with most wanting something from those undead
* Love is in the air and often necessary to save the day
* There are second chances for some
* And no chances for others
* Some end up seeing the light…or perhaps going to the darker side
* There are culprits, killers, some pirates, and those that are saviorss
* Time travelers that show up in at least one story
* The feeling that some of these stories are part of series that I have not read
* Intriguing and thought provoking
* Happy endings for some
* A big of magic here and there

I remember last year’s anthology and loved it so definitely was eager to read this collection, too.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more books by these authors? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Dragonblade for the ARC – this is my honest review.

5 Stars

3.5/5. Releases 10/25/2022.

This historical romance anthology is for your Halloween enjoyment--ghosts and spooky tales abound in a variety of different eras.

As with many anthologies, this one is something of a mixed bag, and it takes on challenging subject matter. Romance has a hard time corresponding with horror and ghost stories. It's obviously worked in paranormal romance, which is largely in contemporary settings... But most of these are not what I'd call true paranormal romance, and some of them aren't exactly romance at all.

With that being said, it's a fun time, and while some stories hit and some missed, I'd recommend the collection if you're looking for something a bit different from the norm. Plus, this is a huge anthology, so it's a great way to discover new authors over time.

My favorite is actually the first--The Phantom Bride by Kathryn Le Veque read like a ghost story you'd tell over candlelight. It might not be a genre romance, exactly... but it's a fun time.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dragonblade for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.