It would be hard for me to say what kind of genre this book really falls under… humor, romance, mystery, education of a particular sexual orientation. The story felt disjointed as the female lead went down one topic of monologue to another and then circle back to previous ones again. It all bounced around too frequently for my preference. The result of the investigation was interesting and creative though.

Thanks for the free book @berkleyromance @netgalley #berkleypartner #berkleybooks !!

I’m glad that being a #berkleyinfluencer means that I get to read books that are outside of my own knowledge base sometimes. This book is a whole lot of fun, it’s got some legitimate spooky creepy moments, and a very tender look at romance and intimacy from a Black, biromantic, asexual female lead.

Lucky is estranged from her family because she has ESP. It comes in the form of reading people: the good, the bad, the ugly, the secrets, the evil, etc. as a first impression if she makes eye contact. When this gift wasn’t useful to her mother, she was tossed like yesterday’s trash. After many fruitless and lonely years trying to fit in and hide her gifts, she applies to be on a paranormal reality tv show as the caretaker of Hennessee House. The house is haunted, and it’s scared away three previous characters.

Look, the house is spooky. It wants something from Lucky. It conjures specters that sometimes have creepy black eyes and slack jaws, it makes you smell stuff, it can hijack you. But in handling the house, it’s really a story about found family (and the found family is delightfully wacky, from host of the show Maverick, his precocious daughter Rebel, snarky but secretly soft producer Georgia, and the haughty but grieving financier Xander.)

It’s also a lovely story about how the intimacy of romance can blossom without the need for sex, and how to navigate that with a partner who isn’t asexual.

Would I have wanted to read about Lucky getting down with the hot ass host of the show, Maverick? Yes, yes I would, I am who I am. But I haven’t been privy to an asexual character before so this was new to me, and honestly, it was kind of special to see how this kind of storyline still works in romance. Romance is for everybody, and I guess this was my empirical proof.

This was such a cute read! A bit different than what I usually read. In my opinion, this was like a cozy read. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I loved how much everyone seemed to learn and grow in this book. It was refreshing and wholesome.

Thank you Berkley Romance for the free book and PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Lucky Hart is a woman who has long had a supernatural ability to read people's true character by meeting their eyes during a first impression. She hopes to pursue a career investigating the supernatural, so she applies for a reality TV show in which she will live in a sentient, haunted house for 30 days.

This was so fascinating with a very unique supernatural premise. I quite liked the mix of characters for the TV production company. They sometimes acts as a found family but with lots of secrets. And I especially appreciated Rebel, a wonderful child who brought joy and hope to tense aspects of the story. Of course, I was personally quite pleased to see Lucky's portray on the ace spectrum incredibly well done without making it the main or only point of her character.

The romance between Lucky and Maverick took second billing for me. I was far more intrigued by the house and mystery. While I quite enjoyed both characters individually, I didn't get much from their chemistry together.

Zenzi Williams was an excellent narrator, and I felt she embodied Lucky quite well. The audiobook was just over 11 hours long.

Lucky Hart is obsessed with the paranormal and when the opportunity to live inside a haunted house arises she does everything she can to make that happen. She has lived her life as her true quirky self, but it means she’s often going at things alone that is until she meets Maverick. But is she ready to open the door to both the house and him?

I really liked the concept of this book and how unique it felt. The house takes on its own personality and becomes the third main character. However, the book started a little slow and felt confusing at times. There were moments I found myself having to reread to understand what was being conveyed. Overall, it was a good book and I would recommend, but just be prepared it might not be a quick easy read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the chance to review this book!

A sweet wholesome story, Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places, is a tad spooky too. This a slow-burn, a bit dragging at times. I wish we had more substance to the story, especially believing this couples insta-love.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley

What sets "Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places" apart is its unique blend of romance and the supernatural. While the paranormal element may not be the central focus of the story, it adds an extra layer of intrigue and whimsy that sets it apart from your typical romance novel. From the quirky characters to the cosy setting, Kann has created a world that is both enchanting and relatable.

Oh, this story. I really enjoyed the paranormal/mystery parts of this book. Unfortunately, the characters fell a little short for me. I didn't really feel any connection to any of them. I did, however, find the ace descriptions and feelings really well done. I felt like I understand asexuality a little more now.

looking for love in all the haunted places is a romance set in a sentient house with some paranormal activity vibes. it was also about the main characters journey to let other people in and make connections, perhaps even with a house? it was spooky, sweet, funny, tender, healing - it had all the emotions. so well written that I felt like I was in the book with them. there is also a cat which i find important. there's a dash of spice, but the main character is asexual, so it's handled really thoughtfully.

a quick little blurb:
lucky hart has esp and knows she is uniquely qualified to investigate the house that has ran off its past three caretakers. she snags an interview with a production company making a show about it, and nails it. once on site, she meets maverick who's host of his own paranormal investigation show and single dad. the story takes off from there with the investigation and mavericks daughter being some of my favorite parts!

thank you to berkley for the free copy of this book! I 100% read it because of the cat on the cover, and it was clearly a great decision.

This book is part paranormal investigation and part romance with found family aspect and ace representation. The title says haunted but don’t go reading this book expecting spooky ghosts and spirits scaring the lights out of you! The haunting is more about a sentient house, coming alive and having its own “personality”. Although I am slightly disappointed with the minor supernatural events, I actually liked the story because it highlighted those gifted people considered by society as weird or different. Lucky Hart used to keep to herself because of her ESP, but at the end of the story, because of her new found friends who accepted and supported her inspite of AND despite her uniqueness, she was able to come out of her shell and proudly displayed who she is. This novel might not appeal to most, but it is still a cute (albeit nerdy) paranormal story with lots of relevant lessons to impart.

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places was SO cute. I can be so picky with writing styles for romances and in my opinion this one was written so nicely - it's cute without being overly cringey. I really liked Lucky and Maverick and especially Rebel, I think the single dad plot was executed well and I think the storyline had potential, like Monster House x a cute single dad romance but I think the TV show filming plot just had me so bored that I couldn't get through all of those parts and found myself skimming a lot of the sections with all the extra characters involved in making the show. I will definitely read another Claire Kann book, I really loved her main characters and the dialogue.

This was so imaginative and fun. It has tense and borderline freaky moments you'd expect from a haunted house but the uncovered lore and eventual explanations of everything was just so fascinating to me. Like genuinely jealous of this author's mind and imagination, I had to just sit back and be along for the ride.

When I first read the description that the house was sentient I definitely had a pause. I'm willing to read anything so I charged on ahead but I did wonder the way the blurb is written if this was going to be some kind of love triangle. Well if you were like me I can answer that question in that it is NOT a love triangle. The house is not a competing love interest. There is overarching plot and character growth of the house representing FMC Lucky's workaholic tendencies and her fixation does interfere with her budding relationship with the MMC Maverick. I really appreciated how that was handled because in my opinion this ended up not having a 3rd act breakup while still have lots of tension and push pull with the romance.

Another unexpected trope for me of this was it's a single dad romance! There is a kid in this and she's actually really cool. Kids in romance aren't my fav but I give this one my stamp of approval.

I could go on and on about the magical realism of this but I just would really recommend discovering it for yourself as it unfolds. There is such power of humans and this isn't simply a question of do ghosts exist, it's more about what can be created by belief and spirit and imagination. Also, how subjective those things are and as much as you can approach this with documentation there will still be interpretations up for debate.

Thank you to Berkley for the free book! Also the purple cover is gorgeous in person.

3.5 stars

I absolutely adored this author's last adult romance and was eager to dive into this one but was left a bit disappointed.

First off, this book is WAY too long. Seriously, it could have been cut by at least 100 pages and been a much more successful story. The pacing felt all over the place and it seemed like the author got caught up in two separate stories that she tried to combine into one at the detriment of both.

Second, the writing was so repetitive and overdone in this. I kept finding myself thinking that I was re-reading something I had already read or missing parts in the book because the main plot points for both the spooky elements and the romance elements kept repeating themselves.

I think that the author struggled to balance the haunted house story and the romance story and because of this they both dragged on. There was some pretty good humor in this book and the author gets bonus points for naming the cat after a pokemon but I was left disappointed with the romance. I was eager and hopeful for more asexual representation and when it got to that point in the actual romantic relationship it fell a little flat. I don't think it was as well explored and handled as it was in this author's previous book. On the other hand, while I was pretty into the haunted house plot line, I found the ending to be a little too "disney" and wish that it hadn't been so hallmark wholesome. I understand that this is a romance and a chill book but the house was thought to be pretty malevolent at some points so I was hoping for a more intense explanation than what we got. We do learn a lot about the supernatural and paranormal in this story which is a lot of fun but may feel a bit too info dumping for some readers.

Overall, this was cute and funny with some great side characters (high five for Georgia and Rebel) but it doesn't hold a candle to The Romantic Agenda.

3.5 Stars Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann is a paranormal romance between a parapsychological researcher on a reality webseries and her producer.

Down on her luck Lucky Hart has one last shot at her career in parapsychology. She's lost friends, is estranged from her family, and got rejected twice from graduate school. Lucky is now the fourth caretaker of a haunted house on a reality webseries--after the first three quit within three days of staying in the house. This is the perfect opportunity for her ESP abilities to shine and the house takes to Lucky in a way it hadn't with the previous caretakers. Lucky is also taken by Maverick, one of the show's producers, and his daughter, Rebel. As Lucky's relationship with Maverick grows, the jealousy exhibited by the house does too. Can Lucky save this opportunity, make happy with the sentient house, and keep Maverick?

I'm not sure who stole the show more--the Hennessee House or Rebel. Both were fascinating characters--and yes, the house is most definitely a character since it's sentient. The house is also a great metaphor for the emotions felt by the main characters. The author did a wonderful job with Lucky's asexuality--something that is still way underrepresented in romance. Through Maverick's education on asexuality, the audience is educated as well. The romance between Lucky and Maverick wasn't as strong as the supernatural elements of the book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

Thanks Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group as well as the author for this ARC. It’s my pleasure to provide my honest review.
#NetGalley #BerkleyPublishingGroup #LookingforLoveinalltheHauntedPlaces #ClaireKann

Title: Looking for Love in all the Haunted Places
Author: Claire Kann
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Publication Date: May 21, 2024


This unique story with its slow burn is a mix of both the haunted house sub-genre of horror and romance. Quite an odd and not at all unwelcome pairing which I found intriguing. This is what made me request this book. It tells the story of Lucky, who has some supernatural gifts that have essentially isolated her from any family or friends. She finds that these traits may actually help her when she interviews for a spot on a reality tv show set in a haunted house. Her job will be to stay in the house for 30 days and document her experiences. So far, none of the previous
candidates have made it past night three. Lucky is confident that she can handle this assignment with ease. Can she handle the handsome writer/producer and his struggling production company as well? Ghosts are one thing but relationships are quite another.

The main story was fun and rather unique. I’m a huge fan of Daphne DeMaurier’s “Rebecca” so I was hoping for something with a similar feel to it but with romance as well. That wasn’t what this was at all. This book had its own story and its own cast of characters. Unfortunately, it was not that compelling. I liked the idea of the story but the execution was too long-winded with way too much pushed into 400+ pages. The Hennessee House was a great setting that I had a lot of fun imagining with the help of the author’s use of imagery in her writing, but when everything suddenly veered off into another show and a lot of talking between the characters. I wish the story had stayed more focused on the supernatural element in Hennessee House. I found myself growing bored with the whole thing. Not to mention the characters and their individual unlikeability. I had a hard time relating to either Lucky or Maverick. The only character I really liked was 10-year-old Rebel, who was Maverick’s daughter. She leapt off the page with her spunk and passion for her video-making. She reminded me of my own daughter at times. Lucky, however, spent the whole time rubbing me the wrong way. I found her annoying and two dimensional. I found Maverick two dimensional and a little bit whiny. His one redeeming quality was his relationship with Rebel. He was a caring and responsible father, even if that was a little 2D as well. The chemistry between Maverick and Lucky felt forced. They spent so much time having serious conversations about heavy topics that it felt arduous just reading about it. I can’t imagine that pairing would last very long.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to read this book and I hope the author writes more haunted house books. I’d love to see how they would compare to this offering.

I absolutely LOVE Claire Kann's writing.

It's so vivid, I can sense and feel what the characters feel. She also has this way of moving the scenes and characters in such a real life way. It makes me feel like I am watching a quirky, rom com show. So easy to get fully invested in.

The premise of this book is so different and unique, it grabbed my attention right from the start. The paranormal aspects all painted in such a realistic tone, then matched with how she moves the scene and people. This book was an exquisite experience.

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann is currently scheduled for release on May 21 2024. Lucky Hart has a special affinity for the supernatural but almost no one takes parapsychology seriously. She’s estranged from her family, lost her friends, and has been rejected from graduate school. Twice. But her big break finally arrives when she gets insider info about a troubled production company. Every actor on their new show mysteriously quits after spending three nights inside Hennessee House, an old Victorian with a notorious reputation. After scheming her way onto the show to investigate, Lucky meets Maverick Phillips and chemistry instantly crackles between them. He tempts her in ways no one ever has, challenging and supporting her, and making her finally feel seen. Their connection is so palpable everyone notices it–including Hennesee House. Now Lucky and Maverick’s relationship has a challenger: the lonely, sentient house desperate for her undivided attention. As love begins to clash with career, Lucky refuses to choose one over the other because everyone deserves a happily ever after, even houses with haunted hearts. But when all her plans begin backfiring one-by-one, she realizes that if she wants to have it all? She'll have to risk everything.

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places is a very engaging read that had me guessing at both the paranormal mystery and the relationships and where they might go. I enjoyed getting to know Lucky, Maverick, and the rest of the crew. I thought the premise and the slow reveal of several aspects of the story was very well done, and I loved the entire ride. There were a couple moments when I was worried for Lucky's safety- but I was enthralled in figuring out what was actually happening with the house and how this group might find their way. I will be looking for more from this author.

I knew I had to read this book as soon as I read the title! If you know me my favorite holiday is halloween so anything with haunted is right up my alley, then add in the romance? *chefs kiss* I truly adored this book. I loved that it was a quick and fast read. I enjoyed that there was an asexual rep, the main character Lucky. Overall it’s a feel good, well blended, low stakes read and I highly recommend!

I have read lots of really good books this year, but this one simply blew my mind with how amazing it was. So much so that when I finished it at 2am, I immediately had to text several friends about how good it was and begged them to get their own copies. I’ve never done that before, but this book was worth it.

Lucky isn’t just your average ghost hunter. In fact, she has no interest in ghosts at all! However, she is pretty interested in Hennessy House—the quaint haunted house that has already scared off the three previous caretakers. In hopes of studying the house more (and possibly earning some money for future parapsychological research) she signs up for a paranormal show, only to be surprised when she learns that she will be working with Maverick, a single dad and another paranormal celeb who prides himself on bringing other people’s stories to life.

I won’t give anymore of the plot away because you REALLY should read if for yourself, but I will share some of the other things that has earned it a spot on my “always recommend” list.

First, the representation! Not only is there racial representation (our FMC and MMC are both black) but there is also asexual representation. I’ll admit that I am not as familiar with the spectrum of asexuality and how it plays a part in an individual’s life and/or personal relationships as I probably should be, but this book definitely helped me understand more than I had before. That alone makes this book worth the read.

If you still need to be convinced to give this book a chance, perhaps you’ll enjoy the slow, realistic development of a healthy relationship with respected boundaries. It was so refreshing! So many romance books are driven by drama and misunderstandings, but this was pretty much the total opposite. If you hate the miscommunication trope, this book is for you. Sure, our couple isn’t perfect, but they also know how to work together to see the other’s perspective and create compromises when necessary. The mutual respect is just top tier. If only all real life relationships were handled so well.

Beyond the romantic storyline, the whole thing is wrapped up in a fantastic mystery that keeps you guessing all the way to the end. I loved that this wasn’t a ghost-hunter-esque, yelling at the walls type of haunted story. It was almost…academic? Lucky is legitimately studying and trying to understand the reasoning for the haunting, not just trying to catch something on camera. And I haven’t even touched on Lucky’s special talent! But you’ll have to read the book to discover that one :)

Overall, I believe this book deserves to be a bestseller. The storyline is amazing, the writing is fantastic, and it has so much to offer the romance community. I’m begging you: READ THIS BOOK. It will be worth it.

Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to go read everything else Claire Kann has written!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley (part of Penguin Group) for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fun romance to read. The main character’s journey of strengthening herself and learning to love was beautiful. Although the book was about a haunted house it wasn’t by any means scary. It was captivating from the start. The banter was both fun and intelligent with all the characters. This book was beautiful and different than most romance reads because it wasn’t just about a girl falling in love with someone but also falling more in love with herself and her strength. READ THIS!!!