Haunted Souls

A great story of love that heals through a journey of discovery. The struggles of pain and secrets open the heart to love and forgiveness.

A past fling that resulted in a child reunite a woman that has lost many and a man that struggles with nightmares as a lost soul craves what was lost centuries before.

Emily Shea has known nothing but lose so when a fling resulted in a child she chose not to inform the father.

Staff Sergeant Brett Leeds returned from active service with a concussion and major PTSD after an IED explosion left him the lone surviver.

The moment Emily never expected arrive has brought Brett to her doorstep.

When their three and a half year old son, Tyler, begins acting out of character Emily fears it has to do with the disruption in normal routine.

The truth is far more terrifying. Always being sensitive Tyler has befriended a ghost boy.

Emily sets out to discover the boy's story and how to help him move on.

Meanwhile her relationship with Brett set on shaky ground takes steps to work through their hurts.

After they help the ghost find peace Emily and Brett heal their hearts.

This was the first book I've read by this author and I was blown away! 5++++ stars! I was in the mood to read something ghostly since Halloween is around the corner. This book was that and so much more!

Emily and Brett had a fling 4 years ago that last only 2 weeks. It burned hot and heavy until he had to go back to his military life. After he left, Emily found out she was pregnant. When Brett returns to town, she knows she has to tell him. As they figure out life between the 3 of them, Tyler (Emily's son), meets a ghost of a 12 year old boy on a town ghost tour. Josiah is the ghost and it takes a while to figure out that what Emily and Brett see Tyler do, is indeed interact with a real ghost. Josiah is deciding more and more, he doesn't like when Tyler leaves him. He is lonely. Emily is racing to find an answer on how to help Josiah move on. She also has a friend from Tyler's school who she is trying to help get out of an abusive situation. Brett doesn't know if he can move on with Emily since she didn't tell him about Tyler. He also suffers from PTSD and doesn't know if Emily and Tyler would be safe with him while he sleeps. Emily has taken on a lot in life with no family. Will Brett be able to forgive her and move forward?

This book was so incredibly well written. I adored all of the characters. The characters were well developed and totally relateable. My heart went out to Brett and Emily while reading what they've been through in their lives and I hoped they would find a way to move forward together. The ghost element to the story was a lot of fun. I believe in all of that stuff, so it was fun to read about. This is the first book in a long time that I couldn't put down before bed and I had to finish it the same day. LOVED IT!!!!

It was very hard to stop reading this book. Great story line. Brett and Emily share a great chemistry.

I like the double entendre of the title Haunted Souls; it's not just a ghost who is haunted in Kathryn Knight's novel. Emily Shea and her former lover Staff Sergeant Brett Leeds are both haunted by their pasts. Emily is raising a child alone and is tormented by the fact that she has never been able to share this news with his father, Brett. Brett is haunted by the events he witnessed in Afghanistan, events that shatter his dreams every night.

Brett is now stateside and knows he has a son and cannot forgive Emily for keeping that fact from him, nor will he listen to her explanations of the ways she tried to contact him. Meanwhile, Emily and her son Tyler go on a haunted walking tour with a friend from preschool, and while on the tour, Tyler meets a ghost from the past. This child ghost follows Emily and Tyler home and attaches himself to Tyler.

Haunted Souls follows three story threads--the tenuous forgiveness and developing relationship between Emily and Brett, the troubled ghost in Emily's house, and Emily's suspicions that her friend from preschool is living in a dangerously abusive marriage.

The relationship between Emily and Brett is beautifully layered and ultimately believable. They both wrestle with inner demons yet are able to turn to each other in times of need. (Note: like many romances, Haunted Souls contains sex scenes. I think there were about six quite detailed sexual encounters, so this novel would not be appropriate for readers wishing to avoid such scenes.)

The abusive marriage of Emily's friend and Emily's attempts to help her are written with delicacy and compassion. Readers will cheer Emily's persistent, thoughtful efforts to help her friend in a perilous situation. And this story-line later provides some heart-pounding drama!

Less successful for me was the ghost story. The ghost did not exert enough presence for him to feel an integral part of the novel. The details of the ghost child's life were imparted mostly through Tyler's flat monologue and Emily's computer searches. My interest was piqued when the psychic entered Emily's home, as I was really ready at that point in the novel to be immersed in sensory details and experience a tension-filled encounter with a spectral messenger. (Some of my favorite moments in ghost books and movies involve the give-and-take between psychic and spirit. The movie The Orphanage comes to mind.) However, in Haunted Souls the psychic's revelations read more like a bland recitation of facts than the high drama I expected.

Though the ghost element was lacking, Haunted Souls succeeds as a romance with a kindhearted, brave heroine willing to help those in need.

I received a copy of Haunted Souls from NetGalley.

This is a second chance romance with a ghostly challenge!

After a seriously hot fortnight affair, Emily Shea and Brett Leeds knew they would both go their separate ways - Emily to study to become a vet whilst Brett going to training in the military. What neither had anticipated was that Emily would become pregnant and give birth to their son, Tyler. Four years after they last met, Brett returns to his hometown where she lives and now Emily is going to inform him of his son's existence . . . . Brett is determined to get to know his son, resenting the four years he has missed knowing about him but also starting to understand why. However there are other, possibly more worrying, concerns - like Tyler's new ghostly friend who has moved into the family home with Tyler and just what is wrong with the mother of Tyler's best friend from 'school'?

This is an enthralling story with so many threads interwoven in it making a complex but highly engaging story. The struggles of being a single Mum, the stresses of witnessing the death and injury of close friends whilst on military duty, the drama of their new joint parenthood, abusive relationships and the impact of a twelve year old ghost haunting a child all intertwine to make this superb story I have no hesitation in highly recommending. With well crafted characters, packed with angst, turmoil, danger and romance, I am so happy the author invited me to read this captivating novel - I'll certainly be looking out for other novels by her in future!

Many thanks to the author for gifting me a copy of this novel. This is my honest review.

This book dragged me in on page one and didn't let me go until the final period on the last page. I had a hard time putting this book down. There was a couple of spots where I did skim over a few paragraphs that got a little long winded but other then that I loved this book. I am all about paranormal reads, and ghosts just happen to be my favorite. I am not a huge romance reader and this book does center a lot of romance, I am impressed it kept my attention so well.

In the book Emily and Brett met 4 years ago and had a whirlwind 2 week affair. Both agreed it would be no strings attached. Brett was headed to the Air Force to be a EOD Tech and Emily was headed back to college to finish her senior year and become a vet. Neither one wanted to admit they had begun to have feelings for each other so at the end of the 2 weeks they parted without looking back. Until a few months later when Emily finds out she is pregnant. She knows that her and Brett's parting was the end, and that his schooling and training in the Air Force was all he could handle at the time so she decides not to tell him about the baby.

Now 4 years later Brett is back in town and Emily has Tyler their son now 3 1/2 years old. She knows she has to tell him now before he finds out on his own. Brett steps right into his role as a father, and Emily and him do their best to keep their feelings to themselves for each other which are still in place even after the 4 year separation. Both also have their own demons to battle with. Emily has lost everyone who has ever been close to her and Brett has PTSD from his years of deployment. There's also a new presence in their life in the form of a 12 year old boy ghost who died over 300 years ago that Tyler picks up as a friend from a ghost tour and invites to come home with him. Brett who at first does not believe in ghosts tries to help Emily with the haunting, and in the mean time their feelings grow stronger for each other. Can they fight their demons, rid themselves of the haunting, and become a family?

There are a few sex scenes in the book, some violence, but very few and very light cuss words in the book. Katherine Knight has done an amazing job with this story. The book is filled with feelings that grab you by the heartstrings. Like I said I am amazed at how well this romance help my attention.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

Holy Moly. This book was addictive! I couldn't put it down and have to say I think it may be one of the best books I have ever read, and I've been reading for 40 yrs.

Delightfully dark and sinister! I loved the artful and riveting combination of romance and intrigue. The aura of suspense increasingly bumped up my anxiety, notch by excruciatingly-taut notch.