Fairly decent urban fantasy. This is the start of a series that will feature the same couple. So it doesn't have a typical HEA but a HFN. I expect that the couple will have their problems as the series continues.

The ghost set up was okay but I felt like the rules and psychic abilities of the heroine were a bit arbitrary. Plus everyone she met seemed to have psychic abilities. It seemed a bit too much. There was too much sex and not enough action on the ghost saving front. The sex scenes disrupted the flow of the story and other than maybe the first where they got together were just unnecessary. There was no sexual tension that they were fulfilling. Really just no need for them in this book that should have been more focused on the action.

Also there was something off about the writing style something about the way the characters thought to themselves that was annoying.

There were good elements. I liked the way that ghosts were everywhere and she couldn't concentrate to drive and the way that she had problems with breaking the law and such to fulfill her ghost laying duties. Although even here while she was breaking a law the outcome was just too easy. Let's cut back on sex scenes and add more tough ghost laying stuff to ramp up the tension and interest.

Don't know if I'll continue with the series or not. ( )

Enjoy the author, nice start to a series. Hope the others still continue forward. Clare has to adjust to her new gifts that she inherited from her great-aunt Sandra. Zach has to adjust to not being a police officer after a gun shot wound causes him to have drop foot. Throw in a ghost dog Enzo and you're set for a mystery series with its own twist. ( )

Kind of eh. The romance was OK (if a bit too explicit - I really didn't need a description of what his d*** was doing every time he came near her); the ghost story, and the dealing with the severe changes in her life, was also OK. The two felt a bit bolted together, with some very convenient encounters. I am interested enough to read the next book, though - after that we'll see. Not up to Owens' best - but like several others, I prefer her full fantasy/SF romances to her contemporary/urban fantasy romances. ( )

Accountant Clare Cermak is surprised when she inherits her great aunt's millions. She is even more surprised when she starts seeing visions of Old Denver along with the current city. Sure her aunt had claimed to see ghosts but everyone just though she was a crazy lady. Has Clare inherited the insanity? When the ghost of her aunt's dog, Enzo, appears she is sure she is going over the edge. When Zack Slade, former cop, appears in her life she thinks she has a chance but she continues to be pulled deeper into the world of the dead.

OK, there is just too much back story to tell it all here. But I can say that I really like this book. As the first in a series there is a lot of introduction to characters and the world of a ghost seer. But that build of the story was done pretty well. There is some truly stupid dialog but I enjoyed the overall story so much that I could mostly overlook it. I love Enzo the ghost dog who will be Clare's guide as she becomes a ghost seer. I also like Zack, even though he is a big bag of self pity for a lot of the book. And I give them props that they managed to get through at least half the book before they jump in the sack, even though Zack has more erections than a 16 year old high schooler. I am looking forward to the next book which is already out. Thank goodness! ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Straight-laced Clare has to come to terms with the fact that she can now see ghosts and keep her fingers crossed that her new love interest doesn’t think she’s completely nuts when he finds out. While the premise was interesting, the book as a whole didn’t end up working for me.

Opening Sentence: The minute he walked through that door, Zach Slade’s career, the one he loved, was over.

The Review:

The synopsis for this book had me very interested in reading it. Unfortunately, I ended up being largely disappointed. I often found myself coming up with excuses not to read, and that is never a good thing.

Clare’s life has certainly taken a turn for the unexpected. First, her aunt dies, leaving the majority of her fortune and estate to Clare. Suddenly a millionaire, Clare has to decide what direction her life should take. Then the ghost of her aunt’s dog shows up, telling her that she’s inherited her aunt’s gift for seeing the dead, and that she needs to take on the responsibility of helping ghosts find peace. As any person would do, Clare immediately makes an appointment with a therapist. Soon though, she begins to find it harder and harder to ignore the fact that something supernatural is certainly happening to her.

Zach Slade is a man with a chip on his shoulder, having recently retired as a police officer due to an injury suffered in the line of duty. Now back in Colorado, he’s trying to start his life over. When he runs into Clare one day, he feels his life is finally starting to look up. Little does he know that Clare is going to make him question what is real and what’s not. Will he be able to accept her newfound gift, or will he write her off as crazy?

As often is the case with books I don’t end up liking, I had a very hard time connecting to either Zach or Clare. Zach is incredibly bitter over the injury he suffered, and it makes him very hard to like. I can understand being upset at having your career derailed, but he’s had time for his leg to heal, and he needs to accept his life as it is now. His constant ruminating about it becomes very annoying as the book goes on. As for Clare, I never really got a good feel for her character. Her constant denial of what’s happening to her gets old, and it continues even after she accepts that she really is seeing ghosts. Not having a character to root for makes the plot drag on.

On the subject of Clare and Zach, I also had a hard time believing in their connection as a couple. It all just happens so fast. I’m much more a fan of the slow build up of chemistry, so I have a harder time when the hero and heroine fall into bed together when they barely know each other. I felt like I was constantly being told how attracted they are to each other, rather than their actions showing how they felt about each other.

All in all, I just didn’t end up liking this story very much. The plot dragged, I didn’t like the characters, and the romance fell flat. It made it very hard for me to make it through to the end. As much as I don’t usually like quitting a series after just one book, I’m not sure that I can muster up the will to read book 2 whenever it comes out.

Notable Scene:

“Let’s check out the box.”

Clare went to the table, opened the sack, and took out the box. Frowning, she stood directly under the light and studied it, tilted her head, then pushed down near the end of one side.

Nothing happened. “I think it’s supposed to be like a teeter-totter,” she said. “But it’s stuck. Maybe I should get some wood oil or something.”

“Maybe I could try?” Zach held out his hand.

She walked over and gave it to him. “That’s the top, and the panel that should move. I had a puzzle box when I was a kid, and you slid a couple of pieces of wood to open it, so that’s how I thought this one opened.”

Something was a little off here that Zach couldn’t put his finger on. “But now you think it needs to be pushed.”

“Yes,” she said in a stifled voice, rubbing goose bumps on her arms.

He reached out and put his arm around her waist, tugged her to stand beside him. With her came a nice trickle of cool air that seemed to swirl around his foot. Holding one end of the box, he pressed down with his thumb, felt a little give. He pushed harder, keeping the pressure steady. With an odd creak the box opened.

His breath whooshed out. Clare gave a strangled cry.

Inside was a mummified human ear.

FTC Advisory: Berkley/Penguin provided me with a copy of Ghost Seer. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )