Haunted Heart by Carolyn Rosewood
Contemporary Romance/Suspense
July 1, 2011
E-Book
Etopia Press

Reviewed by Mandi

Rowena is back home to Ohio after a very messy and public divorce. Right after high school, she moved to LA and soon after that, met actor Brett Fontaine. They married, but it ended very badly. A designer, she is now blackballed from working in LA because Brett slandered her name. But she has at least had some revenge – she sued him, and he lost, owing her a very hefty sum.

But the drama is not over because the celebrity gossip magazines still plaster her face all over their issues. Rowena hopes that by moving back to Ohio, to live in the big house her aunt left her in her will, she can escape the gossip, and live a quiet life. What she finds is that her neighbors are just as gossipy as ever.

Her brother recommends a contractor to look over Rowena’s new house that needs much work. But as soon as she sees the contractor, she becomes very unsettled. Vance Whitney and Rowena were childhood friends. But in high school, Van started hanging out with the cool crowd, and did some very nasty, hurtful things to Rowena. She has never forgiven him for it. All she remembers is the football-playing, beer drinking jock, not someone who she wants working on her aunt’s beloved house.

Van sees Rowena and all those pushed back feelings come back to the surface. He has had his own rough time these past ten years, with a very public divorce which led him to have to quit his job as a fireman. As these two work together, they have to learn to deal with the past. To complicate matters, strange things keep happening at Rowena’s house, and a television ghost hunter wants to investigate, much to Rowena’s dismay.

Whew – there is a lot to that set up! I like the overall storyline of this book, I just don’t know if I love the execution of it. At times, Rowena comes across as whiney and I always didn’t love her behavior towards Van. Yes, she is under extreme stress with a break-up heard ‘round the world, but as a character she is kind of unlikable. I think Van hurting her in high school and her reaction to this is well done. I empathized with her for those feelings. And I like that pretty early on in the book he apologizes for that and she accepts it. They are allowed to move forward. But I still found that she just had a bad attitude about being in the public eye. I would think after ten years in LA, she would be able to handle it better. And she seemed to take it out on Van all the time. She let her neighbors and strangers totally freak her out.

The sex scenes while plentiful in this book, didn’t quite do it for me. At one point Rowena has three orgasms in about a page in a half. Really? All the sex scenes, while quite descriptive seemed too – unrealistic.

One thing I did like about the heroine is her family. They are so flawed and wonderfully rotten. She has one brother in jail, another is always drunk with a wife who screams at everyone. This added a nice dynamic to the book.

I connected much more with Van. His past is filled with such pain. The suspense part of the story, while predictable doesn’t overshadow the romance. It is just enough to keep the story moving along and providing enough conflict to add an extra layer to Rowena and Van’s struggle. Like I said I like the concept of this story but not necessarily everything that happens in this book. But I would definitely try this author again.

Rating: C

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