Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Matchmaking Beyond The Veil
SERIES: Telltale Ghosts #1
AUTHOR: Mara Townsend
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2019
LENGTH: 360 Pages
BLURB:
Endure the company of his rival…or suffer ghostly retaliation.
Emery Belmont is a snarky, uptight realist who likes his life ordinary. Like any skeptic, he’s content using mundane explanations to write off signs of paranormal activity. That’s no longer an option when the spirit haunting his house wrecks his new kitchen, forcing Emery closer to facing the supernatural truth. Desperate for a new handyman, he unknowingly hires his hot ex-rival from high school to fix it. Paxton Santos, Emery’s former lacrosse team captain, followed in his father’s footsteps to take over the family business. Annoyingly, Emery requires his talented hands more than he needs to keep Paxton out of his life. However, getting Paxton to leave after the repairs may prove difficult with the meddlesome ghost taking a shine to him, which Paxton seems to take in his grating, good-natured stride, remaining irritatingly unruffled by numerous weird occurrences.
Emery is bombarded by mysterious paranormal hijinks, keeping Paxton at arm’s length, and deciphering things that aren’t quiet what they seem. There’s nothing Emery hates more than an unfinished puzzle. In his determination to solve this one, Emery reluctantly opens himself up to new possibilities all while trying to remain firmly rooted in life the way he prefers it—orderly, logically explainable, and, above all else, ghost-free.
Join Emery and Paxton as they face off with a spirit that has no limits to how far it will go to push them together, enduring locked doors, faulty plumbing, and sharing a bed. Together they are determined to navigate their way out of this mess using any means necessary to send the ghost packing. Will they make it out of the traps awaiting them before their pesky tormenter gets any other ideas to make things worse and further blur the line between them?
Matchmaking Beyond the Veil is a 107k slow burn MM romance of rivals to friends to lovers told in single POV. Featuring a meddling ghost playing at matchmaker, forced proximity, bed sharing, ghost tours that totally aren’t dates, and tongue-in-cheek humor. This story ends on a HFN ending with a soft cliffhanger. Emery and Paxton’s story will continue in the next book of the series, Telltale Ghosts Book 2. This book contains denial, an unreliable narrator, two men experimenting with sex magic, fighting what the heart wants, steamy explicit sexual scenes and colorful language intended for adults 18 and older.
REVIEW:
After having his heart broken, Emery is a one-night-stand person who refuses to be drawn into a relationship. To accomplish his objective, he becomes a workaholic – despite not needing the money. He falls in love with, and buys, an old building in need of renovation. While the work is being done, Emery discovers that it’s haunted. His ghost has unfinished business and decides to do some matchmaking of his own. The ghost intends to draw Emery into the last thing he wants – a relationship. If that wasn’t bad enough, the ghost has chosen his archrival from school, Paxton, as the man to pair him with.
The story is told in the third person and will have a sequel. Therefore, expect some questions to remain unanswered. It has easy to read typeface and spacing, which is a definite plus. I hate stories that cram everything tightly onto a page. It becomes too easy to lose one’s place. The version I read wasn’t the final one, so grammar issues I have ignored as these should be sorted by the last edit. However, the author slips into the use of autonomous body parts. I get that writing in the third person gives some leeway, but I’ve been cracked over the knuckles by enough editors in the past to know that regardless of tense or viewpoint, they should be avoided. This is also something that should be picked up on the first edit, not the last.
Anyhoo, back to the story.
Regardless of extensive evidence to the contrary, the existence of ghosts was something Emery refused to acknowledge. But some events could not be explained by the most farfetched of logical explanations. I can understand not necessarily wanting to believe in ghosts but after undeniable evidence, and a long way through the story, the doubts got a little bit much, and I wanted to slap Emery.
In the early chapters, Emery comes over as a bit of a prick and a stubborn SOB. But there are reasons for it. He is the sum of his experiences which haven’t all been lovey-dovey. I liked that Emery was flawed. It gave him believability. I also enjoyed the concept that one person’s recollection of the past wasn’t the same as another’s. This aspect comes to light in his encounters with Paxton.
In contrast to Emery, Paxton is the altogether good guy, with patience to spare and a guarded heart. But for me, the star of the show is the ghost. The more the story developed, the more I liked him. Between the spirit and Paxton, they break down Emery’s walls to see the more human and likeable person he used to be. No doubt, it is an aspect that will continue in the next book.
The relationship between Emery and Paxton is a slow burn, as is the emergence of the paranormal. You know somethings there, but it takes a while to show. As such, the story is detailed. Some people love detail, others don’t. I believe detail has its place. While it can add to the overall picture being created, at times, it can be a little too much and distracts from the flow of the story. That happens here in a few places. It’s not until about halfway through that the supernatural element works to the front of the storyline. Until then, it simmers in the background. For a story that advertises the paranormal aspect, and for a tale of this length, I found that too long.
I enjoyed Matchmaking Beyond The Veil, but it wasn’t the kind of novel that kept me riveted to the page. It was an entertaining read that allowed me to put it down and come back to it when I needed some relaxation with a book.
RATING: 
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