Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Spirited Situation
SERIES: Ghostly Guardians
AUTHOR: Louisa Master
NARRATOR: Nick J. Russo
LENGTH: 7 hours and 9 minutes
RELEASE DATE: February 25, 2022
BLURB:
When you can talk to ghosts, things are bound to get spirited.
The ghosts have been there since before I can remember. When I was a kid, they doted on me, but as I got older, they got more demanding. I’ve spent my whole life seeing and talking to dead people and trying to pretend I’m not, because the living just don’t understand. Nobody wants to be around the freak who claims to see ghosts. Until I go to Mannix Estate.
Once a private country home, then a posh hotel, it was closed after a suspicious incident but is now an immersive historic experience. It’s also haunted AF, and everyone knows it. Finally, I’ve found a place to work and live where I can be useful. Where I’m actually wanted.
There are only two problems: I spent a hot, sweaty, satisfying night with Ewan the blacksmith before I knew we’d have to work together. Everyone knows sex with colleagues is a bad idea, right? Even if he’s the world’s most ripped cinnamon roll.
Plus, the ghosts are keeping secrets. There’s something going on that’s not normal, even for a haunted estate. And, I suspect that when the truth comes out, I’m the one who’ll have to deal with it…and it won’t be good.
REVIEW:
Josh is in town for a job interview. He’s a bit skittish – his whole life has been upended. First he sees ghost so those who don’t think he’s a bit off. He can’t keep a job, has difficulty concentrating because he’s always interrupted by ghosts, can’t drive because – ghosts. It just goes on and on. Weirdly enough, it’s not the ghosts that leave him on his own – it’s the gay. His parents kicked him out after he’s 18 🙁 He’s tried living in Chicago, but waaaaaay too many ghosts. This newer small town seems like a much better bet and since the job he’s going for is at a haunted estate. When he arrives, he hooks up with a hot guy at a local bar. They go back to his hotel and it’s a night of steamy hot sex. But he has an interview in the morning 🙂 He doesn’t even catch the guy’s name, but thankfully he’s gone as he hurries off to his interview.
Ewan is a blacksmith. He’s in town to let off some steam. He hooks up with a cute guy and wow! The chemistry is off the charts. He doesn’t exactly catch the guys name, but they have a fantastic time. But he gets kicked out in the morning. Oh well – too bad because he’d like to hookup with the guy again.
Josh’s interview goes surprising well. It turns out that the estate IS haunted and that Josh’s ability to see and talk to ghosts is EXACTLY what the boss has in mind 🙂 For once his ability is actually an asset! But when he arrives on the estate, he discovers that Ewan is the blacksmith there! And that he lives in a house there with another guy. Which Josh assumes is a boyfriend. Bad assumption. But Josh has his knickers in a knot about it and is standoffish with both Josh and Daniel – the roommate and resident farmer.
Josh moves into his residence at the estate. Luckily the misunderstanding with Ewan doesn’t take too long to get worked out. But Josh doesn’t really want to date a coworker – it can get messy. But hey, this coworker already knows he sees ghosts. Everyone who works on the estate has some affinity for them, so Josh feels at home for the first time.
But the resident ghosts want Josh’s help. He’s basically an untrained medium but they need someone with his skills. There has been an evil entity trapped in the wall of the basement for some time. There is a vortex in one room and it’s already killed before and then need help getting rid of it once and for all. With the humans and the ghost working together, they need to figure out how to do it. Nobody has a clue how to do it so they have to “research”. This leads to some rather amusing attempts to find information.
Ultimately Josh and Ewan decide that they can’t ignore their attraction. They decide to start dating. Things are going well but then they need to get rid of the evil entity. Wit the help of everyone at the estate, it’s a bit touch and go, but ultimately, they achieve their aim!
This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author. I seem to be on a roll with ghost stories this week! This one is quite different though. I loved Josh! I just wanted him to be happy after so much drama/angst in his life. I really liked Ewan as well. They did end up making a really good team. The resident ghosts of the estate are highly entertaining 🙂 They really add a lot of color to the story. They come from different time periods and are hilarious in their attempts to be “current”. The human coworkers provide a lot of the help and support for Ewan and Josh. Kieran and Skye and Daniel in particular are key to getting things set up to finish off the bad spirit. I had multiple chuckles throughout this story with the antics of all the ghosts. Even though there is some danger and drama with the bad spirit stuff, ultimately this is a low angst story. If you like ghost stories, and opposites attract and low angst fun stories with an HEA, you’ll enjoy this.
Nick Russo does a great job with the narration of this book. All the voices are clearly distinct. The gruff ghosts, the seductive ghosts, the smartass ghosts are really perfectly performed. Plus the genuine affection between Ewan and Josh is apparent. Both MC voices perfectly fit the character descriptions. There are a few perilous moments and the drama and anxiety were really well done. Bravo once again Mr. Russo! Highly recommended. I personally can’t wait for the next audiobook in this series.
RATING: 
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