Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Baking with a Ghost
AUTHOR: R.M. Neill
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 152 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 3, 2022
BLURB:
Hope.
The perfect name for the town I’ve chosen to start my life over in.
The second I saw the old mill house, I knew it was the ideal location for my bakery. And it was… until the weird occurrences began.
The locals whisper of a rumored haunting, but I wasn’t a believer. That is, until I was faced with proof I couldn’t ignore.
There’s a ghost in my bakery… and I think I’m falling in love with him.
How could I not? He’s sweet, tender, and kind. But, unfortunately, very much dead.
Just when I’m beginning to fear this is the mother of all lost causes, a mysterious note is left that sparks a glimmer of hope.
Will the town of Hope deliver a miracle? Or will my heart be broken when my ghostly love moves on?
REVIEW:
John is determined to get away from his old life and start over in a new town. He’s always dreamed of opening a bakery and the old Mill house in Hope is perfect. He knew it as soon as he walked in the door. But soon after he moves in, some strange things begin to happen. And he receives a note letting him know there is a ghost there and if he wants to know more, come to the coffee house. There is no signature and it’s been hand delivered. John ignores it until more strange things occur.
From Mary, the lovely widow who runs the local B&B tells him the story of the son of the owners who died early in the 20th century. He does some digging and finds some info but not much. But after a particular incident, he goes to the coffee house where he meets a guy called Mike who is a “ghost whisperer” as John puts it. He confirms that Simon indeed is the ghost who is at the house and he wants to make contact with John.
When John is sick, Simon takes care of him. He tries to help him in the bakery too – which is all a bit weird since John can’t actually see him. But the more time John and Simon spend in the same house, it’s clear that they have a connection. John feels drawn to Simon and he really wants to see him. He implores Mike to help him, but if things don’t work out, then there could be dire consequences. John still wants to try and hopes that Simon feels the same.
*sigh* I wanted to like this story more than I did. It had some wonderful elements, but I felt like I was missing a lot. Honestly I think this book needed more page count and deeper insight into both Simon and particularly John. I did not have a sense of his past other than he left his former partner and that partner was not a good one. Normally if someone is in an abusive relationship as sort of described (really vaguely intimated), there are things that have to be dealt with before moving on. Simon obviously wanted John from the beginning. Mike is still a mystery to to the end. Maybe that was on purpose? Maybe there will be more ghost stories in the future?
The beginning of the story was a bit stilted and didn’t really draw me into the book or make me understand the characters. That improved as the story went along. Basically, I enjoyed the bones of the story but would have liked a bit smoother and more in depth execution. John doing what he’d always dreamed of in a town called Hope was providential. The story of Simon and why he’s at the old mill was well constructed. The potential way for John and Simon to be together, while not intricate, was enough to make the story hold together. I also really liked the secondary characters of Mary, the local B&B owner and Ivy, John’s bestie from his old life – although I would have liked to have seen her in person in Hope at some point. All in all, it had potential but ended up being just Ok for me. As usual YMMV.
RATING: 
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