Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Spiritual Whispers

AUTHOR:  V.L. Locey

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:   213 pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 7, 2022

BLURB: 

In a tiny Vermont town two men are about to discover the joys of falling in love all over again.

Taliesin Wadleigh has lived in Couton-on-the-River for his entire life. Six of those twenty-six years were spent with the first man who had ever captured his heart. Those times were the happiest of his life and then, without warning, his fiancé was taken from him. Physically at least. Spiritually Carmichael is still in that whimsical shop with his beloved. Having a charming spirit close at hand to share late night tea with has helped heal Taliesin’s aching heart and he’s happy spending his days selling antiques to tourists and avoiding the outside world and all those who inhabit it. Or so he tells himself…
Then a tall, handsome stranger walks into his shop and Taliesin, as well as Carmichael, senses that their life – and perhaps their afterlife – is going to change dramatically.

When Eason Dunne retired from professional baseball two years ago he had plans. Amazing plans. Happy plans. Two years after he hung up his cleats all those glorious ambitions have fizzled. He’s now divorced and flitting from one project to another hoping to find…something special. Inheriting an old inn in some one horse – pardon him one moose – town in Vermont was not at all something special. Lacking anything else of meaning in his life he makes the trip from Las Vegas to Couton-on-the-River to try his hand at innkeeping. It’s in this little tourist trap that he wanders into the local antiquity shop and meets the eclectic, bespeckled, adorable owner. A man with somewhat offbeat taste in furnishings, a cross-eyed cat, a seemingly haunted radio, and one rather protective ghost. Eason isn’t sure what to make of the situation or his attraction to the skinny man in the bow tie but when danger threatens Taliesin both the men who love him are going to have to work together to save him.

Spiritual Whispers is a standalone small-town gay paranormal romance with a lovely age gap, a quirky antique shop owner, a disillusioned retired baseball player, a ghostly protector, a lazy shop cat, lots of tea, the occasional moose, and a happy-ever-after.

REVIEW: 

Taliesin is still grieving the loss of his fiance, the significantly older Carmichael 18 months ago.  But he’s able to communicate with him via a very special prop.  He’s kept the antiques business going despite numerous attempts to take the business from him.  But things are getting pretty close to the bone.  Enter a savior in the person of Eason Dunne.  Eason has inherited his grandfather’s place and he’s refurbishing in the inn and sees Taliesin out to help him furnish the place.  Their meeting is rather unique given that it’s clear that Carmichael does NOT want Taliesin talking to Eason.

Taliesin recognizes this as the only possible way to save the store.  He knows Carmichael is jealous and he’s trying to keep this to a just employer/employee relationship with Eason.  But it’s very very hard and pretty soon it’s clear that Eason is more interested as well 🙂  They end up being much more than friends, but Taliesin has a lot of guilt over Carmichael – who is obviously not thrilled with the situation if his fits of pique and the messes he leaves for Taliesin to clean up are any indications.

It’s clear that Eason really cares for Taliesin and he’s sick of others treating him poorly – from his cook at the Inn to Taliesin’s competitor in the form of Davina Crook – who is not only mean but a raging homophobe.  Taliesin is tired of it too though and he’s ready to stand up for himself.  And as Eason and Taliesin work and travel to sales to gather furnishings for the Inn, the get closer.  Eventually Taliesin shares his past with Eason – from his abusive upbringing to how he came to be with and care for Carmichael.  Eason is sad for Taliesin, but grateful that it’s all led to them being together.  Eventually, even Carmichael is happy for them.

What a sweet story!  I loved Eason and Taliesin who are definitely opposites 🙂  There are several difficult moments with homophobic abuse – both mental and physical that occur in the past and are offpage, but still hard to read.  Eason has had a much different path and he vows to be there for Taliesin.  Eason is in awe of how brave and resilient his boy has been.  The characters were so well drawn and really almost from different worlds.  Taliesin is clearly comfortable with things from the past and doesn’t really care about modern day conveniences.  Without context, his adorable befuddlement over sport was so cute!  I loved how Eason was protective of him and wanted to make sure he was treated right.  And of course Eason literally saves the day, setting them up for a very happily ever after.  So adorable!  Highly recommended for those who really love an opposites attract with a curmudgeonly ghost story rolled in 🙂

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

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