#ShelfLove Review ~ Penmort Castle ~ Kristen Ashley

Penmort Castle by Kristen Ashley
Ghosts and Reincarnation #1
Release Date: December 7, 2013
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance
Source: Purchased ebook on Nook
Rating: 5 Bookworms
Goodreads

Synopsis
Cash Fraser is planning revenge and to get it he needs the perfect woman. So her hires her. Abigail Butler has lost nearly everything in her life and she's about to lose the home she loves.

Cash meets Abby, who is posing as a paid escort, and the minute he does he knows he's willing to pay for more than Abby being his pretend girlfriend. A lot more. Abby needs the money or the last thing that links her to her dead family and husband will be gone. The deal is struck but both Cash and Abby get more than they bargained for.

Cash realises very quickly that Abby isn't what she seems and while he changes strategies, Abby discovers that Cash's legacy, Penmort Castle, is like all the tales say - very, very haunted. Making matters worse, the ghost in residence wants her dead.

Abby's found herself in the battle of her life so she enlists Mrs. Truman, her nosy neighbour; Jenny, her no-nonsense friend; Cassandra McNabb, white witch and clairvoyant with a penchange for wearing scarves (and lots of them); and Angus McPherson, dyed-in-the-wool Scot (which means he hunts ghosts in a kilt) to fight the vicious ghost who has vowed that she will rest at nothing to kill the true, abiding love of the master of Penmort.

You know how some authors ask you to suspend disbelief as they tell their tale? Kristen Ashley never does this. She crafts her stories in such a way that it's unnecessary. Because you completely buy into everything - believe it's all within the realm of possibility.

A woman willing to sell herself in order to keep a dwelling that houses irreplaceable memories? Certainly. A man who simply needs the perfect woman to achieve the revenge he's been plotting? You bet. An angry ghost, with the power to do actual harm, hellbent on destroying true love? Absolutely. I'm in. I'm all in.

Abby has lost almost every single person who made her world go 'round. All she has left besides a few great friends is her grandmother's home. It holds so much that is dear to her - not only objects but memories as well. But the house is a money pit and Abby is almost to the point of no return financially. Enter Cash Fraser.

Cash is an international spy-catcher. He's been made famous by a movie chronicling his prowess in his job. And it doesn't hurt that he's quite a looker. Cash finds himself in need of a girlfriend for certain reasons and lacking one, he decides to hire one.

In typical KA style. Abby is beautiful, loving, and a bit crazy. Cash is gorgeous, demanding, and exacting. They come together under dubious circumstances and then find themselves battling a ghost. Also typical of KA are the themes of family, and female solidarity, along with the belief that love will always find a way. KA combines brilliantly crafted characters - who always feel like friends - with an entertaining, action-packed, and yes, somewhat zany story, to deliver a read that satisfies on every level.

I'm thrilled that I've barely scratched the surface on what KA has to offer!