Review of 'Gold Manor Ghost House' by Merry Brown

GOLD MANOR GHOST HOUSE

By

Merry Brown

BLURB:

Anna thought life was going to be awesome. She was right…and wrong.

Won her dream job acting in a hit TV series. Check.

Working with her best friend. Check.

The set’s haunted and she’s in the middle of a supernatural war. Uh, check?

Anna Rose Ellington is sixteen and living in Hollywood, hoping to be a star. Anna just landed a major role on Ghost House, TeenTV’s new fall drama. A show promising to be so hot, Meg Sweet (the reigning teenage diva), signed on for the lead, and Adam Lewis (international rock sensation) is a principal player.

Her dreams are falling into place until she gets on set and begins questioning her sanity. It’s true she has an unusual dream life, where once in a while her dreams literally come true. But it’s been a while. On top of her dreams not staying put in her brain, including the guy she’d been dreaming of for years, the house they’re filming in, Gold Manor, might actually be haunted. But that’s the least of her worries.

Read an excerpt:

Prologue

As a special treat on this, my 11^th birthday, Aunt Melinda invited me for a sleepover. The promise of pizza, painting toe nails, and having the attention of my favorite person in the world, all to myself, was the perfect way to celebrate.

I remember sitting on the dusty rose laminate countertop of her kitchen as she kneaded the dough. She listened as I told her about school and the drama of the playground. I remember her strange reaction as I recounted a vivid dream I had about a boy with an English accent, dark curly hair, and jade eyes.

Her hands dripping with tomato sauce and chest covered in flour, she hugged me, holding on tightly. I was trying to figure out why she was acting so strangely when a heavy knock on the front door broke the moment.

I remember the look in her eyes as she made me promise to stay out of sight in the kitchen, no matter what I heard or what happened. She made me promise, yet again, to never tell the secret she made me keep. She knew I didn’t understand what the big deal was, but I promised.

“Swear, on my life,” her voice too urgent.

“Swear.”

That was the last word she ever heard me say.

I heard the door open from my hiding place under the sink.

I heard her gasp in surprise.

I heard a shot and her fall to the ground screaming, and a rough, low voice say, “Check.”

I heard her cries turn to gurgling.

Fear ruling my brain, I had to see what was going on. Creeping out, yet remaining hidden, I looked.

I saw her on the floor, bleeding.

I saw a tall, broad man standing over her, smiling.

I saw this man bend down, rip out, and eat her heart.

I saw Aunt Melinda standing in the doorway as pale as a ghost… and on the floor, dead.

  

**My thoughts**

The prologue of this story pulled me in from the start. How horrible to be a young child witnessing the murder of your aunt! I wanted to know more. I wanted to know who it was and how she got away unscathed. Alas, all answers are not immediately given! 

I got a kick out of the concept of Anna being a star on a TV show. While she is there, she gets trapped in a sort of love triangle between her best [guy] friend and the guy who is literally the man of her dreams. Casey is a great guy, but not quite the right one for Anna at this time. I felt like Adam was quite intense from the very beginning, and almost scary in how he treated her. He is so secretive about so many things that it is almost torture waiting for him to reveal the past and their connection. I felt a little suspicious of him for a while. So many questions still wait to be answered!

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AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Born and raised in Bakersfield, California, Merry Brown now lives in the northwest corner of Tennessee with her husband, three boys, and Daisy the cat. She teaches philosophy at the University of Tennessee, Martin, where she counts it a great privilege and joy to introduce students to perennial questions about the nature of the universe, meaning, morality, and the human condition. Merry Brown's love of philosophy and young adult paranormal and dystopian literature inspired her to write THE KNOWERS, the first book in the Exiled Trilogy. GOLD MANOR GOLD HOUSE is her latest YA paranormal romance book.

My contact info:

http://www.merrybrown.com

twitter: @merryebrown

Facebook: Merry Brown

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