Heartbeats in a Haunted House

Heartbeats in a Haunted House (2022) Amy Lane (Hedge Witches Lonely Heart Club #4)

The witch had simply walked up to Jordan one day and said, “Take care of my stuff but don’t use my distilled oils,” and then had taken off. The place turned out to be a treasure trove of magic: crystals, spell books, tarot decks, enchanted objects.

But the night before had been…. “I don’t even remember what happened,” Dante lied, and then scowled as his mouth filled up with spit like it was trying to ward off an acrid taste.

“Me neither,” Cully said, but his voice wobbled, and Dante could hear him gulp like the same thing had happened to him. The birds squawked again, and Dante thought, How long are we going to keep lying to each other?

Sebastian was a little high-maintenance, and Asa was bombproof, and since Dante’s crushes had always been a little high-maintenance and his specialty was maintaining, he could see that maybe, his family’s discomfort aside, he could have a happy-ever-after too.

“Huh. I’d never thought of a dog like that. A dog without a purpose?”

“No!” Oh God. Cully was so stupid. Dante would never understand. But he had to keep trying. “It just… it doesn’t have to feel obligated,” he’d said. “It doesn’t have to have chores. All it has to do is be pretty and friendly. And it has to love me, because that’s all I am.”

Characters: Dante Francis Vianelli, Thomas Cully Cromwell, Alex Kennedy, Simon Reddick, Bartholomew Baker, Jordan Bryne, Kate Guerra, Josh Hernandez, Macklin Quintero

Cover by L.C. Chase

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Rating: 6/10

• Browse the archives:
  
• « « Pentacles and Pelting Plants