Bittersweet Summer

Haunting Hearts #3

by Rachel Wilson

Genevieve couldn't leave the new owner of Crowfoot Castle -- the handsome, arrogant Tobias Rakes -- at the mercy of the castle's ghost. So she applied for the job as housekeeper. But this lovely young woman was about to be swept away by unseen forces -- a dangerous enemy, a love that struck as quickly as summer lightning, and perhaps some help from beyond...

Genres: Romance

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

Rachel Wilson also writes as Alice Duncan, Emma Craig, Anne Robins and wrote two books under the name of Jon Sharpe (Pecos Belle Brigade and California Crusader).

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Cheryl]

Dnf, not my genre, just couldn’t get into it, read around 25%.

[Martha B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A century-plus feud, a crumbling castle and a irrepressible ghost.

When Tobias Rakes' father disowned him at age17, he left home to travel the world. Now 17 years later he's come back home to Bittersweet, NY. Nothing much has changed, including the Rakes-Crowfoot feud. Regardless, he now has enough money to buy the Crowfoot castle. Won't that just chap the old man. After suffering a devastating wound from a Sioux arrow in the Dakota Territory, the towns name suits Tobias' outlook and mood on life in general. He's just bitter enough to not care about anything or anyone.

Since her parents died, Genevieve Crowfoot and her aunt Delilah have been living in the groundskeeper cottage of the Crowfoot Castle. Now that her uncle has also passed, she has been the sole person to try and take care of the property. An impossible task. Thankfully, there is now a possible buyer for the old pile of stones. She loves the old place, but she has to let it go. Hopefully the new buyer will love it as much as she. Time will tell.

I loved everything about Bittersweet Summer by Rachel Wilson. It was well written, with clever dialogue, vibrate characters, an intricate plot and lots of humor. I was so engrossed with this delightful book I had a hard time putting it down. Since this is the first book I've read by this author, I think I'm going to need to go back and read the first two books in this series.

Content alert: There is some very passionate kissing and sexual innuendos. There is also some mild swearing and some moderately descriptive intimacy scenes.

I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.

FYI: I also posted this review with Amazon (as Rural Reader), and with Book Bub. It also made my Pinterest page; Rural Reader – My Favorite 5 Star Reads (https://www.pinterest.com/marthajane6...).

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the historical castle which is the setting of this story, but a ghost comes with the Crowfoot Castle, located in upstate,New York. There are arch rivals still feuding among the descendants of the families of the Crowfoots and the Rakes. This feud began a century ago, and the ghost of the castle is upset a Rake descendant is the new owner of the Crowfoot Castle. Tobias Rakes dashingly handsome man, he just inherited a lot of money. Coming back from fighting in the war, with a crippling injury to his leg. He decides to purchase Crowfoot Castle regardless of ghost stories. Genevieve Crowfoot who lives with her aunt in the cottage on the property are caretakers of the castle. While cleaning in the dusty old library a note falls out of one the books revealing that there is hidden treasure in the castle. She gets herself hired by Tobias Rakes , and now is on a mission to find the treasure before the new owner. What Genevieve finds is that she very attracted to Tobias Rakes instead. A peculiar story with a ghost , but these two characters make it very comical at times. The story was well written and a very entertaining read. I received this book for free from Ebook Discovery. I volunteered to review it and this is my honest review.

[Sandee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A romance with a Hatfield and McCoy type feud and a ghost. Genevieve and Tobias are on opposite sides of their family feud. Deciding that letting go of something that happened generations ago, they proceed to help each other, much to the fury of Genevieve's ancestor. But, as a ghost is she really able to attempt murder or is someone else trying to kill Tobias? Fun and funny romance. I received this book from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review.

[NorthernLightsGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read from the Haunting Hearts series. It was better than I thought it would be.