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Epiphany: A Winter's Tale
This edition is no longer available. It has been rereleased under the title 'Into the Gloaming'
For nearly a century, Courtland Manor was left to ruin. After several years of renovation, the house is set to reopen as a museum. And Doctor Austin Baylor has been hired as head curator.
Alone in the house for months, he’s thrown himself into his dream job. As the grand opening of the museum nears and winter approaches his peaceful, idyllic life begins to… well, weird stuff starts happening.
He meets a guy that could be ‘the one’. Nothing weird about that.
His best friend moves to town to open a franchise of his family’s Irish Pub right across the street from the Manor. Still awesome.
Interns from the university come to help him in the final weeks before the grand opening. Some drama, but still fine.
And then, on Christmas Eve, Austin is almost hit by a car right outside the manor. And nothing is the same again.
The idyllic Manor house hides secrets that even the owners aren’t aware of. And as Austin and his crew delve deeper into those secrets the less hospitable the house becomes.
If Austin and his crew make it through the to the grand opening with their sanity, or their lives, intact… it might just be a miracle.
Please note: If you are easily triggered. You will be triggered. If you are easily offended. You will be offended. If you don’t like my writing, you will not like this book. If you don’t like long books, you will not like this book. If you have problems with missing commas, you will pull your hair out. If you resemble all of the above… you were warned.
For nearly a century, Courtland Manor was left to ruin. After several years of renovation, the house is set to reopen as a museum. And Doctor Austin Baylor has been hired as head curator.
Alone in the house for months, he’s thrown himself into his dream job. As the grand opening of the museum nears and winter approaches his peaceful, idyllic life begins to… well, weird stuff starts happening.
He meets a guy that could be ‘the one’. Nothing weird about that.
His best friend moves to town to open a franchise of his family’s Irish Pub right across the street from the Manor. Still awesome.
Interns from the university come to help him in the final weeks before the grand opening. Some drama, but still fine.
And then, on Christmas Eve, Austin is almost hit by a car right outside the manor. And nothing is the same again.
The idyllic Manor house hides secrets that even the owners aren’t aware of. And as Austin and his crew delve deeper into those secrets the less hospitable the house becomes.
If Austin and his crew make it through the to the grand opening with their sanity, or their lives, intact… it might just be a miracle.
Please note: If you are easily triggered. You will be triggered. If you are easily offended. You will be offended. If you don’t like my writing, you will not like this book. If you don’t like long books, you will not like this book. If you have problems with missing commas, you will pull your hair out. If you resemble all of the above… you were warned.
- GenresParanormalM M Romance
414 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 29, 2019
52 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 16, 2019
I finished it. I don't know why at this point. I felt there was a little too much tokenism going on. The character motivations were all over the place and it was hand waved away with the ghost story. The threads of the story didn't come together coherently in my opinion. I'm guessing there will be another book but I don't plan to read it.
June 26, 2020
What an intense emotional ride! This book is not a traditional romance, but a Southern Gothic, through and through. The story is multi-layered and crisscrosses time, and it's chock full of dark secrets and family skeletons. I loved the depth of characterization, the mercurial relationships, and the shifting perceptions. It kept me on my toes. Every time I thought I'd figured it out, there was another twist. Well done, Ms. Celeste.
June 5, 2019
I tried...I really, really tried....but I’ve given up...:(
Austin’s nervous about his first big job: restoring the gorgeous old mansion to its former glory, and curating the exhibits that will be on display once the restoration is complete. But he can’t ignore his reactions to Heath, a man he sees daily walking back and forth to work. Heath is a man of few words, but Austin is determined to get to know him better, even though Heath sometimes seems rather distant. However, as their sort-of-relationship develops, Austin discovers the truth about Heath, as well as the truth about the historic curse that haunts the house and the family who lived there.
It’s a thoughtfully written story....that just goes on way too long.
The author definitely takes her time setting the stage for what we’ll see is a full-fledged gothic ghost story with all the trappings. However, as you get further into the story, it becomes clear that Austin and Heath just aren’t interesting enough or compelling enough to build a whole story around...even when Heath’s real-life doppelgänger makes his appearance.
So sadly...this is going in my DNF stack.
Austin’s nervous about his first big job: restoring the gorgeous old mansion to its former glory, and curating the exhibits that will be on display once the restoration is complete. But he can’t ignore his reactions to Heath, a man he sees daily walking back and forth to work. Heath is a man of few words, but Austin is determined to get to know him better, even though Heath sometimes seems rather distant. However, as their sort-of-relationship develops, Austin discovers the truth about Heath, as well as the truth about the historic curse that haunts the house and the family who lived there.
It’s a thoughtfully written story....that just goes on way too long.
The author definitely takes her time setting the stage for what we’ll see is a full-fledged gothic ghost story with all the trappings. However, as you get further into the story, it becomes clear that Austin and Heath just aren’t interesting enough or compelling enough to build a whole story around...even when Heath’s real-life doppelgänger makes his appearance.
So sadly...this is going in my DNF stack.
March 24, 2019
All too confusing
It was just too confusing to actually enjoy. I wanted to see where all this was going but a lot didn't make sense and points were being misdirected. I love Mercy Celeste and I really thing she could have written this better. The love between Heath and Austin was so tainted by infidelity and just spun out of control that when they are together you just say to yourself "why?". I was a complete turn off..to see Austin with both Rory and Jemma when he is supposed to be in love with Heath. Then out of no where Heath wants Rory but he loves Austin?? None of it made sense. In Heath's room Austin and Jemma have sex in a time loop where she is Amelia and Austin is the Dead stable bot that Heath was in love with but Amelia didn't come to the till after he was already dead. What and how does Rory ghost fit in to all this? His Leprechaun ghost is raping and beating him?? He was ok to stay and live with it? How does he even tie into all this? All we get was that Angus was killed in the hotel fire who I think is supposed to be Rory..
It was just too confusing to actually enjoy. I wanted to see where all this was going but a lot didn't make sense and points were being misdirected. I love Mercy Celeste and I really thing she could have written this better. The love between Heath and Austin was so tainted by infidelity and just spun out of control that when they are together you just say to yourself "why?". I was a complete turn off..to see Austin with both Rory and Jemma when he is supposed to be in love with Heath. Then out of no where Heath wants Rory but he loves Austin?? None of it made sense. In Heath's room Austin and Jemma have sex in a time loop where she is Amelia and Austin is the Dead stable bot that Heath was in love with but Amelia didn't come to the till after he was already dead. What and how does Rory ghost fit in to all this? His Leprechaun ghost is raping and beating him?? He was ok to stay and live with it? How does he even tie into all this? All we get was that Angus was killed in the hotel fire who I think is supposed to be Rory..
March 27, 2019
Very confusing and poorly written. It was hard to follow the story, or even who was talking at times. And, commas were misused continuously, which was very off-putting. I believe the plot was intentionally formatted to grip the reader and keep them on the edge of their seat, but really it seemed contrived and unnecessarily tangled.
Two stars because it did like the idea of the story behind the mess. Haunted town causing characters to reenact the drama from the past? Very cool. However, too many plot holes and those grammar errors....! This one needed another few rounds with an editor and some beta readers.
Two stars because it did like the idea of the story behind the mess. Haunted town causing characters to reenact the drama from the past? Very cool. However, too many plot holes and those grammar errors....! This one needed another few rounds with an editor and some beta readers.
February 22, 2019
Wow...I did not see all that coming!
It's been a while since I have read something that was pretty awesome, I am really over all the instant love books. There was a lot of unexpected moments which I appreciated and some where I yelled what the heck are you doing but, I was never not interested in the storyline or the characters. For me what made it a four star versus a five star was the last ten to fifteen pages, I personally did not like how it was wrapped up but I would still buy it or read again.
It's been a while since I have read something that was pretty awesome, I am really over all the instant love books. There was a lot of unexpected moments which I appreciated and some where I yelled what the heck are you doing but, I was never not interested in the storyline or the characters. For me what made it a four star versus a five star was the last ten to fifteen pages, I personally did not like how it was wrapped up but I would still buy it or read again.
February 15, 2019
This was an intense book to read, once I got into the story it was hard to put down. There was a lot going on in this and it constantly kept you guessing.
Didn’t particularly like Austin sleeping with everyone when he kept saying he loved Heath and I found the ending to be rushed. Does this mean we are getting a sequel?!?!
Didn’t particularly like Austin sleeping with everyone when he kept saying he loved Heath and I found the ending to be rushed. Does this mean we are getting a sequel?!?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2019
I enjoyed the book -it was a fresh change from the other paranormal stories I read. The flash back ghost hauntings and mysterious happenings were intriguing and I liked the characters. Lost me though with the last chapter Coda. Wasn’t sure if it was to hint why Rory’s bar was haunted or a teaser for another book.
March 3, 2019
Epiphany
I usually don’t read books about ghosts, but I love your writing, so I had too. As usual, you pulled me into the story and I finished wanting more. Wanting Rory and Jemma. As much as I love Austin and Heath, Rory and Jemma are just as interesting. You are a very gifted writer. Thank you!!
I usually don’t read books about ghosts, but I love your writing, so I had too. As usual, you pulled me into the story and I finished wanting more. Wanting Rory and Jemma. As much as I love Austin and Heath, Rory and Jemma are just as interesting. You are a very gifted writer. Thank you!!
May 5, 2019
OMG!! What a wild and crazy story. I stuck it out and finished this read because I love this authors writing. But this story was a hot mess! I do get the ghosts haunting the current MC's but the writing was such a confusing mess making me think to hard while trying to enjoy this book. At least there was a happy ending that had me doubting that until the end.
March 2, 2019
Haunting love story
I've read almost all of the books from this author and every single broken soul has brought me to tears of sadness and joy. Not the standard happily ever after but real all the same.
I've read almost all of the books from this author and every single broken soul has brought me to tears of sadness and joy. Not the standard happily ever after but real all the same.
March 23, 2019
I love Mercy Celeste’s books, usually. This one was kind of a train wreck. There are tons of typo’s and wild abuse of commas,. The characters were all over the place and it was just so disjointed.... anyway. It was hard to finish
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews