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Two Haunted Hearts
A novella about haunting, healing, and timeless love.
Charles Bedford, former best-selling author, hasn’t worked for months. His lover Kyle is dead, and most days Charles doesn’t want to be alive either. So when he finds an old mansion deep in the heart of Virginia, he buys it, figuring it might just be the thing to pull him out of his funk. It’s time to move on, and Charles needs a project.
But the big house is creepy and more than a little lonely, so when a handsome stranger named Stony shows up at his door, telling stories of murder and mysteries and forbidden loves from long ago, Charles is more than intrigued – he’s downright excited, for the first time in a long while. Maybe Stony can help him figure out why he constantly feels like he’s being watched, and why one room of the house makes him sick with fear. Something terrible clearly happened in this old Virginian mansion, and Charles hopes that Stony has the ability to heal the old place – and maybe help him heal his heart, too.
Charles Bedford, former best-selling author, hasn’t worked for months. His lover Kyle is dead, and most days Charles doesn’t want to be alive either. So when he finds an old mansion deep in the heart of Virginia, he buys it, figuring it might just be the thing to pull him out of his funk. It’s time to move on, and Charles needs a project.
But the big house is creepy and more than a little lonely, so when a handsome stranger named Stony shows up at his door, telling stories of murder and mysteries and forbidden loves from long ago, Charles is more than intrigued – he’s downright excited, for the first time in a long while. Maybe Stony can help him figure out why he constantly feels like he’s being watched, and why one room of the house makes him sick with fear. Something terrible clearly happened in this old Virginian mansion, and Charles hopes that Stony has the ability to heal the old place – and maybe help him heal his heart, too.
151 pages, Paperback
First published December 20, 2017
34 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 25, 2019
Absolutely solid 3 star read. Nice story (not really original, and no real surprises) but I enjoyed it. The characters are fun and it's a good love story. A few spooky bits at the beginning and the spirit stuff is interesting.
December 25, 2017
Mrs Monroe not being a new author, I shall cut her no slack and state that, estimable though this effort is, it cannot help but be rather weak on both the paranormal and romantic sides due to self-inflected wounds and otherwise easily removable blinkers. The storytelling is, if not quite all over the place, at the very least untidy, what with two narratives criss-crossing (present day events, centered around Charles coming to live at the mansion and getting involved with the ghost, and Louis' tragic love for Fletcher ending in suicide in 1929), with the occasional section from the point of view of said phantom. The respectable qualities of the writing go hand in hand with a bit too many mistakes, mispellings and missing words for high-quality entertainment ("miniscule", "this is the only room in this house that I get a bad vibe", "when I'm with her, the only way I can... perform... is to think about or let my imagination go to another place', "bloated balls" instead of "testicles" during a bout of masturbation, etc) alongside generous helpings of purple prose, most noticeable in sexy scenes: I shall mention such pearls as "reaching out with a long finger, he teased the puckered little hole between his cheeks", or "his cock was as beautiful as he was, long and hard, growing to gigantic proportions even as I watched", to quote but two of easily a hundred such statements in the first half of the book. Not enough basic research into the history of homosexuality damages the plotting ; it notably owes the reader such an egregious anachronism as the repeated use of "gay" for homosexual men in 1929 America. I had better reproduce the entire exchange between Louis and Flechter, for it is typical of the kind of modern retroprojection ignorant writers tend to fall for when they attempt to pen period stories :
"“Well. Now you know,” Fletcher said, closing the door softly and locking it. “I'm gay.”"
“You... you have sex with other men?” Louis said, voice trembling. He knew this and yet had to hear Fletcher say it aloud.
“I do, and I would appreciate it if we could keep this between the two of us. I'm sure your father would not be pleased to know that one of his employees...”
“I think I am gay,” Louis cut in.
Fletcher went silent, crossed the room, poured whiskey into two shot glasses and handed one to Louis. “What makes you think you're gay?”
“I don't... I have difficulty... with Elizabeth...”
“So you find yourself married to a woman that [sic] you don't love, that [sic] you don't find attractive or even excited by?”
Louis nodded.
“That doesn't make you gay.”
As I refuse to spoil the plot, I shall say nothing of the reveals that the narrative provides in due time ; they were so largely foreshadowed that they came as no surprises, but I guess the writer did not strive to be original, just enjoyable - a goal she largely reached, even though this is hardly the kind of book for seasoned readers of ghost stories. On the whole, a decent novel but nothing outstanding.
"“Well. Now you know,” Fletcher said, closing the door softly and locking it. “I'm gay.”"
“You... you have sex with other men?” Louis said, voice trembling. He knew this and yet had to hear Fletcher say it aloud.
“I do, and I would appreciate it if we could keep this between the two of us. I'm sure your father would not be pleased to know that one of his employees...”
“I think I am gay,” Louis cut in.
Fletcher went silent, crossed the room, poured whiskey into two shot glasses and handed one to Louis. “What makes you think you're gay?”
“I don't... I have difficulty... with Elizabeth...”
“So you find yourself married to a woman that [sic] you don't love, that [sic] you don't find attractive or even excited by?”
Louis nodded.
“That doesn't make you gay.”
As I refuse to spoil the plot, I shall say nothing of the reveals that the narrative provides in due time ; they were so largely foreshadowed that they came as no surprises, but I guess the writer did not strive to be original, just enjoyable - a goal she largely reached, even though this is hardly the kind of book for seasoned readers of ghost stories. On the whole, a decent novel but nothing outstanding.
December 15, 2024
3.5 rounded up. For the most part this was enjoyable with an interesting, yet predictable, storyline and intriguing characters. Charles’ and Stony’s romance was sweet but really did happen rather fast and I found it curious that Charles seemed to go from grieving Kyle’s death to horndog almost immediately upon Stony entering the picture. I’m not sure how I feel about the rotating POV chapters of Charles, Spirit and Louis/Fletcher 1929. At times I liked it, but others it felt like a drag on the entire story. I also found it a it confusing when Louis and Fletcher’s spirits are reunited and are suddenly joined with Kyle’s when Kyle’s hadn’t appeared prior to that.
The writing was mostly solid with a few noticable error along the way, including having Kyle’s name apprear where Stony should have been. I also question Fletcher and Louis using the term gay since it really did not come into use as it is known today until several decades after their time.
This story is rather short and the element that suffered the most was character development. By the end of the story I still did not know anything about either Charles or Stony beyond what they did for a living. There is nothing provided about their backgrounds, family, general history, etc. I think that really could have made a big difference.
The writing was mostly solid with a few noticable error along the way, including having Kyle’s name apprear where Stony should have been. I also question Fletcher and Louis using the term gay since it really did not come into use as it is known today until several decades after their time.
This story is rather short and the element that suffered the most was character development. By the end of the story I still did not know anything about either Charles or Stony beyond what they did for a living. There is nothing provided about their backgrounds, family, general history, etc. I think that really could have made a big difference.
March 15, 2019
Charles is suffering from grief after his boyfriend is killed in an accident. Unable to keep going with his life, he buys an old mansion that had entranced him when he was a boy. Knowing it is haunted doesn't stop him. He is drawn to the old house and feels at home there...that is except for the downstairs office that he can't enter without a severe headache starting. Finally able to write his stories, he happily settles in. He feels like he's being watched, but that doesn't shake him up at all. One day Stoney shows up with a mystery to be solved about the house. He thinks there was a double homicide in the house. Thinking he looks like his dead boyfriend at first, he has to shake himself out of his head. The two make a connection and soon both are deep in the mystery. This story goes back and forth from the present to the 1920's and the author has made it easy to follow. An excellent story with a satisfying HEA. I would recommend this book to any who loves books about hauntings and ghosts
November 19, 2022
To start off, this is obviously a short Gay Gothic Romance pulp novella. You really shouldn't go in expecting anything mind-blowing or else you'll be extremely disappointed. This is a nice little cheesy fun read though. It's fairly simple and is merely there for casual entertainment. If you like steamy s*x scenes, then this is right up your alley. If you're like me and those aren't your preference, then I'd recommend just skimming past those bits. The story itself it really cute and the characters are kind of nice. Like I said, super simple and easy. Most issues with the book are with the typing errors and not with the plot itself. The "rushed" feeling is pretty typical for these short Gothic Romance novellas. Looking at the size of the book and how thin it is, you can go in assuming that it's going to feel a bit rushed anyway. I enjoyed it for what it was and recommend it if you enjoy cheesy Gay Gothic Romance pulp novellas.
September 16, 2020
A bit too short
I love paranormal fiction, and have recently been reading more gay ghost fiction in particular. The possibilities are endless, and I was excited to see some flashbacks to the past.
Sadly this book suffered from abbreviation. We don’t get much background between either the two ghost characters when they are alive, nor for the two alive main characters. Many important scenes are glossed over, or merely referenced in passing. As a result, I didn’t connect much with either set (though I felt terrible about the murder of the couple from the past), and that made for a very meh book. The fact that the alive characters also had an insta-love pairing made me sigh in disappointment. Overall- not my favorite, but a solid offering for the genre.
I love paranormal fiction, and have recently been reading more gay ghost fiction in particular. The possibilities are endless, and I was excited to see some flashbacks to the past.
Sadly this book suffered from abbreviation. We don’t get much background between either the two ghost characters when they are alive, nor for the two alive main characters. Many important scenes are glossed over, or merely referenced in passing. As a result, I didn’t connect much with either set (though I felt terrible about the murder of the couple from the past), and that made for a very meh book. The fact that the alive characters also had an insta-love pairing made me sigh in disappointment. Overall- not my favorite, but a solid offering for the genre.
August 23, 2020
Redeemed Love
Once discovered, love can never disappear, but it can be redeemed. This is the conclusion I got from this very moving sensitive story. The story is about love tragically taken by disease and violence; how a new found love brings about the redemption of another tragically painful love. There are three stories unfolding each contributing to each story's resolution. Remarkably written and impressionable to those of us who are sensitive to love.
Once discovered, love can never disappear, but it can be redeemed. This is the conclusion I got from this very moving sensitive story. The story is about love tragically taken by disease and violence; how a new found love brings about the redemption of another tragically painful love. There are three stories unfolding each contributing to each story's resolution. Remarkably written and impressionable to those of us who are sensitive to love.
April 8, 2018
Sweet and heartbreaking, two different stories coming together. I liked the supernatural element, creepy ghost stalker. Louis and Fletcher could’ve hid their relationship better from opposing forces. A nice little read with plenty of m/m.
April 9, 2018
Simple
It was a good mystery but I feel it should have been told through the diary. Instead you being told the story and then again with the diary. Also what Charles and Stony coming together was too quick and basically simple. It was a sweet ending..
It was a good mystery but I feel it should have been told through the diary. Instead you being told the story and then again with the diary. Also what Charles and Stony coming together was too quick and basically simple. It was a sweet ending..
February 18, 2019
Nice
I liked this book...I am not a literary critic and I can't express why I liked this book. I did give 4 stars instead of 5 because there are places where it's so wordy its boring to read. The ending was lovely and nice. Kind of cute and I go for cute
I liked this book...I am not a literary critic and I can't express why I liked this book. I did give 4 stars instead of 5 because there are places where it's so wordy its boring to read. The ending was lovely and nice. Kind of cute and I go for cute
January 20, 2018
Awesome story
This was an awesome story with a very sweet love story thrown in. I’m a big fan or historic haunting storylines and love the way the author handled this one.
This was an awesome story with a very sweet love story thrown in. I’m a big fan or historic haunting storylines and love the way the author handled this one.
April 10, 2018
Beyond
This book is a lobe story to span the ages. Two hearts, two souls. E book is well-written and easy to follow. You'll be cheering for a happy ending.
This book is a lobe story to span the ages. Two hearts, two souls. E book is well-written and easy to follow. You'll be cheering for a happy ending.
December 30, 2018
I loved this read
Really loved this book. I hope all the books by this author is just as good
Thank you. So much .
Really loved this book. I hope all the books by this author is just as good
Thank you. So much .
March 19, 2019
Really enjoyed this book
DJ Monroe did a beautiful job with this double murder / double love story. It was like 2 books in 1 with a paranormal twist
DJ Monroe did a beautiful job with this double murder / double love story. It was like 2 books in 1 with a paranormal twist
Read
December 11, 2019*DNF*
(30%)
(30%)
September 13, 2019
Stop reading this and read the book. Now.
Incredible. Absolutely beautiful. Distressing, heartbreaking, and happy all wrapped up in a bundle of awesome. I hesitated on this one. Don't do that - just read it.
Incredible. Absolutely beautiful. Distressing, heartbreaking, and happy all wrapped up in a bundle of awesome. I hesitated on this one. Don't do that - just read it.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews