Guest Book Review: Ruth Saberton - Dead Romantic

Reviewed by Tanya Phillips

What do you do if you come face to face with a ghost?  

Put it down to a bump on the head and work stress if you’re a respected academic like Cleo Carpenter. With Christmas approaching, professional rivalry afoot and a best friend determined to interfere in her love life the strain is clearly starting to get to her. 

Guilt-stricken and deceased, Alex Thorne is desperate to make amends with his brother, Rafe, a tortured musician trapped in a spiral of destruction. When an encounter with Cleo forges a link between them she becomes his only hope. So what if the only person who can see him is a sceptic? 

As Cleo starts to doubt her sanity, the safe world she takes for granted crumbles around her. Setting out to regain control and prove once and for all ghosts don’t exist, she embarks on a journey of self discovery and surprise, learning that love really does defy science, logic and maybe even death itself… 

Amazon link: Kindle

The story is about an Egyptologist called Cleo Carpenter that works in the Stuart Bellby Museum as a researcher.  She doesn’t socialise much other than the odd occasion with her best friend and flat share partner Susie.  She is focused on her work and spends the majority of the time in her work place or doing her work at home.  Many people find her office cold and draughty and often mention ghosts but Cleo does not believe in Ghosts.

Then one day she bangs her head and everything changes when she meets Alex Thorne the ghost that saved her from a bigger accident.  He is the ghost brother of a man she met 18 years ago on an empty train station on Christmas Eve.  She was waiting to get a lift to see her dying mum and Rafe was there to comfort her.  Unknown to her he went on to write a hit Christmas song called “One Christmas Kiss”.  Alex asks Cleo to help him which she isn’t very happy to do.

Seeing Alex also brings alive her work place with various ghosts including Aamon a young Egyptian and chis pet cat as well as the name sake of the museum she works at.  Her life changes in many way as a consequence of the bang to her head.  Over the period of two months Cleo learns a lot about herself, her works, relationships and her work colleagues.

I don’t want to say any more as it will be too much information.  I really enjoyed the book and wanted to shout at Cleo not to do things or to do things and listen.  The characters are amazing and I love the way that Aamon and Alex interact with each other.  Rafe is someone you want to bring back to life and tell him that he is not at fault.

Please buy this book as it’s a great story and very well written.

I'd like to thank Ruth for sending us a copy of this eBook and Tanya for another fab review .