Brynn Wilder is coping with the loss of her mother and the end of a longtime relationship, so she takes up a friend on the suggestion to spend a summer recuperating in a delightful little town on the shores of Lake Superior. She stays in a quaint old boardinghouse run by a quirky older woman and gets to know the others staying there for the whole summer: friendly couple Jason and Gil and distractingly handsome Dominic, whose plentiful, unusual tattoos add just another layer of attraction for her (and half of the town).

Jason, who had been married to high school sweetheart Alice for three decades before coming out as gay, and husband Gil decide to take in Alice for the summer. Diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, she needs more attention than her daughter can give her, and Jason and Gil do all they can to help her feel comfortable and at ease.

The setting is lovely and the people are instant friends, but strange things start happening as soon as Brynn settles in to LuAnn’s. She hears voices and sees things — people — no one else sees. A woman died, ostensibly of natural causes at a ripe old age, in a room in the house over the winter, which is locked up out of respect for her death now, but Brynn is getting glimpses into it. And Alice, sometimes confused and forgetful, tells Brynn and others things she can’t possibly know. Brynn is unsettled and unsure about why she seems to be the focal point of much of it.

The locals, including LuAnn, tell her ghosts are common there, and not to be concerned. If a ghost has something to say to her, Brynn is told, just listen.

Through it all, Brynn is drawn to Dominic, who is as mysterious as he is striking. He could be the love of her life. But he could be dangerous, too.

This story is set in the same charming tourist town, with several of the primary characters, as Webb’s Daughters of the Lake. I remembered enjoying that book but not being particularly blown away by it, so I wasn’t surprised when I looked back on it and discovered the character overlap but hadn’t remembered them or their stories at all. Both books are a little gothic, stories of women who needed time for their hearts to heal in a lovely location, with differing levels of ghost involvement. I think I appreciated this one a bit more (even though I accurately guessed quite early on one of the two twists at the end).

I expected this to be a legit HORROR novel so I kept waiting for it to get creepy, but that is not what this book is. The scenes were vivid so I could feel Brynn's confusion as timelines melted into each other and she wasn't sure what was real and what was only in her mind. The version of the afterlife they discuss is what I'd like to believe...not necessarily reincarnation but more of meeting up with the souls that are important to you and starting all over again.

However, "clunky" also kept popping into my mind as well because while the first-person narrative helped me feel the haziness of the story, it also made some conversations and/or scenarios feel inauthentic or contrived as a way to introduce further plot development. They teetered between "I can't tell you anything" and "I'll tell you everything in a monologue" but then once everyone got to know each other and started communicating and comparing their experiences, it settled down and I liked it a lot more

I went into this story hoping for a ghost story in a small town with some creepiness. What I instead got was a story with a plot that didn't really go anywhere. The characters seemed like shells and not realistic, and there was soo much unnecessary repetition in the story.

I received an advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you have never read anything by this author, consider it a loss. Her beautiful writing mixed with paranormal haunting plot will make you not only move the pages faster but also engage in the plot. The author has a magical way of pull you in the book so you would gave a hard time to stop the reading....

This was a great read. Not exactly what i had in mind when I started reading but turned out to be even better than expected. It’s told from one point of view and is a quick read. It’s not a typical haunting type of book. Great story line and definitely hits your emotions in some places.

Brynn is having dreams. Dreams that feel real. She ran to Wharton to try and rest and revive herself after the passing of her mother She becomes part of a family that she never expects and meets her soul mate.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

I am going straight down the middle for this review. I think this book had a lot of potential. The book has a bit of everything, romance, paranormal, suspense, and more but the writing is what didn’t have the umph that the book could have had.

The story was pretty easy to figure out but then a twist would be put into it with an understanding of why. A couple of the twists have me wondering what it was even about. Seems we got more questions than answers in this book but the biggest question was “Why add that at all?”.

The characters are an interesting bunch of people and again had so much potential.

I wish the author had taken a little more time and hadn’t felt like she needed to throw everything including the kitchen sink into one book.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was interesting. Not my typical read, but I guess I thought it would be different based on the description. It wasn't terrible, I just had trouble staying interested.

This book surprised me in that it is unlike the creepy gothic ghostly books this author has written before. This reads more like a romance novel with a mysterious handsome hero. There were so many mentions of Bradbury's The Illustrated Man, which is the nickname they've given Dominic, the main male character, that I had to put this book down and read Bradbury first. It's not necessary as the author provides a brief description of the classic, but I'm glad I read Bradbury for a deeper understanding of the plot. I was really enjoying the book and the relationship between Brynn and Dominic, but as I closer and closer to the ends of the book I still had so many questions. Where does the Haunting come in, what's up with Alice, and room#5, etc? Then, bam, a lot twist that explains everything!
While I do prefer the author's more creepy books, this one was still enjoyable.
Thank you to Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing, and of course Wendy Webb for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

With each new book Wendy Webb has become a favourite author of mine, and I was truly happy to receive a digital arc from the publisher.

I hadn't realized that <i>The Haunting of Brynn Wilder</i> would be a sort of companion to <i>Daughters of the Lake</i>, and I was delighted to discover that it takes place in the same setting, and that it featured some characters from Webb's previous novel.

I absolutely loved the setting, a small, cozy town which feels suspended in time. The cast of characters was also immensely likeable. I liked all of them and the different and sometimes unusual realtionships between them were sweet and heartwarming.

As for the mystery aspect, it definitely wasn't the strongest focus of the novel; if you are looking for a creepy ghost story, this book isn't really it. There are ghosts and apparitions but they are secondary to the characters, their growth and their relationships. Personally I didn't mind that, because I was invested in all of them. The ending, however, felt a little rushed, and we got all the explanation of what was happening at the very end. It sort of worked; however, some things didn't much too much sense.

All in all, not Webb's best, but still a very good read.

All she wanted was to rest and recharge her batteries during her break but she was in for a huge surprise! She checks to start her break. Let the fun begin! To find out the rest you must read it for yourself and you won’t be disappointed! Thank you for writing such a great book!

I am going to be as diplomatic as I possibly can. The only reason I finished this book was because my book club is participating in a chat with the author and I felt it would be disrespectful to show up as a DNF, but here we are....

This book just wasn't for me. I did not care for much of anything and I don't want to list out the litany of things because its all in the star rating.

If you come across this review and this is a book you want to read, then I would encourage you to do so. Many, many people adore this book and there are a sea of 4 and 5 star reviews. I am an outlier, but in this case I'm really okay with that.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Wendy Webb for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Review Date: 12/11/2020
Publication Date: 11/1/2020

Brynn arrived in Wharton on Lake Superior after the death of her Mother to take a break for the summer and to regroup her thoughts. She decides to stay in a boarding house that doubles as a restaurant and meets an interesting group of characters that make her summer memorable.

I am conflicted. I went into this book expecting a creepy ghost story but that is not what I got. “The Haunting of Brynn Wilder” is a story about grief and mourning the loss of a loved one. I was not particularly fond of the cheesy romance that developed between Brynn and a boarding house guest. There was a ghost or two sprinkled into the story. I felt that the ghosts were completely useless to the story because they did not do anything and nor did they add to the book plot. The story was well developed but I felt the author rushed the ending.


2 ⭐️

This is a truly enthralling story of love, grief and friendships.

I couldn't put this book down, wanting to know the next chapter.

Brynn is recovering from a terrible grief and has come to Wharton for the summer, to recover and relax.

But there's something in the century old boarding house, that has her guessing her dreams

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for ARC

Thank you net galley for a free ARC in exchange for a honest review.

When I first started reading this book I thought it was going to be more of a horror book as opposed to a paranormal romance novel. To my great surprise I loved that it was more paranormal romance! The book was well written and the setting of Wharton and LuAnn’s bed and breakfast brought all the characters together. I really loved how mysterious Dominic was throughout the whole book and at the very end you come to realize why. Overall this book was a great read and one that I would read again.

Brynn is trying to coop with her mom's death after long-suffering. She is going to a small town where she is booking a room in a hunting historic boarding house. Here she meets beautiful people and the love of her life, Dominic, her angel. I love how the story is narrated.
It was a romantic story with a few ghosts.
Thank you Netgalley for this nice story.

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of this book. This was a ghost story with a twist. I loved the twist. I enjoyed every word of this as I'd like it to be real. Thanks for the wonderful story Wendy Webb!

Brynn Wilder has suffered through a number of tragedies and has decided to take the summer off and get away from everything. She heads to the small town of Wharton on Lake Superior, where she books a room in a historic boarding house. She quickly meets the quirky characters who live there, all of whom take Brynn under their wing to help her recovery and find happiness. One woman is Alice who is suffering from early onset dementia. Alice seems to know things about Brynn that Brynn has kept secret. She hears voices in the night and has dreams about the closed-off room in the boarding house where a death occurred. Plus, Brynn is very attracted to Dominic, the new man in town, who seems to have a mysterious past.

All of these elements should lead to an exciting and scary book, but that was not the case. Brynn's character was just flat and too perfect. She was constantly on the verge of tears, along with many of the other characters. Events happened and weren't explained or connected to the story. There were many interesting starts to supporting plot lines that weren't referred to again. Some of the events seemed unrealistic, and the ending wasn't satisfying at all. I was hoping for better.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oops, this is what you get when you read a book based on the cover and title. My expectations and what the book served were completely out of sync!

This novel is about Brynn Wilder who makes her way to Wharton to stay in a B&B for the summer. She has recently lost her mum due to the cancer and she needs to escape her normal life for a while. In Wharton she meets a lot of different people, including Dominic and Alice. He is her broody and handsome next door neighbour and she is the ex-wife of another resident who suffers from early-onset Alzheimers. However, she also seems to know more about Brynn than Brynn would have expected.

I started reading this book believing it would pan out to be a suspenseful gothic horror novel. I actually really liked the characters. Their banter is so genuine I found myself laughing out loud a few times. A suspenseful horror novel it is not though. At the last 80% of the book I started wondering what it was the novel was actually working towards. The finale brings a bang, but one I had expected.

This novel reminds me of something Nicholas Sparks could have written. The setting at Wharton and Lake Superior sounds magnificent. The characters are all incredibly likeable and well-developed. The plot is a slow burn and everything gears towards a tragic and romantic ending.

I'm giving this book 2.5 stars not because I didn't enjoy it. It's because I feel it's out of sync with what it's advertised to be. If you can go into it wanting a paranormal romance, you'll enjoy your experience much more than I did

Wow spooky ghost story supernatural page Turner you will find it all in this book. Can't wait to read more by this author

Well... Thank you, but no, thank you.
I love a good ghost story. I love a good horror story. In general, I even like a good romance from time to time, if it's not too over the top and ridiculous. This book...
Let's just say, there wasn't any horror in that book. Technically speaking, it was a very flat, seemingly pointless romance novel which got more absured the more I read, spiced with some ghostly guest-appearance.
I think it's pointless to say that I did not like that book. I don't think you can even say I finished the book because I fear I skimmed most parts.
When I reached the end of that book, I had to laugh because that ending was simply... Over the top.
I have nothing nice to say about that book. I am sorry about that, but I can't think of anything. The characters were highly unlikeable, it might be because there was a touch too much romance and way too little ghost or horror. I don't think you can actually call this book a "gothic" novel..Compared to Mary Shellby, Stevenson and Bram Stoker, this is a soft.

I received a free copy by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review