Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places was probably one of the most heartwarming, growth building, wonderfully captivating books I've read in a long time. This paranormal romance is going down as one of my all time favourites, it's one of those that I wish SO badly would become a series, because I believe it's got potential to do so!

Lucky Hart has an affinity for the supernatural, in fact it's her calling The problem is almost no one takes her seriously about the things she can see. Estranged from her family and friends, and recently rejected from grad school, Lucky is out to find a way to change her life by whatever means necessary. When she gets word about a troubled production, she jumps at the opportunity to audition to be 'The Caretaker" and investigate the mysteries of an old Victorian House that has a mind of its own. Every actor who has joined the production so far has mysteriously quit the show after three nights, unable to stay any longer. Little does Hennessee House know, Lucky is up for a challenge and the house has truly met its match in her.

This book is such a special book, particularly I appreciated the focus on ACE representation in it. I felt like it captured and touched on ACE experiences and navigating relationships in such a gentle, educational way. I really loved how Maverick educated himself, and even was open about how there is so much misinformation that floats around about ACE experiences. I just loved those really open and honest conversations between him and Lucky, and how he always listened and never judged.

Also, Mavericks daughter, Rebel is an absolute laugh a minute and I loved the dynamics between her and Lucky, and how passionate they also were about paranormal hunting.

This story is a slow burn, self discovery filled, full to the brim with magic and mystery you honestly won't regret picking it up.

Thanks again Netgalley for this opportunity to read, I'll be picking up more of Claire Kann's work in the future!

I sadly had to DNF this book at 35%. I just was not feeling compelled to read more and the pacing was too slow for me.

A paranormal contemporary romance between Lucky and Maverick (and of course his daughter Rebel who at only 10 years old, factors in). Certainly there's some suspense and foreboding, plot and subplots, although it's really all about the growing relationship between Lucky and Maverick. It's funny and clever and a bit crazy - meaty topics are contrasted with supernatural elements which give light and shade..

Lucky has ESP in that during first impressions, she can read people. As an ambitious paranormal researcher she talks her way into a reality TV show centred around whether Hennessee House is sentient, or is it haunted? She meets Maverick and his daughter through the show. The central plot about Lucky's relationship with the house has so much potential and complexity that some of the subplots aren’t totally necessary. There are lots of people and places to keep track of - the show's producers, former participants, Rebel and her own podcast, the house itself, fledgling friendships, family and backstory all have their focus. What is really understated and thoughtfully handled are themes around ESP, grief, loneliness and life on the ACE spectrum. With a closed door, we don't get to see how a romantic relationship manifests for Lucky - we just have to trust their happily ever after. I'd have loved a bit more tension and connection between Lucky and Maverick - but maybe they were too busy with the house?

I'm keen to read more from Claire Kann and recommend this if you like a spot of paranormal in a busy and layered closed-door romance.

Rounded up to 4 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Thank you NetGalley, the author and Headline Eternal for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

What do you get when you combine a sentient house, a nearly fearless ESP girlie, and a film crew? An adorably cute paranormal mystery romance of course!

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places was totally unexpected. I thought this would be a cheesy book with ghosts and a relationship that bloomed from investigating. Instead, what I was gifted was a story about seeking connections, communicating needs, and recognizing self worth.

Lucky can read first impressions, and maneuvers her way into the role of caretaker of a haunted house for a television show. Maverick is a single 'super dad' and project leader for the filming. The two connect quickly, but that's not the only relationship that starts to forge... The house takes notice of Lucky too, and supernatural events take place with alarming speed.

I loved the mystery of the house and Lucky's scientific approach was refreshing to read. The characters were all endearing, and I found myself unable to set this down because I wanted to see how everything would resolve. There were some aspects I wished were more developed (the rotting man at the party or the abandoned office building for example!), but the important plot points were wrapped up nicely in the end.

While there are some unsettling moments, the overall vibe is very positive and I found it a pretty cozy book on the whole. The pace is gradual and you really get caught up in the atmosphere. I look forward to seeing what the author creates next (and will not so secretly hope that a sequel is not out of the question!)

Supernatural story with a sentient house with a side serving of romance.

Overall this was a fairly decent read. The pace was ok, perhaps a little on the slow side. The main character is Lucky, a black asexual woman with the ability to read people in a first impression/ESP kind of deal.

I would have liked even more focus on the supernatural with less romance. The romance felt like the weakest part of the book and I didn’t get the attraction between the two characters. The asexual rep was good to see though and not something you usually get to read about.

A romance set in a haunted house where I found myself more invested in the haunted house than the romance.

I did really enjoy the supernatural elements of this. Lucky's ESP (extrasensory perception) was a fascinating concept and I particularly liked the exploration of had effected her life and her various relationships (familial, friendships, and romantic). I also really liked the mystery of Hennessee House and Lucky's investigation of it. It was when the narrative was focused on either of these aspects that this book was at it strongest for me.

I did also enjoy Lucky and Maverick, her LI, as separate characters. However, I didn't particularly enjoy the beginning of their relationship, especially their initial interactions, and I never really felt their connection. There was also a few discussions/ arguments in the later half of the book that felt like they happened simply to cause tension and didn't feel organic to the characters.

Kann has always excelled at her handling of asexuality in her stories and that is no different here. With Lucky, she gives us an ace character who has a good sense of who she is and what her boundaries are regarding sex and attraction.

Overall, an interesting haunted house story with a romance that didn't work for me, but I can see how it might for others.

Looking For Love in All the Haunted Places

I was super excited to get this ARC, for a number of reasons. Claire Kann has been on my TBR for a while, and this book has one of my favorite (and more obscure, outside of horror) fantasy tropes: sentient, powerful, arguably alive buildings. So, I was super excited for this.

My excitement didn’t last long. For starters, I find the writing grating. It’s too on the nose, too much telling, not enough showing. My breaking point was a paragraph with two sentences in a row that each ended with an exclamation point. I guess it comes down to a writers style, but I prefer writing where the words build an exciting crescendo and the author doesn’t need to use punctuation marks in narrative paragraphs to say that Something Exciting Is Happening!!!

The MC Lucky is arrogant and brash. She does all the things in the job interview that you’re always told (or common sense tells you) not to do, and yet somehow still gets the job? I honestly can’t tell for the life of me what about her interview convinced the producers to take her on.

There’s also this weird bit about how Lucky has great intuition about people - no actually, the book changed its mind and it’s ESP - no actually, the book changed its mind again and it’s back to intuition. Maybe you get more information on this ESP/intuition if you go on through the book. Clearly, I didn’t and I’m just confused.

I really, really wish this book worked better for me. The love interest - what little I saw of him - sounds like a sweetheart and this has a sentient/haunted (!) house. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to keep me going when everything else seems to be working against the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

There is a lot to love about this book. Women of colour. Asexuality. Spookiness. Romance. Absolutely yes!
I'm the concept of this book is just fabulous. I loved the different minority subjects in writing, or even life, being included in a spooky novel.
Lucky is just fabulous and I love that she has the ESP gift. She and Maverick are a couple I would die on this hill for. Approaching the topic of asexuality stunningly!!!!!!! This is the best representation of asexuality and gentle explanation I've ever read. Rebel is freaking adorable and I'm not sure the novel would feel how it feels without our Shortcake.
The intricacies of Hennessee House is fabulous too. Stone Tape Theory at its best.
Just a fantastic story!

I've never felt so conflicted about a book before in my life.

On the one hand, I loved everything about Hennesee House. I was expecting a big standard haunted house, complete with ghost, so was pleasantly surprised by the paranormal/supernatural element of this story. I think that is the largest part of what kept me reading.

On the other hand, WHAT DID EVERYONE LOOK LIKE?! There was the briefest description of each person (tall, dark haired etc.) when they first appeared but that was it. I felt as if I were reading a book about people who had no faces or discerning features. I also individually liked Maverick and Lucky but I'm not sure I felt the connection between them that was supposed to be there. And then suddenly they were a couple?

Overall, I enjoyed the bones of the story but think it would have been better suited without the "romance" and just left as a book on the supernatural.

Tropes:
• Paranormal/supernatural
• Asexual heroine
• Single dad
• Friends to lovers?

What sets "Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places" apart is its unique blend of romance and the supernatural. While the paranormal element may not be the central focus of the story, it adds an extra layer of intrigue and whimsy that sets it apart from your typical romance novel. From the quirky characters to the cosy setting, Kann has created a world that is both enchanting and relatable.

Speaking of characters, Kann deserves praise for crafting a cast of characters that feel refreshingly real and multi-dimensional. Lucky is a protagonist you can't help but root for, with her infectious enthusiasm and unwavering determination. And while Maverick may seem like your typical leading man, he has a depth and complexity that make him truly memorable.

That being said, the novel is not without its flaws. The small amount of slang used by the protagonist is very 2020s, and is likely to be out of the popular consciousness in the next decade and may cause some confusion with future readers. However, this is a minor quibble in an otherwise enjoyable read.

This book is a cosy romance with the merest hint of the supernatural, if you're looking for a feel-good read that will leave you believing in happily ever afters, look no further than "Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places."

I loved The Ex Hex so with the similarities I was very excited to read this book, Overall I really enjoyed this book, the sentient house added an unique spin to it for me.

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places is a paranormal mystery/romance. Lucky Hart has a unique ESP talent but has been never been able to fulfil her dream of working in the parapsychology field. She sees an opportunity to break into the field when she gets insider info about a troubled production company. Every actor on their new show mysteriously quits after spending three nights inside Hennessee House, an old Victorian with a notorious reputation for the supernatural.

The strongest aspect of the book for me was definitely the supernatural plot. It was original, and I really enjoyed the scientific approach that Lucky took to understanding the house. She didn't just make assumptions, but listed out her hypotheses and then tested them. Having the scientific slant to the supernatural was definitely appreciated, and I liked that it wasn't just a standard haunted house plot. Lucky's particular brand of ESP was unique and really well explained.

Lucky is asexual, and this was my first time reading about asexuality. I've never met anyone who I was aware of identifying as asexual either, so I feel like I have a better basic understanding now than I did before reading this book. I think my only critique regarding how this was implemented in the book would be the placement of the conversations around Lucky being asexual, and how it interacts with her relationship with Maverick. Although there was a conversation earlier in the book (around the halfway mark) with a side character, the conversation with Maverick took place just before the big reveal of the paranormal plot element at the end of the book. It felt like this placement slowed the plot and tension down a lot with lots of discussion/negotiation. The fact that this conversation was instantly followed by unnecessary relationship drama didn't help either. While the drama literally only lasted a few pages, it took the spotlight off of the paranormal element for me when it felt like it was all ramping up.

I don't think I fully connected with Lucky and Maverick's relationship either unfortunately. Although there was an instant chemistry between them, it was pointed out that their personalities were like oil and water. Each character had a lot of different things to discuss and work through from their lives too, so I felt like they were dealing with too many different threads and spent so much time talking things through that it just felt like hard work just being together.

Overall, I loved the fresh approach regarding Lucky's ESP and the supernatural house plot, but I didn't connect to the main characters or feel as invested in their relationship as I wanted to.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.

I didn’t vibe with this book unfortunately so I DNF’d at 15%, I should’ve read the blurb more clearly so that’s on me

This had such an interesting, unique premise and I found myself spellbound by the endearingly lonely Hennessee House. Lucky and Maverick were well characterised and I found myself engaged with the story right from the beginning to the very end. It would be the perfect cosy Autumn read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was such a fun spooky cosy read! I love a good mystery and this was really enjoyable to read

Lucky story will have you on the edge on your seat!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this early copy