Cronic Bookaholic

I needed a good laugh and this book had been sitting there untouched on my TBR for a while. So what the heck, I thought I gave this a try.

Cal Parsons was a failed actor down on his luck – his agent didn’t even deign to talk directly to him. He was quite homeless when he got a call that changed his life forever: an ex-lover had died and left his estate for Cal. Leaving glitzy Los Angeles to cold winter rural New York, Cal discovered not only he inherited a picturesque house, but Mac, his ex-lover haunting it – or him – as a ghost. Mac might have had dumped him 15 years ago, but now he persisted that Cal was the love of his life and they should be together for always. It was an unlikely situation for falling in love, surely. Except that Cal started to find himself attracted to Dewey, the jack-of-all-legal-trades country lawyer.

This was a comedy of ghost story set in close-knitted Marlboro Township, a town where everybody knew everybody’s business (like when a certain lawyer and actor got lucky, where they bought condoms and lube, where they had dinner, where and what they bought on apparel-shopping; it was scarily embarrassing). The only thing the townsfolk didn’t know, apparently, was that Mac’s ghost still very much lived in his house. Well, sort of. The late playwright haunted Cal’s almost every activities in and out of the house. The conversations between Cal and anyone became rather bizarrely funny with Mac jumping in and Cal’s automatic replies to him.

I enjoyed this book immensely; it could be the right time and mood for me to pick this to read. The interactions between characters were snort-inducing; though some might appear tacky. There were secrets, hidden agenda that spoiled a budding romance when revealed, but soon resolved. The story was told from Cal and Dewey’s POV alternately and given how totally different their personalities were, it really gave insight on both characters, and thus: their flaws. I didn’t really like both MCs personalities; they were either immature (for a forty year old) or weak (for a lawyer). Surprisingly, the person I liked best here was the ghost Mac. Sure, he was sneaky, mischievous, exasperating, lustful and stubborn; but he sticked to his character, contrary though it may be. He also livened up the conversation whenever he’s around!

Another thing that nagged me on this book was the editing issues. There were a few that really disturbed my reading pace. Going back a few times to make sure I got it right was vexing!
But all in all, this was entertaining. If you wanted a not-scary ghost story, or reading – instead of ghost fighting – an arguing and negotiating ghost, you could give this one a try and have a laugh with it.

Guest Reader Review at Boys in Our Books