The final novella in the Summer Heat anthology is Haunted Raine by R.E Hargrave. I have to admit, that although I did love all three of the covers, this is the one that had me excited! Something about this called to me, and I am a sucker for covers!
Today I am reviewing the novella by R.E Hargrave , part of the anthology by Renaissance Romance Publishing. Her novella is called Haunted Raine.
Summary;
Distracted by the everyday routine of raising children, being a wife, and keeping a home, Lorraine Morrissey let life pass her by. Her wakeup call comes when she realizes that with their children gone, her husband Richard is rarely home, and she’s filling her solitary days with trivial tasks. A crazy idea to save her marriage leads to a summer beach vacation unlike any she’s ever taken; one that involves unknowingly buying a haunted house.
Excerpt;
The fast approaching ground disappeared, replaced by an old, worn, wooden floor.
I shook my head to try and clear it of the cobweb fuzziness I felt. Raising my hands in front of me, I didn’t recognize them. They were dark brown, dry, and the skin was cracked in places. They didn’t feel connected to my body either. My words got stuck in my throat when I tried to ask what was going on. Swallowing to clear the blockage, I surveyed the room. Before me burned a dwindling fire inside an old-fashioned stone hearth, and to my right, old shuttered windows were thrown open, letting the cooling night air in.
“Girl!”
The hoarse male voice startled me. I spun around, becoming aware of heavy skirts
tangling in my legs.
“Yes, sir.” The voice, thick with a low country accent, wasn’t mine either, but
the sound had passed through my lips. What the . . .
“How many sacks of cotton did you pick today?”
A tremor settled into my arms as panic tightened my chest. Tall and wide, the
white man advanced on me. I skittered back toward the hearth at the look of
hatred on his face.
“None, sir. I’s sorry, but my momma –”
“There are no excuses, Jesse. Rain or shine, y’alls task is at least two sacks a
day while the cotton’s a blooming.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did your momma get her two sacks picked?”
Beyond my control, my head shook side to side, and I curled in on myself more
while taking another subtle step back. Warning sirens were going off, but it was
obvious, I had no say over my faculties, nor did I have any idea what was going
on. “She’s got the sick, sir.”
In slow motion, his hand rose, and I took in every detail: thinning, greasy
brown hair slicked back from a shiny forehead, a narrow beak of a nose stretched
down the length of his long face to a thin pair of pale pursed lips. His green
eyes were bloodshot with the drink that wafted from his mouth. The yellowing
linen shirt he wore was opened down to his mid-chest, exposing pale, untoned
flesh. Proof that he relied on others to get the work done.
“‘She’s got the sick, sir,’” he sing-songed, mocking me. “Not my problem, girl.
What is my problem is that you owe me four sacks’ worth of cotton, and have
nothing to pay with.”
At his words, an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. I didn’t like where this
was going and took another step back, bringing me a little closer to the fire
and the iron tools I could see in my peripheral vision.
“But I can think of another way that you can start paying up.”
When he came at me, I spun to grab the poker. Before I could reach the tool,
arms enveloped me from behind, yanking me back until I collided with a hard
chest.
My Review
I never normally know what to say in reviews, other than if I liked it or not, yet somehow I don't think there are enough words I can get down for this instalment by R.E Hargrave. Ghost stories are a great interest of mine, so each page had me hooked, but this is more than just a typical ghost story.
With Haunted Raine you will be treated to far more than this, you will be taken on a journey through time, witness everything from voodoo to possession. Not just this, but there is the relationship between the couple.
This story is not about teens, or people in their twenties meeting and falling in love, not that there is anything wrong with that. Haunted Raine is about a couple who have been married for so long they have just become comfortable, and the things that happen on their holiday away from their children helps the couple begin to see one another again.
Do they fall in love? Well if I told you that then why would you read it?
GO PURCHASE!!!
R.E. Hargrave is a fledgling author who has always been a lover of books and now looks forward to the chance to give something back to the literary community. She lives on the outskirts of Dallas, TX with her husband and three children.
