Colton Manor

by Francene Carroll

Art student Ursula St Clare is not happy when she is forced to spend her summer break alone in a chilly, isolated mansion perched on the edge of a cliff. When a neighbour warns her that Colton Manor is haunted, Ursula decides to sublet a room in the hope that some human company will help keep the ghosts at bay.

Scientist Damien Knight is self-proclaimed sceptic when it comes to all things supernatural. He needs somewhere to stay while his home is being renovated, and Ursula is instantly attracted to the sexy older man. She entertains thoughts of a summer fling with her new housemate, but it isn’t long before Damien starts acting very strangely and Ursula begins to fear for her safety.

Has she let a dangerous, unstable man into the house, or is it Colton Manor and its evil legacy which is causing him to behave so bizarrely?

Colton Manor is a 37,000 word novella.

Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Suspense

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 7, 2012

Reviews

[Georgina Parkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked all the ghost stuff, it definitely felt eerie but I think the romance shouldn't have even been part of it. It made the female protagonist seem naive and honestly, stupid. He's literally a psychopath 90% of the time she's known him but she kisses him, thinks he's hot and sleeps with him anyway. Was she even really scared about the ghosts? Because girl, you had your car, go sleep in that! Don't give me the no money crap! I'm sure legally she could have gotten out of the contract quite easily and gotten her money back. Sure that lady would have been a turd but that's what police are for. And if not, YOU HAVE A CAR!

[Niffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to give this 3 stars, because I'm sorry, but what woman in her right mind would want to sleep with a man she's known for 2 days who has already shown psychopathic split-personality tendencies/intent to harm her - ghosts or no! Not to mention he's arrogant and patronising, oh but silly me, he took her on a date and is older and oh-so-dreamy, of course she should want to have sex with him!
It's just ridiculous really,and the story would've been better without the, er, 'love' story.

Otherwise though, what this author CAN do is suspense, it was very 'gripping', and got my heart racing a few times.
Nothing serious but probably best not to read before bed when you're alone in the house...

[Yawatta Hosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this 10 chapter book. In the past, Edward terrorized his wives because he was jealous, sadistic, and paranoid. The opening was pretty intense because his wife ran and jumped off a cliff in order to escape him. From there, I knew he was an evil person. Present day, Ursula moved into Colton Manor during her vacation. It was spooky the way creepy things kept happening around the estate, especially at night. My favorite lines: 1) “Blame isn’t going to help us now.” 2) For a few moments she had known what it felt like to fly, and it was exhilaration, not fear, that filled her heart even as she plummeted towards her death. At last she was free.

I really liked that Ursula and her neighbor, Bonnie, were proactive in solving the mystery of the estate. They were heroines who took it upon themselves to protect each other; they didn’t wait for a man to help them. I liked that they were strong women, especially Ursula. It was impressive since she was in her early 20′s.

The tension between Ursula and Damien was really interesting. He moved in because his place was being fixed. Their discussions and arguments were entertaining. The age difference didn’t bother me–he was in his early to mid-thirties. They kept going back and forth about if ghosts exist. She believed in it, but he didn’t. Opposites truly attract; I loved their sexual tension.

The ending made me feel bad for Edward, which was a nice surprise. I was definitely shocked.

I RECOMMEND this book to read.

[Bridget H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love haunting, paranormal books and this one delivered a great story. It had a few twists and turns I didn't expect and kept me guessing. You feel the terror of the heroine when she is trying to escape the ghost of Edward and the detail of the house and property draws you in with characters you either love or hate. I really was hoping Yvette would ‘accidently’ get locked in the cellar for a few years! I’m not big on mushy romances and you won’t have to go through 5 pages of drawn out bedroom action with this book. The focus stays on the story. All in all a good read and well worth the price.

[DeAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this was a quick and enjoyable read, the insta-love and Dr Jekyl/Mr Hyde personality that was given to the male lead really turned me off. A girl who has been abused and nearly killed by a man will not immediately trust him and leap into his bed. I thought that the overall plot concept was interesting and certainly compelling, but it was hard to accept much of the main character's behavior. Also, there were a number of grammer/punctuation issues so some proofreading and editing would have been welcome.

[MountainKat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't really work for me. The was something about the writing that bugged me and I didn't care much for the story either. It did work for a challenge though and it wasn't too long, so there is that.

[Barbara Brabank · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story line was fairly good, but the writing style and some of the things that the author had the main characters do (like get sexually involved when one is acting psychotic and threatening) completely ruined the story line for me.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok not as spooky as I would have liked but still very readable.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. Ghosts, and romance;)

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somethings in this book where a bit far fetched for me.

[☘KathyD☘ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The paranormal part of the story was pretty good, but I couldn't get into the love story. It just wasn't there for me.

[mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Lindsay]

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