The Halloween Husband

by Sandra Heath

A Passionate Possession

Whatever possessed Rowena Melcombe, who had only narrowly avoided ruin at the hands of a visiting rake, to be filled with desire for a handsome London lord passing through her tiny town? Whatever possessed Lord Justin Alderney, who had the most dazzlingly sensual beauty of the ton as his mistress, to want the exquisitely innocent Rowena as his wife?

Clearly a strange spirit of unlikely attraction reigned at Melcombe Manor, as a girl who knew nothing of the ways of the world and the sins of the flesh met a man who knew all too much, and a magic brewed on an enchanted All Hallow's Eve bubbled up in a passion that intoxicated both—until the break of dawn threatened to shatter their dream of love…

Genres: Halloween, Regency, Romance

128 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

Sandra Heath is the ever-popular author of numerous Regencies, historical romances, novellas, and short stories. Among other honors, she has won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Awards for Best Regency Author and for Best Regency Romance. She lives in Gloucester, England, and can be contacted at sandraheath@bluey onder.co.uk.

Reviews

[Darbella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rowena and Justin. The heroine was plain with a good figure versus the hero's mistress is beyond beautiful but already married. The hero super handsome. Thank heavens for the ghosts in this quirky, enjoyable story. The ghosts and their antics are part of the charm to this story. Also, this is a story where the villain and villainous do not get away with their antics. For awhile-it did indeed look like they might.

[Sam C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love historical romances and festive stories so this was the perfect combination of both. I really enjoyed that we got to see the ghost side of the story, it was a fun eerie take on the story and one I enjoyed a lot.

I did have one small problem with it, cheating is one of my pet peeves and thought I’m not sure that little scene qualify as that I do feel personally offended by it.

But overall, I enjoyed the story quite a lot, it was fun and steamy and left me swooning and wanting to be part of all that magic.

[Riki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tis the season for all things Halloween, and I was so super excited to come across this amazing out-of-print Regency Romance at the used bookstore! I love reading towards the season, and this was a delightful Halloween tale!

This novel takes place on All Hallow’s Eve and features innocent and bookish Rowena Melcombe, who fears she will forever be a spinster. She is devastated to find out that her family might lose their estate due to some mishandling of family funds by her ancestors. Everything changes with the meddling of a very special household ghost, escaped on All Hallow’s eve from her portrait in the halls of the house. The ghost sets romance in motion for Rowena and makes sure that she and Lord Justin Alderny meet in the most adorable of ways. Rowena narrowly escapes the rakish attentions of another man, hell bent on ruining her union with Justin, but despite his irksome meddling, Justin and Rowena fall in love and marry.

This was admittedly my first Regency Romance, and I absolutely adored every page. I loved the English setting and the wonderful descriptions of the dress and manners of the time period. The romance is tame and sweet, and I loved the supernatural element of the ghosts playing matchmaker for Rowena and Justin.

There are two other Halloween-themed books written by Sandra Heath, (THE MAGIC JACK-O-LANTERN and HALLOWEEN MAGIC) that I will definitely read to keep me in the Halloween spirit!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Yet another book "on hiatus" I finally finished within days after picking it back up. In some ways, I enjoyed this romance above others simply for its use of the supernatural: the Melcombe ghosts are the best part of the book, to be perfectly honest. I loved their commentary in the narrative, how perfectly harmless they are (unless needed to play the role of a terrifying specter), and how it all came down Shipping(TM) their descendant, Rowena, with the handsome and rich Justin. On the other hand, the very tired trope of a couple almost separating due to a misunderstanding, solely because each withheld important information, is most annoying. Thankfully, it's short-lived, in the final third or so. Still, it's a suitable, sweet romance, and definitely better in the department of "male love interests" compared to others...

[Donnalee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really likeable family ghosts dei ex; Exmoor lore; woman flaccid under duress; mostly really good

[Mina Lobo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the fantastical elements of match-making and revenge-taking ghosts, especially loved the Halloween season. I like the hero and heroine (him slightly more, as we don't really get to learn as much about her) but agree with other reviewers that their romance was a bit silly. There is, it should be noted, and underlying grittiness that runs throughout, by way of the two villains of the piece--trigger warning for an attempted rape and continued plotting to realize it.

[Arnetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book. Romance, intrigue, and as you can guess by the title - a bit of the supernatural. The story revolves around a young couple thrown together by a matchmaking family ghost. Other family ghosts come to the rescue as needed throughout the story. A fun read for this time of year.

[Anne Glover · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some cute scenes and enough Regency flavor to keep me entertained. But the romance was silly. Very silly.

For a full review: http://www.regrom.com/2015/10/12/sand...