Harrington House

by J.P. Noether

It’s a small room in an old house, but it’s cheap. For Laren Tolley, still reeling after a bad breakup, it’s perfect. Who cares that there are rumors it’s haunted? Her unfortunately-hot landlord and new roommate, Casey Holland, assures her that ghosts aren’t real.

Laren isn’t so sure. Casey can fix anything-- the fact that they’ve even made the Harrington house habitable proves it. But the power keeps going out, no matter how many times Casey repairs outlets or replaces fuses.

With the power outages and unexplained phenomena piling up, Laren is getting scared. And Casey doesn’t believe in ghosts, so Laren will have to do something herself-- or risk losing her new home.

Genres: Ghosts, Queer Romance, Queer, Romance

Unknown Binding

First published October 4, 2021

About the author

J.P. Noether writes spicy queer speculative romance enhanced with magic. (Or maybe it’s technology– they’ve never been able to tell the difference.)

They live in upstate New York in a household consisting of three adults, two cats, and one human child.

Reviews

[Jude Silberfeld-Grimaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story feels like a teaser for something. It efficiently sets the scene but it’s way too short to be satisfying.

Laren is a promising MC. She’s just out of what sounds like an emotionally abusive relationship, which left her insecure on many levels. She’s an artist and works in customer service to pay the bills, and she seems level-headed enough to not believe in ghosts. So when she starts worrying about the house she’s now living in being haunted for real, I trust her.

I’m not sure what to think of the other MC, Casey. They don’t get enough page time for me to get an idea of who they are, beyond being nonbinary, an electrician, and apparently very much the kind of person Laren is attracted to. I hope we get a follow-up soon in which their character isn’t as fleeting.

I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[AnnMaree Of Oz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this authors previous work Improbable Heaven which was an unexpected joy - so when I saw this one popup on Booksprout I got excited! Just looking at the chapter titles gave me a smile!

It's a short novella that goes by really quickly, I hope and assume there will be more installments. But because of that I did feel a little underwhelmed. I just wanted more!

I liked getting to know our characters, but would have liked to know much more about room-mate / landlord / love interest Casey.

It sort of ends before it really begins, and that was frustrating, but I would absolutely love to read more, I guess I just question releasing it this way, since it feels half-finished and leaves you unsatisfied.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Alex Nonymous · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the author for providing a digital copy of Harrington House in exchange for an honest review.

Well I know this is the first novella in a series and the writing itself is strong, I think a little too little is given here to compel you to keep reading forward. The book ends right when the haunted aspect really kicks in and I know it might serve as a way to hook some readers into the sequel, but I think we needed a bit more first. This would be a wonderful opening to a book, but I'm not sure how it functions as it's own story.

[A.E. Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely, cozy read that I was able to complete during a long autumn afternoon. It's an entertaining story and there's very little angst. I did find myself wanting more at the end, which is overall a good thing, but this did read like a preview for something bigger/a more involved story. Will make sure to read more from this author! And I do recommend this one if you're looking for a lighter read.

[Anid Harker · Rating 5 out of 5]

(This was an ARC kindly provided by the author, who is a friend)
(4.5 stars more accurately)
So this is a perfect choice for a cozy night in, and here's why:
1-It's brief, and super long books are just not as cozy, it's a scientific fact.
2-Slowburn Romance (so slow that it does not in fact get established in a single book, this point is ongoing)
3-It's a cozy read itself, as in there are no big saving-the-world stakes (the stakes are really "will Laren and Casey kiss?" and "will Casey admit the ghosts are real?"), and it's not too scary (there's really only a couple of moments that could be classified as jumpscares but that's it) so non-fans of horror are safe here.
4-It's kinda classified as mystery-romance, but it's not super mysterious, we know it's ghosts from the beginning, it's just the characters are in denial.

In addition to that, the chapter titles were very amusing to me, and I'm really looking forward to seeing Casey fall from gruff eventually.

[Snail-Paced Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun, cozy ghost story with just enough spookiness to still prickly the nerves. The main character feels so relatable that it hurts, and I absolutely adore the love interest. While they don't get together (yet!) the romantic moments they do share are very cute (awkward roommate crush anyone? 8D) and I can't wait to see their relationship grow in the future. There's technically not a lot that happens over the course of the story, but it's just short enough that the meandering works, giving a nice extended view of the vibes and central relationship, and the ending feels just right for the overall cozier feel of the story without diminishing the haunting at all.

10/10 recommend, especially is you want some good spooky vibes in your romance without a full on scare.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kindly received a copy of the story from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this short story! It is a quick read that slowly develops the fear and supernatural goings on in the reportedly haunted house that the main character, Laren, has just moved into. I also liked her character and her house mate's character, Casey, and their instant connection which is developed through the story.
There are little scary bits scattered throughout, though nothing too bad making this a perfect read for those who love short, spooky stories.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a disastrous break-up, Laren takes a room at Harrington House, notorious for being haunted. At first she doesn’t believe it, but even though the house is kept in top condition mysterious things keep happening. On top of dealing with actual ghosts, she has to deal with her ever-increasing feelings towards her room-mate and landlord Casey…

📚Read this and other reviews on my blog!📚

This was such a fun read, and perfect for this time of year! It’s quite a short novella, coming in at about 50 pages, so is perfect for an evening curled up while it’s raining outside. This book has its own complete story while still setting up a series and I’m very excited to see where it’s going to go next.

J.P. Noether found the perfect balance of light-hearted and spooky, with plenty of atmosphere without it feeling too heavy. Even the chapter headings felt very true to life, capturing what the average person would actually think if they lived in a haunted house – for example, “Chapter 6: believe me, I know it sounds weird". Laren is a great character to read from, and the way the author set up her relationship Casey was really interesting – just enough to get us invested, without giving too much away! It’s clear that this romance is going to be a slow-burn across several books, and that’s a really nice contrast to the shorter, episodic ghost story in this first volume. I think it’s going to be a great story-arc to span across the future instalments.

If you’re looking for a cosy, spooky read, complete with great sapphic and non-binary representation, this is the book for you!

Thank you to the author for providing me with a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely short but satisfying read. It was my first time to read fiction that used they/them pronouns, I was honestly a little confused at first BUT quickly got the hang of it. I really appreciated the representation and hope we'd see more.

This wasn't too scary, if you're not into horror but wanting to get into it or would just like to try and read something spooky and atmospheric, this book would be a good starting point. The romance wasn't overwhelming in the story, I would need the next book in the series to form a solid opinion on them. What I really loved about the book is the writing, it was very well written and it was light and at the same time a little creepy. I thought it was the perfect balance for a quick rainy day read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t wait to read the sequel! I love this queer ghost story.

[D.N. Bryn]

Short, queer "and they were roommates" with a ghost as a third-wheel, great for readers who want to break into the spooky season with something a cozy and fun!