The Haunted Heart: Winter

The Haunted Heart (Book 1)

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Lee Samuels

Still grieving over the sudden death of his lover, antiques dealer Flynn Ambrose moves to the old, ramshackle house on Pitch Pine Lane to catalog and sell the large inventory of arcane and oddball items that once filled his late uncle's mysterious museum. But not all the items are that easy to catalog. Or get rid of...

The Haunted Heart series. Four seasons. Four ghosts. Two hearts. Winter. Since Alan died, Flynn isn't eating, isn't sleeping, and isn't spending a lot of time looking in mirrors. But maybe he should pay a little more attention - because something in that 18th Century mirror is looking at him.

**This title contains gay erotic content**

©2013 JustJoshin Publishing Inc (P)2014 JustJoshin Publishing Inc

Dark and suprising, another great title by Lanyon.

If you could sum up The Haunted Heart: Winter in three words, what would they be?

Dark currents, surprising.

What other book might you compare The Haunted Heart: Winter to and why?

Hmm, can't quite find a comparison. Similar feel to Ghost Who Wore Yellow Socks, but with a paranormal plot.

Which character – as performed by Lee Samuels – was your favorite?

Kirk, he's a bit different than Lanyon's usual characters. He's dark, edgy, experienced, war-torn, tough, but seems to have a big soft heart.

If you could take any character from The Haunted Heart: Winter out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Hmmm, not sure either one would make a great dinner conversationalist really. Maybe the deceased crazy uncle. I have plenty of questions for him.

Any additional comments?

Once again, so many interesting layers in this book, that I can't wait to unveil the next book!

poignant and spooky and beautiful

Another wonderful Lanyon. I really like how the book deals with grief. The narration is impeccable and the characters are both charming and make you want to wrap them up in blankets and feed them tea. Love Flynn’s dark wry sense of humor. Especially when he was in the phone with his mom the first time. I laughed out loud at least 15 times while listening to this book. There really was an entire spectrum of emotions to experience in this story. So worth a credit.

Gripping psychological ghost story

What made the experience of listening to The Haunted Heart: Winter the most enjoyable?

The story is compelling and Lee Samuels' narration beautifully conveys all the suspense and emotion.

What other book might you compare The Haunted Heart: Winter to and why?

Josh Lanyon's "Dark Farewell," in which spiritualism is the focus: can we communicate with the dead?

What does Lee Samuels bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Emotional context; drama. He made the characters, including a dead one, come alive.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was mesmerizing.

Any additional comments?

A full-blown ghost story and mystery. It raises the question does Josh Lanyon believe in ghosts? Whether or not he does, even if you are a total materialist, at least while you're listening, he'll make a believer of you.
And it made my six hour road trip fly by.

Perfect choice for Halloween

This is another winner from Josh Lanyon. This is the first book in a series. It is primarily a ghost story with a underlying budding romance. But I think this is going to be a slow burn romance, similar to the Adrien English series. Both men have demons to tackle and they are not really address (or in Kirk's case even revealed) in this book. But the ghost story is very compelling and I was freaked out a couple of times. The narrator does a great job with all the voices and the inherent creepiness. Can't wait for the next book. Definitely worth a credit.

awesome

another great story from Josh lanyon.
kept me captivated and creeped out right from the start.

Another Josh Lanyon treat

I enjoy Josh Lanyon, and this book was fairly typical for him. It's a short book, and the narration is very good.

Another excellent book by Lanyon

Josh Lanyon is such an excellent writer. The main characters each have a personal journey to make, and Lanyon uses a tragic ghost from another era as the deus ex machina that drives forward both plot and personal growth. Lanyon's books are always "about something"---never just romances where guys "drop trou" to screw. The narrator was very good. Not Chris Patton good, but still quite enjoyable. Good voice characterizations so you always knew who was speaking. I will listen to this again, and hope we get the next books in this series.

Perfect in every way

What made the experience of listening to The Haunted Heart: Winter the most enjoyable?

The story is fantastic: funny, poignant, suspenseful, with wonderful, memorable characters and lots of food for thought. Adding to that Lee Samuels' narration, which is great, made for a very enjoyable listening experience. I'll definitely listen to this audio again.

Did you see that ghost?

A new twist for Josh and I cannot wait for the next installment.

This is a ghost story, but not about a ghost hunter.
Flynn's pain and heartache call to a ghost caught in a mirror, can they figure out who she is and how to help her move on? and more importantly: Can Flynn learn to love again......?We'll have to wait and see.

Heartwarming

Another reading with the audiobook. Five stars narrative. I liked the voice of narrator Lee Samuels and how he distinguished the characters, showing us, through his voice, their emotions.

The story introduces us to Flynn, a young boy cataloguing and organizing all the things his late uncle left him, while dealing with the loss of the love of his life. And in the same house where Flynn is currently living, we have Kirk, a tenant who likes peace, work and sleep undisturbed.
But Flynn will do anything but leave him alone - even if he doesn't mean to.

In one of those objects that he catalogues, Flynn discovers an old mirror that begins to haunt them, and their lives end up taking some crazy turns that will go through the depths of their hearts.

I liked the story. There's not a big focus on romance, more on the enigma and the loss of Flynn, but the mystery is exciting and makes our characters deal with their demons.

I'm sad that there aren't more books after this one; from what I understand, the series is cancelled with many loose ends. However, it is an interesting read.