Her Muse, Lord Patrick

Her Muse, Lord Patrick By Jane Charles

While rushing to deliver a message to his best friend's sister, Lord Patrick Delaney is attacked, robbed, and dumped into a river.  When he wakes he finds himself in the personal writing room of Miss Chetwey with no memory of what happened to him or what message he was supposed to deliver.  The only thing he does know is that no one can see, hear, or touch him...except Miss Chetwey.

Laura Chetwey removed herself to her uncle's estate and entered half-mourning after her brother's ship disappeared four months ago.  Bored out of her mind and having exhausted her uncle's collection of horrid novels she decides to write one herself.  After hearing a voice of inspiration instructing her on the characters in her book she is shocked to discover that her muse is her brother's best friend, Lord Patrick.  Realizing that Lord Patrick is a ghost, Laura is torn between wanting to hear the message he has of her brother and fearing that if he does remember he will leave her forever.

This was a charming little ghost story with some very creative twists to keep the plot moving.  I liked the way Ms. Charles kept true to the continuity of Lord Patrick not being able to touch things (including Laura) yet still managed to have tender moments between them.

The characters are very well fleshed out and the flow of the story is superb.  The bad guys are true nightmares and the good guys are truly heroic.  I loved the commentary about what makes a literary villain, hero, and heroine.

Overall, this was a wonderfully refreshing story.  Short, but not rushed.

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 5

Sex – 4 

Language – 3

Storyline – 5

Overall – 4