Ghost: A Novel (Loveletting, Book 3)
By: Christina Maraziotis
Publisher: Existential Publishing
Publication Date: October 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-959776-09-3
Review Date: December 11, 2023
Also check out: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lovelettingseries
With the release of the third book in her Loveletting Series (Ghost), Christina Maraziotis delivers yet another all-consuming and incredible journey. There is triumph that scales mountains as much as defeat that succumbs to the formidable valleys with bottomless depths. The reader will consume this author’s enviable ability to tell her tale through the voices of her rich and believable characters with a nuance of desperation to hang onto good in a world of evil.
The story opens with an exchange between Amara and her son Johnny. She is preparing for the hunt and more importantly the chance to avenge the death of someone she loved deeply—a death at the hands of Charlotte Browning... Meanwhile, James Miller hasn’t been human for a long time. He knows his soul no longer exists, yet he takes pause to reminisce. He thinks about his great fortune to have Charlotte in his possession. Hate consumes his existence, "...It splits like a man’s identity within a deranged mind and chooses the nerves it belongs to. And this...is but a piece of flesh that dangles about when I speak, when I eat, and drink. When I walk, when I even rest, it is all there, and yet...it is not mine..." (pg. 2)
Charlotte is shackled to a bed in a hopeless den of evil. She cowers each time she hears James’ footsteps approach, yet she is helpless to escape. She mourns the death of Mac Kinnon; the only man she is convinced she could ever love; yet she wrestles with her thoughts because she refuses to accept that he truly is dead. Is he? In a passing moment of clarity, she wonders if Marshal Patrick Tilghman will rescue her. He left her in Mayhaw—his parting assurances that she would be safe, but no one is safe as long as James Miller is still alive. Does Patrick know James has her? Many will join forces with the Marshall to capture the elusive James Miller. Brothers Sven and Viggo understand the darkness that surrounds Miller. They enlighten Tilghman over the fact he is not dealing with something human. Rather, they are embarking upon a journey to eradicate evil; knowing all too well that Miller is a subhuman creature full of dark forces and evil. They will travel through many towns—Mon Luis, Mayhaw, Nephilim Cove and many more in their quest. There will be blood and death; good facing an evil beyond their wildest imaginations...and the end journey will place them face-to-face with a reckoning that points to survival on one hand and destruction on the other.
To say I was elated to have the privilege to review another book in this exceptional series is an understatement. In the beginning pages of Ghost, the third book in the Loveletting series, Christina Maraziotis wastes no time in re-introducing her cache of characters we have become all too familiar with. Maraziotis delights in familiarizing us with nuances that are signature to each character—Mac Kinnon with his larger than life presence that requires nothing more than an occasional ‘Hmm’ to get his point across; Jesse McCoy with his mannerisms of being a young man outlaw working hard to come into his own. Charlotte Browning; never to be viewed as the damsel in distress, but the reader is reminded often of her soft side when she laments of her undying love for and devotion to the one man she fears she can never have. The phenomenal layers of color Maraziotis paints with artfully placed words and scenes effortlessly grasps the reader’s attention throughout this magnificent story. Ms. Maraziotis knows exactly what she is doing with the release of each book in this captivating saga of epic proportions. The intentional descriptions of towns in a time decades gone by teleport the reader to the moment: "...Nephilim Cove, a town barely visible through the widespread smog and mist, but it stood there in menacing apparition. In the polluting air, and suffocating clouds that clogged the skies in a gloomy gray. A town filled with dismantled wooden cabins, adorned with patched up rooftops and plank-covered windows, clad in glass shards that were scattered about, for every single night there was at least one set of bullets piercing through them..." (pg. 52) With over 700 pages of sheer brilliance peppered across each page, it’s difficult to site one passage over the other to properly capture the essence of Ms. Maraziotis’ true talents. She is by far one of the most masterful writers I have ever had the pleasure to review and simply put, I cannot wait to dive into the next in this series. Well done once again!
Quill says: Ghost will leave its audience with the weight of regret as the pages dwindle in number because another epic read is coming to an end. However, hope will prevail with the prospect that the next book is looming somewhere on the horizon.
For more information on Ghost: A Novel (Loveletting, Book 2), please visit the author's website at: www.christinamaraziotis.com/
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