Ghost of a Chance

It must have been the thigh-hugging breeches, billowing white shirt, and sexy eye patch that made Clara Fergussen lose all inhibition on the first night of her week-long stay in the quaint village of Magnolia Cove. No doubt, her dream lover's pirate regalia was simply the handiwork of her lusty imagination and lifelong fascination with swashbuckling rogues. Her purpose for visiting Frenchman's Island, after all, was to research an article about her infamous ancestor, Captain Sullivan Fouquet: an historical figure who died two hundred years ago alongside his best friend and partner, Tyree St. James, following a duel of sorts. Coming face-to-face with her phantom pirate the morning after, therefore, is a very unpleasant surprise for Clara. Most women, of course, would be thrilled to meet their fantasy lover in the flesh. Not so Clara. Handsome -- oh, all right -- devastatingly attractive as he is, the man is still delusional. A yardarm short of a sail, if you will. He claims to be Tyree St. James, pirate and cursed soul. And while his knowledge of the times and Sullivan Fouquet is impressive enough, there isn't a ghost of a chance that he's a two hundred year old pirate waiting for a curse to be lifted and his soul to be freed. Then again, what does it matter? If she can just ignore his wild theories, and refuse to get involved with his investigation surrounding an arsonist, missing portraits, and two hundred year old journals, Clara is confident she'd enjoy a passionate fling with Tyree -- bygone buccaneer or loopy lothario. Fun, sexy and suspenseful, GHOST OF A CHANCE is the perfect, guiltless time-out from reality (especially if one shares Clara's partiality for commanding men in thigh-high boots). The plot's ghostly elements require readers take a leap of faith, of course, while giving logic the old heave-ho; Nina Bruhns' piratical hero is the stuff of fantasy, however, and will cannily captivate one's oh-so susceptible imagination. (Just so long as readers remain open-minded, and refrain from delving too deeply into the limitations of Tyree's curse). Fast-paced and wonderfully whimsical at times, GHOST OF A CHANCE is something of a departure for Ms. Bruhns, but still contains the author's trademark blend of humor, heart-tugging emotion, sizzling sensuality, and sly suspense. Alas, the story's dangling threads -- involving a secondary character -- beg a sequel, which has forced this reviewer to follow suit: More, please? Reviewed by Cheryl Jeffries for romanticfiction.tripod.com

From the beginning - the telling of the curse on to Clara's reaction of Tyree - to the end you are swept into this story and won't have a Ghost of a Chance of putting this book down. This one is a definite keeper.

Tyree St. James had been cursed by his best friend, Sullivan Fouquet, after he accidentally killed both Sully and his ladylove Elizabeth. Tyree was doomed to spend the next 200 years wandering the earth, a soul caught between life and death, until he found a woman who was willing to die for him. Since Tyree didn't want another death on his hands, he didn't even try to find such a woman. Now, with only a week left to the curse, Tyree is sure that he will be dying and finally figure out if he's going to heaven or hell. Unfortunately, he finds Clara Ferguessen in his bed, and he finds that he doesn't want to die after all, but for him to live Clara must die... Clara Ferguessen, a distant descendent of Sullivan Fouquet, was in Magnolia Cove to write an article about the pirate legend for an adventure magazine. She's shocked to see Tyree lounging in her bed, but he convinces her that he's just a figment of her imagination and they spend an incredible night together. The only problem is, the next morning she wakes up and realizes he's a flesh-and-blood man, even though he's talking crazily about being a 200 year old dead pirate. Still, despite believing Tyree has serious mental problems, Clara finds herself falling in love with him, but Tyree insists their affair will have to be shortlived. But as Tyree and Clara work together to find out who is setting fires to historical houses in the area, Clara realizes she doesn't want a short-term affair. She wants Tyree forever, and she'll do nearly anything to have him. I'll admit it, I'm not usually a big fan of pirate romances. This one, however, was excellent and does much credit to the genre. Tyree was sinfully delicious, and Clara was a pretty good heroine, although she was very resistant towards believing that Tyree might actually be a ghost. Of course, if someone claimed that they were a ghost, I probably wouldn't believe him either! The love scenes were hot, and the tension between Clara and Tyree was amazing. Since the reader really knew that Tyree was a lost soul, the book was heart-wrenching at times as you wonder how this story could ever end happily. My only complaint is that some of the story just wasn't developed well enough, and the ending didn't wrap up all of the loose ends. The fire-setting mystery was pretty anticlimactic, and I was wondering if it was thrown in the mix just so it could be classified as an Intimate Moments romance (which seems to be very open to paranormal stories, much more so than other lines of Harlequin). Still, this book was a great read, and I definitely see myself reading it again in the future.

Two hundred years ago - well actually one week short of two hundred years ago - on Frenchman's Island, Captain Sullivan Fouquet and Tyree St. James, pirates, end up in a fight. The woman they both loved, steps between then to keep St. James from killing Fouquet. Instead, she is wounded and dies. Fouquet fights with St. James, even though he tries to convince his friend it was an accident Elizabeth stepped in front of the bullet. Fouquet does not listen but attempts to kill St. James. He tries to avoid his friends murderous intent, but in the end, he is forced to defend himself. As Fouquet lies dying, he curses St. James to walk the earth for two hundred years - or until he finds a love so strong the lady is willing to die in his place, as Elizabeth did for Fouquet. We jump into the first one week short of that two hundred years, and St. James awakens in a woman's bedroom, well actually it's his cottage and his bedroom - or was - two hundred years ago. But now it belongs to a woman, at least it does for a week. And not just any woman, but Clara Fergussen. It's rather shocking for Clara to find St. James in her bed. He's gorgeous, dashing and claims to be the infamous Tyree St. James, a pirate who lived two hundred years ago. After spending a night in his arms, Clara little cares if he is a 200-year-old pirate or just one sexy man with a slight delusion. Clara is on Frenchman's Island, doing research on the lost pirates treasure St. James and Fouquet had buried, and ends up staying in St. James' Rose Cottage. Clara has a mild obsession for pirates, and secretly harbored a fantasy of having a dashing pirate swept her off her feet and into a high seas adventure. So, she is more than ripe to fall for the sexy pirate with the eye patch. Only, St. James is determined to keep Clara at arms length. He only has one more week to go before he is released from the curse. If he let's her into his heart, he knows the curse will claim her, for to love him means she is willing to give her life for his. It's a delightfully whimsical tale that enchants the reader from beginning to end. Yo ho ho and a bottle of fun!