Happy Friday, all! I have something extra special for you today: a brand new release from one of my very favourite people, Aletta Thorne. I mean, a sexy ghost story set in the ’80s (and just in time for Halloween!) β yes, please! Excuse me while I dig out my hair gel and crimping iron. IsΒ Bartles & Jaymes still a thing?Β π
The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins by Aletta Thorne
Available: October 27, 2017
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-77339-466-4
Halloween, 1982. MTV is new, poodle perms are the rage, and life just might be getting better for Alma Kobel. Her ugly divorce is final at last. Her new job as chef at Bright Day Schoolβs gorgeous old estate is actually fun. But the place is hauntedβand so is Almaβs apartment.
Bartholomew Addison Jenkinsβ ghost has been invisibly watching Alma for months. When he materializes one night, Alma discovers Bartβas he likes to be calledβhas talents she couldnβt have imagined β¦ and a horrifying past. Can you have a one-nighter with a ghost? And what happens if you decide one night is all you wantβand end up ghosting him? Some spirits donβt like taking βnoβ for an answer.
[Read an excerpt]Where To Buy:
β½ Amazon
β½ Evernight Publishing
Excerpt:
βYouβll turn over the record. Oh, because youβ¦β
βI do like to keep up. Who poured you wine from the β¦ refrigerator? Although, I donβt understand why people of your age prefer it so icy.β
Alma followed Bart into the living room, still wondering why things didnβt seem odder than they were. She remembered the Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons sheβd seen as a little girl. This ghost was actingβwell, perhaps a bit more flirty than friendly. He only glowed a bit as they walked through the dim hallway that connected her rooms. You can hardly even tell heβs translucent. What had he seen of her, though? She was glad her frustrating night with Sid had been at his place.
As Bart bent over the turntable and flipped the record, the reading lamp by her couch highlighted the silver buttons of his coat. She curled up on the couch and put her wine glass on the glass-covered orange crate sheβd turned into a coffee table.
Bart sat beside her, suspiciously close. He put an arm over the back of the couch, and Alma shook her head again. Thatβs the old sneaky-arm trickβlike a high school kid. Itβs kind of cute. She pulled her legs up under herself, and they quietly listened to the music.
βYouβre right,β she said after a few minutes. ββFountainsβ is really good, too. I almost never listen to that side.β
Bart made a quiet harrumphing noise.
Do ghosts clear their throats? Apparently so.
βDear lady,β he said. βAlthough I do try not to snoop, as you would say, I have indeed observed your solitude. Let me assure you, your life will soon be happier.β He slid even closer to her.
Okay. Now the ghost is absolutely coming on to me. This is really happening. Oh, hellβwhy not? Heβs not badβfor a dead guy.
βUm, Bart?β she said. His eyes really were a startling colorβalmost bronzeβ¦ βYou canβt actually beβ¦β
Bart set his fingertips on her cheeks, looked into her eyes, and sighed. Then he smiled. βYou think this is a ridiculous situation. Itβs not ridiculous,β he said. βNot at all. Allow me to demonstrate β¦ with your permission, mβlady.β
Somehow, that was funny, and Alma giggled. βGranted.β
Bartβs hands were impossibly soft and gentleβand his touch had some of the same fire-and-ice buzz that sheβd felt before in the kitchen when heβd tried to get her attention. He guided her lips to his, and gave her what would have been a tiny peckβfrom anyone else. It shot a bolt of fire straight through her.
βOh,β she said. It took a minute to get her breath.