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This is one of those books that I can't really find any fault with--I really loved how the character arcs were interwoven, and it was a phenomenal "traditional" haunted house story (it reminded me a lot of the original B&W The Haunting film), but it just felt a little meh to me. I'm not even 100% sure I could put my finger on it. Maybe it's partially because I don't really like historical fiction as a general rule? Again, technically, the writing was fine, and I don't have any complaints. It just didn't really grab me, and it's not like I'm super excited for the next book.

Recently, I read a review (for another book) by a gay man complaining about how often female M/M writers don't fully understand the dynamic in a male homosexual relationship, and he mentioned particularly how "off" the roles of who's the Top vs Bottom, etc., can be. It's actually something I think about a lot (maybe because I'm a writer? I don't know) but it definitely struck me in this book and actually pulled me out of the story completely, even zapping the sex scene for me.

(view spoiler)[The whole book, Vincent is portrayed as the (sexually) aggressive one, and despite being "told" that Henry is controlling, I never really felt that in the book. He struck me as a little bit more submissive (at least when it came to sex) and especially with his backstory of being "used" by Isaac, I really thought he would be the bottom. Of COURSE a Top could be used in the same situation, where he's very young and is manipulated by an older man. I'm not saying that's not possible. What I am saying is that everything about Henry screamed bottom (or at least switch) and everything about Vincent screamed Top, and yet when they finally have sex, Henry is the Top and Vincent is the Bottom. And that whole scene just broke for me. It felt ridiculous and unbelievable and I just couldn't buy it. Again, I'm not saying that a Bottom has to be meek or a Top has to be aggressive, but I don't know if I've ever read an M/M book where I was struck so heavily with the dissonance as I was in this book. In fact, IF Henry was as controlling out of the bedroom as he supposedly is, I could easily see him being the type to enjoy "giving it up" during sex as a break from constantly having to be in control. (A common psychological phenomenon.) Also, it felt like Henry was constantly going to Vincent for support, and not the other way around. Not saying that the Top has to be an alpha either, but that was another thing that really just struck me and made me go, huh? There was just nothing about Henry that told me he would be the "dominant" one in bed, or anything about Vincent that said he'd be the "submissive" one. (Notice the quotes here.) I guess maybe it was a characterization issue, or maybe I'm just insane. But it really struck me, which is why I felt it was worth mentioning. (hide spoiler)]

Long story short, while this was a pretty good example of the genre, and I admire the multicultural aspect (especially considering the time frame) I just didn't get into the book the way I have with others. I really liked the unique psychic ability (Vincent "tastes" ghosts), but I just don't see myself getting too excited to read further books in this series.

Also, it was a little irksome to see the trope of (view spoiler)[the BUTLER DID IT, which I pretty much figured out early on (I also figured out that Miss Devereaux was trans, but that was a nice twist, especially considering the time period) and the way the bad guy reveals everything at the end. God, I'm so sick of that. (hide spoiler)]

All in all, if you really enjoy the "haunted house" genre, you'll probably enjoy this book. Otherwise, you may want to give it a pass.

Note: I also thought A Casual Weekend Thing did a much better job with the Native American/White paring than this book did, if that's something that interests you.