Gothic Romance

The Architect of Song By A. G. Howard

A self published novel by A.G. Howard.  This will be a new series (sort of) called the Haunted Hearts Legacy, in the New Adult category.  There will be four books that will be placed in the Victorian era, will be heavy on the romance, but will not share characters or plots, (as far as I can tell).

Here is the summary from Goodreads:

A lady imprisoned by deafness, an architect imprisoned by his past, and a ghost imprisoned within the petals of a flower – intertwine in this love story that transcends life and death.
For most of her life, nineteen-year-old Juliet Emerline has subsisted – isolated by deafness – making hats in the solitude of her home. Now, she’s at risk to lose her sanctuary to Lord Nicolas Thornton, a twenty-seven-year-old mysterious and eccentric architect with designs on her humble estate. When she secretly witnesses him raging beside a grave, Juliet investigates, finding the name “Hawk” on the headstone and an unusual flower at the base. The moment Juliet touches the petals, a young English nobleman appears in ghostly form, singing a song only her deaf ears can hear. The ghost remembers nothing of his identity or death, other than the one name that haunts his afterlife: Thornton.
To avenge her ghostly companion and save her estate, Juliet pushes aside her fear of society and travels to Lord Thornton’s secluded holiday resort, posing as a hat maker in one of his boutiques. There, she finds herself questioning who to trust: the architect of flesh and bones who can relate to her through romantic gestures, heartfelt notes, and sensual touches … or the specter who serenades her with beautiful songs and ardent words, touching her mind and soul like no other man ever can. As sinister truths behind Lord Thornton’s interest in her estate and his tie to Hawk come to light, Juliet is lured into a web of secrets. But it’s too late for escape, and the tragic love taking seed in her heart will alter her silent world forever.

At least from the reviews on Goodreads, this appears to be one of those books that you either hate or love.  I’m not sure what the hater’s issues are with this book, because I thought it was wonderful.  Beautifully written, great characters, and a very interesting plot.  This book reminded me of the drug store romances I used to read when I was twenty something, but oh so much better written!  Plenty of heaving bosoms, a dark and mysterious nobleman, a dark and mysterious ghost lover, and of course lots of misunderstandings and hidden truths. A.G. Howard is a master at bringing characters and stories to life.  Visit her website at http://goldenorbpress.blogspot.com/  to learn more about this series and why she chose to self publish. She made the following book trailer as well and it is pretty good.