Review: Haunted on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase

Haunted on Bourbon Street 
by Deanna Chase

Genres: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

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Jade loves her new apartment-until a ghost joins her
in the shower. 

When empath Jade Calhoun moves into an apartment above a strip bar on Bourbon Street, she expects life to get interesting. What she doesn't count on is making friends with an exotic dancer, attracting a powerful spirit, and developing feelings for Kane, her sexy landlord. 

Being an empath has never been easy on Jade's relationships. It's no wonder she keeps her gift a secret. But when the ghost moves from spooking Jade, to terrorizing Pyper, the dancer, it's up to Jade to use her unique ability to save her. Except she'll need Kane's help-and he's betrayed her with a secret of his own-to do it. Can she find a way to trust him and herself before Pyper is lost?

Haunted on Bourbon Street introduces Jade Calhoun in a well thought out manner. A new transport to New Orleans, Jade finds that her apartment over a coffee shop and strip club is haunted. As the story progresses, Jade finds out more about herself as well as the supernatural around her. It combines everything from witches, ghosts, empaths, and even angels to bring New Orleans and all the tales you hear of it to life. In a fast pace finale, Jade must utilize her own inner gifts to save the day and that she does.

This book was suggested to me while I was looking for something similar to the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Luckily for me, it was free on Amazon and immediately loaded to my Kindle. I have two faults with this book, so I'll go ahead and get them out of the way. 

As so many other leading women in stories as of late, Jade struggles to see her own beauty. And she's absolutely dumbfounded that her landlord has any interest in her. It's constantly reiterated about how hunky and hot this said landlord is. And it isn't until they get together that she perceives herself as beautiful, and only then worthy. I dislike that mentality so much. 

My second annoyance was with the speed of the story. As I said, the ending is very fast paced. The start up of the book is very slow. A lot of time is devoted to world building, which I do appreciate. The book was able to make me feel like I was in the midst of New Orleans on numerous occasions. But the pace was slowed because of this until bam! There's everything you've been waiting for in the span of a few pages. I wish more time and detail would have been devoted to the finale to flesh it out more and give the reader a more immersing experience.

All of that aside, it is a very good and quick read. Deanna Chase knows how to make you feel like a part of her story. And I love how she built her characters so well. Even with the minor characters, I felt like I connected with them. If you enjoy paranormal mysteries with a sprinkle of romance, this will definitely satiate your needs.

I will definitely be recommending this book. Though it's a quick read, it's a brilliant introduction into the Jade Calhoun series. I cannot wait to continue following Jade's adventures!