Rating: 3.25🌈

A Dash of Halloween by Andy Gallo is a short cute instant love romance for the spooky holidays.  A sort of paranormal cozy mystery with a romantic theme, it’s got a small town that’s devoted to the holiday of Halloween in every aspect.  A newly arrived resident, fleeing a bad situation, and huge haunted mansion and its gorgeous owner. Who is in need of help. 

The characters of new resident, Dash  Reeves and ghostly manor owner, Slate Blackwood, are charming.  There’s a woman bestie and ghosts behind the scenes.

The romance between the two men happens too fast for me without the necessary emotional development I want but Gallo supplies an argument for the relationship and connection that happens so quickly.   At 28k things move pretty rapidly along to a dramatic ending and epilogue.

This was short and entertaining. 

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Andy Gallo

Blurb

When software engineer Dash Reeves accepts a too-good-to-refuse job offer in Oriskany Falls, he expects small-town quirks. What he doesn’t expect is a town obsessed with Halloween, or the mysterious and charming Slate Blackwood, whose family’s haunted house attraction draws visitors from miles around.

Slate has spent years hiding his family’s dangerous secret behind staged scares and special effects at Blackwood Manor. But when Dash appears at his gate one autumn evening, Slate recognizes something special in the handsome newcomer – if only he can convince the relationship-shy engineer to take a chance on love.

As Dash and Slate grow closer, the veil between worlds begins to tear. Spirits long trapped in darkness seek escape, threatening to overwhelm the living. Dash discovers he shares Slate’s gift for communicating with the dead, but will their combined powers be enough to prevent catastrophe? With Halloween’s Blue Moon approaching and malevolent forces gathering strength, they must find a way to seal the breach between worlds – or one of them might have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

A Dash of Halloween is a charming 28K word paranormal MM romance novella featuring:

– A Halloween-obsessed small town with real magic

– A cynical engineer who doesn’t believe in love (or ghosts)

– The charming medium who changes his mind about both

– Family secrets

– A guaranteed happy ending

– Sweet romance that leaves the bedroom door closed

Perfect for fans of cozy paranormal romance who love their ghost stories with a side of slow-burn love and small-town charm.

• Publication date: October 28, 2024
• Language: English
• Print length: 118 pages