Whispers on the Wind by Donna Fletcher

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With a little bit of free time left before needing to pick up one of my book club books for the month, I decided to continue reading to try to finish the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo. I decided to pick up Whispers on the Wind by Donna Fletcher to cover the prompt ghost. This also worked to cover the Summer of Swoon 2nd board prompt photo cover.

Belinda, Billie has ended up inheriting Radborne Manor in Cornwall. With nowhere else to go, she travels from Nantucket to claim her new home. When she arrives, she finds the manor is haunted by the previous Earl, Lord Maximillian. As she works with Max to figure out why his spirit is unable to rest and move him on, she gets dragged into a plot more dangerous than expected. While investigating in the town and around the manor, Billie meets the new local Vicar John. The more time she spends with John, the more she realizes he would make a good husband and can see a life with him. It's not as simple with Max the ghost stoking the passions within Billie the more time they spend together.

This was such a fun read. First off, I do know that this book isn't perfect, things are pretty predictable and the tension is a little off when coming to the big mystery, but I just had to give this 5-stars. I had such a good time reading Whispers on the Wind and was super excited to read one of Donna's early standalones. I also need to put out there that this is a great book when it comes to early historical romances (this was published in 1997). Yes there is a lot of silliness going on, but I didn't take it too seriously and really loved how everything developed.

Now, this is a little spoilery, but since it happens pretty early on, I do want to touch base on a couple things regarding the ghost situation. The blurb on the back definitely leads this towards a love triangle, and Billie also at times does feel like she's torn between the two men. She immediately questions if he's really a ghost and I love how she played along with Max's scheme. She was very much: if he's a ghost, great we'll help him move on; if he's not, I'll help him accomplish whatever it is that he's trying to do. I loved how she just really wanted to help him. I also loved how she integrated herself in the town. While she did try to adapt a little bit to the English customs, there were times where she didn't care and she was going to continue acting the American way because it made sense. Honestly, my biggest gripe was how many head injuries that poor girl went through. There was mention that one of them left her in bed for a couple weeks, but that poor girl probably will end up with CTE or something. 

I had a lot of fun reading this (I know I keep saying it). This had the same easy readability of Donna's other books, but it definitely had a different feel. Maybe it's because it was earlier published, maybe it's because it's not set in the Scottish Highlands. Whatever it is, I can't urge you more to try this book if you've enjoyed her other books. I'm also happy I was able to find this in paperback a little white ago in good condition! My enjoyment of Donna Fletcher continues!

Have you read Whispers on the Wind?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Whispers on the Wind, Donna Fletcher, 5 stars, 1 day, Paperback, 360 pages, published in 1997, traditionally published