Rating: 
Summary: a modern fairytale indeed!
Review: I read the book twice and I like it more and more. I like the way the ghostplot is interwoven with the contemporay life of Ella. Never did I think of it as forced or wallpaperlike used, the medieval time docks onto Ella's life naturally. In London Ella worked as a restaurator of old books. After she lost almost everything after her first husbands illness and death, she is offered a deal. How Ella fights her way out of some limbo of grief (over the death of her husband) and defends her newly found luck against curses, ghosts and 'real' threats is funny to read. Coming from Austria I enjoyed her wordplays and observations on culture very much . (" The people who could imagine a whole house made of gingerbread are people who know their cakes.") Thank you for this enchanting book !
Rating:
Summary: Outrageously witty!
Review: This light-hearted fairy tale is a delight, largely due to its intriguing premise and the author's fresh and humorous writing style. British author Helen Dela's outrageously witty passages beg to be read out loud and shared. Gothic elements include the labyrinthine untidy castle, several friendly and evil ghosts, a portrait gallery, the unfriendly housekeeper, an enigmatic hero, unrequited love, and threats on the heroine's life. Intrepid Ella's situation and her amusing sense of humor endear her to the reader. Although Rudi's motives may initially put the reader off, he soon develops a sincere attachment to Ella, which the reader will applaud. Snorts of laughter will punctuate the reader's highly entertaining journey from cliffhanger to cliffhanger in this marriage-of-uncommon-convenience tale. Author Helena Dela will definitely develop an eager following in the U.S. if she continues in this vein.
Rating: 
Summary: Cute but short on believability
Review: This was a cute book but by no means was it "great literature." The book kept switching tenses which made me feel like I had multiple personalities. The plot was thin but was okay if you want fluff. The Count in the story was not a man I would dream of for a knight in shining armor...more like rusted creaky armor. He was shallow and not well developed at all. I would not suggest this book as a must read, should read, or might read. However, it's okay as a "Put me to sleep at night" read.
Rating:
Summary: Cute but short on believability
Review: This was a cute book but by no means was it "great literature." The book kept switching tenses which made me feel like I had multiple personalities. The plot was thin but was okay if you want fluff. The Count in the story was not a man I would dream of for a knight in shining armor...more like rusted creaky armor. He was shallow and not well developed at all. I would not suggest this book as a must read, should read, or might read. However, it's okay as a "Put me to sleep at night" read.
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