Simply Angela : Audiobook Review: Penmort Castle by Kristen Ashley

Cash Fraser is planning revenge, and to get it he needs the perfect woman. So he hires her. Abigail Butler has lost nearly everything in her life and she's about to lose the home she loves.

Cash meets Abby, who is posing as a paid escort, and the minute he does he knows he's willing to pay for more than Abby being his pretend girlfriend. A lot more. Abby needs the money or the last thing that links her to her dead family and husband will be gone. The deal is struck, but both Cash and Abby get more than they bargained for.

Cash realizes very quickly that Abby isn't what she seems, and while he changes strategies, Abby discovers that Cash's legacy, Penmort Castle, is like all the tales say - very, very haunted. Making matters worse, the ghost in residence wants her dead.

Abby's found herself in the battle of her life, so she enlists Mrs. Truman, her nosy neighbor; Jenny, her no-nonsense friend; Cassandra McNabb, white witch and clairvoyant with a penchant for wearing scarves (and lots of them); and Angus McPherson, dyed-in-the-wool Scot (which means he hunts ghosts in a kilt) to fight the vicious ghost who has vowed that she will rest at nothing to kill the true, abiding love of the master of Penmort.

Series: Ghosts and Reincarnation, Book 1 | Publisher: Audible Studios | Narrator: Abby Craden | Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins | Genre: Paranormal Romance | Source: Publisher | Ratings: 4 Cups

Kilts, ghosts, a bossy hot Scot, and a quirky heroine? Yes, please! Seriously, who could resist this one?

Here’s what’s going on. Cash Fraser’s intent on reclaiming his birthright that was stolen from him but he needs a woman to help pull the wool over his crooked uncle’s eyes. When Abby Butler discovers that Cash is willing to pay anything to obtain a woman, she decides to pose as an escort in order to use the money to save her grandmother’s dilapidated house. As time passes, Cash soon discovers that Abby’s not an escort and Abby starts to realize she’s feeling something for Cash. Although if the ghost of Penmort has her way, Abby won’t have time to discover if her relationship with Cash will go anywhere. So, Abby’s motley crew of friends decide to take matters in their own hands and rid Penmort of the ghostie.

Okay, so Cash and Abby were amazing together. They’ve both suffered loss and they’re both trying to figure out how to handle things. Abby’s thrown herself into remodeling her grandmother’s house and Cash is hell-bent on exacting revenge on his uncle and reclaiming his ancestral home. They have some healing that needs to happen and they both have to face things before they can move on.

As most of you know, I have this thing for damaged heroes and Cash is definitely one. He’s broody and totally an alpha male yet he’s also kind, patient, and he takes care of what’s his. Abby’s a tough cookie. She’s not afraid to stand up to Cash and she never lets him off easy.

The relationship was an interesting one. It started out as Abby pretending to be an escort, then developed into something real. The physical relationship was started sooner, but the emotional relationship was a bit slower as they figured things out.

The secondary were interesting and entertaining, yet I found myself hating Jenny, Abby’s best friend. She just rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, she was there for Abby when she suffered her losses, but when Abby was able to stand on her own two feet, Jenny seemed annoyed and some of her actions seemed to me like she did them just to hurt Abby.

So, while this one has a nasty vindictive ghostie, the paranormal aspect was slow to start. It wasn’t until the latter half of the book that things started happening—the first part focused more on the relationship between Cash and Abby—and it worked. I also found the paranormal aspect to be believable.

Okay, so this was my first time listening to Abby Craden narrate and I’m not sure she was right for this one. While I had no problem with her narration of Abby and Mrs. Truman, I struggled when she narrated a character with an accent. And, more often than not, Cash sounded Russian rather than Scottish.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It had humor, serious bits, and hot moments.