October is the perfect month to read scary stories, and Ruby Hill definitely fits the bill. Check out my review below, and don’t forget to enter to win awesome prizes that were a part of the Ever After release day celebration. The rafflecopters can be found here; there are still a few days left to win!
Title: Ruby Hill
Author: Sarah Ballance
Genre: paranormal romance
Published: 2013
Pages: 57
Format read: ebook
Rating: B+
Crime scene investigator and skeptic Corbin Mallone resents the fact that his boss has tricked him into spending the night babysitting a group of paranormal investigators at Ruby Hill asylum, the scene of his own brother’s death six months earlier. Real murders have been committed there of late, and in his opinion the ghost hunters are only going to pollute the crime scene. Then he finds out that his ex-girlfriend is leading the paranormal team, and his day gets infinitely worse.
Ruby Hill is in Ashley Pearce’s blood. Her grandmother served as a nurse there, and even died of a heart attack on the premises. Her great-grandfather was its founder and first head administrator. She’s not afraid of the old asylum’s ghosts, but its human history has long been a source of unease. Though she and Corbin were polar opposites on the paranormal front, it had never mattered where their relationship was concerned. Their connection had been deep and lasting–at least it hsd been, up until Corbin’s brother’s untimely death within its walls.
Now they’re both back at the place where their relationship ended. And they’re definitely not alone….
Ruby Hill by Sarah Ballance was deliciously creepy. I loved every spooky minute of it, and was darn glad to be reading it during the glaring light of day. I might, however, re-read it some night in the not-so distant future, in honor of the season. It’s the perfect length for a late night impulse read.
The romance was nicely done here. Somehow, even though it was less than sixty pages long, Ruby Hill felt like a complete story in a way that many novellas fail to achieve. Just enough of Ashley and Corbin’s past relationship is revealed to inform the reader without it turning into an info dump. Their return to each other is handled well, and the story has just the right amount of steam in it.
All in all, this was a satisfying read. I’ll definitely be looking for more from this author. B+ rating.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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