A Ghostly Affair

By: Joshua Griffith

Narrated by: Molly Bolton

Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Daniel Powell has been living in a small cabin on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, never able to leave it because of a dark entity keeps his spirit trapped to be tormented. Anytime people come to reside in his cabin, he does what he can to run them off before the shadowy thing can get its deathly hold on them.

Brianna Monk and her boyfriend find themselves in the same predicament, evicted and no place to call their home, and their relationship is on shaky ground. With the aid of their parents and realtor, the couple finds the cabin in the middle of the forest that comes with many amenities and at a cheap price. Rumors swirl around that the quaint shack is haunted, which causes Brianna's curiosity to discover if it's true.

Can the couple coexist in the haunted cabin, or will the shadowy thing mark their souls for torment like Daniel?

©2021 Joshua Daniel Griffith (P)2022 Joshua Daniel Griffith

I liked the story.

I liked the story. But the narrator killed it for me. The way the narrator voiced dialogue between the characters was so juvenile it completely derailed the rest of it.

Great short story

The beginning was hard to get interested in. The small details to understand what was going on came into the story around chapter 9 instead of chapter 2. I am sad the story ended where it did and want a few more chapters.

Three Stars...

I chose this one because I wanted to listen to a romance (not erotica) while I was at work. So, I was a little bit disappointed when “erotica” interrupted my listening. At the beginning, we are supposed to be back in the 1800s but the dialogue didn’t seem to match that day and age, but I pushed past that and listened on.

The book then enters present day and immediately refers to the main character as a witch over and over without explaining why first. Needless to say, I was confused, but I pressed on because it was engaging enough to be interesting. The constant bickering and fighting of the characters in it annoyed the crap out of me. I know why it was in there, but it just seemed to be too much.

The “romance” wasn’t a slow build over time. The first time they communicate she lets him fondle her. And… she uses the word fondle. “The reason you’re able to fondle me…” which is just weird.

Much of the book seemed like an impromptu education about her powers and the elements around them. It confused me that such a “powerful” woman would stay with such an awful man… saying that she didn’t have a choice because he at least provided the extra money she needed. It seemed a woman like her could make money just banishing spirits.

I feel like this book could have been really great but it missed a few opportunities to expand on. The narrator did well with the voices of the women, the witch, and perhaps the demon, but the men all sounded like “slow” brutes. Overall, it’s okay for a distraction.

Not enough visual detail...

I started reading this story, wondering what was happening. I made it 30 minutes in and gave up. The first chapter was confusing, I wasn't sure what time period I was in. The context gave one impression, and the speech syntaxes gave another. It just felt off.

I really like visual details in the stories I read. I enjoy being wrapped up in the surroundings of the story and the feeling of "being there." That's not something you get with this one.

The performance was okay. However, I felt it was read a little too fast in some places, and pauses should have been added for dramatic effect in other places.

Fast paced

Barianna and her boyfriend move into a cabin that has a history of supposedly being haunted. Justin, her boyfriend is a jerk, in so many ways. I cringed in the beginning and was ready to stop listening as the boyfriend had no redeeming qualities and I couldn’t see why Brianna would stay with him. The story picks up when a ghost named Daniel is added. I love the voices, especially of the bird, which made me laugh every time you hear it. The book is definitely worth it.