The Ghost of a Chance by Natalie Vivien

When Darcy Morrow’s beloved soul mate, Catherine, has a fatal accident, she’s shocked and beside herself with grief. Haunted by the woman she loved so dearly and lost, Darcy has no time for the gorgeous nurse, Alis Baker, her mother in law hired to care of her. Darcy is out of her mind with her pain and loss.

Alis Baker, is alluring and beautiful. Her blue eyes and healing touch begin to break through Darcy’s hard protective shell she’d built around her. Alis is determined she will be the one to help Darcy overcome her grief, the one to be there for her, come what may. Alis herself is hiding a dark secret, will this destroy any chance she has of helping Darcy?

Darcy finds herself unable to resist Alis’s charms any longer. As their passion rises, both Darcy and Alis have choices to make.

Will Darcy allow a relationship to begin with Alis, or will she let a ghost from the past interfere and destroy her second chance of love? Will Alis be able to leave her past behind her to pursue her chance of love with Darcy? Or will outside influences wreck her chance of true love?

This is a well written, wonderful, haunting story of love, loss, acceptance, healing and finally finding love once again. I was pulled into the story from the very beginning and hooked right through to the end. A real one sitting page turner, full of twists and turns and ups and downs throughout. I loved the scenic wintery descriptions. Natalie Vivien has the art of showing the reader, rather than telling the reader what they are seeing.  

From the title and the synopsis, I knew the book would be based on grief, the supernatural and romance. But, this story is far more than simply a haunting and grief with a romance thrown in. Natalie Vivien has written Darcy and Alis’s story with a great deal of thoughtfulness and added a most unexpected storyline. It isn’t full of angst and turmoil, but shows the stages both Darcy and Alis go through to come out the other side on top.

Both Darcy and Alis are multi-faceted, well developed characters and are backed up by some equally as engaging secondary characters. Portia the cat is a special character deserving of a mention. I especially liked the way Catherine’s ghost interacted with Darcy. There are twists and turns throughout that kept me rushing through the pages until I reached the end. I’m not adding in any spoilers, so I won’t say any more about the actual story.

I really enjoyed this story and highly recommend the book. It’s vastly different from the usual supernatural books I’ve read before. It’s a book that made me think, if only this could really happen. If only we could have one more chance to connect with our loved ones.

I’m looking forward to reading more from Natalie Vivien soon.