A sweet and funny spin off from Vawn Cassidy's Dead Serious series.

The Haunted Hotel focuses on the residents (both living and corporally challenged) of Asthon House, an old hotel up in Yorkshire. If you're familiar with the authors' Dead Serious books, you might recognize the place as the location of the infamous murder mystery weekend in book 4.
The story is set just a few weeks later, showing the behind the scenes of running and trying to save the old hotel.

Ellis is the receptionist/waiter/maid/event planner of the hotel. He's a ray of sunshine who always has kind words to everyone and loves the hotel and all of its residents with all of his heart. His character really is a breath of fresh air. I hope to see a bit more serious side of him, but so far, that only comes about in glimpses. I hope his character is rounded out in the books to come.
He, along with the resident ghosts, is on a mission to figure out how to save the hotel from financial trouble.
I liked that Bertie and the other ghosts were quite integral to the story. This book is definitely not a mystery, but it is a paranormal romance as there are quite a few ghosts, and they do show themselves to the employees, especially Ellis. Bertie has her own chapters showing her and the others' shenanigans. They try to save the hotel, deal with a ghostly investigator auditing their hauntings, and help Ellis fall madly in love with Morgan.
Morgan, who is the owner's grandson and who hasn't stepped foot in the house ever since he and his mom moved away after his dad's death. In my opinion, Morgan is the most developed character so far. We get to know him and his past through several conversations with his brother, his memories of the place, and also his granddad's stories. His struggles with fitting in with his stepdad and brother, his repressed memories about Ashton House from when he was little and his tentative conversations with his estranged grandfather all depict a clear picture of him that is sweet and heartbreaking at the same time. His grumpy exterior hides a very soft and loyal inside that comes out in spades during his stay in the hotel.

The one thing that is a bit lacking in the story is the romance between Ellis and Morgan. While there is much physical attraction, I didn't get the vibe of them connecting on a deeper level. I hope to see them getting to know each other a lot more thoroughly in the continuation of the story because so far, their fledgling fling is very superficial and lacks any kind of substance.

The story is written to amuse and entertain. It's full of funny and heartwarming scenes and characters that bring a very cosy vibe to the book. It's definitely a cosy, paranormal romance book that is lighthearted and fun. I smiled a lot, I teared up at scenes and, all in all, really enjoyed myself while reading it.
I started this book with great expectations after adoring the Dead Serious series and all other books related to the universe so far. This one is a fun little branch out from the original story with little lighter undertones. It's got humour and fantastic living and ghostly characters that we are used to from the author. It hasn't quite reached my expectations in terms of the romance, but I see where the story is going next, and I can't wait to read more.

* I received a complimentary copy of this book to share my honest review.*