Sebastian's Castle by Lisa DeVore (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Friday 56 (today is 56% from the ebook) is hosted at Freda's Voice &
Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Amazon Description 

Being married to a cop is hard, being the widow of one is harder. After Brynn Austin’s husband, Nate, was murdered in an undercover operation, there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the gang leader who killed him. Brynn refuses to let him kill their dream to renovate an old Connecticut castle. But her plan is hampered by a ghost who’s not ready to give up his home.

Contractor Jaxson Maddox signs on to renovate the old castle that’s sat empty for years. He didn’t believe the rumors about the place being haunted. But that was before he met the resident ghost. What Jax didn’t sign on for was trouble in the form of falling for the beautiful widow, dealing with a pesky ghost, and risking his life when a threat from Brynn’s past surfaces. He’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, even if it means becoming a ghost himself.

Ramble

It's highly unusual for me to be contacted by an author previously unknown to me asking if I would be interested in reviewing something for them. It's even more unusual for me to say yes. When I got a message from Lisa DeVore, though, I immediately said yes and suggested (my inner voice was begging a bit) her March 2017 release, Sebastian's Castle. 

It's got a castle... and mystery... and a ghost. Was there really any chance of me not wanting to read it?

Brynn Austin is moving from Brooklyn to Mystic, Connecticut in order to work on renovating a castle into a bed & breakfast. It was a dream for her and her husband, Nate, before he was killed while undercover for the NYPD just over a year prior. Now she's trying to move on and see their dreams become a reality ... but aside from changing location the whole "moving on" bit is proving difficult. They were never able to prove who killed her husband and it's been eating away at her.

Also unable to "move on" is Sebastian Morgan -- the man who had originally built the castle for his wife, Helena, in 1898. She mysteriously disappeared and he died in 1936 under a cloud of suspicion that perhaps he had killed her.

When Brynn and her contractors start working on the house, Sebastian tries to scare them off but is a bit intrigued by Brynn (and the fact that she can see him) and, well, the place could use some repair work so he lets them stick around.

I know that most people who read this will probably be more wrapped up between the "will they/won't they" romance that starts between Brynn and contractor Jax, but for me that paled in comparison to her relationship with Sebastian. They formed such a wonderful bond and she insisted on helping him with his moving on -- and he was determined to help her do the same. 

It's a wonderful story and, at just shy of 200 pages, was perfect reading for a couple of rainy days curled up under a blanket!