Mini Book Review: Haunted Hotel by Vawn Cassidy
Okay, so I just finished the book, Haunted Hotel by Vawn Cassidy, and I’m here to report that I had an absurd amount of fun reading it. The kind of fun where you keep telling yourself you’ll stop after “one more chapter,” and then suddenly you’re blinking at the clock like it personally betrayed you.
This book is spooky in that delicious, storybook way—creaky hallways, odd little chills, and a hotel that feels like it’s holding its breath. But it’s also warm. And funny. And kind of oddly romantic in a way that made me grin like a goof.
I loved it. Full stop.
The Setup: A Moody Old Hotel With a Very Active Afterlife
The premise is exactly the kind of thing I can’t resist: Morgan Ashton-Drake gets pulled back to his ancestral home in Yorkshire after a suspicious death and a very public scandal at the family’s old place—now known as the Ashton-Drake Manor House Hotel. Morgan has built a life in the States, running a hotel empire with his brother, and you can tell he’s the type who treats “rest” like a suspicious concept. The man is allergic to slowing down.
So of course he has to return to England, face the past, deal with the family mess, and step into a building that basically screams, “I have secrets and also possibly ghosts.”
And yeah. There are ghosts.
Morgan Ashton-Drake: Grumpy, Capable, and Definitely Not Here for Feelings
Morgan is the kind of character who walks into a room and you can practically hear the crisp snap of his self-control. He’s competent, a little tightly wound, and clearly carrying some emotional baggage he’d rather keep locked in a drawer labeled Do Not Open Under Any Circumstances.
I love characters like that—especially when the story gently pokes them until they finally crack and act like a human.
He’s not thrilled to be back. He’s not thrilled about the hotel’s problems. He’s definitely not thrilled about things getting personal.
Which brings us to…
Ellis Sparks: Sunshine in Human Form (With Chaos Sprinkles)
Enter Ellis Sparks, who has worked at the hotel since he was sixteen and loves it like it’s part of his bloodstream. He’s optimistic, earnest, and the type who can probably talk a grumpy stranger into smiling through sheer persistence.
The author’s description calls him a “seriously cute little blonde disaster,” and honestly? That feels accurate.
Ellis is trying to keep the place running, trying to keep it from closing, and trying to wrangle a hotel that comes with… extra residents. He’s the heart of the book for me. He made the setting feel lived-in, like this haunted manor isn’t just a spooky backdrop—it’s a home people care about.
Matchmaking Ghosts: Yes, Really
Now let’s talk about the part that made me laugh and also weirdly emotional: the resident ghosts decide that the best way to save the hotel is to keep Morgan around… by nudging him toward Ellis.
Is it meddling? Absolutely.
Is it entertaining? Oh, completely.
The haunting here isn’t just “oOoOo scary noises.” It has personality. It has intent. It has attitude. And it adds this playful layer to the story where you’re not only watching Morgan and Ellis collide, you’re also watching a bunch of unseen troublemakers basically go, “We’re helping. Do not question our methods.”
I enjoyed the supernatural elements because they felt integrated into the story’s emotional engine. The ghosts aren’t tossed in as window dressing. Their presence shapes the stakes and the mood and the way the characters are forced together.
The Romance: A Touch of Gay Sweetness (and It Works)
Yes—there’s romance, and it’s M/M. Not the entire point of the book, but it’s absolutely part of the reason it works so well.
Morgan is the grumpy workaholic with his walls up. Ellis is the cheerful ray of sunshine who keeps poking those walls like, “Hi, I’m not scared of you.”
Their chemistry builds in a way that felt natural to me. It’s not insta-love whiplash. It’s more like watching someone slowly realize that the thing they’ve been avoiding—connection, softness, choosing a life instead of just a job—might actually be what they’ve needed all along.
And because the setting is this creaky, haunted manor hotel, the romance lands with extra charm. There’s something about tenderness in a spooky place that hits just right.
The No-Spoiler Plot Talk
Plot-wise, you’ve got Morgan returning under bad circumstances, a hotel on the edge of closing, and a whole lot of strange activity that doesn’t want to be ignored. Morgan has to decide what he’s going to do with this place—emotionally and practically—while Ellis is doing everything he can to keep it alive.
There’s also that “suspicious death and scandal” thread hanging over everything, which gives the story a nice bite of tension without turning the book into a grim slog.
I can’t say much more without tipping too far, but the pacing kept me moving, and the book never felt like it was stalling out. I stayed curious the whole time.
Vawn Cassidy’s Track Record With Me
I’ve read other books by Vawn Cassidy, and I’ve enjoyed every one. This one fits right into what I like about their writing: characters with personality, a story that knows what it wants to be, and a vibe that balances spooky with genuinely enjoyable.
Also—and this matters to me—this is the start of a series, and I’m definitely continuing. I finished Haunted Hotelalready wanting more time in this odd little world and more of these characters (and yes, more ghostly meddling).
So, if you like haunted houses disguised as hotels, grumpy/sunshine dynamics, and paranormal mayhem with a sweet thread of gay romance running through it, put this one on your list.
Anyway, that’s my check-in from the Ashton-Drake Manor front desk.
What happens when the heir to a kingdom is bound by the curse of the wolf? For Prince Norian, the answer comes with blood, fire, and the terrifying knowledge that dark magic has singled him out. As shadows close in, he must protect his people from an enemy who will stop at nothing to seize the throne. Danger, destiny, and deadly secrets entwine in Norian’s Gamble.