The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

Shadowing My Dreams (Haunted Hearts series)
By Shane K. Morton
Published by the author 2024
Five stars

This collaboration in the Haunted Hearts series really struck my fancy. It takes the classic m/m trope of the big dumb jock and the skinny little nerd (redhead nerd!) and throws it into a really interesting paranormal ghost mode. So it’s a rom-com, but with ghosts, and a surprisingly thoughtful take on notions of death, life, and even gay history.

The big dumb jock (and I use those adjectives fondly) is Jack Johnson. What makes him special is that he died, briefly, after being hit by a car. That changes him, in more ways than one.

Archie is Jack’s age, but different in every way. He’s never been dead, but he sees the dead. He’s made a good business out of helping people manage their ghost problems, which he discreetly operates from his little hippy shop selling sage smudges and crystals.

Other than the obvious physical differences, Archie is a born spirit wrangler, and has been all his life. Jack, on the other hand, only crosses that line because of his near-death experience. It is that, and his instant connection to the feisty little rehead who he asks to help him with his own ghost problem, that set up the beautifully handled scenario that delves into the spirit realm and transforms both young men’s lives. For all its romantic-comedy tone, spiritual issues are treated not only seriously, but with an eye to the spirits’ own lives and histories. The scenario that unfolds turns out to be heartbreaking, and Shane Morton’s handling of the plot moved me a lot.

There’s more than one happy ending here, in this favorite of mine in the Haunted Hearts series.