By Joss Wood
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Right off the bat I’m going to say I’m being quite generous with my review here because this is the coziest of cozy paranormal romance books and I have no idea why I keep thinking I want to read these books only to complain that NOTHING IS HAPPENING throughout the book. That’s totally on me and not a reflection on the quality of the book. For a cozy romance it hits all the right notes – adorable small town, hot female protagonist “Wren” has a lifetime of hurt in her heart, comes back to the town she grew up in for a break from her hectic life. Meets hot, out of place professional trauma surgeon “Dale” (did I mention hot? he’s really hot) who is new to the town so he stands out but also fits right in among the local crazies. He is also holding on to deep hurts, that are very manly emotional issues. These two characters are drawn to each other like no other hot and hot character has been drawn to each other before. They have to navigate the crazy small town shenanigans and then overcome their own emotional inner turmoil and decide if they are each other’s endgame. Also, they are both really hot.
It’s a Hallmark movie in a book. The small town is a vacation town, where the population doubles in the summer with the cottage and vacationing families and the town has leaned into this by creating a big “Summerween” festival where it’s Halloween all summer long. Actually all year round, but the summer is for the tourists. See, for reasons, there are a lot of paranormal activities that are connected to the town, with ghosts and supernatural activities that bring in all the witches, so home to a coven or two. And people either believe in ghosts or they think it’s all a fun schtick that puts Solstice Springs on the map. Business and tourism make good money so no one really complains about it, and there are a handful of unbelievers in town, so you can spend an evening in the local dive bar where ghost talk is forbidden.
I happen to live in a town that is a hub for a large cottage area, so I know what exactly means to live in a town that grows in the summer, full of tourists and even has a festival dedicated to our local catfish, who’s large statue welcomes everyone to town. That’s where the similarities end though, and that’s probably for the best. No one really wants to read about what it’s really like to live in a small town.
The best part of the book are the local ghosts that watch everything, gossip and generally try to interfere in the affairs of our lead characters. They are a motley group of ghosts from various eras of the town’s history. Some of the more sensitive residents can see and even interact with the local groups, but our main couple refuse to believe in ghosts, even if there are many unexplained coincidences. I actually love the ghost chorus which elevates this romance to something that warms my cold, cynical heart. When I finished I realized that it was actually the plot from “The Ghosts of Motley Hall” a BBC TV show from the 70s, that released a novel that I read many, many times in my young life.
OK, away from my complaints and reminiscing, as far as cozy romances go it’s got all the right parts. The author doesn’t pretend to make the story any more important than a cute romance, with the third act breakup not at all surprising; the reader knows that there is a great unspoken to how our couple is going to navigate the end of the summer and the return to their big, global hopping lifestyles. There is a large cast of side characters, including our ghosts, but also Wren’s childhood friends, the town’s teenagers and her godmother who is the mayor and a witch and overall charismatic and indefatigable force of nature, plus the other town characters who believe or don’t believe in the paranormal around them. There is also plenty of coffee drinking. For those readers that want a cozy small town romance with a slight paranormal edge, then go for this novel. There will be future novels featuring other members of Wren’s circle and even I might pick up to continue the story of Solstice Spring and its resident witches and ghosts.
