REVIEW: A Ghostly Gift by Angie Fox

Title: A Ghostly Gift (Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #1.5)
Author: Angie Fox
Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Publisher: Moose Island Books
Publication Date: January 2020
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Verity Long doesn't want to see ghosts, and she'd rather not let anyone know her little secret, either. But when a restless spirit stirs up trouble in her friend's resale shop, Verity and her very new, very dead gangster friend team up to learn what is really happening.

They discover an age-old secret and must learn the truth behind a mysterious disappearance…before it's too late.

My Thoughts: The next installment of the Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries is a very short novella with Verity and Frankie investigating some paranormal disturbances at a vintage resale shop. Verity isn’t sure if working with ghosts is something she wants or is cut out for. Her boyfriend, Ellis would likely have a problem with it. So, she doesn’t tell him and even Frankie isn’t that enthusiastic about this assignment either.

During her initial investigation, Verity meets the ghost of a WWII soldier who is looking for the woman he planned to marry when he returned from the war. Unfortunately, he never returned and he cannot find her on either the immortal plane of existence or on Earth. He is desperate for Verity to find her and tell her he always loved her and still does. The ring he gave to her has been sold to the resale shop and he wants Verity to give it back to her.

This story was very short and I paired the reading with the audio which was narrated by Tavia Gilbert. As with the first book in this series, she does an excellent job bringing all the personalities of the various characters to life. This story is packed full of action despite its short length and the only issue I had with this story is that Lucy, Verity’s pet skunk, does not make an appearance.

My Final Verdict: This story got me a little misty eyed and I always love a happily ever after, even for ghosts. I highly recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries and ghosts

Thank you to the publisher, Moose Island Books, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

REVIEW: Jane in Love by Rachel Givney

Title: Jane in Love
Author: Rachel Givney
Narrator: Billie Fulford Brown
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: October 2020
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Time Travel Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: A charming, romantic debut novel in which Jane Austen, heralded author, ends up time-traveling almost 200 years in the future. There she finds the love she's written about and the destiny she's dreamed of...but is it worth her legacy?

Bath, England, 1803. At 28, Jane Austen prefers walking and reading to balls and assemblies; she dreams of someday publishing her carefully crafted stories. Already on the shelf and in grave danger of becoming a spinster, Jane goes searching for a radical solution—and as a result, seemingly by accident, time-travels. She lands in...

Bath, England, present day. The film set of Northanger Abbey. Sofia Wentworth is a Hollywood actress starring in a new period film, an attempt to reinvent her flagging career and, secretly, an attempt to reinvent her failing marriage. When Sofia meets Jane, she marvels at the young actress who can’t seem to "break character," even off set. And Jane—acquainting herself with the horseless steel carriages and seriously shocking fashion of the twenty-first century— meets Sofia, a woman unlike anyone she’s ever met before. Then she meets Fred, Sofia’s brother, who has the audacity to be handsome, clever, and kind-hearted.

What happens when Jane, against her better judgement, falls in love with Fred? And when Sofia learns the truth about her new friend Jane? And worst of all, if Jane stays with Fred, will she ever achieve her dream, the one she's now seen come true?

My Thoughts: As exciting as the concept of time travel sounds, the consequences of altering the past and thereby changing the future are just too horrific to contemplate. The world would suffer an immense loss if Jane Austen never wrote and was never published. I thoroughly enjoyed this cautionary tale of how this could happen should Jane Austen find herself over two hundred years in the future.

The world knows the biography of Jane Austen, a woman born way before her time in a period where women had no rights, no voice and earning an independent wage was unthinkable for any woman of genteel or moral breeding. In Jane’s day, women not only were expected to marry (and marry well), but anything beyond that and society was scandalized. Unfortunately for Jane, at nearly thirty years of age and no marriage prospects on the horizon, despairs of ever finding a husband and having a family. She fears she will become a spinster and burden to her family. When Jane is given an opportunity to find her one true love, the last thing she expects is to travel over two hundred years into the future.

Unfortunately for Jane, she has traveled into the future before she drafts her novels so the longer she stays in the present, the more risk she faces of erasing her work and, ultimately, her legacy from history.

I loved this story and seeing the world through Jane’s eyes. Her shock at the changes she sees in Bath were realistic and I felt immense empathy for her as she tries to navigate modern London on the tube and escalators attempting to find a way back home. Her rapt fascination with all of the modern conveniences surrounding her was refreshing to behold. I also loved the supporting characters of Sofia Wentworth and her brother, Fred. Their willingness to help a stranger and their acceptance of Jane’s circumstances and her true identity were heartwarming.

This is my first time reading this author, I really loved her voice, and her description of Jane felt accurate. I am now deeply interested in reading more from this author as well as Jane Austen’s books. I paired the reading of this book with the audiobook format. The audio performance by Billie Fulford Brown was exceptional and gave me a lot of insight into Jane’s character and personality as well as the dilemma she faces with the difficult decision she has to make of whether she should stay or return to 1803.

My Final Verdict: In theory, time travel sounds exciting but the reality is dangerous and should only ever be attempted with great caution. I highly recommend this story to fans of time travel, who I believe will thoroughly enjoy this story as well as fans of Jane Austen and readers of historical and contemporary romance.

Thank you to the publisher, HarperCollins, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

REVIEW: How to Mend a Broken Heart by Anna Mansell

Title: How to Mend a Broken Heart
Author: Anna Mansell
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: March 2017
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: When Rhys is called to the hospital to meet Susan, a woman he barely knows, he is compelled to help her. Still grieving the loss of his brother months earlier, Rhys knows all too well the feeling of loneliness.

There are years between them, but Rhys is the only person Susan will respond to, and when she asks him to bring her most treasured possession, a book of fairytales, he is intrigued.

Hidden in the book is a clue to Susan’s past, and the painful regrets she carries with her. And as Rhys starts to unearth Susan’s secrets, he finds that his own grief begins to heal too...

Together, Susan and Rhys must learn to live again. Can they help each other to find happiness and finally mend their broken hearts?

How to Mend a Broken Heart is a heart-wrenching and absorbing story about second chances, forgiveness, and making every second count.

My Thoughts: This book may trigger some readers as the topics of suicide, depression, adoption and loss are a part of the story. This story made me feel all the feels learning about Rhys and his grief over losing his brother, meeting Susan and the life she lived and the loneliness she has felt throughout her life and Kat, struggling with the loss of her long term relationship and insecurity in her skills as a newly promoted ward nurse at the hospital where Susan is brought after her accident. I felt immense empathy for these characters and how this story would play out.

Rhys’s connection to Susan was confusing in the beginning as it appears she is a former customer of his plumbing business. She has no other family member or friend listed in her address book other than Rhys. His confusion about being called felt realistic and his reaction and sense of wanting to help was heartwarming to see.

Through the majority of this story, Susan is nonverbal and the only person she demonstrates a reaction to is Rhys. I felt a lot of confusion about this character and wondered what happened to her in her life that has made her isolate herself. As the story continues and more was revealed, it broke my heart and I cried numerous times.

I admired Kat, the nurse overseeing Susan’s care at the hospital. I felt an immediate connection to her. She is healing from a breakup of her five year relationship and feels immense uncertainty in her ability to perform at the new expected level that comes with her pending promotion. She also demonstrates an immense compassion for all of her patients. Her concern for Susan exceeds what would normally be considered as just doing her job.

I loved these characters and felt like I was walking alongside them rooting for them and crying at the pain and loss they have been given. This story flowed at a wonderful pace and I love this author’s voice. This was my first experience with this author and I am looking forward to reading more from her.

My Final Verdict: A book that tells a moving story with characters that a reader can connect with and empathize with cannot be recommended highly enough. In addition to readers who enjoy women’s fiction, this story will appeal to fans of general fiction and contemporary romance as well.

Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.