Verity's anger is mixed with her vulnerability of feeling not good enough and lonely for her own scattered family so she pushes Ellis to go to his family party and she mopes alone feeding her bitterness and anger.įortunately, this is when gangster Frankie's antics and the sweet love of her pet skunk keep her from going full on depression. Ellis does not disagree that his mother is out of line and has verbally challenged her before, but he is also stuck in a hard place between love and loyalty that is complicated because family is involved. Verity always knew that Virginia detested her, but this latest snobby stun right on the eve of Christmas has Verity deciding enough is enough. Virginia Wydell, her boyfriend's mother has gone her length. It is standalone, but has more meaning and makes more sense when gotten in order. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a novella and is #8.5 in the series. With a drop of Dickens and the author's own charming Southern Ghost Hunter world, I was dazzled as usual. Her very happiness is riding on this one. Verity and Frankie are back with a new ghostly adventure, but this time there is a lot more riding on her figuring out how to help the ghosts than she could have imagined. My thanks to NetGalley and Moose Island Books for a complimentary advance copy of this title. For me, this was the first gift of the Christmas season. The author has a gift for keeping her character human rather than unbearably snarky, and the explanations of how Verity acts with the spirit world are original and entertaining. This kept the story light and airy, full of fun and peppered with Verity’s quick and sassy thoughts and verbal responses. This was accomplished through snippets here and there, eliminating the need for a gigantic information dump. Fox handled it with such care that I didn’t catch on until the third spirit appeared (although the title itself should have been a big clue).Įven though I have not been what you might call a dedicated fan, it was easy for me to understand what was happening as Ms. The story is a generous nod toward Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Ms. The author’s main character, Verity Long, has more of a personal mystery to solve as the book centers around the people in her life rather than focusing on the usual case that she might have to solve. I questioned the “Book 8.5” notice on the cover and wondered what that meant. Perhaps this latest offering, “The Ghost of Christmas Past,” will set me back on that path. Finding it enjoyable, I made a mental note to purchase the next book in the series, but never did get around to it. This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fairĪ while back I stumbled upon a book titled “Southern Spirits,” the first in author Angie Fox’s Southern Ghost Hunter series. That being said I really enjoy this somewhat cookie series and particularly enjoy Frankie because he’s just so irreverent which is always fun. To me Ellis feels weak and I always just want him to take more of a stand. My only issue is Ellis as I just feel Verity deserves more. ![]() I thought at its heart this was about families and how it’s all too easy to become disconnected and it was a very timely message that although not pushed on the reader did make me pause. I know the title gives more than a nod to a rather famous story by a certain Mr Dickens but I honestly didn’t connect this until Verity met her final ghost. ![]() Still it’s Christmas Eve and Verity is off to a family party so what could possibly go wrong ? Well her future mother in law has a surprise in store and then there’s an old friend who turns up but as it’s Christmas could Verity be in line for even more ghostly visitors ? Her relationship with her boyfriend Ellis has recently come under strain as not only does he have an interfering, controlling mother but Veritys work frequently puts her in danger. Verity is a southern girl with charm and courage aplenty and together with her curmudgeonly and definitely non PC resident ghost Frankie she’s frequently helping both humans and spirits to find answers and hopefully peace. This novella is such a timely addition to this series because as I’m writing it’s November so all the Christmas feels are more than welcome.
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