*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author, Boldwood Books and Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources blog tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: The first in a delightfully warm, cosy and romantic new series with a fantasy twist, for fans of the BBC series Ghosts.
Can Callie give some needy ghosts their happy-ever-afterlife, while making Rowan Vale her own forever home?
When single mum Callie visits Rowan Vale with her daughter, she is enchanted. The beautiful Cotswold village is run as a living museum, allowing tourists to see history in action. But there’s more to the place than meets the eye…
To the residents’ surprise, Callie is observed talking to several villagers she simply shouldn’t be able to see – as they’re ghosts.
The elderly owner of the village, Sir Lawrence Davenport, then makes an astonishing offer: to sell Callie the whole estate for a tiny sum, if she agrees to protect the village’s present tenants and its headstrong spirits.
With a spectral lord of the manor and his imperious wife, a naughty 1940s schoolgirl and William Shakespeare’s former tutor among them, it seems Callie’s role as owner wouldn’t be easy.
And that’s without the added complication of Sir Lawrence’s disinherited grandson, the gorgeous Brodie.
Rowan Vale and Callie may need each other. But is this a match made in heaven or hell?
Fans of the BBC’s Ghosts, or books by Lucy Jane Wood, Laurie Gilmore and Heidi Swain will love this heart-warming and magical novel.
I wasn’t sure what I expected from this book, which promises a cross between the BBC comedy Ghosts and a cosy romance, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it!
All of the characters, dead and alive, are either engaging or very interesting, and the strange set-up of the village of Rowan Vale, Harling Hall manor and the very peculiar inheritance attached to it offered lots of little mini-mysteries to solve along the way.
To some extent, the budding romance between Callie, who can reluctantly see and speak to ghosts, and Brodie, who can’t but really wishes he could, takes a back-seat to the stories of the ghosts themselves and the new found family that is tentatively beginning to form between the hall’s inhabitants, old, new and very old. Personally I actually preferred it that this was a cosy paranormal fantasy with a romantic sub-plot, rather than vice versa!
As the first book in a series, there is inevitably a little bit of a slow start as the author sets about establishing the characters and setting, and how the ghost village set-up works, but all of the family background, parenting troubles and tricky first impressions kept me reading to find out more about everyone and really hoping they could all see beyond each others’ surfaces. And it ends with an intriguing teaser or two hanging ready to be picked up in the next instalment.
All-in-all, I found this a really solid series starter for any cosy ghost fans who like a bit of cosy romance with their spectral shenanigans, and I am very keen to read on and find out more about the Ghosts of Rowan Vale!
Purchase Link: Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall on Amazon
About the author
Sharon Booth writes feel-good stories set in quirky villages and market towns, including the ‘Tuppeny Bridge’ series. Sharon writes cosy romances with a magical twist for Boldwood. She lives with her husband in East Yorkshire, England.
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Don’t forget to check out the other blog stops on the tour for more great reviews and content (see the poster below for details)!
