Series: Ghosts of Rowan Vale #1
Publication Date: 28th March 2025
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Cozy Paranormal
3.7 Stars
One Liner: Liked the ghosts more!
When single mother Callie Chase visits Rowan Vale on a school trip, the last thing she expects is to see ghosts. Turns out, the elderly Sir Lawrence Davenport, the village head can also see them and has been their keeper for years. He even offers to sell the place to Callie for a teeny sum so that she could be his successor.
After much hesitation, Callie agrees. However, becoming the new owner of a village filled with humans and ghosts is easier said than done! Can she handle the responsibilities? Will the ghosts accept her?
The story comes in (mostly) Callie’s first-person POV and the third-person POV of another character.
My Thoughts:
This is the first book in the series, so it takes some time to set the stage and introduce us to various characters, living and dead. The cast is pretty large, so you may want to make notes.
The ghosts are pretty quirky and have distinct personalities. In fact, I liked them more than some of our living folk! Florrie is a little monkey, though you can’t help but fall in love with her.
While it took me a lot of time to warm up to Callie, I loved Immi pretty soon (not at the beginning but when she gets a dialogue). I tried my best to empathize with the FMC but it wasn’t easy. Though she has good intentions, her approach is a bit all over the place.
Immi, on the other hand, is a delight to read. I so wished she would have more space in the book. She sometimes acts like a tween but is a really lovely girl. Mia is another character I like a lot.
Bordie is the male main lead though I didn’t see him as anything other than a trope – the handsome brooding guy with a soft heart. Good that romance isn’t central to the plot and I read this for the ghosts. Otherwise, the rating would have tanked.
The pacing is uneven. The first half is spent on the setting but quite a few things happen in the second half. This doesn’t leave space for the romance to develop organically. Since this is any way to be a series, maybe we could have limited this one to attraction and ended it in a slightly different manner.
To summarize, Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall has an interesting premise and even more interesting ghosts in a beautiful village. It deals with important themes like self-esteem, found family, friendships, etc. I’m curious to see what the next book will deal with!
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
#NetGalley #KindredSpiritsatHarlingHall