Good Spirits by B.K. Borison
Ghost of Christmas Past Nolan Callahan intends to spend this holiday haunting like every other—get in, get out, return to his otherwise aimless existence as a ghost awaiting the afterlife. But when he’s faced with Harriet York, the sweetest assignment he’s ever had, he suddenly finds himself wishing for a future.
Harriet York has no idea why she’s being haunted. She’s a good person—or, at least, she tries to be. A people pleaser to her core, she always does what’s expected of her. But as she and Nolan begin to examine her past, they discover there are threads that bind them together— and realize there might be more to moving on than expected.
With the deadline of Christmas Eve fast approaching, will they find the key to their futures in each other’s pasts? Or will they stay firmly in the present, indulging in their unexpected, spirited connection?
Review: Harriet York is busy running her late aunt's antique store when she comes home one day to discover a man in her home. But he turns out to be one Nolan Callahan, the Ghost of Christmas Past. The only trouble is, neither Harriet nor Nolan can figure out when she's being haunted. Harriet is a good person and a people pleaser, not someone in need of reforming and redeeming. But as they spend time together and examine her past, they realize they are bound together in ways they didn't initially realize.
This was super cute and a really fun, unique premise. The audio version was phenomenal, with dual narration and an Irish narrator for Nolan's perspective. I really liked Harriet and Nolan as people. I also loved the insight we are given into Harriet's complicated family dynamics, specifically her relationship with her mother. Nolan helps Harriet process a lot of her feelings about her mother and come more to a place of peace with the fact that her mother does not respect her choices.
While I enjoyed this, I did think it was a bit overhyped. This has glowing reviews all over social media and it does have a lot of compelling elements. But it did lack some tension for me. Nolan is into Harriet from the beginning. The only impediment to these two people, who are clearly very into each other and ultimately not scared to say so, is the fact that one of them is a ghost. Clearly an impediment! But ultimately the conclusion to this issue felt a little ambiguous and didn't really explain how this was going to be resolved in concrete terms. I feel like the ending is one of those magical scenarios in fiction that you probably should just squint and not examine too closely for maximum satisfaction and enjoyment of this read ha.
I do wish we had gotten more of Nolan's background and history. His life was not really described in a lot of detail, at least not nearly as much as Harriet's complicated family dynamics.
Stars: 4
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