[Review] Making Merry by Kerrigan Byrne
Sprightly Victorian spinster, Vanessa Latimer, is stranded for the holidays in the Scottish Highlands by a relentless winter blizzard. She takes refuge at a centuries-old inn where the only available room is haunted by the ghost of a warrior who fell at Culloden Moor.
One who refuses to give up his side of the bed.
Johnathan de Lohr awakens to find a siren bathing in the chamber of sorrows that keeps his restless spirit imprisoned. Though he’s the ghost, John knows that the captivating woman will be the one to haunt him.
Unless they can figure out a way to set his tormented soul free.
My thoughts: When I saw a friend talking about a historical romance involving a ghost, I immediately had to go download it. This is actually my first time reading Kerrigan Byrne, and even without any prior Goode Girls series knowledge, I enjoyed this novella so much that I know I will be back to read more Byrne in the future.
What a fun premise for a book. Vanessa, focused on travel and photography, definitely doesn't need a man to make her way in the world. Luckily for her, she finds the ghost of a man instead.
Byrne gives readers the best of both worlds in this one. We get the paranormal elements, but we also get the seemingly impossible romantic elements you'd expect in a historical romance. I won't give away how we manage to get both elements so I don't spoil the plot, but I highly enjoyed the story in this novella.
John and Vanessa had such a fantastic back and forth throughout the story. Both characters may not be front and center for long considering the length of the novella, but Byrne gave them both tons of personality. Even as a ghost, John is an easy leading man to fall for; his past troubles only gave him much-needed depth and dimension.
A quick read, this was definitely at the crossroads of historical romance and paranormal romance and I couldn't put it down.
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Release date: 12/1/20
Format: ebook
ebook obtained via: Kindle Unlimited
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