If You're Haunted, Flaunt It

Lucy Ashcroft can see and communicate with dead people.  High school was brutal for the “Ghost Gabber” everyone thought crazy, and she has never forgotten how mean “mean girls” can really be.  After years of living away, however, Lucy comes back to care for her beloved but eccentric grandma.  And, who else would be haunting her but the spirit of her nastiest high-school nemesis, Darla.  After dying from allergic complications after Botox treatments, Darla is now determined to atone by setting Lucy up with the town’s hottest hunk, Jackson Merritt.

Between keeping her grandma in line, trying to get rid of the “Darla” problem and figuring out why Jackson is so interested, seeing ghosts is suddenly the least of Lucy’s problems!

What a humorous, fun escape!  Too often, stories that incorporate humor end up becoming overly wordy.  The humor has nothing to do with the plot-line and is added at the story’s expense, feeling contrived rather than organic.  Ms. Saracino rides that line quite well.  There were conversations that felt added just for the sake of getting a laugh but for the most part, it flowed very nicely.  Lucy was a delightfully sympathetic heroine; Jackson was a hunky, yet believable hero, and Darla! She was the icing that gave this story the added oomph of enjoyment and created the perfect foil/friend!   Grandma was a bit cliché, using the over-employed eccentric, flamboyant trope that wasn’t really needed considering the richness of the other characters. Still, this light-hearted love-story is the perfect medicine after a hard day!

Ruth Lynn Ritter