With The Beck Sister Hauntings series, Charish Reid has entered a new phase, and I love it. I’ll Come Back for You and I’ll Conjure for You are creepy, atmospheric, funny, heartfelt, and spicy. Horror isn’t my preferred genre, but I’ll follow an author I trust out of my comfort zone. Mix in romance and it’s expectation of a Happily Ever After, and I’m willing to test my anxiety tolerance.
Whitney and Helen Beck have inherited their late grandmother’s bed and breakfast in upstate New York. Whitney has had a career in hotel management and Helen is a chef, but something isn’t right at the bnb. Though their mother didn’t like to talk about it, their grandmother was a witch who could see and talk to spirits. Other than the family attitude towards ghosts, if you think you heard something, no you didn’t, Whit and Helen are not prepared to deal with a ghost who is driving their clients away. Helen calls in professionals, TV paranormal experts on a cable show called Ghost Punters, a retired NFL player and his cast/crew, to exorcise the ghost. There are some problems with this plan:
- The Ghost Punters show is faked and the experts are not equipped to deal with a real ghost.
- The camera man, Deon, is Whit’s crush and English tutor from high school.
- A snow storm is about to cut them off from help.
- The ghost is malevolent and getting stronger.
The ghost of an angry white man does it’s best to terrorize everyone, and fixates on Whit as the weakest link. Whitney is dealing with emotional aftermath of a natural disaster combined with human error. She’s not as confident as she deserves to be and the ghost plays on that.
Whit and Deon have a lot of unexplored feelings for each other, and their burgeoning and hopeful romance lightens the creepiness of ghostly activity. As a call back to the days when Deon tutored Whit in literature, he seduces her with poetry.
I liked I’ll Come Back for You quite a lot, and I think I’ll Conjure For You is even stronger. After the ghost is dealt with, Helen decides to explore her witchy heritage. Her grandmother’s friend and fellow practitioner comes to stay for a bit to train Helen, and brings her a familiar, a rabbit named Henry. Helen is struggling with the ADHD curse of wanting to be good at something but not loving the process of getting good at the craft. Meanwhile, in town, Everett has been pining for Helen, but he’s not sure how to approach her. His grandmother suggests he take her a pie.
Helen and Everett start talking to each other when he happens on her first successful solo magic ritual, which binds them in a lust fog, and then Everett realizes his grandmother bought some haunted furniture at a yard sale. Creepiness ensues.
Charish Reid knows her classic tropes. She gives us two that I don’t often see in contemporary romance, the “get naked to share body heat for survival” maneuver, and a virgin sacrifice. Helen and Everett are a wonderful couple and I would read a series centered on them dealing with the supernatural and making food.
The Beck Sister Hauntings are small town witch contemporary horror romances. Delightful even in spring time. No bunnies or dogs are harmed in this series.
I received an advance reader copy of I’ll Conjure for You from the author. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.