User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street by Karen White is a 2019 Berkley publication.
A Christmas present for Tradd Street fans!! Melanie is not exactly in the holiday spirit- so to speak- mainly because she’s harboring a secret from Jack, which is a big no-no, and she knows it, despite all of her rationalizations.
She’s also dealing with renovations, an ongoing mystery, a bit of sibling rivalry, Jack’s publishing woes, and her constant craving for sugar.
But, when it comes to her attention that there is the possibility of lucrative treasure buried somewhere on her property, and that her arch enemy is trying to locate it, she plunges herself into a revolutionary aged mystery full of intrigue and heartbreak, as she desperately tries to hold on to everything she holds dear.
I just love this series! Melanie is such a human character- she’s realistically flawed, conflicted and maybe a bit damaged, but I still root for her even when I know she's headed for trouble. While I understand all this about Melanie, sometimes I think people are too hard on her, dismiss her, or take her for granted- which is why I suppose I still feel sympathetic towards her despite her self- sabotage.
This installment has some truly interesting history, which was right up my alley. In fact, the mystery is one of the best in the series, in my humble opinion.
However, the conclusion left me breathless and heartbroken!! AARRGH! I hope we won't have to wait too long for book seven!!
Overall, I’m thankful for this holiday edition of one of my favorite series!!
Rating: really liked it
As a huge fan of this series, I was very much looking forward to this book. And while the mystery itself was compelling and well written as always, I find myself losing patience with the main characters. Jack and Mellie are middle-aged with small children at this point. I hope the author will stop placing their relationship in peril as a device to keep bringing readers back for the next book. It is disappointingly manipulative to the reader and makes these two "adults" very unlikeable.
Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.
Rating: really liked it
It’s no secret the Tradd Street books are one of the few series I’ve kept up with from start to finish. I simply adore Karen White and can’t miss a book, though I do have a few standalones saved for good measure.
Melanie is back and celebrating Christmas with her husband and twin babies. At the same time, a Colonial era cistern is being excavated from her garden. But since this is Tradd Street, there are ghosts…
…and the cistern has many that are now in Melanie’s house, and they aren’t really holiday (friendly) ghosts!
…also, there are more relics to be found and cherished on Melanie’s property.
The mystery was the strength of the book! I loved it, and it truly came to life. Each little piece of the puzzle came together in a way that was just right.
The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street was another wonderful visit to this historically rich and vibrant setting, and I loved that the holidays were sprinkled in for a special twist.
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
Rating: really liked it
I'll probably still keep reading them, but this one wasn't my favorite. I enjoyed the mystery part, but Jack and Mellie's relationship is getting annoying, and the ending felt pretty abrupt with a lot of unfinished business. Also, I could do without the constant references to everybody in Mellie's life trying to stop her from eating sweets...just let her eat a freaking donut once in a while.
Rating: really liked it
I didn't realize this was sixth in a series, but it worked out fine. The author did a nice job of filling in the backstory. Really enjoyed the Charleston, NC setting with the history.
Karen White has an easy writing style that allowed me to enjoy this Tradd Street mystery. The quirky characters, roaming spirits and "ghost" mystery were entertaining.
Now waiting for the next!
Rating: really liked it
After reading my first Tradd Street series book, I was not only hooked on Karen White's writing but on the series itself and the best part, is that the series keeps getting better and better as the characters grow, sometimes in painful, very realistic ways. The ghosts are creepier, the mysteries even more solid, and the relationships and bonds more endearing.
I adore everything about this series and while Melanie sometimes frustrates me with her thought process, she is an endearing character who's growth is very much true to how most of us actually grow and learn, with lots of mistakes and bumps and bruises along the way.
And while I can't say that I loved how this ended, with so much left unsaid, undone, and unfinished, I did adore the whole book and all the scary moments and happy things that did occur along the way.
It reminded me all over again, why I love this series and will continue to read it and look forward to each new installment and hope that many more are still in the works and will be out there to devour because this is definitely a series that you will want to devour once you have started it. I can't recommend it enough for those that love a good bump n the night story and mystery that will keep you interested, turning the pages and on the edge of your seat in both anticipation and chills with what will come out of the dark next.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
Rating: really liked it
I didn't realize this was sixth in a series, but it worked out fine. The author did a nice job of filling in the backstory. Really enjoyed the Charleston, NC setting with the history.
Karen White has an easy writing style that allowed me to enjoy this Tradd Street mystery. The quirky characters, roaming spirits and "ghost" mystery were entertaining.
Thanks to NG and the publisher for my review copy. This one published on October 22, 2019
Rating: really liked it
Involved and crazy! Did Not like the ending. She needs to mellow out, be a parent and wife.
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This new book picks up right where the last Tradd Street story left off. Ghosts are hanging around trying to tell a story and making themselves well known enough that you just have to listen.
One thing that did catch me off-guard and kind of bothered me a bit is the fact that the main character is constantly overwhelmed and constantly surrounded by other people.
Whether they’re digging in her yard, trying to steal her house from her, or volunteering her home for progressive dinners, I was exhausted reading about all of the activity. Not to mention relatives you can’t help but hate!
It also made me a bit sad because Melanie never seems have time for the children and her husband which caused a huge rift. That lead to an ending that was less than ideal for me.
A positive note is that the story is packed full of history and mysteries of the American Revolution and the town of Charleston. From crypts and mausoleums to creepy happenings going bump all times of the night and day, the exciting twists do keep you going page after page.
Entertaining and fast-paced, this is one Christmas story that will captivate you all the way through.
* copy received for review consideration
full review - https://amidlifewife.com/the-christma...
Rating: really liked it
THE CHRISTMAS SPIRITS ON TRADD STREET is the sixth book in this series, though I haven't read any of the previous ones. It probably wasn't the best idea to start here, since I felt like I was missing a lot of backstory for the characters & their relationships. I love a good ghost story, though there was nothing particularly Christmas-y about the spirits Melanie was dealing with. The Revolutionary War mystery was rather intriguing, and though the plot was slow in parts, the ending was exciting.
I've read and loved several stand-alone novels by Karen White, but this one was so-so. I'll probably read the first Tradd Street book & decide then how I feel about the series. ♥
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
3.5 stars rounded down
I've really enjoyed this series, but I feel like it's the same thing over and over and over again... Everyone keeps sweets away from Melanie. Melanie and Sophie just make fun of each other's clothes. Melanie and Jack continue to lie and keep things from each other. Melanie is in a snit over something. It's gotten old. If there wasn't just 1 book left in the series, I honestly don't know if I'd continue with it...
Rating: really liked it
It's difficult when you're invested in a series and the books start to degrade but that seems to be the case with the Tradd Street books. There is too much repetition and no real development with the main character . . . she likes sweets, I get it . . . she's OCD, I get it . . . she wants to pretend that she doesn't communicate with spirits, I get it. The descriptions of Charleston and the curiosity to see what will happen have kept me coming back, and I'm sure I'll read the final installment when it comes out, but honestly, this series should have ended after book 4.
I received an advanced copy of this title from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Oh. My. Freaking. Word.
(BEWARE: Spoilers ahead.)
(Big, fat, rant-filled spoilers)
(So much ranting.)
Basically this entire plot can be summed up like this:
Everybody who knows Melanie constantly goes out of their way in every scene, on every page of the book, to let the poor woman know that she is always and forever NOT GOOD ENOUGH. "Don't eat so much sugar!" "Run and exercise like we do!" "Matching clothes and being super organized is very anal and lame-not to mention harmful for your children!" "Join more social groups!" "Volunteer and fill up your already very busy life with what we think you should do!"
Point out that Melanie's recently discovered sister has a better relationship with Melanie's own parents than she does.
Throw in a few scary ghost scenes, but mostly just talk about Melanie shivering or feeling like she is being watched or having sinister forebodings. Add a tiny historical mystery that doesn't take up too much room or add much to the plot. Talk more about how a friend has the ghost of a dead sister hanging around, but don't solve that.
Mention often that Melanie's scheming cousin wears too much pink. Talk about Christmas parties and cards just a little bit.
Have the husband Jack lament often on how Melanie (who was abandoned by her mother and raised by an alcoholic father) doesn't trust him, which hurts him so badly because he will never, EVER leave her.
End with Jack moving out of the house and leaving Melanie because she doesn't trust him to always be there.
Make sure the mother (who abandoned Melanie for decades) points out that this is Melanie's fault because she is a flawed, flawed person.
Ta-da! The end.
Why did I read this thing? The previous installment in the series didn't leave a good taste in my mouth so why did I pick up this one?
That, friends, may be the biggest mystery connected to this book.
Rating: really liked it
I loved finally getting to go back and visit Melanie, Jack and the twins. I was so excited for another Tradd street story and for the most part I wasn’t disappointed. I loved seeing the twins older and getting into mischief and I enjoyed getting back to the other supporting characters. I also found the mystery to be delightful. It was well done and rich in history and full of creepy ghosts and a really creepy setting. Overall it was a pretty great book.
*Spoilers Ahead*
The one thing I didn’t like, and was even mad about, was the ending. The epic relationship disaster between Melanie and Jack felt like a ploy to get me to read the next book and was not necessary. I also watched Melanie struggle with becoming a better person for the entire book, only to lose it in the end? There was enough drama and tension without that and it made me angry. I love this series and I’ll still read the next one but I’m going to be annoyed at that ending for a while.
Rating: really liked it
I'm sorry to say that this book is not as good as the previous books in this series. Many of the characters, particularly Melanie, have become caricatures. Melanie has evolved into a character that is even more judgmental and shallow. The way she talks to her friend Sophie about her fashion choices is uncomfortable to read.
Her relationship with Jack is an illogical mess. Leaving that mess (and Jack's career issues) unresolved was annoying, as was the lack of resolution for the secondary mystery. Perhaps that mystery could have been it's own book.The storylines that were left hanging were presumably left that way for a subsequent installment, but it felt incomplete to me.
Rating: really liked it
What a fabulous book! Is it a ghost story? Is it a Christmas read? Is it a mystery? Is it historical? The answers are yes, yes, yes, and yes! Karen White has brilliantly woven together threads of ghosts, holiday cheer, intrigue, and history. I have not read the previous books in the series and that was not a problem at all, but now I am anxiously waiting for the next. This book was such a puzzle. I loved piecing it together with the characters along with all the history involved. Loved getting to know Melanie, Jack, and the entire family. The setting of Charlotte North Carolina was perfect. I really loved the combination of spooky ghosts and festive vibes. An entertaining story filled with quirky characters and a compelling storyline.
This book in emojis. 🎄 👻 🧩
*** Big thanks to Berkley for my copy of this book ***
