Return to Tradd Street by Karen White

Return to Tradd Street by Karen White
Published by NAL Trade
Review copy provided by the publisher

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I love Karen White’s books, and the Tradd Street series in particular is one of my favorite things (as a whole) that she’s done. So when I learned she was coming out with another book about Melanie and Jack, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to read it right away. Warning – this will contain spoilers for the first three books in the series.

The book begins with Melanie, sick in her first trimester of pregnancy, and utterly devastated at the fact that she and Jack are not currently together (not that she’d ever admit that, of course). After Melanie declared her love for Jack, and he responded with “thank you”, she turned down his marriage proposal. Of course. So now she’s alone, again, in this big old house she’s renovating, when yet another ghost comes into the picture and demands answers – and Melanie, as always, answers the call and begins hunting for clues to solve this new ghost story.

I have yet to be disappointed by Karen White and this new installment of the Tradd Street series was another hit with me. I love the dynamics between Melanie and Jack – just when I think I’m over their bantering back and forth and not being honest with one another about their feelings, another book comes out with the exact same dynamic and I’m hooked once again. I just love these two! Add to the picture them having a baby together and things just got crazy, in the best possible way.

The ghost story in this book was another good one, the fact that it was about a mother and baby was that much more relevant to Melanie as she is pregnant and then gives birth herself over the course of the novel. The ghost was truly speaking to her, mother to mother, desperate for Melanie to uncover the secrets of the house’s past and let the ghost go “home”. The way the truth of what happened to this ghost was revealed was done slowly and expertly, as White knows how to do perfectly.

I absolutely loved the ending to Return to Tradd Street, and although it ended in a way that suggests White is finished telling Melanie and Jack’s story, there were a few hints at the very end that suggest that might not be the case. I would of course love another book about them, but I also feel satisfied with how this book ended so I’d be okay with the series finishing with this book. Either way is good with me!

I highly recommend this series of books for a combination of ghost story, historical old homes, romance, and a main character in Melanie that you can’t help but love, frustrating as she may be at times. Highly recommended – but start with the first book if you haven’t read the rest of the series!