Robin’s Rave Reviews 2026

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS/MULTI-GENERATIONAL – MAGICAL REALISM – DARK ELEMENTS – ATMOSPHERIC – OLD MANSION – FAMILY SECRETS – SMALL TOWN SOUTHERN FICTION

PAPER GHOSTS by Sarah Addison Allen is a story about the search for love, the consequences and regrets caused by reactionary choices and actions, and how secrets follow us, impacting future generations. It revolves around cyclical family dysfunction.

Book Summary

Alice Wester, the matriarch of the founding family of Hen Town, North Carolina, has an unnerving knowledge of the sins of the people who live there, and she uses it to her advantage. When she whispers into someone’s ear, everyone knows she’s manipulating them through blackmail. But how does she know? Whether her “knowing” is a gift or a curse, the small community has nicknamed her the Witch of Wester House as a result of it.

The story begins in the mid-1970s with Alice and her granddaughter, Willamena. Alice is raising her granddaughter with an iron fist of control. The exception is that Willamena is allowed to choose her own friends. In high school Willamena is part of The Feathers (a group of girls who were the first in their school to feather their hair, a nice nod to the time period). Alice tries to control Willamena’s future, expecting her to take Alice’s place as she ages. Alice expects Willamena to stay in town after graduation, marry the man of Alice’s choice, live in the family mansion, and inherit the family money. Willamena falls for a travelling musician who represents a different life with freedom and adventure. She plans to run away with him…but Alice knows everything. The conflict between them escalates, and Willamena realizes her friends have betrayed her.

Years later, Willamena is now the matriarch, alone in her mansion, but with the same “gift” as her grandmother. After Willamena’s son graduated from high school, she sent him away to escape the trap of this small town. Unfortunately, when his wife dies, he’s left a single parent. Willamena agrees for him to come home with his five-year-old daughter, Bailey. Willamena keeps her distance, not wanting to repeat the actions of her grandmother. However, she does interfere by controlling Baileys’ circle of friends right away. She doesn’t want her to experience the betrayal she did. Bailey wants to know her elusive grandmother better, but she only sees her once a week for tea, even though they live in the same house.

Willamena has kept the secret behind her gift, not wanting Bailey to follow her path, but Bailey suspects she’s different. Bailey has a difficult time fitting in and ends up hanging on the edge of the mean girl group at school. Although she isn’t mean, she doesn’t stand up for anyone being targeted either. People leave her alone because her grandmother is the Witch of Wester House.

Bailey, who never dated, dreams of being in love. She makes a mistake on graduation night at a bonfire, setting off a series of traumatic consequences, not all of her own making. Her choices lead her into trouble when she discovers the boy she’s fantasized about is more like his reputation than the idea she created of him. The consequences of her mistake matched with her gift have the potential to be more of a true, dark curse, so her grandmother sends her away to protect her.

Bailey returns eight years later because her grandmother is ill. Bailey has questions she needs answered before it’s too late to ask. Her grandmother reveals she chooses to be tied to the house because of her first love. Bailey’s tie would be much darker, but Willamena has a plan to free her granddaughter.

My Thoughts

I’m a big Sarah Addison Allen fan, so I was excited to read the ARC of her newest book, PAPER GHOSTS. The story hooked me and kept me hooked. I devoured it in two days, which would have been one if I’d had more time. I love how she uses cozy, small-town settings but sprinkles in magical realism. She has a wonderful way with words, creating descriptions and comparisons that are often poetic and always observant. For example, she writes, “…she knew she wasn’t sophisticated, knew it the way you can know the meaning of a word but not how to pronounce it.” I even enjoy her little details like describing a car parked on the curb, “ticking as the engine cooled.”

I loved the first portion about Willamena growing up. However, I felt jarred when the story suddenly switched to Willamena being the grandmother. I wasn’t expecting the time jump. I was so involved in Willamena’s teen story and simply wanted more. After a bit, I connected with Bailey’s story and enjoyed it as well. Although Willamena’s story is tragic, Bailey’s adds a darker element. I kept reading, wondering about the “gift” and how these women know what they know. When the story finally disclosed the how, it made total sense (in a magical realism sort of way).

Willamena talks to Bailey about an old photo and tells her, “Photographs are paper ghosts. They’re the only ghosts everyone can see.” It wasn’t until I finished the book and considered that photos didn’t play a big role in the story that I looked at the quote again. It hit me that I needed to place the emphasis on the word ‘everyone.’ The explanation was right there the whole time, once I knew where to look. The book already explained the “gift,” but the quote made sense in a different way by the end.

These aren’t characters you’ll love to love, but they grow on you as you see why they make their choices based on their experiences. Sometimes you want to shake them and yell, “No! Don’t do that!” Friendship and the pursuit of love seem to create chaos and disaster in this family. So if you like a good family drama with a touch of the supernatural (without the scare factor), PAPER GHOSTS may be for you. Although it reaches toward gothic, it’s lighter than a true gothic tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this novel. The opinions are my own.

PAPER GHOSTS by Sarah Addison Allen came out September 1, 2026. I suggest ordering through Bookshop.org. I’m an affiliate because I love their mission to support small, independent bookstores across the country. I may received a small commission from your order, but it doesn’t increase your cost AND you’re helping small bookstores! Win-win! You can order PAPER GHOSTS HERE. And check out my Bookshop page with other great recommendations HERE.

About the Author

A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Sarah Addison Allen is the author of The Peach Tree Keeper, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, Lost Lake, First Frost, and more recently, Other Birds. This New York Times and USA Today bestselling author has brought Southern Magical Realism into the mainstream. Her novels dive into family dynamics with a supernatural slant while subtly showcasing her romantic, lyrical prose.

If You Like…

If you like the description of PAPER GHOSTS by Sarah Addison Allen, you may enjoy her other novels listed in the About the Author section above. Also, check out my past reviews on these recommendations: OTHER BIRDS by Sarah Addison Allen, THE STORY KEEPER by Kelly Rimmer, THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW by Adrienne Young, THE KINDRED SPIRITS SUPPER CLUB by Amy Reichert, and MIDNIGHT at the BLACKBIRD CAFE by Heather Webber.

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Robin’s Rave Reviews 2024

Yes! Another perfect book for your beach bag this summer! A HAPPIER LIFE by Kristy Woodson Harvey, part historical fiction, part mystery, part women’s fiction, part romance, is told in a dual timeline: present day with Keaton Smith, and in 1976 with her grandparents Rebecca “Becks” and Townsend St. James.

Summary

Keaton, a young professional in NYC, has lost her job and her condo. While she figures out her next move, her mother asks her to clear out Keaton’s grandparents’ house in Beaufort so it can be sold. Keaton knew they died in a car accident before she was born, but this is the first she’s heard of the historic house on the North Carolina seaside. Her mother and uncle have held onto the house for nearly fifty years. Keaton agrees and takes her dog Salt along for the trip. (Who doesn’t love a story with a dog? And this dog is based on Kristy’s own dog named Salt!)

Keaton isn’t prepared to walk into a 1970s time-warp. It looks like Becks and Townsend just stepped away, including dishes left on the dining room table from one of Becks’ famous dinner parties. As Keaton is adjusting to the shock, Anderson, a ten-year-old, boy pops in. He lives next door with his divorced, grumpy, hot dad, Bowen.

While Keaton struggles with the enormous cleaning job, she connects more deeply with the locals. Keaton learns that everyone knows everything in a small town, so different from NYC. She becomes friends with the Dockside Dames, a group of older women who get together every morning for coffee and gossip. Their stories of her grandparents help Keaton connect with family she never knew. Keaton sees what life could be like here. She’s faced with comparing her fast-paced, workaholic life in NYC to what small town life on the ocean with Bowen and his son could be like.

The story of her grandparents dying in a car accident begins to have some holes. Although her grandparents’ car was found submerged in the water, their bodies were never recovered. When Keaton discovers her mother and uncle have suspicions that their parents were actually murdered, Keaton better understands why they never returned to the house. But what really happened to Becks and Townsend?

We go back in time for Becks to tell her love story. Becks was disowned by her parents for marrying Townsend, the love of her life. She focuses on making life easier for others and throwing her famous dinner parties while Townsend starts his doctor practice in Beaufort. Although Becks journals all her entertaining tips for her daughter, her granddaughter Keaton is the one to find it nearly fifty years later. It helps her connect with the grandmother she never knew.

Trying to decide what to keep and what to discard from her grandparents’ life and mother’s childhood is more difficult than Keaton expected. Keaton finally convinces her mother and uncle to come look through some things and get closure. Becks and Townsend left multiple clues behind, leading the family to learn the truth of what happened to them.

My Thoughts

There’s a lot here for readers of several genres including romance, women’s fiction, and mystery. It’s a multi-generational story of family relationships and how we deal with damage done in the past. It’s about forgiveness and reconciliation, about valuing the past and the family who came before us, and about romantic love and second chances. It reinforces that we shouldn’t judge the happiness of someone else’s life because people define happiness differently. What’s right for one isn’t for another. Perhaps when you determine you’ve lived a life worth living, you’ve found true happiness.

I loved A HAPPIER LIFE by Kristy Woodson Harvey. May I suggest you purchase A HAPPIER LIFE here at Bookshop.org? This online bookstore supports mom and pop bookstores nationwide!

Kristy Woodson Harvey, author

If you like…

If this book appeals to you, check out these Kristy Woodson Harvey books I’ve previously reviewed and recommend: The Summer of Songbirds, The Wedding Veil, Under the Southern Sky, Feels Like Falling, and the whole Peachtree Bluff series.

Drop me a comment below! What are you reading that you’d recommend? Who are your favorite authors? Ask me a question about books and/or writing. I’d love to hear from you!