Nov 30, 2009

The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White


The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White pits Melanie Middleton, a Realtor who guards her emotions like most would protect buried treasure, against Jack Trenholm, a confident author and potential suitor, and elements of the supernatural.  Melanie must face her fears about her abilities and the truth behind the break-up of her family when her famous mother and opera singer returns to Charleston, South Carolina.

"We stood gaping at the marble-tiled floor with the faux-zebra shag area rug galloping down the middle of the hall.  The elegant egg-and-dart carved cornices had been painted black to offset the fuchsia hue of the walls.  Lime green beanbag chairs with legs offered seating to anybody with enough taste to make their knees go weak upon viewing the psychedelic colors of the hallway.  (Page 44-45)

White creates an intricate mystery that Melanie must unravel for herself without relying heavily on Jack, as she did in the previous book, The House on Tradd Street (click for my review).  White's characters are vivid; so much so, that readers may want to smack Melanie through the pages and tell her to get a grip.  The beginning chapters spend a bit of time with Melanie as she attempts to sort out her feelings for Jack, her mother, and her abilities.  In some cases, Melanie's whining may be a bit much for readers, but the action picks up and the knotted lives of Melanie's ancestors will hook readers until the very last pages.

"I didn't wait for a response, and was glad he didn't show any resistance as I dragged him toward the back door.  . . .  I gave a brief wave and had pulled Jack through the door and closed it before my mother made it into the kitchen.

'I think I like it when you're rough,' Jack said."  (Page 143)

White introduces new characters, like Rebecca Eggerton, and resurrects some of the older characters, like Sophie and Chad, from the first book.  This provides readers with new relationship triangles to navigate, while trying to work through the paranormal mystery.  If readers have read and enjoyed The House on Tradd Street, they will enjoy this tale.

The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White is an entertaining and a good second book in this paranormal-gothic romance-mystery series.  At times, readers could find the repetitive elements in Melanie's narration distracting, as she repeats her grudge against her mother and her indecision about letting go of her self control where Jack is concerned.  It is clear that this is a second book and that there is more to come given the final lines of the book.

Stay tuned tomorrow, Dec. 1., for a guest post from Karen White about her writing.

FTC Disclosure:  Clicking on images and title links will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchases are necessary.  I received my free review copy of The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White from the author and Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media Consulting.



I read this book as part of the recent Thankfully Reading Weekend Challenge.  Did you participate?  Which books did you read?  I only read two.

16 comments:

Vasilly said...

This is the first review I've seen for this book. It sounds like something I would like to read. Fingers crossed that my library has it. Great review.

Kristen said...

I'm still sitting on the first book in this series but it's nice to hear that book #2 is worth it as well. ;-)

Staci said...

I'm so excited to keep hearing great things about this author.....I want to read these for sure!!!

bermudaonion said...

I've got this book, but think I want to read The House on Tradd Street before I read it. The whole series sounds good to me.

J.S. Peyton said...

I think you did a great job completing two books for the Thankfully Reading Weekend. I barely completed one, if that even counts since I just finished that one today! lol

Melody said...

Great review! I'm currently reading this book and I'm enjoying it! :)

Unknown said...

I loved the supernatural elements in The House on Tradd Street. Melanie did get on my nerves a little bit in that book, but the story was so interesting I didn't care.

Anna said...

I'll be reviewing this one soon. Fell a little behind in review writing and posting when I went on vacation. Anyway, you're right...Melanie is a whiner. But thankfully, it's more entertaining than annoying because you see her put in her place quite often. She and Jack together are a riot, but I couldn't stand the Rebecca character. She's the one who I wanted to slap!

Great review, as always.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Serena said...

I really liked this book and I hope that came through in the review. There are just moments that got to me. Rebecca was annoying, but I tended to ignore her and get to more Jack and Melanie!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Great review Serena. I enjoyed The House on Tradd Street and plan to read this book sometime later this week.

donnas said...

Great review. I loved The House on Tradd Street and its cool to see the second book isnt a letdown.

LoveMyCoffee said...

This is a great review. I'm hoping that my library has the first book in the series.

Margie said...

Sounds like a fun book...but I think I should read the original one first. I like books with family mysteries to solve.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Ladytink_534 said...

I really liked The House on Tradd Street so I plan on reading this when my library gets it... whenever that will be! I wonder how many books are planned for this series?

Margie said...

Looks like a book with an interesting locale and characters. Makes me want to find the first book in this series.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

S. Krishna said...

I enjoyed this one as well!