Review: That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White

 

That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White

Publication Date: July 22nd 2025 by Park Row & Harlequin Audio

Pages: 352

Audio Book Length: 11hrs 54mins

Narrators: Jorgeana Marie and Kimberly Farr

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Phoebe was struck by lightning when she was a child. Since then, she’s had premonition dreams. As soon as she could she left home to live across the country to escape the premonitions and family drama. It disappointed her mother that she didn’t care about being a Southern belle like her sister, Addie. Phoebe was more interested in exploring the beaches and marshes, spying birds along the way.

 

Now Phoebe must return home to help to care for her ailing mother and she has a lot of mixed feelings. Her dreams come back, the most disturbing one back in full force. Old resentments between Phoebe and Addie rise to the surface and her mother’s condition brings all the hurt into sharp focus. I felt bad for Ophelia, Addie’s young daughter.

 

I had my ideas about the dream. Things made sense as more came to light and I felt for all involved.

 

In all of this, Phoebe meets Celeste a woman whose granddaughter went missing years ago. Celeste her grandson, Liam and great grandson, Will are all big players in the story as well.

 

I enjoyed how each chapter opened up with interesting bird facts, how they sometimes related to human behavior. The setting of South Carolina was almost another character, hot, vibrant and mysterious.

 

That Last Carolina Summer was a captivating story with mystery, family secrets, reconciling the past and a bit of romance! I loved every minute!

 

I alternated between the audio and e-copy. I can recommend either version. Jorjeana Marie did a wonderful job with Phoebe’s chapters, the range of ages, male and female voices and emotions. I thought Kimberly Farr performed Celeste well, age appropriate, but there was little change with other voices making it a little hard to distinguish who was speaking at times. Still, I really enjoyed the audio version!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Beloved New York Times bestselling author Karen White returns with a brand-new contemporary stand-alone novel about sisterhood, secrets and one woman’s reckoning with the past

As a child, Phoebe Manigault developed the gift of premonition after she was struck by lightning in the creeks near her Charleston home. Plagued throughout her life by mysterious dreams, and always living in the shadow of her beautiful sister, Addie, Phoebe eventually moves to the West Coast, as far from her family as possible. Now, years later, she is summoned back to South Carolina, to help Addie care for their ailing mother.

As Phoebe’s return lures her back into deep-rooted tensions and conflicts, she is drawn toward Celeste, whose granddaughter went missing years ago. Their connection, woven through shared losses and hope, brings comfort to Phoebe, while Celeste’s adult grandson Liam resurrects complicated emotions tied to Phoebe’s past.

But the longer Phoebe spends in her childhood home, the more her recurring nightmares intensify—bringing her closer to the shocking truth that will irrevocably change everything. Unfolding against the lush backdrop of the South Carolina Lowcountry, That Last Carolina Summer is an unforgettable family drama and mystery about the unbreakable bonds of family and the gift of second chances.

Review: The House on Prytania by Karen White

 

The House on Prytania (Royal Street #2) by Karen White

Publication Date: May 9th 2023 by Berkley & Penguin Audio

Pages: 400

Audiobook Length: 14hrs 8min

Narrator: Sophie Amoss

Source: Publisher & Purchased Audiobook

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Nola is still working on renovating her Creole Cottage in Louisiana thinking that the spirit of Beau’s grandfather and Jeanne Broussard have moved on. Unfortunately, Beau’s grandfather is still there along with a malevolent presence. Nola knows there must be something still holding Beau’s grandfather there, but with the appearance of Beau’s long-lost sister that issue gets sidelined. But not for long.

I really like Nola and along with her I wanted to know why the spirit of Beau’s grandfather, and his mother, Adele was still hanging around when Sunny was found. There’s also the matter of the evil spirit also lurking.  I love all the side characters in this series, Jolene, Nola’s best friend particularly! She cracks me up so much with all her Southern sayings, like “Never iron or fry chicken naked” her need to monogram everything for everyone, even their dog Mardi, her driving, and her constant efforts to bring Nola’s style up to par. Efforts Nola mostly tries to evade, but reluctantly appreciates. Nola and Jolene’s friendship is one of my favorite things about this series!

The ongoing messy romantic situation, with a Beau involved with someone else while there’s a clear attraction between Beau and Nola, would usually bother me, but somehow, it’s tolerable here. It’s part of the reason I keep reading on, and the fact that it isn’t the main feature of this story. The mystery, the ghosts, Nola’s friends, and progress in renovations make this story captivating. I love the setting of historic Louisiana and the subject of restoring old homes. I wish I was there in person to see it as it happens (yes, I do realize this is a fiction, haha)!  

This is a series where it's best to read in order. This mystery wraps up, but there’s an ongoing story arc and the relationships that make me eager for the next one!

I alternately listened and read an e-copy. Sophie Amoss’ performance bring the characters to life, and I love her Southern accents! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed. I recommend either format.

4 Stars

Book Description:

A woman is haunted--both literally and figuratively--by ghosts of the past in this second novel of the Royal Street series by New York Times bestselling author Karen White.

Nola Trenholm may not be psychic herself, but she's spent enough time around people who are to know when ghosts are present, and there are definitely a few lingering spirits in her recently purchased Creole cottage in New Orleans. Something, or someone, is keeping them tethered to this world. And not all of them are benign.

But with the sudden return of Sunny Ryan, Beau Ryan's long-lost sister, Nola has plenty to distract her from her ghostly housemates. Especially when the tempting--yet firmly unavailable--Beau, wanting to mete out justice to those he blames for Sunny's kidnapping, asks Nola for a favor that threatens to derail her hard-won recovery and send her hurtling backward. He asks her to welcome Michael Hebert back into her life, even though Michael is the reason for Nola's bruised heart. Beau is convinced that Michael's powerful family was behind Sunny's disappearance and that Michael is the key to getting information the police won't be able to ignore--if Nola is willing to risk everything for which she's worked so hard.

Torn between helping Beau and protecting herself, Nola doesn't realize until it's almost too late why the ghosts are haunting her house--a startling revelation that will throw her and Beau together to fight a common enemy. Assuming Nola can get Beau to listen to what the spirits are trying to tell him, because ignoring them could prove to be a fatal mistake...

Audio Review: The Shop on Royal Street by Karen White

 

The Shop on Royal Street (Royal Street #1) by Karen White

Publication Date: March 29th 2011 by Penguin Audio

Pages: 384

Audio Book Length: 14hrs 8min

Narrator: Sophie Amoss

Source: Library

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I really liked Nola. I'd love to restore an old home back to its former glory, a project Nola has undertaken, although maybe with not so many obstacles! A woman was murdered at the house years earlier, but this doesn't deter Nola from buying the house, after all, an old house is bound to have a death or two. But she is curious about the murder and with the help of her bestie, Jolene, Nola starts digging around to find out what actually happened.

The lingering ghosts hindered Nola's efforts to renovate, because workers were spooked as stories of the house were well known. The history involves Beau, a friend Nola has a complicated relationship with and they end up working together.

Loved the descriptions of New Orleans, the old homes, architecture, and antiques! Loved Nola’s best friend Jolene with all her Southern ways and sayings! She cracked me the heck up! I hope both Nola and Jolene get their romances sorted! Jackson, the DA Jolene pines for has an on-again-off-again girlfriend, and Beau is unavailable as well. It’s a little messy, but there’s so many other things going on that it’s not the center focus.

I listened to the audio version narrated by Sophie Amoss. Her performance was excellent! Looking forward to the next one! 

4 Stars

Book Description:

Nola Trenholm is hopeful for a fresh start in the Big Easy but must deal with ghosts from her past—as well as new ones—in this first book in a spin-off series of Karen White's New York Times bestselling Tradd Street novels.

After a difficult detour on her road to adulthood, Nola Trenholm is looking to begin anew in New Orleans, and what better way to start her future than with her first house? But the historic fixer-upper she buys comes with even more work than she anticipated when the house’s previous occupants don’t seem to be ready to depart.

Although she can’t communicate with ghosts like her stepmother can, luckily Nola knows someone in New Orleans who is able to—even if he’s the last person on earth she wants anything to do with ever again. Beau Ryan comes with his own dark past—a past that involves the disappearance of his sister and parents during Hurricane Katrina—and he’s connected to the unsolved murder of a woman who once lived in the old Creole cottage Nola is determined to make her own...whether the resident restless spirits agree or not.