Title Haunted on Bourbon Street (Jade Calhoun #1)
Author Deanna Chase
Description from Amazon
Jade loves her new apartment—until a ghost joins her in the shower.
When empath Jade Calhoun moves into an apartment above a strip bar on Bourbon Street, she expects life to get interesting. What she doesn’t count on is making friends with an exotic dancer, attracting a powerful spirit, and developing feelings for Kane, her sexy landlord.
Being an empath has never been easy on Jade’s relationships. It’s no wonder she keeps her gift a secret. But when the ghost moves from spooking Jade to terrorizing Pyper, the dancer, it’s up to Jade to use her unique ability to save her. Except she’ll need Kane’s help—and he’s betrayed her with a secret of his own—to do it. Can she find a way to trust him and herself before Pyper is lost?
Release Date November 23, 2013
Initial Thoughts
I found this book on my daily Chirp Audiobook Sale email and thought it sounded like a quick mystery story. I like stories about witches and stories set in New Orleans. This is part of a series and I hadn’t heard of it before Chirp put it on my radar but I found out that it’s actually available on Kindle Unlimited (in case anyone wants to read it instead of listening).
Some Things I Liked
- Witches with unconventional powers. I liked that Jade was an empath. She wasn’t a typical witch with a cauldron flying around on a broom. Similarly, the other characters with magical abilities had powers that are less commonly seen in magic stories. I liked that about this story.
- Realism in some of the plot. Jade had a complicated relationship with her best friend and her ex-boyfriend, Dan, who is now her best friend’s new boyfriend. I thought the problems the struggled with were very realistic and gave this magic driven plot depth by making the characters more realistic.
- Bourbon Street as a setting. I just really enjoy New Orleans as a setting. It just feels right with the theme of witches and magic. I thought it was well done in this book.
One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About
- Jade was strangely ok with some of the events involving Kane and the ghost in her apartment. I feel like it was unrealistic to think that she’d be ok with some of the privacy violations she experienced.
Series Value
I’d continue with this series. Actually, Chirp has the first two books on sale right now so I picked up the second one already. I like quick mystery stories and I liked the characters enough to want to know more about them.
Final Thoughts
This book was a fast listen (coming in at under 4 hours total) and had a good story. I like the world that Deanna Chase established and I would like to continue with the series. I don’t know if I’d pick the next one up right away, but I would definitely keep reading / listening at some point.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendations for Further Reading
- Southern Magic by Amy Boyles – if you liked the southern setting as well as the witches element, try this series by Amy Boyles. Similar to the Jade Calhoun series, there are several books in the series.
- The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh – if you liked the setting, magic, and drama but are looking for something with a historical fiction element, try this duology by Renée Ahdieh. The sequel is hitting shelves in October 2020.
- The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith – if you like stories about witches, definitely read this series by Luanne G. Smith. It’s set in France but the story is fantastic.
Books Over Everything 