Title: Ghosts and Ginger Tea

Series: The Haunted Brew #2 (standalone within the series)

Author: Leialoha Humpherys

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:

The Night Marcher’s Drum…

She made a deal with a ghost to escape death. But falling for him might be even more dangerous.

Oliana never believed in the Night Marchers—until she stumbles into their path and faces the punishment of death. Her only hope? Bargaining with a hauntingly handsome Night Marcher chief to break his own curse. Now, with the clock ticking and one month to live, she’s caught in a web of ancient magic, tribal rivalries, and an unwanted betrothal—to the very spirit who might be her undoing.

Keanu, chief of a neighboring island and bound to a spectral fate, is everything a girl could want—strong, honorable, and distractingly charming. But even as he woos her over nightly ginger tea, Oliana knows better than to trust a man cursed to an eternity as a ghost. With every riddle they solve and secret they uncover, her feelings grow more complicated…and her heart more vulnerable. Can she resist the allure of his haunting presence?

As threats mount—an enemy tribe, a shadowy warlord, and an unknown assassin—Oliana realizes the cost of her own soul and Keanu’s eternity. Can she outwit a curse and survive her heart’s desire? Or will her one month run out before she can rewrite both their fates? – summary from Goodreads

Ghosts and Ginger Tea is an eerie fantasy book full of ghosts, curses, rebellion, and romance!

I went into this book with some hesitance, and I came out loving this book so, so much! I’m definitely going to be reading this book again! The cozy to spooky rating on this book was pretty close to spooky so I was a little nervous about reading this book because I don’t like scary books. This book wasn’t scary at all, at least in my opinion. It was more eerie than anything else.

I have never read this author before and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I knew she wrote a lot of stories based in Hawaii and with Hawaiian culture, and I was pleasantly surprised with how this transformed the story. I’m used to island and Hawaiian stories being bright and upbeat, but this was a lovely, albeit a little surprising, setting for a spooky story. I also loved understanding some Hawaiian myths through this book! The Night Marchers were so interesting, and I love how the author incorporated them into the story. I hope she does more stories like this in the future because it was absolutely amazing!

Oli was such a lovely narrator! She struggled to trust others but was also very determined to get to the bottom of what was going on. She was very caring for those around her, too, which was endearing. I wish there was a little bit more time between her and her sister, but I liked the relationship between them that was shown. She had a nice character arc of opening herself up and trusting others.

I loved Keanu! He was fun and had a fun personality. There was something a little mysterious and sad about him too, which made him more realistic. I like his character arc as well. He realized he was too proud and took steps to amend that, as well as brought Oli into his confidence, which was so sweet!

I loved the relationship between Oli and Keanu so, so much! They were absolutely adorable together! Their relationship is marriage of convivence and royalty x commoner. They had a rocky start, but I love what it grew and turned into. They started trusting and being honest with each other. Keanu also had so many nicknames for her, and it was adorable! They were protective and caring towards the other, and I loved seeing their relationship together!

This book also had such a wonderful storyline. The Night Marchers were an integral part of the story and added a nice spooky aspect to the story. This was such an interesting part of the story and brough Hawaiian myth to the story. The rebellion and political intrigue were also a fascinating part of the story. I love political drama, and the author did an incredible job of including it in this novella. All the parts came together in a wonderful way and really made the story come to life.

Similarly to Elves and Espresso, this book incorporated a beverage into this story in a wonderful way. I love how our two main characters bonded over ginger tea and it became a cute part of their story.

As I mentioned before, I hope the author continues exploring this world and these characters. I really hope we get a Peter and Kiki story in the future!

Ghosts and Ginger Tea is a phenomenal fantasy book based on Hawaiian mythology with romance, rebellion, and ghosts!