I was hesitant yet excited to check out this new world of Christmas. It's not a holiday I celebrate, and I usually steer clear of holiday themed reads for it. BUT this book was fantastic!

I loved how Erin wove the magic of Christmas spirit into the town without making it majorly cheesy. If I were to imagine a town derived from Christmas it would be this world. From character names to the small attention to every detail it was a magical read.

With funeral home antics, personal growth and budding romance this book is going to be a must read to get you in the holiday spirit! I love how well Erin builds a mystery, always leaves me guessing, and turns out to be a oh that makes so much sense moment at the end.

If you love paranormal cozy mysteries, with witches, magic and small town drama you will love this book. (Note: LGBT characters, fist pump!) ( )

I really enjoyed Cocoa Curses and would definitely read other books from this series in the future! It's a light and charming Christmas-themed read that doesn't hit you over the head with Christmas which I greatly appreciated.

The protagonist Rudie has an interesting profession, as she runs the town's only funeral home with her sisters. She uses the connections she's made through work and her ability to communicate with ghosts in a smart way to help her solve the mystery.

The mystery itself flows very nicely. It was easy to follow along with Rudie's train of thought about the case, though the mystery itself was not simplistic either, with many possible suspects and angles to consider.

The mystery is not the sole focus of the book, as the reader learns more about Rudie's life and her insecurities about feeling excluded from the town due to her job and gift. This was an interesting sideplot that was well-integrated into the overall book. Not that it's the end of the world, but I did find it to be a bit cliché at points, in case that's anything that people really want to avoid.

I'm not sure if they were discussed in previous books as this series is a multi-author endeavour and this is the first book in the series that I read, but I would have loved to have to known more about some of the background characters and suspects. I guess I'll have to read more of this series to find out!

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