Chace Verity is one of my absolute fave authors, and they’ve held that title since their debut, Team Phison, so any time they have a new release I get all excited. Clara, Darling is a holiday (Christmas) novella, but unlike Verity’s previous Christmas story (Team Phison Forever), this has much less family trauma and is almost dream-like in its story tell.
Sadie has been married to Alvin for ten years, but in all that time she’s never forgotten her best friend and first love, Clara. While doing her radio show with Alvin, Sadie sees the specter of Clara in the box reserved for special guests, and is so shocked she faints. She doesn’t let this keep her down though, and the next day immediately goes back to the studio to see if Clara is still there. Much to her delight, she is, and they immediately work on reconnecting.
Overall this is a very cozy book and a quiet type of read. There’s some harder topics, such as the fact Alvin is cheating on Sadie and Sadie’s grief over the death of Clara, but mostly the story feels like it takes place in such a snapshot of time and space that the heavier topics are mere mentions to more fully flesh out the characters and setting. I also really liked Verity’s execution of ghostly lover and how sweet Clara and Sadie’s love for each other is. The epilogue especially filled my heart with delight, because it was easy to see how Clara and Sadie would make it work long time and their love was long lasting.
Definitely recommend picking this novella up if you want something cozy and sweet to read this Christmas season!
