Hello, and welcome back! I'm a bit disappointed with our lack of winter weather here so far this month. Last year, we had a lovely, big snowfall by the middle of December, and all I've seen so far this year are some flurries and a tiny dusting of snow. I hope we get a more substantial snow before the holiday week at the end of the month.

This time out, I have The Other Side (Jove, purchased) with some ghostly stories by J.D. Robb, aka Nora Roberts, Mary Blayney, Patricia Gaffney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas. In Nora's 'Possession in Death', Eve is on the hunt for a murderer with a bit of help from the spirit of the woman who was killed. Eve is such a logical, factual sort of person, I love these stories that have her faced with things to which she can't apply any sort of logic. This story is so much fun. 'The Other Side of the Coin' by Blayney has Bettina and her husband Harry switching bodies after a magic coin grants her spoken wish that he could spend some time in her shoes. This one didn't grab me, I'm afraid. Gaffney's 'The Dancing Ghost' has Angie Darlington persuading 'ghost-hunter' Henry Cleland to come investigate her family home before it's lost to her forever. The things this pair learns, about themselves and each other, will surprise them both. It's not my favorite Gaffney story, but it was an enjoyable read. 'Almost Heaven' from Langan has a recently-deceased couple trying to help their grieving daughter when they discover her fiance isn't the man they all believed. They're determined to find her the right man instead before they have to move on. This one got off to a slow start, but by the end, I quite enjoyed Christina and her carpenter Jake, who's suffered through his own crushing grief. McComas's 'Never Too Late to Love' has M.J. Biderman determined to move on, which means getting rid of the old family house, only the ghosts of her mother and aunts can't leave it, so M.J. has to figure out what's holding them back. She also gets to deal with sexy neighbor Ryan Doyle, whose little boy can see the ghosts as well. This story was terrific. I'm giving this collection four of Cupid's five arrows. I'd like to see more from McComas in this vein, too.

Until next time, happy reading!