Review: Reading with Tequila
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2011
In South of Salem, Allegra is back stateside visiting her family. An adult returning home is never easy, especially for Allegra whose family wants nothing more than to ignore anything even remotely paranormal. Of course, when Allegra's stepfather is believed to be possessed, Allegra is the first person they call.Allegra's family dynamics vie with the paranormal as the main focus of South of Salem, much to my delight. I love Allegra's investigating but as she faces the past and future of her family, much is explained about her personality and she becomes more endearing. Most important here are her interactions with her politician's-wife mother and her clone-of-mom sister. Allegra's job and personality have always put her a bit at odds with the women in her life and I love how they work through this barrier when the husbands are in danger.The potential romance in the Allegra Fairweather series is killing me. Allegra and Casper are so completely meant for each other, yet can never be together. The tension between them is palpable. We've known Allegra had a thing for him, but in South of Salem we get a better idea of the extent of her feelings and really start to get a feel for how much Casper feels for her as well. When it becomes possible for Casper to get a pass straight to heaven, it becomes frighteningly likely that's he'll leave forever, never having the relationship he and Allegra both seem to desperately want. If only there was some loophole.I'm a big fan of witches and South of Salem had enough spells and rituals to keep me very happy. South of Salem is a fantastic sequel to Allegra Fairweather: Paranormal Investigator. I can't wait for Allegra's next case.