He's goin' to the chapel and he's gonna get... ghosted?

What's worse than getting jilted? How about being a plasmaphobe who gets "ghosted." At the altar!

Guys don’t always “get into” the whole wedding thing, but Mitchell Bogaert has been anticipating that first glimpse of Brenna coming to meet him at the altar. So when the back doors open to reveal a missing bride, he’s shocked, disappointed, hurt, angry–pick your negative emotion. It probably fits.

Brenna Kinsey didn’t know she’d bolt at the last minute, but now she’s working through it–hopefully before Mitchell decides she’s not worth the emotional trauma–or the town drama!

Lauren Kinsey is more than just the kid-sister bridesmaid. She’s a self-proclaimed sleuth and determined to ferret out the problem, arrive at a solution, and get things back on track before broken hearts shatter into more pieces than Humpty Dumpty. Time’s running out, only the bride and groom don’t realize it.

How will Lauren fix this mess before the “clock strikes midnight” and there isn’t a ghost of a chance to save the marriage that never got a chance to be?

Find out in this third New Cheltenham Shopkeepers novella today!

My thoughts: I enjoyed returning to New Cheltenham with this story! I didn't know how things were going to end for Mitchell and Brenna when she bolts at the last minute and leaves him ghosted at the altar. Will her decisions and unwillingness to forgive herself lead to misery? I enjoyed getting to know the characters through the course of the story, as well as Lauren, the teenager who helps Mitchell and Brenna try to communicate and get back on track. This is a delightful Christmas story that is both humorous and will make you stop and think. I highly recommend picking it up!

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

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About the Author

media-headshot-sm Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name

More from Chautona

How Did One Silly Story Become a Favorite Series?

Dickens and his revival of the “ghost story” at Christmas inspired the kick-off book in a series I’d planned almost twenty years ago. The little village of New Cheltenham first appeared in None So Blind and Thirty Days Hath…. However, the touristy village with its obsession with all things English was actually conceived almost twenty years ago!

That first book… still isn’t in print. I’ve reimagined it, and it will be coming out soon. However, Dickens… well, that guy has a way of getting under your skin, and what better place for a Dickens Ghost Storytelling Contest than in a village that looks ripped from England’s countryside?

The Ghosts of New Cheltenham was born. I actually thought it would be a great way for me to force myself to finish that book I’d started so long ago. But then Amanda Tru sent me a message that said, “We’re going to do one about wedding dresses,” and Something Borrowed, Someone Blue became the second book instead. I wanted more of Mitchell, Brenna, and the loveable Lauren, so I concocted a story that would give me just that.

Is it any wonder, then, when Amanda messaged again with our next collection theme of jilted brides or grooms, I immediately thought, “Oh, dear! What if Mitchell got ghosted at the altar?” That is the fastest title I’ve ever come up with!

Because one more Christmas story in New Cheltenham wasn’t quite enough, I set a third one there this year! The Bells of New Cheltenham. In that one, Mitchell is done with this ghost storytelling stuff and starts a contest of his own!

While you can read these books as stand alones (both mine and the ones within the collections), mine will be a richer reading experience if they are read in the following order

The Ghosts of New Cheltenham (read the companion short story free on Kindle Unlimited HERE)

Something Borrowed, Someone Blue (in The Wedding Dress Yes CrossRoads Collection)

Ghosted at the Altar (in the Five Gold Rings CrossRoads Collection)

The Bells of New Cheltenham. (in the Melodies of Christmas Love Collection)

(note, the last two really can be read in any order.)

How did my silly idea for a plasmaphobic guy who had to tell a ghost story to inherit spark one of my favorite series? All things considered, how could he not?