Of Swords and Soulmates

"Good Spirits" - When The Ghost Of Christmas Past Falls In Love

• Mari • Season 2 • Episode 49

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A ghost with a deadline. A people pleaser with a past. A Christmas Carol framework that dares to ask whether love can rewrite the rules. We dive into Good Spirits by BK Borison and unpack why this holiday romance feels tender, funny, and surprisingly cathartic. From the opening meet-cute to the late-game goodbye that nearly broke us, we trace how the book balances cozy predictability with real emotional stakes, and why that combo is exactly what many of us crave this time of year.

We also explore the book’s sly worldbuilding: an afterlife that runs like a slightly exasperated office, reapers with missing paperwork, and a boss whose accent paints a picture before we get the backstory. Think Beetlejuice bureaucracy meets Spirited’s cheerful existentialism. The panel shares personal reflections on people pleasing, boundary setting, and how Harriet’s growth feels painfully familiar in the best way. Add in a very opinionated cat, on-point spice, and a romance that builds through conversation and care, and you’ve got a seasonal standout.

Beyond the review, we detour through folklore with a lidérc deep dive, gush over special editions in the Grishaverse, and chat about the growing crossover between sports events and book fandoms. We close with recs for holiday retellings and audiobooks with memorable performances, plus our favorite Christmas Carol adaptations that shaped how we read stories like this one. If you love cozy fantasy romance, gentle hauntings, and HEAs that feel earned, press play and warm up with us. Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and share the show, and tell us your favorite holiday romance or Carol adaptation—we’re taking notes for our year-end wrap-up!

Links from the Episode

  • Witches Love Monsters series collaboration or multiple authors coming
    • Regine Abel, Opal Reyne, Naomi Lucas, Tiffany Roberts
    • 4 spicy novellas featuring witches and monsters
    • Will be available on KU
    • Instagram Link
  •  Illumicrate is releasing a special edition of the Six of Crows duology.   
    • Royal hardbacks, not signed
    • General presale 01/22 at 3pm GDT
    • Instagram Link
  • 2025-2026 Nuggets Fourth Wing Interest Slip is available for submission
    • Wed 04/08/26 versus the Memphis Grizzlies
    • Standard or VIP package
    • Facebook Link

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Host Bot:

Views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants. The hosts make no claim to be literary experts, and their opinions are exactly that. Opinions. All creative works discussed or refused are the intellectual property of the creators of said stories and is being used under the Fair Use Doctrine.

Mari:

Hello and welcome to Of Swords and Soulmates, a podcast where we read, watch, and discuss romantic stories. I'm one of your hosts, Mari, and with me I have Kelly.

Kelly:

Hey everyone, it's Kelly. We also have Ashley.

Ashley:

Hey guys, it's Ashley. We also have Jonathan.

Jonathan:

Ho, ho, ho. I mean, what's good, everybody? It's JP.

Mari:

Feliz Navidad. It is your time of year, isn't it? It's his favorite time of year.

Jonathan:

Oh, yeah. It's the most wonderful time of the year, if you ask me.

Mari:

Today we're going to be discussing Good Spirits by BK Borison. But before, as always, some news. I don't have a lot of news, so it won't be miles and miles of things, but I do have a few things. First thing is there's a new author collaboration series coming out. It's called Witches Love Monsters. And it's going to be Regina Bell, Opal Rain, Naomi Lucas, and Tiffany Roberts. And the way that they initially teased this was just like pictures, like book cover pictures, but it was generic, like you know, the size of a book and just like a one solid color. And they said, Oops, I summoned A, and they would have a picture of a thing, like an icon picture of a thing. And so I don't know what three of them are going to be because there's only one that's been fully released as far as the title. So the first one that's released, that's coming out December 20th, is Oops, I summoned a Light Arc. L-I-D-E-R-C. Have no idea what that is. I don't know.

Jonathan:

Yeah, have we Googled that?

Mari:

Uh go for it, please. Let us know. The series is described as four spicy novellas featuring witches and monsters, and it will be available on KU.

Ashley:

Alright.

Mari:

So Regina Bell does the uh Married Prime Mating Agency where you married it's like a sci-fi married monsters kind of thing. Opal Rain does the Dustwalker series. I've not read anything by Naomi Lucas. Tiffany Roberts does the Spider-Mate series.

Ashley:

Right. I haven't read those, but you've always said great.

Mari:

I like them. Yeah. Yeah. And I like several of the other, I've read several other things by that duo that that are good. Like I read a what would I call it? Contemporary urban, I don't know, paranormal. It's like a succubus, a succubus and a um was she human? She was human, like a succubus and a human creature in like a modern day kind of setting, but except you know that m magical creatures are out and about. And it was pretty good.

Ashley:

I gotta say, as you were saying each word, I was more surprised by the next one. Because you were like contemporary urban paranormal. Like you just never knew what was coming next. No, it's just like I'm sure all of those things are true and accurate. It's just like, what a world we live in.

Mari:

What a great time to be alive. You know, it's an extent. Our world, there was like modern day things. The main character had like social media. She was excited to go into this fancy restaurant. They were lined up outside, they had reservations. She was going with her fiance because she thought they were gonna propose. He was gonna this happens in the first chapter. This is not spoiling anything. Um, that he was gonna propose to her, and turns out he's gonna be like, Hey, I've been dating this other chick. Let's have an open relationship. At which point she threw a champagne bottle at him and left. And then the actual story gets started.

Ashley:

That's the It's just no, it's amazing. I was definitely not making fun of it, but I was just like dumbstruck in the best way possible about the explanation.

Mari:

Yeah.

Ashley:

Contemporary urban.

Mari:

There's probably a name for it that I can't think of. That's probably like a better description, but that's really what it is.

Ashley:

It was like They should coin yours if there is.

Jonathan:

So Regime Abel is the one who wrote the light arc one?

Mari:

Yes.

Jonathan:

Okay. I'm just looking at the picture. Okay, so Tell us. Okay. Buckle up.

Ashley:

Buckle up.

Jonathan:

So it's a unique folkloric being with shape-shifting abilities and malevolent uh tendencies. It appears across Hungarian mythology in several distinct forms, often blending traits between them, and is associated with nightmares, illness, and mysterious misfortune. It takes three primary forms. I'm gonna save the first one for last.

Ashley:

Okay.

Jonathan:

So the we'll start from the second form is a tiny household spirit.

Mari:

Like a brownie.

Jonathan:

Well, brownies more is that more like a baked good?

Ashley:

Jonathan.

Jonathan:

I don't know what a brownie is, I'm gonna be honest. I only know brownies.

Ashley:

It's like an Impish fairy, isn't it? Like No, what was Brownie was in the movie. The movie with the with the baby and Yoda. No. Older.

Jonathan:

Older baby?

Ashley:

Yeah.

Jonathan:

The grown, like nobody puts baby in a corner. Dances with wolves. No, it's dancing, dirty dancing.

Ashley:

No, Maureen Kelly, you guys know this. It's the movie with the guy and the baby, and he's gotta get the baby to safety. Willow.

Jonathan:

Three men and a baby.

Ashley:

Willow. There are brownies and willow, aren't there?

Jonathan:

Yes.

Ashley:

Yes.

Jonathan:

All right. Good. Wow. Wait, way to bring up a Jim Henson flick. Um the trauma.

Ashley:

That's why I didn't remember it.

Jonathan:

Right. The third one is a fiery or seductive demon that can bring both wealth and misfortune to humans.

Mari:

What was the second one? I missed the second one. I'm sorry.

Jonathan:

The second one was a tiny household spirit. I withheld the first one. Okay. Because given those, given the two that you know about, what do you think the first one could be?

Mari:

So he's got like a brownie or a fiery spirit. So maybe something with smoke?

Jonathan:

Oh, you are so close. You are knocking on the door of it. You're I'm gonna let smoke. It's a it's the first one. The primary form is a miracle chicken.

Ashley:

I like how he was like, You're so close.

Jonathan:

So close.

Ashley:

Finger-licking good chicken.

Jonathan:

Yeah, smoky chicken. They smoked it and they put it in the smoker. I was like, I was I was like, this has gotta be wrong. This has got to be some AI. Yes.

Mari:

I had to go down a rabbit hole to multiple sites to make sure it wasn't like if there's something that reading good monster romance authors has taught me, is that they can make anything into a good story. Anything. I'm here for it.

Jonathan:

Yeah, this is wild. That's why I was like, I guess that the Regine won because I was like, it's something coming out of an egg. I was like, I guess this is all coming together. So it hatches. So that this traditional form hatches from the first egg of a black hen sometimes warmed under a under a person's armpit.

Ashley:

Okay.

Jonathan:

Um secondary. If you don't have an armpit, if you're if you're trying to hatch yourself with Miracle Chicken and you don't have an armpit to warm it in, you can bury it in manure. That also is a secondary.

Mari:

I mean, folklore is just amazing. Like the stuff the human brain comes up with. We're like, Yeah, put the egg under under your armpit, see what happens.

Jonathan:

It it'll serve its owner by acquiring wealth, but gradually drains their vitality. It's like, I guess it's like magic has a price, huh?

Mari:

Yeah, or like a vampire succubus kind of thing. So yeah. Okay, so that's a series that's coming out. I don't think they're like, they're not like one after the other series. I think they're all just kind of like either in a similar world or like similar concept. So it'll be interesting to see what the other three authors come up with as well.

Jonathan:

I like this black and gold kind of look to it. I hope that those are the actual are those the actual covers, or is that like, hey, just you know No, Regina Bell's cover is the actual one.

Mari:

Uh the other ones I don't think are the actual covers, the teaser ones.

Jonathan:

Oh, I'm scrolling down. Yeah, I see it there. He does he looks like he's form number three in that photo.

Mari:

I mean, that's not to say he may be a form one or two at some point in the book. You never know.

Jonathan:

Correct. He has to hatch some at some point.

Mari:

So that's coming out, that's a thing. Um, in addition to that, we have that Illumicrate is releasing a special edition of the Six of Crows duology. They are really pretty. They are this is a this is a British release, so it's Royal Hardbacks. I don't know if that's a type of hardback, but that's how it was described. Royal hardbacks. They're not signed. It's 55 pounds. And the the pre-sale, general pre-sale to people who aren't Limocrate members, is on January 22nd of 2026 at 3 p.m. GDT. They're very pretty. If anyone who's a fan is a good thing. They definitely look pretty.

Jonathan:

55 pounds is the price. Not the weight. 55 pounds is the price, not the weight.

Mari:

I mean they may be. I don't know. They might be roll of roll heavy books too. Who knows?

Jonathan:

But they are really pretty. They definitely look good, yeah. And they have some really they have direct edge printing on here. It's like not even it's not super flowery, it just looks very it's like a reverse print edge painting on here. No mourners, no funerals on each one.

Mari:

You haven't read these, have you?

Jonathan:

I have not. It's striking.

Mari:

That's their that's their thing. That's their saying.

Jonathan:

No mourners, no funerals. All right.

Mari:

It's yeah, I it's it's a it is a damn shame. It is a crying shame that Netflix did not cons continue that series. That's all I think.

Jonathan:

It was the Netflix series?

Mari:

Grisha Verse, the Shadow and Bones?

Ashley:

He might not remember.

Jonathan:

A Shadow and Bone.

Ashley:

You said that like you remember.

Jonathan:

I don't believe that you It's about the lady on the boat, right?

Ashley:

The lady on the boat. You're not you're not far off.

Jonathan:

And then she had to go into the like the fog because she was the only one who could get him through the fog.

Mari:

Yeah, that's the beginning of it. The six of the crows were the the the group that was from Ketter. Oh, you don't you didn't watch anything else? Just the beginning?

Jonathan:

Just the beginning, yeah.

Mari:

Oh. You might you might enjoy the series. Oh. Okay. Yeah, you might enjoy watching it. The books are like a main series of books, and then there's the duology that's the Six of Crows. I really like the duology, but on the TV show, what they did was they kind of melded the two stories to happen at the same time, so you had both groups of characters interacting a little earlier than they do in the book series, which is good because the crows are my favorite.

Ashley:

So nice.

Mari:

I think you liked the crows a lot too, didn't you, Kelly?

Ashley:

Yeah.

Mari:

Yeah, I thought they were pretty cool. Yeah, I think you would enjoy it. I mean that just you the first episodes of of always doing all the world building and stuff, but it was enough, and this may have just been the pandemic and what it was, but the series was enough that I I watched the whole thing, enjoyed it, and then made Kelly watch it with me. We watched it together, and then I read the books, and that's what got me back into reading after being in in a big slump with the pandemic, to be honest. So that restarted everything for me with Leo Bardugo's this whole series.

Jonathan:

Yeah, I think I think personally I was at I think I was at like a viewing capacity or something like that. And I what did I start watching in in it? I think I started watching it, but at the same time it might have been the Sandman or Sandman.

Ashley:

I don't know if that was that far back.

Jonathan:

And it just kind of or like, well, I think I chose one thing over this, and I don't know.

Mari:

Well, assuming it's still on Netflix, I haven't looked in a while. If you're if you're wanting something else to watch, like I like a fantasy, if you're feeling that kind of a fantasy kind of vibe, I would recommend it. It's a good series.

Jonathan:

Okay.

Mari:

Um the last bit of news I have, I think you sent me, Jonathan, that the 2025-2026 Nuggets Fourth Wing Interest Slip is available for submission. So basically the Nuggets, which I couldn't even, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't look far enough. I assumed that you would know is this what baseball or what is this? It's a basketball team. Basketball. Okay. So it's a basketball team, the Nuggets, I'm assuming Colorado?

Jonathan:

Denver, yeah, the Denver Nuggets.

Mari:

Are playing the Memphis Grizzlies on April 8th, 2026. But if you get this, if you get this, you could do the standard of the VIP package and you get like fourth wing stuff, basically, depending on which package you go with. They did this before with what was the other the other thing with baseball, right?

Jonathan:

They did both.

Mari:

They did baseball, but it was Boston, wasn't it?

Jonathan:

For the for hockey. And then for for baseball, it was Boston. And for that, they did the Ryerson jacket for that. Absolutely.

Ashley:

The wing leader jacket, yeah.

Jonathan:

Yeah. So they Denver, Denver and her get along real swell because well, she lives there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But she's like, no, I don't know another author that's like partnering up with mainstream sports and saying, like, hey, you know, let's come to this game, we'll have a game night. Like the ticket, I'm gonna I'm not gonna lie, I look at those prices. If that was like if she lived here where we are in Florida and was like, come to a Orlando Magic game, get and for that price, you get a jersey, admission to the game, and then the the like the premium package is like you also don't you get like a signed book plate or something like that, as well as a photo opportunity on the court.

Ashley:

For context, her can she has some of her contemporaries are very heavily involved in sports, predominantly hockey. So I think you know that was an initial part of it, but like her kids are also very heavily into sports and hockey, if I'm not mistaken.

Jonathan:

It's like what was the what was the packet? I looked at it, I was like, is that say a hundred like a hundred less than a hundred and sixty dollars?

Ashley:

I don't think the Boston thing was super expensive either.

Mari:

Yeah. I think they were just limited, so like not many people could get them. That's the thing. They're not cost prohibitive, it's just kind of a a chance.

Jonathan:

It was I mean, that's such a great deal. I think. I think like the stuff that we spend money, I mean, like I feel shitty for saying it, like, but that's in the We've spent dumber money.

Ashley:

Yeah. How I usually explain it.

Jonathan:

Yeah, in in our world of frivolity, that's probably that's a good deal. And I would if it was a sports team and it was local, I would I would be in that mix in a heartbeat.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Jonathan:

I'm actually gonna share that with a coworker because I think that they may have the the ability to maybe even die in a work trip and indulge. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Mari:

Anyone who's interested in that for sure, like you know, now's the time to to get in on that if you're interested in it, to get the chance to maybe buy it. So that's all the news I have. If anybody has anything else, I don't think I have anything.

Ashley:

It's been a slow news month. Yeah. Although I did see, I'm lying, I did see that Sarah J. Mass very recently made a social media post, and I think it was just like an acknowledgement of what was the last Crescent City book release week or something like that. So it was like happy release week remember anniversary or something. I know there's a lot of speculation for the sixth book for Akatar. So yeah. I did see that. So it's not really news.

Mari:

It's a tease, it's a tease.

Ashley:

It's it's a tease. Yeah, that's accurate.

Mari:

It's fine. It'll it'll come when it comes. So we'll see. I think I couldn't imagine being a very successful author who has a large span like this between books because the anticipation just builds and builds. And to it gets to a point where like it doesn't matter what you write, it's never gonna meet the expectation. Which, you know, ideally you're writing it because it's what you want to write and it's what you have in your head. But I mean, they're human beings, I'm sure what people say about what they write still affects them, you know?

Ashley:

Yeah.

Mari:

It's a lot of pressure. Um, okay, so moving on to the book that we're talking about today. We chose to read this because we wanted to do a holiday read. And I mean, it just looked really intriguing. We were just like, we're looking to do a holiday read anyways. We talked about this one, and I'd read one book by her before. It's a just straight up contemporary book, contemporary holiday book romance. And I love a Christmas carol. It's probably like my favorite Christmas story. So when I saw that it was like Christmas Carol adjacent, I yeah, I was gonna read it regardless. That's fair. Yeah. So this was published this year, October 21st, 2025. Let me read the synopsis and then we can get into the details. Um, he's the ghost of Christmas past. She's not exactly Scrooge. Ghost of Christmas past, Nolan Callahan, intends to spend this holiday haunting like every other. Get in, get out, return to his otherwise aimless existence as a ghost awaiting the afterlife. But when he's faced with Harriet York, the sweetest assignment he's ever had, he suddenly finds himself wishing for a future. Harriet York has no idea why she's being haunted. She's a good person, or at least she tries to be. A people pleaser to her core, she always does what's expected of her. But as she and Nolan begin to examine her past, they discover there are threads that bind them together, and realize there may be more to moving on than expected. With the deadline of Christmas Eve fast approaching, will they find the key to their futures in each other's pasts, or will they stay firmly in the present, indulging in their unexpected, spirited connection? Spirited. What do we think?

Jonathan:

I liked it. I thought it was uh I thought it was a polite book. Kind of like it gave me a lot of like hallmark vibes, like like casual, contemporary. I did uh I don't know if I'd sign up for all the like time hoppage, but you know, kind of like mo like early on in the book you got the vibe that this was like a fade mates kind of situation. Um yeah, I liked it. I thought it was a I thought it was a fun book. What'd you think?

Mari:

I really liked it. I like I said I've only read one book by her before, and I thought that book was fine. It was it had some third act breakup stuff that I am not a fan of, so I was just like I 50-50 for me. Like I knew I liked the idea of a Christmas Carol type story, but I also knew that I didn't always like the tropes that this author used, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was really sweet. I thought that the recovering people pleaser main female character spoke to my soul in so many ways. Um I feel like even though it was a romance book, and so I kind of figured it would end in a happily ever after or happy for now, there were parts towards the end where I was like, wait, are they go are they are they gonna end happily ever after? Or is this is this book going to break my heart? Um But I really, I really enjoyed it, and I really want to thank you for your recommendation. Of listening to it because I love an accent, and there were so many like different accents and good voice acting in this that I thought was super well done.

Jonathan:

His boss was interesting, had an interesting accent too.

Mari:

Was that Romanian, would you say? Oh.

Jonathan:

Yeah, I I think so. I I think it I got good imagery out of the accent, too, like in my mind. So it's like, yeah.

Mari:

Kelly, what'd you think? Interesting.

Kelly:

I enjoyed it. I thought it was a good book. I think it was, you know, somewhat predictable, but so it was a hallmark movie.

Mari:

Yeah. I gotta say, I I am for the predictability because I recently read a book that's in the romance genre by an author I like. And overall I still like the book, but man, was it a tragic ending? And I was not prepared for that to end. That's something you have, yeah. I was gonna say that's something you have to emotionally betrayal. Yeah, so I felt very betrayed. This is why I haven't read Alchemize. Like I know Alchemiz is gonna be emotionally rough, so I will probably not read it until January, to be honest. Yeah. So I I wasn't sure what this author was gonna do for me. But yeah, I I I agree. It was very hallmarky, very predictable. And I I don't say that in a bad way. Um there's a reason why Christmas movies as a genre are a thing and Hallmark movies are a thing, you know. Uh sometimes when there's a lot of things out of our control in our life, we want that predictability of a happier after.

Ashley:

I was gonna say, you know what you're what you're signing up for, right? There's comfort in in the lack of surprise. Yeah. There's enough going on in the world. I did, I really liked the book too. It was very sweet. Yeah, I was very glad to hear that she was not the asshole. Right. Like I kind of kept waiting for there to be maybe something tying them together like that. Um I to your point, Mari, the the whole main character female main character, people pleasing, like that was gut-wrenching. As someone who used to be a chronic people pleaser who didn't, you know, feel like she quite fit in with her family or that she was ever really good enough for that. And those were all their problems, right? Not my problems. But as a kid, you really absorb that. And you know, there's there's trauma responses that come out of that, you know, where you're reading, reading the atmosphere in the room, you're taking the hit for everything, you're adjusting yourself to them. Like, man, that was that was that was a tough look for me. It really hit home. So I thought she did a really good job, you know, for not a 500-page book. I I definitely felt a lot in a short amount of time, which I think says something. Yeah. Um and you know, again, to your point, I think Mari, it was while it seemed obvious that there was that connection between them, it it also wasn't super obvious like how it was all gonna tie together or that it was going to be a happily ever after.

Mari:

Yeah.

Ashley:

I have questions too. But if did you guys have questions in the end?

Jonathan:

I didn't.

Ashley:

So he's okay, so it's happily ever after, right? Does he get a social security card or a passport? Yeah, but does he keep his magic? Does he inherit a fortune? Like, how is how does this progress? Yeah.

Jonathan:

Is he what so you think you're like, is he is he human human or is he I mean he's dead dead?

Ashley:

Yeah, but is he not dead anymore? Or is she dead?

Jonathan:

Oh may yeah, maybe she's dead.

Ashley:

I have yeah, I need I have questions.

Mari:

Well there is gonna be a second book. Oh, there is. Yeah, there's a second book coming out next year in September. Now, it's not gonna follow the main characters. Why not? It's gonna be Oh, I'm pulling it up now.

Jonathan:

If it follows her as boss, I think there's something that's kind of left-hanging.

Mari:

I think it's gonna be the the Reaper. Wasn't there like a Reaper?

Ashley:

They did detail the Reapers like a Missing Reaper, yeah.

Mari:

Yeah, a missing reaper. I I think that's gonna be because the the whole series is called Ghosted, but the second book is called Grim Tidings. Like the Grim Reaper? Comes out September um 15th of 2026.

Jonathan:

Interesting. Like Ghost of Christmas Future.

Ashley:

Maybe. Well, we did leave that guy hanging.

Jonathan:

Oh, yeah, we did.

Ashley:

He didn't get to do his part of the job.

Mari:

Mm-hmm.

Ashley:

That's gotta mess up his quota.

Mari:

Something. So yeah, I'm I will be reading the second one. If we if we all want to, we can read it for the podcast if we all enjoyed this enough to read the sequel.

Ashley:

Yeah, I need to know what happens next. Like, does he get a job? I'm I'm well, he probably works for her, right? So he doesn't have to really worry about a W-2, is my guess.

Jonathan:

So you're thinking he's 1099?

Ashley:

He's definitely 1099.

Jonathan:

Interesting.

Ashley:

Definitely.

Jonathan:

Yeah, I don't think those are problems they're gonna face or even address. Yeah. Yeah.

Mari:

Maybe. You never know. We might get some answers.

Jonathan:

Is she are we gonna bump into her at any conventions this year?

Mari:

Um I don't think so. I don't remember seeing her name on anything that we've been to. I know this book was set in Maryland, in Baltimore. So I don't know if she lives maybe further north. I mean, assuming she lives where this book is set, that which is a big assumption. I don't know where she lives. Um she has had a successful, like the the series that I had heard of her before is called the Love Light series. It's a also a holiday series. I read the first one last year. So I know she's successful for that. That's contemporary romance. And then she's got another series that's very popular that I've not read. It's called Heart Strings. So I think she's popular in contemporary romance. As far as I know, this is her first like adding any little bit of like fantasy or magic to the to the story. She did a good job. Yeah, yeah. I think if there's a thing that's like a contemporary romance thing, she would be at. But I think she's kind of just tiptoeing into the more fantasy side of things with this.

Jonathan:

Yeah, she's she's exploring a love of good exploration.

Mari:

Yeah. Um getting her feet wet. So there were parts of this like with when he was in the the waiting room at the end, it made me think of Beetlejuice. Yeah.

Jonathan:

Yeah. A hundred percent.

Mari:

Yeah. Because I do love stories, and there's several stories I've read or like movies and TV shows we've watched, Kelly, where it's like the concept of Reapers or the afterlife or death, or whatever, where it's like almost like an office setting. Like there's things that have to be done, things have to be processed. Paper pushers that you know need to push paper. Um but there's part of this also that reminded me of Spirited. Have you guys seen Spirited? Why does it? It sounds spiritual.

Jonathan:

It's Will Farrell and Oh, I haven't seen it, but I want I saw it's like keeps popping up on my feeds.

Mari:

Okay, so it's I really like it. It's a it's another Christmas Carol retelling. It has Will Farrell in it, and I can't remember. Which one? No, I think we did watch it.

Kelly:

Ryan Reynolds.

Mari:

Reynolds, thank you. Did we watch it?

Ashley:

Yeah, there was singing and dancing. Good afternoon.

Jonathan:

Yes, yeah. We did watch out.

Ashley:

There were aspects of this that reminded me of that. I can see that. I can see that.

Mari:

So there have been like a billion versions of the Christmas Carol story. What's your guys' favorite version?

Jonathan:

Oh, I love that.

Ashley:

I like the Mickey Mouse one.

Mari:

I don't think I've seen that one.

Jonathan:

Oh, really? Oh, okay. Interesting. That that is a that is a classic, too. It's been around for some time. Sure don't like the Muppet one?

Ashley:

You show your face.

Jonathan:

Um I so I guess I have two, but they're from the two different perspectives, right? So I like Scrooged. Um and then I like what's the the one from Charles the Charles Dickens right neck kind of perspective.

Mari:

A man who invented Christmas.

Jonathan:

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Mari:

That's a pretty that that's a pretty interesting way of coming at the story. I did I did like, despite me not liking that actor so much, I did like the how that story came at the plot of it. So Kelly, how about you?

Kelly:

How about what?

Mari:

Your your favorite version of the Christmas Carol.

Kelly:

Not the Christmas Carol.

Mari:

Yeah. Yeah. That's my favorite too. So it's it's kind of perfection for me. It's my favorite, followed closely by Scrooged. I like Scrooged a lot. It's also very well done. And then honestly, Spirited is probably my third favorite.

Jonathan:

Ashley, have you ever seen a Muppet Christmas Carol?

Ashley:

Not voluntarily.

Jonathan:

But you have have you watched it?

Ashley:

I'm sure you've had it on in the background.

Jonathan:

Oh, maybe we should just watch it. Why? Because you can do as you please.

Mari:

I Jonathan, are you gonna watch uh Michael Myers movie Marathon?

Jonathan:

Hold on. A marathon is different than a movie. I will watch a movie of your choice if you watch that with me. Ugh.

Kelly:

The thing to remember about Muppet Christmas, Carol, is they went to Michael Cain and said, We want you to be in this Christmas movie with the Muppets. So it's a Muppet movie, so have fun, be silly. And Michael Cain said, I'm a Shakespearean trained actor, I'm gonna play this as serious as a heart attack.

Mari:

Yep.

Kelly:

It's beautiful.

Ashley:

It's just so well. It's so appealing, guys. I don't I don't like a Muppet.

Jonathan:

I'm trying to soften her. Trying to soften her up for Muppeting.

Mari:

I yeah, I that's my favorite version. But regardless, I really like the story. Like I usually listen to or read the original, it's not that long of a book, original Christmas Carol book every year. There's several good versions. Like there's a version that Tim Curry reads, and there's a version that Patrick Stewart reads. They're both very good. Um if you're looking for something to do while like putting up your Christmas ornaments or doing something, you know, that doesn't involve a lot of like sitting down and hard listening, like it's a good it's a good story because you know the the beats. You don't have to pay super close attention, you know.

Jonathan:

Doesn't John Luc Picard have didn't he do a movie where he was like Yeah, he did a one-man play.

Mari:

Yeah.

Jonathan:

Oh, dang. What about Jim Carrey? Jim Carrey did one that was he uh was that cartoon.

Mari:

No, I actually haven't seen that one.

Ashley:

Miss Jim Carrey.

Jonathan:

Yeah, he's a Mr. Grinch.

Ashley:

No, I know. Oh, okay. I feel like we don't get enough Jim Carrey. There should be more Jim Carrey.

Kelly:

He said he retired. He retired from acting.

Ashley:

Oh, did he?

Kelly:

Yeah, he said he was retired from acting. He was only gonna take roles that were either too good to pass up or something like that. And then immediately after he announced that was when he announced he was going to be playing in that Sonic the Hedgehog movie.

Mari:

That's why he just does whatever he wants. Yeah. That's the dream, right? Oh God, like what's his face? Who's the wizard and wicked?

Kelly:

Oh, Jeff Goldblum. Yeah.

Mari:

I think that's the Jeff Goldblum school of like, I now do what I want.

Kelly:

No, they just throw Jeff Goldblum on a set and don't even tell him they're making a movie.

Jonathan:

Probably. It's all he plays the same character everywhere he goes.

Mari:

But it works.

Jonathan:

The last three productions I've seen him in, whether it was what was it? Ragnarok, Chaos, and then Wicked. It's all the same person.

Mari:

All the same.

Jonathan:

Sometimes he's got clothing off.

Mari:

Regardless, it works.

Jonathan:

Yeah.

Mari:

Anything else about the book?

Ashley:

I really liked her tone. I thought her flow was good. I didn't see, I didn't feel any like big plot holes. Arguably, I read this in like two days. I gotta be honest, I was a real slacker. And I I was a little nervous going into it because I was like 100 pages in, and I was like, this is not that great. Like, what are we doing with our time? And I must have hit page like 150, and I was sucked in. I was like, well, if I'm 150 pages in, then I can definitely do 200. And then 200 flew right by, and before I knew it, it was like 275. And I was like, well, fuck it. I'm finishing it.

Mari:

Yeah.

Ashley:

Um, because then you're in the nitty-gritty. Like, I definitely cried.

Mari:

Oh, same.

Jonathan:

Same.

Ashley:

There was that goodbye scene where she was just like super wholesome and we did it. Yeah. You're you're you're moot you're doing it. We did this together. I'm gonna be fine. No bitch. Yeah. Be honest. Fucking liar.

Mari:

Oh, yeah.

Ashley:

Wow, you I mourned with her.

Mari:

Yes, 100%. I listened to the first half of this on the drive down to Orlando for the Krampus stuff. And then basically finished it up a little what little was left afterwards. But yeah, I definitely was sucked in. I thought they did a good job of like alternating the character viewpoints, but it's still advancing the story. Like it didn't feel like it was rehashing, you know, the plot points at all. It felt like it flowed really well.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Mari:

And yeah, there were some really poignant scenes, like some of her early family stuff, some of the scenes where he's like alone were just oh hurt my heart so much. Like some of those flashback scenes. Yeah, yeah. I it's a really good book. I enjoyed it. I would recommend it. Even though I'm saying here it hurt, I would still recommend it.

Ashley:

But it was like a good hurt. Like some of them are gut-wrenching hurts. Like to your point, you know, manicled Alchemized. Alchemized was not nearly as bad. I'd like to be make that clear.

Mari:

Okay, good.

Ashley:

Uh, as manicold, it was it was slightly less painful. Just a schmidge. But no, this was like it this was heartwarming. It was definitely hallmarky. I don't think it was too cheesy, though, either. The cat. The cat was hilarious. Yes. I definitely want to know more about the boss. I think that's a I think that's a fair point that we've kind of skirted around, but not fully acknowledged. I want to know more about the side characters. Yeah. And that's really something that I got from this book was that I was invested. What was the music box to her?

Mari:

Yeah.

Ashley:

You know, like I'd like to know that story. She was this hard, tough, cold exterior lady, and just she melted with that music box. So it was obviously something really important. I'd like to hear that story.

Jonathan:

Is her shop a portal?

Ashley:

A portal?

Jonathan:

Like uh like where things things find their way.

Mari:

Forgotten things, yeah.

Jonathan:

Forgotten things find their way.

Mari:

Because I mean at the end it was Aunt Matilda that was in in the afterlife. Aunt Matilda owned the shop, so maybe.

Jonathan:

Is is is she is she also dead?

Mari:

Who? Matilda?

Jonathan:

No, the the lady character. Yeah.

Mari:

Maybe that's what that's what Ash asked. I was like, maybe she's dead. Maybe they're both dead.

Kelly:

Yeah.

Mari:

What do you think, Kelly?

Kelly:

No, she's not dead. She went to a dinner party with her mom.

Ashley:

But it could have happened after.

Jonathan:

Yeah, well, I mean, like, so she wasn't she in one of those like flashbacks with him in his That was just time travel. Oh. She wasn't aware. Was that a dream? She wasn't aware of it.

Mari:

If you or anyone wants a time travel love story that will really twist your brain, I highly recommend The Time Traveler's Wife. No. We do not. Audrey Niffenegger.

Ashley:

Girl, you're talking about gut-wrenching stories, and you're out here recommending the time traveler's wife. Are you fucking shitting me right now? There's not that is not a happily ever after.

Mari:

But it's a story that Jeannie, my best friend Jeannie, I think, described it well. I don't know, 20 years ago or whenever we first read it. It's a story that makes you love your loved ones more.

Ashley:

Emotionally prepare yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. That's all I'm gonna say about that. Fucking hell. The time traveler's wife. I'm still recovering from that.

Mari:

I still think about it. Yeah, I still think about it. I do. You read that one too, didn't you, Kelly? Didn't we both read it? Yeah. Yeah. It's it's a it's a good story. Okay. Uh it's a good sci-fi story. Like, yeah, it's just a good story. But what I would recommend, uh, gut-wrenching stories aside, is are there any other like Christmas Carol type books that you guys have read, like retellings or anything like that that you would recommend?

Jonathan:

Christmas Carol? Probably Christmas Carol, but like Christmas E.

Mari:

Well, there's a billion Christmas E books.

Jonathan:

Yeah.

Mari:

I will say Rebecca F. Kenny, who's written a ton of re of retellings, especially she's got like a whole holiday series, has a book. This is super spicy. So whether or not that's your your jam, it's a it's a Christmas Carol retelling where the Scrooge character is a a tyrant queen, and the ghosts have to like bring her over to the good side, so to speak. Um it's a F book. It's called Yeah, I know. We need to think about how many how many letters you have in there. Um it's a lot of constant. It's called A Hunt So Wild and Cruel. C-R-U-E-L. The the polyamorous books aren't usually my jam, but I did like that as a retelling, and I do like her. I like her books, so I recommend that if that at all intrigues you. That's the only one I could think of that's like another like Christmas Carol type retelling that I've read or even heard of.

Jonathan:

Her Jack Frost book, I think. That's on my I want to get that done before.

Mari:

Yeah, she's written Jack Frost. She wrote A Hunt So Weld and Cruel, which is the Christmas Carol retelling. She wrote A Court of Sugar and Spice, which is a nutcracker retelling. She wrote, oh my god, Filthy Heist, which is the one that came out this year, which is like a diehard retelling. I have not read yet. Diehard retelling. Yeah. And then she's got a Krampus story, too. She does a lot of really good retellings, but she also specifically has a lot of really good like Christmassy retellings. I would recommend her. She was at RomanacyCon. Right. Yeah, this year. Now, what I would recommend as well, not based off of subject matter, but if you enjoyed the accent, like the whole Irish accent thing in the audiobook, I would recommend listening to The Ruinous Trilogy by Brynn Weaver. It is a completely different kind of story. I will tell you this. It's Butcher and Blackbird, that series.

Ashley:

I really want to read that series.

Mari:

It's a good I would I would recommend listening to that series.

Ashley:

Okay.

Mari:

Yeah. 100% recommend listening to that series.

Ashley:

Best friend, check the audibles. You're laughing. I'm serious.

Mari:

And then the only the other one that came to mind was Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks. It's a Sunshine Grumpy, I guess. So it's a Irish mortician who's like introverted and demisexual. And then the the bubbly character is a female American Texan Disney illustrator main character that moves in next door to him. They're as opposite as as you can be. Um, but it's a cute story. It's a good it's a good listen to. So it's been a productive productive chat. I think so. Anything else anybody wants to bring up before we wrap it up?

Kelly:

Well, I think it's gonna be interesting to see what happens with the Disney Christmas Carol they're making for next year.

Mari:

What? They're making one for the cake of Johnny.

Kelly:

Depp is playing Scrooge.

Mari:

Of course he is. Of course he is. So here's my thing. My problem with Johnny Depps. Is that he's Johnny Depp in everything he does. But we love Jeff Goldblum for that. I know. But I think that it works. I can't picture I can't picture Johnny Depp as Scrooge. Maybe as one of the weird ghosts. You know?

Jonathan:

We we said the same thing about Michael Keaton as Batman.

Mari:

I never did.

Kelly:

I never did because the thing about Batman is when you make a Batman movie, it was like Tim Burton said, you don't cast Batman, you cast for Bruce Wayne. Because special effects and et cetera can make anyone look like Batman.

Mari:

Yeah. I will say I have been proven wrong before because a billion years ago, when the original interview with the vampire movie came out, and Anne Rice was still alive, I was with her where she didn't think that Tom Tom Cruise could could hack it, could be a good Lestat. And surprise, he plays a petulant, spoiled manny, you know, whiny man child very well. Um I wonder why. But he does. And she like apologized afterward. I'm like, okay, yeah, he did that real well. I I didn't think he would, but he did. So I am not infallible.

Kelly:

Oh, here it is, Mari. Here's the Christmas Carol remake we need to watch. Apparently, there is a Bollywood version of Christmas Carol. Please delightful called Christmas Karma.

Mari:

Yes, please.

Kelly:

And it has 18 songs.

Mari:

Yes. I need that. What a happy day. We're doing that next week, Kelly. We need to watch that. I love a Bollywood retelling. Like, I know this is super cheesy, but there's a Bollywood retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It's called Bride and Prejudice. And it is, I don't know. I just I really enjoyed it. If you like Bollywood and you like Pride and Prejudice, it mushes together very well. And I would 100% recommend it.

Kelly:

Oh, this is okay. So this is a Bollywood. This is a Bollywood adaptation filmed in the United Kingdom and it has Boy George in it. Eva Longoria.

Ashley:

It just gets better and better. I don't think you have to convince her anywhere, Kelly.

Kelly:

If you guys could see my face right now. It came out this year.

Mari:

If you could see my face.

Kelly:

Boy George is the ghost of Christmas future.

Mari:

Yes. Yes. We need to watch that. We'll report back to you. If you're lucky to make it out of it tonight, Kelly.

Jonathan:

Yeah, I think you're, I think we know what your plans are.

Mari:

Um okay. Gonna wrap it up. Before we do our little outro, I will say we got a rating and a comment on our the romantic, the 20, our little retrospective we did of this year's Romanacy Con. We have a fan. Yep, Julia Fisher said, so glad y'all had a great time at the con. Having Renfair Leathermakers sell at Romanacy Book Cons honestly sounds like a great collaboration. And yes to the ear cubs. For someone who no longer has ears pierced, ear cubs are such a fun alternative for jewelry. So they're on board with the there needs to be more costume-y stuff there. So maybe they'll have some different vendors next year. We can help you. All right. I love it. Thanks for listening to Of Swords and Soulmates. Before we go, make sure to check the show notes, rate review, and subscribe to us on your podcast app of choice. It helps others to find us and lets us know what you're enjoying. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at Of Swords and Soulmates. Check us out on our website of Swordsand Soulmates.com. If you'd like to offer a suggestion for a future episode, book, or discussion topic, feel free to reach out to us or on DMs or any of those options or email us at Mari at Swords Mari at Of Swords and Soulmates.com. I will say I'm not great about email, so sorry. Definitely DMs are better. If you want to read along with us as we prep for a new episode and get chapter-by-chapter interaction, join our Fable at Book Club by searching for the Of Swords and Soulmates Book Club on there. And last but not least, we hope you'll join us in two weeks for our next episode when we will be doing our end-of-year wrap-up episode. Uh reach out if you have any specific questions you want answered. Bye. Bye, guys.

Jonathan:

Bye. Hey.

Mari:

Yeah.

Jonathan:

Did we answer the uh burning question?

Mari:

No. Okay. Hey, don't stop recording, Kelly. Is this a kissing book?

Kelly:

I mean, I was gonna say we're only at like 50 minutes.

Mari:

Okay.

Jonathan:

Pause for editing. Pause.

Mari:

Okay, okay. Is this a kissing book? I can't write now.

Ashley:

I will say that the two people who should have known it was a kissing book did not know it was a kissing book. I think it was inevitably a kissing book.

Jonathan:

Who did hold on, who didn't know?

Ashley:

Each of them. The characters in the characters. I was like characters.

Kelly:

I was like, this whole book is. I mean, to be fair, they she came into that knowing that he was the ghost of Christmas past and she he was there to terrorize her. So Oh yeah, definitely.

Ashley:

Yeah, but they didn't know that they were like famous.

Jonathan:

Also, she didn't really like care, right? That he was he was in the apartment.

Ashley:

No, that she absolutely cared that he was in the apartment, by the way.

Jonathan:

She didn't call the police.

Ashley:

No, but she freaked out on him.

Kelly:

Yeah, I need a I need a Christmas Carol retelling where the ghost of Christmas past appears and then promptly somebody starts unloading a gun into him.

Jonathan:

That's like a die the diehard.

Ashley:

As I say, that's just Florida.

Mari:

So then absolutely, yes, this is a kissing book, I would say. Yeah.

Jonathan:

I agree. Like, no question.

Mari:

Yeah.

Jonathan:

Very much kissing movie. This is yeah, because I don't think they knew it was a kissing book. It's a hallmark movie. Like, how how do you every Hallmark movie is a kissing story? I don't know.

Mari:

No, I agree with Ash. I don't think they knew. Like, I thought they thought it was gonna be a tragedy. You know what I mean? Like he was gonna move on, never see her again. She was gonna forget him.

Ashley:

Yeah. It was fucking gut-wrenching.

Mari:

Yes.

Ashley:

That was that was definitely a hard part for me. Yeah. Um, but no, I don't think it ever occurred to them at any point until the very fucking end, the last 10 pages.

Jonathan:

So what kind of reader are you gonna recommend this to?

Mari:

To me?

Jonathan:

Yeah.

Mari:

I would recommend this to anyone who likes contemporary romance and wants to like do a little smidgen of of fantasy, try it to tiptoe into fantasy. Or I would also recommend this to anyone who's a fan of Christmas Carol.

Jonathan:

Yeah. Would you say like spicy cozy? Is that a category?

Mari:

Yeah, yeah.

Ashley:

I mean, I think that's fair. There was definitely a decent level of spice in this one, which I did appreciate.

Mari:

Yeah.

Jonathan:

Kelly, is this a kissing book?

Kelly:

Yeah, it's a kissing book.

Jonathan:

Uh just making sure you're on board.

Ashley:

I didn't I didn't I couldn't remember what it was so obviously a kissing book that it didn't occur to us to ask.

Mari:

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Jonathan:

To be clear. Nice.

Mari:

All right. This is our last episode of the year, so happy holidays to everybody, and we'll see you in the new year. Happy New Year.

Jonathan:

Happy, happy, merry. I hope you all to have a blessed and wonderful Yule time.

Mari:

Yeah. Absolutely.

Ashley:

Jonathan's quitting the fat man in the suit.

Jonathan:

Mari knows I texted her.

Mari:

You have to read Krampus the Yule Lord by by Gerald Braum. If you didn't already have questions about Santa, that will make you question Santa. That's all I'm saying. You can't quit Santa until you read it.

Jonathan:

Wait, she's she's yeah, but she says that's that's gonna make me not like Santa more.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Mari:

If you gotta you gotta commit.

Jonathan:

I have committed. No.

Mari:

This will this will strengthen your resolve.

Jonathan:

I told somebody at work I was surprised I wasn't in an HR meeting later on.

Ashley:

That's a conversation for another time.

Jonathan:

Nice.

Ashley:

All right. Bye, guys. Bye, guys.

Head Shot

Mari

Host
Head Shot

Ashley

Co-host
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Jonathan

Co-host
Head Shot

Kelly

Co-host

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