I love Karen White’s Tradd Street series — ghosts, mysteries, and the kind of characters you’d want to befriend (while simultaneously being tempted to wring their little high maintenance necks at times). This book is the first in a spin-off series about Nola Trenholm (step daughter of Tradd Street’s protagonist) who is setting up shop on her own in the Big Easy (where I am conveniently visiting atm for the first jazz fest in three years — hooray!)

She buys an historic fixer-upper that comes complete with dissatisfied spirits and a long time mystery and plenty of architectural pearls.

Well-written and plenty of fun. High in puzzle solving but low in stress.

I had never read a book by White before and I went into this book blind and I completely adored it! The immersive writing had me feeling like I was right there with Nola in New Orleans.

As Nola is restoring her first home to its original architecture she is met with resistance from the “inhabitants” that aren’t quite willing to leave the house behind. As a designer, I fell in love with the architectural details in the story. White does a fantastic job blending the history of the area within the mystery as the story unfolds.

The cast of characters, especially Jolene, felt like old friends and I didn’t want the book to end. I’m happy that this will be a new series! This was definitely a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me! I have already started the Tradd Street series as a result!

Having read the last book in the Tradd Street series, it was fun to start this new series with a little background. I’m not a regular reader of paranormal books but the way the author builds the spirits into the storyline makes it easy and enjoyable for readers of all genres and especially for fans of murder mystery like me! This is a series I plan to continue reading!

This is the first in a spin-off series (Royal Street #1). The original series is Tradd Street and the main character in that series is Nola's step-mother (she sees ghosts and solved mysteries). While I'm looking forward to the Tradd Street series, this read fine as a stand-alone.

This book has elements of many genres. It's definitely a mystery, but there's also some paranormal, southern, and a little bit of romance mixed in. I loved the cast of characters and appreciate their development and what I'm sure will be ongoing storylines. I wish I could jump into the second book right now- I am definitely invested in what happens next.

Nola is ready to spread her wings and has moved from Charleston to New Orleans. She has a love of historical architecture and falls in love with a house that she has to have. It's a 'murder house' and it's haunted. Nola wants to solve the mystery of the murder and is aided by a wonderful collection of friends and acquaintances. I definitely recommend this book and am looking forward to passing it on.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a spinoff from a series I didn't read, but I was still able to enjoy the start of this new series. The mystery is solid and kept me guessing. The characters were enjoyable and realistic. The ending leaves the reader excited for the next installment.

I love how Karen White is able to write compelling mysteries, weaving together fantastic stories with strong characters. This book does all that, however, I was disappointed that Nola’s character seems to morph into Melanie instead of retaining her original strong personality. I hope moving forward with the series she develops back into her own character instead of a replica of Melanie.

Karen White is a must read author for me, and the books in her Tradd Street series have been among my favorites. I enjoyed this first book in her new series featuring Nola. The references to Nola’s family and Charleston connected it to the Tradd Street books while establishing an exciting new series. I can’t wait to read the next installment!

Thoughts
~Nola is branching out on her own and renovating a run down historical house against the advice of her stepmom. It may be because her stepmom can communicate with ghosts, and the ones that live there are not happy. The house was also a murder scene back in the day so it’s no wonder the spirits are not welcoming Nola with open arms.

The biggest mystery and most interesting part of the story is when she runs into her old college friend/enemy, Beau, who has moved back to town. Beau’s sister was allegedly kidnapped the week before Hurricane Katrina, and his parents disappeared during the hurricane while searching for their daughter. Neither case was ever solved.

Part ghost story, part romance, part mystery this book has it all! The last page is quite the cliffhanger that had me wishing I had book #2 in hand!

This is a spin-off of Karen White’s popular Charleston based ‘Tradd Street’ series.

Nola, has stumbled into adulthood, but is trying to move past those times with a fresh start in New Orleans, when she discovers that she must deal with ghosts from her past, as well as new ones.

‘The Shop on Royal Street’ caught my eye primarily because any book set in Louisiana, I need to read it! Growing up in Louisiana, paranormal activities and spirits was always apart of my life. I loved how Karen White enhances the story regarding the paranormal world with an accurate description of how a Southern identifies ghosts.

Full of southern dialect and intrigue, I would recommend this one to all, especially those who are interested in the ‘true’ paranormal world.

Thank you Berkley Books, NetGalley and UpLit for my gifted book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Shop on Royal Steet by Karen White is a mix of Southern fiction and a paranormal murder mystery set in New Orleans. It's the first book in a spin-off of her very popular Tradd Street series.

Nola Trenholm moves to New Orleans to start a new chapter in her life, after a distractive few years, where she purchases an old Creole Cottage that she plans to renovate. But she gets more than she bargained for as the house comes with ghosts and dark secrets. Enter Beau Ryan, a man from Nola's past with whom she has a tumultuous relationship but who can help her with the ghost problem.

The Shop on Royal Street is a very slow-burn mystery. It has a lot of elements that I enjoy, such as ghosts, old houses, quirky characters, and a touch of romance. I struggled with the first part of the book because of how slow it was. I enjoyed the second half of the book a lot more. I would recommend The Shop on Royal Street to fans of Southern fiction and mystery readers.

This book has the beautiful old houses, the paranormal themes, AND it’s set in the south. It also has a face from the past who helps Nola, the main character who’s starting afresh, figure out what business the ghosts in her new house have left unfinished.

It’s been on my bucket list forever to visit Charleston and New Orleans and Karen White’s books are definitely one of the reasons why. So atmospheric and descriptive, they transport you right there. This is definitely one of the big reasons I love her books.

Already looking forward to the next in the series and loving Nola as a main character..

I am always up for a good ghost story and White knocked it out of the park. The ghosts are fully developed characters and add to the story. I hope there are more books in this series.

I was so sad when I found out that Karen White’s Tradd series was coming to an end, but thankfully she then announced a new spinoff, The Royal Street series…Huge sigh of relief. I was a little nervous picking up The Shop on Royal Street, since we were leaving some characters behind, but as soon as I started reading, I was already in love with the new cast and excited for Nola’s new start in life!

What appealed to you the most in this story?

Just getting to dive into a brand-new series with a cast of new (one return) characters was the best! I’ve already fallen in love with Nola’s close friends and the humor and levity they bring to the story. Seriously, Jolene is the absolute best friend any girl could ask for, and her one-liners are the perfect for some laugh out loud moments. Now add in some move characters that you will love, and you have the makings for an excellent support system to help Nola tackle the renovations on her new home and the mysteries that surround it.

How was the setting?

Karen White is the master of pulling you into a story and making you feel like you are standing right there with the characters with lush and detailed atmosphere. I loved getting to explore the streets (potholes), restaurants, customs and Parishes in New Orleans through Nola’s eyes.

Do I need to have read The Tradd Street series in order to understand this new spinoff series?

No! You can start with this book and begin a whole new adventure and life with Nola and not feel like you have missed a thing. Now I do have to say that the Tradd Street series is one of my favorites and I’ve reread it several times, so if you haven’t read it yet I HIGHLY recommend you dive into it now!

How was the pace?

This story held a steady pace as it introduced new characters, settings, and background for the series to build from.

Do you recommend this book?

Heck yes, I do!! This book is both funny, sad, and suspenseful at times; the multiple mysteries are all interesting and suspenseful; and the ghosts run the gamut from being heartwarming to exceedingly creepy and dangerous. It is truly a great book to begin a series with, and I’m so excited to see where this series and Nola’s life will go from here!

Thank you, Berkley Publishing, and Uplit Reads for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. It was fantastic to slip back into a world so similar to the Tradd Street stories. The setting, New Orleans, was really well done and a great setting for Nola's story. I loved the house renovation story line, I really enjoyed the new characters and I loved the mystery and paranormal aspects. The only thing I didn't love was the some of the story details were a bit too similar to the Tradd street series. I don't want to give anything away so I'm not going to elaborate here but a part of the story felt very close to the other series. That being said, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story at all.

I don’t read books centered on paranormal activity often. I think the last one I read was Layla shortly after it came out in late 2020. I don’t usually find them believable, even though I do my best to remind myself that it doesn’t have to be believable within the context of what I believe in to still be an enjoyable read (says the girl trying to get into fantasy).

But this one is done so well! The paranormal activity didn’t feel overdone; it felt like an integral part to this story (which, of course, was the goal)! This added an extra layer of mystery to the plot that kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat. And by the end, I was completely surprised by how the paranormal activity fit into the broader story. Very well done in terms of shock factor.

I would be remiss to gloss over the extraordinary setting details. Karen White truly transports the reader to New Orleans. This is my first book by White, and I can tell she has a gift for crafting rich setting details. From the physicality of the setting to the food to the weather, I may as well have been in New Orleans.

I definitely want to pick up more books by Karen White. I think I’ll start with the first in her Tradd Street series (The House on Tradd Street). And I’m excited to share that The Shop on Royal Street is the first of a series!

𝙽𝚘𝚕𝚊 𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙾𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚏𝚒𝚡𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚌 𝚏𝚒𝚡𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚜.

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝙺𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕. 𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚊 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚢, 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕. 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍. 𝙼𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙽𝚘𝚕𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚎/𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝙹𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚎. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚜𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢! 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝙽𝚘𝚕𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕.


𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 @netgalley, @uplitreads 𝒂𝒏𝒅 @karenwhitewrite 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.

I enjoyed this one! Royal Street is a new series and is a spin off from a previous series by this author Tradd Series. I haven't yet read other books by Karen White and I didn't have any issues keeping up in this new series. This book kept me hooked and I was interested in figuring out the mystery. In addition, I relished the descriptive writing. It felt as thought I had been transported to New Orleans! I will have to check out other Karen White books now.

I was so sad when Karen White ended her Tradd Street novel but even more excited when I heard she was starting a new series featuring Nola. But… would the new series live up to the original? YES! It lived up to it and is just as amazing. The paranormal appearances were perfect, and Noal and the other characters have a wonderful story to tell.

I was so intrigued by the house Nola was compelled to purchase. From the first steps inside there was no doubt that there was another presence there. I needed to know what the presence was and how was it connected to Nola and Beau. I loved putting the clues together to solve the mystery and am happy to say that I had it mostly put together.

Mimi, Beau’s grandmother, was interesting. Her character is one that I am hoping for more of in future books in this series. I feel like she has a lot more to share. Her story has to have more to it, her life has to be very unique and interesting.

The ending... AMAZING! Leaving me ready for book two. What a twist. I had no idea that was where the story would end.

**Thank you Dache' J. Rogers at Berkley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Karen White has hit it out of the park with her new spin-off from the Tradd Street Series. Nola Trenholm is finally on her own in New Orleans and making a go of it. She has bought a house that she plans to restore. Problem is it comes with an attachment to someone from her past, Beau Ryan.

This story got my attention from the start. The tensions between Nola and Beau create a wonderful story. There are also some restless spirits that aren’t so easy to move from the home Nola has purchased and she’s going to need help, which is an issue that Nola doesn’t deal with easily.

If you love the Tradd Street series, you will love this spin-off. A truly enjoyable read and worth picking up.

Thank you #netgalley and #berkleypublishing for allowing me to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

The Shop on Royal Street is the first book in a spin-off of the author's Tradd Street series. While the author references characters and happenings from the original series, the book firmly stays in its new location of New Orleans with its main character Nola Trenholm. It is clear that Nola has a lot of past experiences that are lightly referred to by the author to allow new readers to the series to understand her motivations. Nola firmly insists that she doesn't need anyone's help and doesn't want to owe other people anything. When the dilapidated house she has just purchased turns into solving a cold case, Nola is forced to rely on her best friend Jolene and Beau. I always enjoy a story with ghosts and this one had the right amount of ghosts and chills. Beau's family has a long history in New Orleans and it feels like he will be part of an overarching mystery in the next book of the series. The story introduces a lot of characters and backgrounds which makes the pacing feel slow at points. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading the next one already!

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Books for the ARC.