Brittany returns to her sister’s home in South Carolina to help out with her niece and the B & B that her sister, Blake, and brother-in-law run out of their home in aisle of Palms. Things immediately go awry when Blake’s violent ex-fiancé returns to haunt her. The sisters are flung into a battle to save everything they love.

I’m a huge supporter of independent artists and this book is a prime example of why. The author does a great job of creating interesting scenes and weaving scenarios that beg you to suspend disbelief and join the vibrant characters in a world where anything is possible. Suspense builds as one possible solution after another falls through. Only the love between Brittany and Ryan enables them to go on with the fight. Altogether this makes for a fun, sweet read, though I would have classified it more as a fantasy/paranormal rather than a suspense.

There were a few things I was a bit disappointed with, one being less character development than I hoped for. In the beginning when we meet Brittany I felt rushed, I wanted to know more about her, more about how she felt, more about how her lack of hearing had effected her experiences. She’s just gotten her masters degree, she’s been successful in many ways but we don’t get a lot of information about it. But in some ways I appreciate that, I’d rather get not enough backstory than too much. Another thing I was disappointed with was the mermaids.. I won’t say any more about that :)

All in all I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates independent art and the fantasy genre.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This was different from my normal reads and I did enjoy it. Very heavy into supernatural - not as lighthearted about it. I did like the characters and the setting

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was looking forward to this book because of it's setting - the Isle of Palms - an island close to Charleston, SC. I live in SC and love to see books that are set here.I did not expect how much of a paranormal story this would be.

After graduating from Architecture School, Brittany returns to the family cottage to help her sister. They encounter the spirit they banished in the last book as well as some evil mermaids. There's some fire and mayhem ensues.

The writing is okay although there are a few too many cliches used - "chickens with their heads cut off or hotter than blue blazes" There is not the detail about the island that is expected from most stories set on the SC coast.

If you like a good paranormal story you might like this book.

How could I resist a Lowcountry tale set on my favorite Lowcountry locale, Isle of Palms, and full of ghosts with a feisty heroine? I dove right into this tale of bad ghosts verse good ghosts. The Villian Parker who was previously vanished returns with a vengeance to get to Blake through Blake's daughter. Brittany Nelson, sister of Blake must banish Parker for good.
There was quite a bit going on in this book, while it was hard to keep up with at times, I loved the delightful characters and storyline. Brittany, the heroine in the book is also deaf and I think it was so important to give readers a glimpse into Brittany's world and the world of the deaf community.
I look forward to the next book in this delightful series!

I am always amazed by imaginative works and especially those of new writers. In this second installment of the "Palm Court" series Stephanie Edwards, the author showcases her imagination by bringing back the ghost and intrigue from the first novel with the addition of some new characters and more depth to some of the existing personalities. . I loved the freshness of "The Haunting on Palm Court. That freshness remains in this second installment with new romance but the same beautiful setting in South Carolina's low country.

In a twist of happenings, it seems the ghost was not really sent away in the first novel and returns with a vengeance in an attempt to wreck again the lives of two young lovers. The same characters participate in the attempts to remove the wretched rejected lover in the other world and face some mighty opposition. The fact that the current romance is a sister of the original haunting and is deaf adds a unique flavor and almost a normalcy to the family. A new character is the child of the romance in the first installment and she is an adorable little girl that also adds to this charming family story. While the plot and the ghosts are a little "otherworldly" the characters are real and fun. Summer is the perfect season to read this series and enjoy the fun, romance, and South Carolina setting. Thanks to #NetGalley#ReturntoPalmCourt#StephanieEdwards for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry, perhaps to a degree surpassed only by the larger cities of Savannah and New Orleans, is known for its rich tradition of ghost stories. In her novel “Return to Palm Court,” Stephanie Edwards gives this tradition an unusual twist by making a deaf woman, Brittany Nelson, the main character. It took a while for me to realize that this is actually the second book in a series, but after many references to Parker, the evil spirit’s exploits I worked it out. Not having read the first of these novels, entitled “The Haunting on Palm Court” and judging by the book’s beginning, I would venture to say that it is not required to follow along.
We meet our protagonist as a baby, as she contracts the virus that will lead to her deafness after a very high fever. Not much is mentioned about the kinds of services she receives, but it is noted that with early intervention and because she was already 3 at the time she still maintains her ability to speak. She thus uses American Sign Language when communicating with her family members, but can lip-read and verbalize with anyone who does not know this language.
In this second novel, Parker Sutton, Brittany’s sister’s abusive ex-husband, seems to have broken out of the “Final Destination” to which he had been committed through a cleansing ceremony. As Brittany returns to her Isle of Palms home after having graduated from an Atlanta university, she confronts this ghost as well as communing with her grandma and “Granny”’s best friend, also spirittts, who work to neutralize Parker as quickly as possible.
This story is filled with delicious Southern cooking, rich descriptions of area scenery, and lots of love tinged with suffering. The action gets going pretty quickly, and one finds it easy to keep zipping right along and in turns celebrating the family’s victories against Parker and his twin sister Maggie, and feeling bad when they are occasionally dealt blows. To keep things from getting too heavy, there are bits of comic relief sprinkled in, along with the cuteness of Macy, Brittany’s niece, and Willow, the family dog.
I definitely would recommend this story to those who are curious about not-often-portrayed elements of Southern culture and charm, though following some of the reasoning behind the character’s actions can be a bit complex. On the whole though, the romance and suspense one will encounter all work together to form a satisfying conclusion. I also enjoyed how the author seamlessly integrated elements of Brittany’s deafhood, like tending to notice the deck vibrating under her feet as someone approached and the interesting advantages she has when diving in the water (an inherently silent world anyway). She does this without leaning too heavily on tropes or the “disability as inspiration” narrative, painting Brittany as a normal person who simply works with and around barrierrs.
The third book in this series, due this year, is called “Christmas in Palm Court,” so fortunately we have not seen the last of these engaging and amusing characters. And perhaps we can assume, unfortunately for the Nelson clan, that we have not seen the last of the evil ones either.

I am very torn with this book. There are lots of elements I really loved - the storyline, the background, the fact the main character is deaf. I love supernatural themes and book centered around magic but this just felt slightly too much for me, in that there seemed to be too much going on. At times I found myself not quite being able to keep up with what was going on and I did find it skipped between stories/introduced new things very quickly. In saying that, overall I did enjoy it - to the point I would read the other books in the series. I found the abusive relationship element fascinating, especially the supernatural twist on it and it was an afternoon well spent reading it.

This was my first ever read from NetGalley and the premise of this book sounded super intriguing to me. A mystery/thriller with the main character being deaf is very original and the fact that she can communicate with spirits is pretty cool! Unfortunately, the execution just wasn't there for me. I found the writing to be super choppy and hard to follow. It was still a good plot, it just needs some editing and some more detail added.

Ghost stories have not really part of my reading list; however, Return to Palm Court: An Isle of Palms Suspense by Stephanie Edwards was so good. The characters are multi-dimensional. The vividly detailed description of the South Carolina Lowcountry made it feel like I was there. The plot was suspenseful and twisty. The supernatural aspect was not forced and felt right. I had to buy the first book to see where the Nelson sisters journey began, and I cannot wait for the next book in the Isle of Palms series.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

Brittany Nelson returns to the South Carolina Lowcountry to help her sister, Blake, run the family bed and breakfast and care for her three-year-old niece. Soon after, strange occurrences begin taking place. Brittany can't shake the feeling that the ghosts of her family's past haven't been laid to rest, after all.

This is definitely a fun book! I enjoyed the characters. The suspense in this bok is amazing and the writing is remarkable.

I was hoping to like this book more than I actually did. The story was interesting enough, but I just didn’t get that “ I’m going to love this book” feeling. This may be a good solid mystery for others, it’s just not for me.
This is 3.5 star rating for me.
#ReturntoPalmCourt #NetGalley

REVIEW BY: Librarian

Return to Palm Court by: Stephanie Edwards is a fantasy paranormal. A family with paranormal gifts of communing with the dead find themselves in a fight with dead fraternal twins, the male twin harboring a thwarted romantic relationship with the heroine's sister. This book includes ghosts, witches, and even mermaids.

I had serious questions about the deaf status of the heroine and what that had to do with the story. IMO it diminished the character and the journey of deaf persons in general.

It is a quick read. I gave it four stars because it is well written.

I received this book for an honest review #netgalley
#ReturnToPalmCourt
I loved the first book and the second did not disappoint. Magical story.