Liquid Silver Books, $5.25, ISBN 978-1-59578-405-6
Paranormal Romance, 2007

Our heroine Sarah Hooper decides to take a break from annoying boyfriends who prefer the company of their buddies instead of a cozy vacation with her as well as from the mundane drabness of her secretary job by going on a vacation on her own to the town of Wells in Somerset. Let’s just say that this turns out to be a most unusual vacation indeed given that she finds herself bumping knees with two ghosts of World War I soldiers named Ernest and Albert in a party that begins even before she gets off the train. With this being a multiple-partner rumpy-pumpy story, the two ghosts predictably are into each other too even as they both give Sarah a ghostly good time. Sarah soon finds herself embroiled in all kinds of unconventional happenings during and after her vacation.

Fallen Soldiers is not a typical romance story given the number of people on the bed at a single time, but it’s a fun story nonetheless. Ms Applebee writes in a manner more reminiscent of a crisp chick-lit author. She has a humorous and no-nonsense way with humor that appeals to me tremendously, which allows me to enjoy this story very much. The ghosts can be a little too much like interchangeable sex woobies at times but Ms Applebee at least have them having their differences now and then so they are not too much like cardboard figures. However, Sarah is a blast to follow thanks to the author giving her a strong first-person narration style that I personally enjoy.

This is a novella-length story so the usual limitations when it comes to character and plot developments apply here. However, Ms Applebee manages to give me a most enjoyable – if unorthodox – vicarious vacation to Wells through Sarah. Fallen Soldiers is a most interesting and pleasantly enjoyable naughty paranormal romp with a touch of romance.