{Blog Tour} Locking Up Santa - Nikki LeClair (Review)

Locking Up Santa by Nikki LeClair
Series Haunting Me Series Book # 2
Genres: Fiction, Mystery 
Publication date: November 8th 2016
Format: ebook, 397 pages
How I got it: From Hello Chick Lit for an honest review
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 3/5
 
It’s the Christmas season, and seven months since Phoebe Mercer’s life dramatically changed. She went from being an overworked legal assistant to a CEO of Lavish Looks Beauty Company. She moved from the bustling city to a quaint seaside town. She’s gone from living with a fiancé to living with a ghost. Yet, it seems she can’t get a grip on her new life, whether it’s getting used to being a public figure, having a Chief Operating Official who hates her, or a ghost who is just too passionate. As if things couldn’t get any worse, Phoebe’s mentor is suddenly arrested for a horrible crime and the town is ready to lock them away for good. The new product from Lavish Looks smells like a sewer, and people everywhere are noticing. Phoebe and her ghost find themselves having to race against time to prove her mentors innocence, and stop the company from sinking. Meanwhile, Phoebe must deal with a face from her past that throws her in a disarray of emotion, an unwanted visitor, and old friends who seem to have abandoned her. Can she figure out whose sabotaging her life, and the company, before she finds herself behind bars for a crime she didn't commit?

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My thoughts:

Phoebe’s life has taken a drastic turn after she helped Edie get her company back and became CEO of Lavish Looks.  Edie is also a ghost that stays with Phoebe and gives her advice along the way.   Phoebe is now trying to launch a new brand the first time without Edie and nothing is going right.   The accountant of the company Henry has just been arrested for multiple robberies and also assault while he was supposedly dressed as Santa.   Phoebe and Edie are now on the hunt to save the company as well as find out if Henry is not guilty.   

I enjoyed reading about a lot of the side characters like Edie, Henry and Porter.  I felt like the author did a great job developing the side characters for this book.  I felt like Edie’s personality completely shown through as a ghost, especially when we got details of every outfit she wore.  I also liked that some of the other characters knew about the ghost of Edie and didn’t find this to be crazy.  I also liked Patti she may be a little party crazy, but she is a party planner through and through.   All of the side characters were very loyal to their cause. 

The author did a great job with the story it really flowed along and was a cute Christmas story.   All of the details the author uses make the scenes really develop for me.   I felt like I could picture myself along with Phoebe at work or in her home.   The story really picks up in the second half of the book once we got through a lot of the background details.  I felt like I couldn't put the book down and wanted to know what was going to happen and boy was I in for a surprise at the end.

Things I didn’t like was this to me in not a stand alone book.  The author pulled a lot of background details from the first book and made mention to them, but it left me feeling very confused while reading and I felt like I was completely missing something.    Sometimes a second book should be read right after the first one and I believe this book should be read after the first one and would probably be perfect then.   Personally I had to reread sections to remember who people where and what they had to do with Phoebe. 

I also struggled to like the main character Phoebe.  It is really hard for me to get into a book where I don’t love the main character or her cause.  I felt like Phoebe was being pulled in way too many directions and just wasn’t getting anything accomplished.  I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t asking for help since I didn’t know the full extent from the relationships from book one so I felt at a loss to feel sympathy for her.   Phoebe just seemed like someone who should not be in charge of a company and really like a lost child. 

I suggest this as a nighttime read it was easy to read and the story flowed nicely.  There were natural stopping points so it was easy to pick up and putdown.  There were sections where you wanted to know what was going to happen next. 

I received a copy of this book from Hello Chick Lit in the exchange for an honest review.  This does not affect my opinion of this book. 

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About the Author

Nikki LeClair, also known under her pen name Vivian Brooks, wasn't always a avid reader or writer. She picked it up during high-school when she came across Sophie Kinsella's Shopacholic series and the works of Jane Austen. Suddenly she found herself with high marks in her English and Writing classes, and part of the Yearbook club. Since then she's read more romantic comedies than she can list and until recently had the privilege of releasing her very first novel; All Because of You.
Her heroines are often over the top, but fully relate-able to any woman whose had to struggle with her love life, suitors, work environment and family.
She credits her work and the ability to force herself to keep up with her passion to her brother who was one of her first mentors in writing.

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