Samantha Spük: Paranormal Wedding Planner by Aleese Lin

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: June 2, 2026

Samantha “Sabby” Spük is an accountant who has spent years trying to distance herself from her family’s supernatural roots, but after her grandmother’s death, a magically binding will pulls her back to Salem and keeps her there until the estate is settled. As she adjusts to her unwanted return, she becomes an accidental wedding planner for the town’s paranormal community, juggling vampire brides, fae clients, a disembodied head, a pixie assistant, and a complicated connection with Hanry. The story follows Sabby as she moves through a mix of cozy fantasy, light mystery, and romance while confronting her family legacy and deciding whether the ordinary life she imagined is really the one she wants.

For me, this had a fun premise and some charming side characters, but the execution never fully matched the idea. Sabby often felt emotionally distant, and the romance was not strong enough to carry the story when the plot started to wander. I think my biggest issue was the clunky first-person narrative, which made the humor and character voice feel more forced than natural and kept me from getting completely immersed in the story. There are flashes of quirky appeal here, especially in the paranormal wedding setup, but overall, this landed at about 2.5 stars for me.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *