The House on Darkling Street by Annette Miller is a short but sweet paranormal romance set in the quietly magical fictional town of Garland Falls, Minnesota. The main character, Holly Stevens, has been hired to clean a mysterious manor house perched on the top of Darkling Street in anticipation of the original owner’s daughter returning. But the manor house has other plans.

Ray Burnett has lived on Darkling Street for most of his life, but even so, he does not feel welcome in the town itself. Born of parents from both the Dark Side and the Light Side, he seeks acceptance from the town even though he feigns disinterest. When he meets Holly, he is at first intrigued but soon comes to find her sweetness more than attractive. And as their friendship blossoms, he helps Holly trust her instincts and solve the mystery as to why the house keeps trying to get her attention, and she helps him heal and find his inner strength.

The characters are so sweet that you just want to pinch their cheeks. Holly and Ray are endearing and kind, and you can’t help but root for them. Refreshingly, the author doesn’t try to give either of them a villainous side, nor does she do the standard angsty breakup about 70% of the way through over a trope-laden misunderstanding. (Trust me, it is true if you are a romance reader. Test it out.)

I wish I had read the other books set in Garland Falls series because I find myself with a lot of questions. The book was short, and I was left wondering about all the side characters the reader is introduced to. I would have especially liked more information about Ray’s background, especially as to what he went through returning to Garland Falls, his mysterious parents, and more about the existence of Garland Falls in general, because you know this isn’t just any ordinary town in Minnesota.

Luckily, this is one of many in the Garland Falls series, so there’s hope that those mysteries will be unraveled in future reading. It is a cozy paranormal romance perfect for a quiet evening. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait too long for the next book.