Review: The Stubborn Dead by Natasha Hoar ★★★

The Stubborn Dead by Natasha Hoar
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Lost Souls #1
Publication Date: 23 Jan 2026
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 67
Rating: ★★★
Review Copy: Own purchase

                                                                                            

Rachel Miller thought her next job was a run-of-the-mill haunting. As a member of the Order of Rescue Mediums it's her duty to release trapped spirits from the earthly realm. But when called to client Sylvia Elkeles's house, she finds a wraith who doesn't act like he should. The Order considers the wraith an extreme threat and Rachel may be forced to use a barbaric ritual to free him—a ritual that comes with a heavy personal price. If she fails to humanely release the wraith, she'll have her supernatural abilities bound. When Janus Ostara—local supernatural mob boss—shows up demanding her attention, and Sylvia keeps secrets that may place Rachel in mortal danger, she doesn't need her abilities to know something darkly sinister is at play. Between uncovering Sylvia's disturbing motives, and avoiding Janus, Rachel has enough on her hands without dealing with a wraith who may not realize he's supposed to be dead...

                                                                                            

Bite-sized but full of fun.

A ghost story with attitude. Aggressive spirits are Rachel Miller's bread and butter. As a rescue medium, it's her job to send them on their way, no matter how reluctant they are to leave. Wraiths, on the other hand, are a different matter. Faster, stronger and a whole lot angrier.

I enjoyed this, but it was so very short! I've been to look up more information on the series to see if this is a prequel or something, and found a curious thing: It's not a prequel, it's the first in a series that's going to have all the books this kind of short "novella" length. So that it's almost like reading a T.V series with intense, action-filled "episodes" and an overarching character development. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. Novellas are okay; short and sweet, but never really in-depth enough for me to fully engage in. Which is a shame because the world-building sounds very interesting and diverse. I'll just have to see how I get on with the short 60-90 page length books.

I think I might grow to like Rachel, the main character, but again, it's too early and it was too short to tell. She meets an interesting character during this book that I hope to see more of in the future. There are people that Rachel is unaware of watching her. Mr. Grey is one. This kind of reminded me of Smoking Man from the X Files, and the ghost banishing is a bit like Ghost Whisperer, if Jennifer Love Hewitt wore leather and rode a motorcycle.

Or something.

I'm going to try the next "book" The Ravenous Dead, to find out more on this new character I'm intrigued by. The next one is a bit longer, 27,000 words instead of 20,000. I find it an interesting idea to release the series this way, but I'll be interested to see if other people take to it, or, like me, would prefer something more substantial.

3 Stars ★★★