Tangled Ribbons

In this lackluster supernatural romance, newly dead Jenna becomes an ambitious Spirit Guide and sets out to help her friend Bev, still alive, find her soul mate, Anne. When another Guide, Cornelia, inexplicably blocks her progress, Jenna must untangle the mysteries of Cornelia’s past, and soon Jenny and Cornelia strike up their own romance. Strock (In the Shadow of the Wonder Wheel) follows the classic structure, putting obstacles in the way of two pairings until love wins out. But the Spirit Guides have such extensive powers that the earth characters feel paper-thin, without agency of their own. So many ideas are thrown into the mix (married women discovering they’re gay, a whole “becoming a writer” subplot, white people having visions in Native American sweat lodges, and experiences of bigotry and abuse, just to name a few) that true love often feels pushed to the side. Strock’s message is uplifting, but the execution is too flawed to make it work. (Apr.)