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apendragon's review against another edition
5.0
pamwinkler's review against another edition
3.0
zcmilano's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
francesca017's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zuuuzy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
thelorax107's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
j_lbrbsblogs's review against another edition
3.0
Atmospheric see full review:
https://lovebooksreadbooks.wordpress.com/2018/04/25/blogtour-ghost-by-helen-grant/
Thanks to Fledgling Press for eARC and LoveBooksGroup
meggyroussel's review against another edition
5.0
Once in a while, we stumble upon a book. We don’t know why but we are drawn to it. This is what happened to me with Ghost by Helen Grant.
Of course, cover love was in the air. A grainy white sheet of paper bearing a typewritten title accompanied by an old golden key, like a personalised invitation to another world.
Stepping into Augusta’s world is like coming out of a time machine. Welcome to the 1940s. World War II’s shadow hangs above Langlands house, the remote estate the seventeen years old girl lives in with her grandmother. I don’t read books set in this period because my great-grandmother shared true stories and memories of those years with me and I am always afraid that no author can meet my expectations and what I imagined the world to be during this awful time. I remember shivering when I realised I was right in the middle of it. But then something strange happened. I literally felt I was there, in this time and place with Augusta McAndrew. Amazing descriptions of a room, a garden, a decade, with its particularities and its mindset, made me forget all about my hesitation. I was reading the book as if it were lit by candles and I was wearing a shawl, alone in a big cold family house. Helen Grant captures a time and her reader, she puts them together in a jar, and fills it with a beautifully written plot.
Ghost could be categorised as a locked-in novel. Augusta doesn’t leave her house. The setting becomes part of the plot as everything revolves around it. In the middle of nowhere, she is safe from what awaits outside. Only her grandmother dares trip to the town to shop whenever necessary. I could feel the resplendent house’s protection just as well as the claustrophobia such a lonely life creates. The dark yet gorgeous atmosphere reminded me of the best gothic novels of the XIXe. I know little about historical fiction, but Ghost had such an impact on me it was difficult to tear myself away from the novel and its characters. I was in a bubble made of dresses, simple meals, chores, and the thoughts of a teenager so different from our days’ worries. I didn’t want to leave. Yet, there was trepidation. Dread. An uneasy feeling I felt creep under my skin. Something was going on…
The dread is all around Augusta, innocent and sweet child who hasn’t seen what the world has to offer. Augusta is the perfect gothic lady. So, when the house opened its door to Tom McAllister, I knew I would dive into drama led by a tragic heroine. Tom’s appearance threatens Augusta’s life as she’s known it for her entire life. More than love, he can open doors Augusta never suspected were there. Even I wasn’t expecting what was to come! Because don’t believe Ghost is a mere Brönté-like book. Oh, no. It’s better than this! Ghost stands at the threshold of everything. A past, a future. Different worlds. Ghost is a crack on the wall of time, engulfing you in a magnificent love story, life story, death story. The book will have you think about your own life for a long time after you’ve left Augusta.
If you think you know all about coming-of-age novels, you are wrong. Augusta walks a path which takes this ritual towards adulthood to another level. Can you really live when surrounded by so many ghosts?
The writing robbed me of all adjectives to try and describe it. Pure and powerful, it gave me room to discover, be surprised, feel, imagine, and believe. Twists had me going 'what?!'? in the best way possible.
I wish I could say more, but should my lips (or in this case, my fingers) reveal the slightest hint of what you will find in this novel, the magic would fail to knock you off your feet as much as it did to me, and I’m a kind person, but I do want you to be so surprise you let out a word a well-raised girl from 1945 wouldn’t use! Delightfully macabre, Ghost is intriguing and absolutely fascinating in its very own way.
Langlands House is haunted in more ways than you think. Will you dare open its doors? I promise you an other-worldly twisty plot as taut as a fishing line, a walk on waters ready to overwhelm you, and most of all, a brilliant and impressive tragic tale of ghosts.
timbookshelf's review
4.0
Thanks to Love Books Group for organising this blog tour. I was sent a copy of this novel for review, but all opinions are honest and my own.
From the blurb, I had an idea for how I thought this was going to go. I wasn’t even close. It was so much better. A big part of what makes this novel so great is how unexpected everything in. So, this review is going to be frustratingly vague I’m afraid!
What I can tell you is that I was captivated for the whole 400 pages. The story is fantastic. The setting is wonderful, and adds the perfect atmosphere alongside the mysterious story. And our main character was great, really realistic and not just the perfect protagonist.
And the ending. The ending was perfect. And you’ll have to pick up the novel find out more!