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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Drug use, Car accident
There were a few red flags in Rachel and Thomas's relationship that I let pass, but after finishing Rachel's first section I realized I didn't really care what happened. It feels like the author couldn't decide what she really wanted this book to be. It did have some truly beautiful passages and I would for sure read another book by Amy Bonnaffons.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"You may have read books, or seen movies, about hauntings--the rustling of curtains, the inexplicable flushing of toilets, the flickering of candles, even good old Patrick Swayze slow-dancing to 'Unchained Melody'. That's kid stuff. Haunting is not confined to the realm of ghosts. It is a state of avoidance and obsession. We haunt because we are haunted. Every haunter is also a hauntee."
I found it to be something like if Sally Rooney had tried her hand at writing an Edward Gorey tribute. I went in with absolutely zero expectations and was delightfully entertained but also shaken by some of the very profound truths revealed about love and relationships.
I found it to be something like if Sally Rooney had tried her hand at writing an Edward Gorey tribute. I went in with absolutely zero expectations and was delightfully entertained but also shaken by some of the very profound truths revealed about love and relationships.
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There’s a line in the middle of this title that nails it perfectly for me:”I just demanded that, like a good literary novel, love be absorbing, and full of texture, and, well novel.”
This isn’t a great story. It has interesting parts, yet the overall arc lands with a thud. It is “full of texture”, which is what I appreciate about it. Anyone who writes will definitely nod to the author’s descriptive elements. Although it is easy to understand after skimming the acknowledgements at the back… this took her a very long time to write, and it went through several literary assoc. rock tumblers to polish into a finished project.
I first heard about this in the NPR annual book concierge, and although am glad to have read the author’s carefully selected adjectives to create mood, I can’t say I liked or cared about any of the characters, which come off rather flat against the other descriptions. If you write, and enjoy the craft of “crafting”, you might pull the same enjoyment out of this as I did.
This isn’t a great story. It has interesting parts, yet the overall arc lands with a thud. It is “full of texture”, which is what I appreciate about it. Anyone who writes will definitely nod to the author’s descriptive elements. Although it is easy to understand after skimming the acknowledgements at the back… this took her a very long time to write, and it went through several literary assoc. rock tumblers to polish into a finished project.
I first heard about this in the NPR annual book concierge, and although am glad to have read the author’s carefully selected adjectives to create mood, I can’t say I liked or cared about any of the characters, which come off rather flat against the other descriptions. If you write, and enjoy the craft of “crafting”, you might pull the same enjoyment out of this as I did.
I feel like this book is whatever the reader wants to make of it. If you're looking for a quirky anti-love-love story, this is it. If you're looking for a (white) mid-twenties coming of age story with an edge, this is it. If you're looking for a story that combines contemporary reading with fantasy, this is it. If you're looking for a metaphor of how abusive relationships follow and "haunt" us in life, this is it. If you read this and derived literally no meaning from it, I fully understand that as well.
I just could not put this down. The thing is, I don't even think I could recommend this to anyone I didn't deeply and personally know. Just read the synopsis and reviews and feel it out. If you decide to read it, I hope you enjoy it; at the same time, I understand why other people would not like it!
To me, this book was odd, funny, spooky, down-to-earth, draining, and spicy. (Think lots and lots of ghost sex). Happy reading!
I just could not put this down. The thing is, I don't even think I could recommend this to anyone I didn't deeply and personally know. Just read the synopsis and reviews and feel it out. If you decide to read it, I hope you enjoy it; at the same time, I understand why other people would not like it!
To me, this book was odd, funny, spooky, down-to-earth, draining, and spicy. (Think lots and lots of ghost sex). Happy reading!
A delightfully weird, unique, sexy, bittersweet story about a love affair between a woman (in the world of the living, but also somewhat removed from it) and a ghost who has been temporarily stuck on Earth because of the equivalent to a clerical error in the afterlife. I LOVED the writing: poetically precise and philosophically true. The tone was thoughtful and candid, details of the characters' flaws unflinching, but it never moved into cynicism.
