Member Reviews
This volume is a bind-up of issues 1-4 of Ghosted in L.A., which is a story about Daphne who moves to Los Angeles to be with her boyfriend when he promptly dumps her. Now Daphne has to learn to live in LA and on the way back from her ex-boyfriend's house, stumbles into the garden of another house that's inhabited by ghosts! Daphne moves in and starts navigating college life and life with ghosts.
I think this is a really fun volume! Daphne is a very lovable main character and definitely recognizes when she's done wrong and can admit it, which I appreciate. I also love many of the side characters. This story is really about self-discovery for all characters, both dead and alive. The art style is really gorgeous and is in that sweet spot of beautiful but not too crazy.
The one thing I will say, and what keeps me from really LOVING this novel is that I can't really tell where we're going. Is there really an overarching plot here? It seems more episodic and that is keeping me from really adoring this.
Overall, I would recommend this to people looking for a good graphic novel with depth. And it deals with LGBTQ+ issues, which I love!
This was a really fun, unique storyline! I loved the different personalities of the ghosts and the fact that each of them have a style that's representative of the times they died in. The twist with one of the ghosts was pretty fun, and I'm totally here for some cute queer ghost/living romance in the future if the story decides to follow that route with a couple of the side characters. The casual diversity was wonderful (the main character is Jewish and bisexual, multiple side characters are queer and/or POC) and the art and color palette were lovely. My only real complaint is that the main character is really obnoxious at times, but it's hard not to root for her despite that. Overall, I can't wait to continue in the next volume!
The first 4 chapters of the Ghosted in LA graphic novel are bound together in this first volume. The story revolves around college freshman Daphne Walters who moved out to LA, against the objections of her best friend, with her boyfriend Ronnie. They even attend the same school. Daphne struggles with fitting in since her roommate dislikes her and makes it a point that she knows. She's willing to look past that since she's there to support her boyfriend. Only, when he dumps her unceremoniously, the little control Daphne has over her life quickly crumbles.
There are a lot of stories about young adults braving it in college for the first time while in a relationship they think is forever. Until inevitably they break up and everything falls apart. This story takes a different approach by adding ghosts into the mix! Overall it was interesting and I enjoyed learning about some of the ghost characters' lives before dying and what led to how they carry themselves now.
There is quite a bit of action aside from the main plot of Daphne getting through school and piecing herself together after the sudden breakup. I feel like it was a good push and pull of us learning about the different characters and there still being a general mystery about their lives, which was pretty interesting.
In conclusion, this is an easy to read, fun graphic novel. It has some dark-sided action in it but manages to not take itself too seriously and keep things lighthearted throughout. I'll probably be keeping my eyes out for Volume 2!
Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM Box! for providing me an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
I felt this was an intriguing story, but it didn't dive deep enough into the characters' personalities or history for me to form a strong attachment to them yet. Hopefully, that will change in later volumes, since I do think this world has the potential to hold readers' interest for a while. Giving each ghost a distinct style based on different periods in contemporary history was a smart decision, and I'm excited to learn more about each of their previous lives.
My favorite part of the series so far is the art. I love Siobhan Keenan's soft, round style and dynamic expressions. Her characters always have a friendly air to them that makes me want to live in their world. Cathy Le's colors were also attractive and provided further character to the story while creating a clear divide between the normal and the supernatural.
The issues in this volume were fairly episodic, so it seems like readers could easily follow the plot whether they chose to read the series as single issues or trades. The mystery aspect present in this volume is what interests me most, and I will likely continue reading along through collected editions.
This was my first comic novel and I adored it. It was so cute and funny.
Daphne was a confusing main character with extremely quick mood switches and I felt the story too at times moved very fast, but it was an enjoyable read.
The illustrations were superb, I'd have to give that. And all the characters had their own backstories so that made it even more interesting.
I just felt like it ended too soon ah. Need the next vol right now!!! I can't wait to see how Daphne fares with the ghosts 😁😁
Hilarious! Amazing and so much fun.
Really loved the art style and the story too. It was different and took me back to my comic days! I could totally relate with the main character and I am glad that the author didn't shy away from making her flawed with all her naiveness, indecisiveness and with an abundance of spontaneity! Looking forward to the series.
This was cute! I especially loved the ghost backstory scenes, with the different coloring. Daphne seemed to have a lot of drama and self-centeredness that she could’ve saved herself from a lot of trouble, but then she was relatable with her “night cheese” 😂😂 I’d definitely read more of it.
I'd read the first issue of Ghosted in L.A. a while back after meeting Sina Grace during a signing at a convention. He was nice, so I got the first issue. But it wasn't enough to draw my attention and I let it drop.
So you can imagine my surprise when I so deeply enjoyed the first volume. It turns out that this is one of those stories where you need to get a bigger bite of the story to fully enjoy it. It took getting to know leading lady Daphne better to understand her motivations and get attached to her story. It's one of those instances where a character and their situation grows on you as you get a broader view of the story. And there's so much to unpack in this story. It's not just Daphne's story, it's also the story of each ghost and of Daphne's living friends.
That said, the pacing is slightly all over the place. It constantly jumps between times, locations, and characters. I totally admit to being a bit lost a couple of times as to who was talking and how we'd gotten to a particular place. It appears to be a quirk of Grace's writing style and I ended up getting used to it, but it did annoy a tad at the beginning.
Artwise, the character design fits the story to a T and I loved the use of colors. Characters are also extremely expressive, which works to tell the story almost as well as what's written on the page.
Overall, it's a great coming-of-age story that's wrapped up in an intriguing ghost story and has set the foundations for a solid and entertaining story going forward.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.
This is gonna be a pretty quick review because my thoughts are actually fairly succinct. I’m shocked by that as well, but also kind of proud. I did really enjoy this one! There’s really only one negative but it didn’t ruin the reading experience too much and I’ll definitely be continuing on with this series once more are released!
We’ll start with all the positives first, which to be fair is most of the book, so this should be easy. I absolutely love the art in this collection, the colours and tones just make it so pleasing to read and added a lot to the feel of the story. I also loved the entire concept! I mean, I’m always here for a ghost story, and this is a super fun one. All the different personalities of the ghosts were so great too and I’m super excited to see how they all develop. The story was also really fast to read, I was so drawn into the story that I was done reading without even noticing the time going past. I’m super curious about what’s going to happen next and where the story is going to go and I’m so ready to see more of this amazing art and get to know all these ghosts.
Now for the one thing that I didn’t like, and it is only one thing, but it did really annoy me. Unfortunately I couldn’t stand the main character Daphne. She was just beyond selfish and oblivious and I’m really hoping that she grows out of that as the story progresses because even though I loved every one else I couldn’t stand her.
So there it is. A super quick review, I’m not sure if I summed up my thoughts enough but I tried! Overall a really fun and beautiful collection, as long as you don’t mind Daphne too much! I’ll definitely pick up a physical copy once this one is released and will for sure carry on with the series.
GHOSTED IN L.A. is a fun and unique graphic novel that combines a haunted house and a coming of age tale into something compelling and sweet. I liked that Daphne is by no means a perfect protagonist, and that she is trying to find her way not only as a corporeal friend to a number of mysterious ghosts, but as a young woman in a new city. Her real life problems are very relatable (from a callous and standoffish roommate to a complicated love life), and her interactions with the ghosts at Rycroft Manor are fun and sometimes raise questions that will be (possibly) addressed later. I also liked the cast of ghostly characters, especially Agi and Bernard, and I like that we get a little bit of their backgrounds before each issue.
I'm very excited to continue this series, and cannot wait to see what it has in store.
ARC provided by BOOM! Studios through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
In this graphic novel we follow Daphne, a Jewish bisexual girl that is moving to LA to attend university and to be closer to her boyfriend. There she finds a manor full of ghosts and she, for the first time, feels like she truly belongs somewhere.
I liked the artwork, it reminded me of those old not barbie fashionista games I used to play on my computer. However, the story wasn't compelling enough to get me excited for the second volume. This is a story where we follow a main character that is quite stubborn. I was more interested in the ghosts' stories. Also, there's a colorguard boy! As a fellow colorguard I was very happy.
I recommend if you want a quick and diverse graphic novel.
This volume follows our main character of Daphne as she follows a boy to college in LA and almost immediately gets dumped. As she is wallowing, she discovers a house inhabited by ghosts. What follows is a unique coming of age story. I loved that juxtaposition of a young adult figuring out life sort of being helped by people whose life is already over. I also loved the art style and cannot wait for the next volume.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Received an e-ARC copy from NetGalley.
This was a funny and interesting graphic novel. The concept was very original and I really liked it. It was light and easy to follow. Plus the art is amazing. The characters were super interesting and I'm willing to keep discovering about them.
All in all, I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next volume.
Absolutely loved the artwork. 5 stars for that!
It was definitely a cute story.with an interesting plot. I loved the side characters more than the main character Daphne. This is only vol 1 and I believe the story will grow more on me in the upcoming books where I hope we get to know about all the ghost's pasts.
Ghosts + LA + amazing art + fun. If you like to read comics with all these mentioned , then this book is for you.
While I loved the art style and appreciated the Jewish/Queer representation, the story ended up not being very captivating and didn't have enough substance to allow me to continue being interested in it. Unfortunately, I decided to DNF it 75% of the way through.
Thank you to Netgalley and BOOM! Studios for a copy of Ghosted in L.A. Vol. 1. This volume was incredible! We are introduced to the main character, Daphne who is about to move to L.A. to go to school and be near her boyfriend. As she makes the adventure of starting college and being dumped, she immediately falls upon a manor. Things take a weird turn as Daphne meets the ghost that inhabits the manor. We are only given a glimpse of three of the ghosts' backstory - which totally makes you want more! I would have to say that the plot of the graphic novel was intriguing and the illustrations were perfect. I do love when a graphic novel volume leaves the reader with SUCH a cliffhanger, which is exactly what Sina Grace does at the end of this one. Definitely excited for the new volume!
I really enjoyed this book. I found that I was disappointed when the story ended. Each ghost seems to have quite an interesting back story and I’m curious to learn more about what exactly is going on.
I thought this graphic novel was just okay. Daphne, the main character, was a little annoying and naive but I did like the Jewish representation and the LGBTQ rep was done well. I was just hoping for more content but this graphic novel was only 120 pages so there just wasn't enough. The art was absolutely stunning and the story was interesting enough, I just want to know more about the ghosts and their unique powers. Overall, pretty decent and I will be continuing with this series!
This is my honest review of Ghosted in L.A. Vol. 1 by Sina Grace. I was able to be able to read an advanced copy of this graphic novel from the publisher via an ebook through NetGalley from the publisher.
Let me start out by saying I adored the art in this graphic novel. I thought the main character was drawn super cute and adored her outfits. I thought the flowers with the content pages was cute and I liked them – I am a fan of flowers, so I am partial.
The story follows a young woman by the name of Daphne who follows her boyfriend to a college in LA. She soon Is dumped upon moving down there and finds her way into an abandon manor, except it is not abandon and instead has a ghostly resident. The story follows Daphne as she navigates her breakup and her new ghostly friends. Through the first volume you get a little of their back stories, which I am sure will continue to develop in the later novels.
Overall, this graphic novel is a cute young adult comic with the promise of future installments developing the story further. I’d like to see her develop more relationships with the ghosts and realize her place within the manor.
This story brings a whole new meaning to the term "Ghosted". I love getting to know all of the side characters, but hopefully we will get more main character development in the upcoming issues. I will definitely continue reading this series as it comes out.