This was one of the most poorly written books I've ever read. I understand what the author was trying to do with her writing style and the main character's voice, but it ended up being so cringy and extremely hard to read. She also used the phrase "you see" five times in the first chapter alone. It made me wonder how well this book was edited.
The story here was okay. I love a good haunted house story, and I appreciated how this wasted no time in getting started with the creepy moments.
However, this book had my absolute least favorite plot twist ever. I know that's a completely subjective opinion, but I just cannot stand this type of twist.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Daffodil has taken a job keeping an eye on a professor’s beautiful old home for the summer. But as soon as she settles into the house, something doesn’t feel right. Is Daffodil losing it? Or are there paranormal forces at play? This young adult horror/thriller had a smart and witty narrator, which I really enjoyed. When the book ended, I was left with a few unanswered questions, and I wasn’t completely satisfied. I also thought that the big twist was quite predictable. But overall, it was a fun and fast read. 3.5 stars.

This book was just okay for me. I finished it but was really struggling to get through it.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I want to state, first and foremost, that I am not the target audience for this title. I love a good thriller, whatever age group it is sent out to, so I was rather excited by the description. I enjoy that the book is written as though Daffodil is talking with you as though you are her long lost friend. It pulls you in, not being the character or reading the actions of the character as much as settling in for a quick catch up. I did not feel that any of the characters were really fleshed out. They all seem like ghosts of themselves (heehee).
The story line does keep you guessing, but sometimes never explains the reality of the situation. Is there a reality of the situation? Was any of it real?

3.5* This book was really good! I loved the writing style and thought the buildup of the plot twists were incredible. I think my only problem with this book is the lead character. I wished Daffodil would have been more entertaining as a narrator. The last 100 pages of the book kept me hooked! Definitely recommend for anyone who loves slow burn creepy stories.

It's a rare book that pulls the reader forward through the plot and the narrator. "This is Not a Ghost Story" does just that through the lovable, relatable humor of narrator Daffodil Franklin. Once you couple that with the secrets, twists and general creepiness of the story, you've got a YA book to recommend. Honestly, between the book jacket and the plot summary, you think you know what you're getting. Spooky house, check. Late teens narrator, check. Secrets, check. But Portes takes what could be a generic YA thriller, and adds such life, humanity and insight through the narration that you're compelled to keep going. Everywhere there are secrets. Ones kept by Daffodil herself; ones held by the house and, by the other characters. The book would be an easy recommend to a wide range of readers; from reluctant teen readers to adults that adore YA to fans of thrillers. Loved it.

This was one of my most anticipated reads. I love a good ghost story, though I should have paid attention to the title more. I thought the title was meant to be ironic, and the blurb for the novel, imo, reinforces this. Pay attention to the title and not the blurb.

As for the novel itself, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Daffy, who in no way sounded like a teenager (which is typical for YA these days). However, I also didn’t like the voice generally. Povs who “talk” to the reader can work, but in this case, it felt forced and like it tried too hard. Still, the story was good for most of the novel, appropriately creepy, and I was intrigued enough to wonder what was happening to read quickly.

The biggest issue for me was the twist at the end. I don’t mind twists, but they can make or break a book. In this case, it broke the book. I don’t like twists that make me feel I wasted my time and the story was pointless. I don’t mind books that go in a different direction than I expected, but I have to feel the shift enhances rather than negates a story.

Pay attention to the title, really. I’m not sure if the publishers should re-write the blurb, because I understand the twist needs to be a surprise. Plus, the blurb as it is entices readers. But I feel there are going to be a number of reactions like mine, which may hurt the book in the long run. I hope not. I’d like to give this a higher rating, but I can't as my two issues for the book were pretty massive.

One of the funniest and creepiest books around! A must read for the creepy season no one will be disappointed. I found myself highlighting more funny sayings from the book than anything else. Grab your tissues though because you won’t realize what hit you until it’s too late.

This is a story about feeling haunted, but this is not a ghost story.

I enjoyed the horror elements, but struggled to connect with the main character- in part because she was supposed to be a highschool student but felt like a 30 year old. I also struggle with most narrations that directly addresses the audience, but that’s just a personal preference. That being said, I didn’t see the twist or ending coming, so that’s definitely a plus.

3.5 stars!

Thanks Netgalley & HarperCollins Childrens for this e-ARC

** I was given an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**
When I read the description - a chilling adventure of a 17 year old girl housesitting a mysterious mansion before she goes to college - I thought it was going to be an instant favorite. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish it. The story started seemingly in the middle of a train of thought, and I just couldn't (and eventually, didn't want to) keep up with it. The set up was rushed, throwing out random details and barely weaving a discernable plot, leaving me frustrated as opposed to filled with suspense. I got past that and tried to give this book the benefit of the doubt, but the narrator/protagonist Daffodil was so condescending in first person POV that I just couldn't keep reading. It felt like being talked down to by some holier-than-thou manic pixie dream girl, who had nothing left to live for and yet was an incredibly picky choosing beggar. I just couldn't sympathize in anyway with the protagonist and the failed effort to be tongue-in-cheek while addressing the reader is probably the number one thing that put me off from finishing the book.

What a totally enjoyable book! Our narrator is Daffodil. I LIKE Daffodil. I identify with this girl. Daffodil is a 19 year old introverted, book-worm with poor self confidence and low self-esteem who loves Netflix documentaries about other civilizations and aliens. She is obviously more intelligent than most and she's bound for Bryn Mawr College once she earns some money. She's also dealing with some sort of tragedy, "that shall not be spoken of" which she is determined to keep out of her memory.
Daffodil finds herself house sitting at an isolated estate near the Main Line in Pennsylvania. Minor construction on the grounds causes her to meet Mike, who appears to be rather odd and unpredictable to say the least. She also develops a strange friendship with the eccentric english neighbor Miss Penelope Persephone Crisp. Daffodil has disturbing dreams about Miss Crisp and Mike begins to give her the creeps. Things seem to disappear from the house and then reappear in odd places. This all gets creepier and more disturbing, but Daffodil NEEDS this money for tuition so she stays.
Daffodil narrates as if she's telling this story to us in a letter, or maybe writing in a journal. She narrated with such wonderful humor too. She is a joy.
The book is published by HarperCollins Children's Books and listed as teen and young adult. I could see this as young adult, but 60 year old me totally enjoyed it. The vocabulary is complex and may be difficult for younger teens. This is a delightful book that I recommend to anyone. #netgalley #ThisIsNotAGhostStory

A young girl on her way to her first year of college makes a fateful decision to house-sit for a professor over the summer to earn money she desperately needs to be able to afford school...and her life will never be the same again.

This is Not a Ghost Story has a very interesting and compelling plot, I definitely have to say that the story itself drew me in and kept me moving forward to find out what happened next.

My only difficulties with the book are two and are as follows:

1: Rushed story set up. The first couple chapters of the book feel rushed like the author was trying to get to the main narrative quickly. By the end of the book, I wonder if this was actually a creative decision to glide over some potential tells for later twists, but it made it difficult to invest in the main character or find her believably relatable. Which brings us to

2: Voice feels off. The main character is supposed to be 17/18ish on her way to her freshman year of college. The voice doesn't hit right to me for that age group. As a former Youth and YA Librarian, the main character talks and has a similar interior monologue to someone my own age as a 30-something Millennial. Just one small example, I've never heard a current teenager talk about "Rewinding Netflix" like the main character in this book does. In the book, she is raised by her grandmother, so you could make the argument that she uses older language or such due to having spent time with an older demographic, but due to the fast set-up as referenced in point the first, this is purely conjecture on my part.

Parts of the book were definitely interesting or scary. The bit with the scratching behind the house or finding the mysterious jar in the cupboard were great! And like I said at the top, the plot itself was interesting. The reader just wasn't given enough time in the front of the book to really put down roots into the main character to be able to live with and through her in the subsequent pages.

ps, Having the narrator address the reader or observer is a horror trope that goes all the way back to Poe, but it can be difficult to employ in such a way that it doesn't distract from the narrative itself and pulls the reader out of the immersive experience of reading. Here, I feel it is more of a distraction than an aid.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

When I saw the cover for This is Not a Ghost Story by Andrea Portes, I had chills! And the fact that the title is telling me it wasn’t a ghost story, I was fully expecting just that! Lol. And Andrea delivers on that mark, but it still wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

The story is told by Daffodil. It’s her story and it definitely sounds like a teenage girl telling you something that’s happening. Yes, happening. It’s very much in the moment and yet, it kind of threw me off. I don’t know why, maybe because it was more of a present tense sort of thing? It was a little off putting at times, because she would be talking about this or that instead of getting onto the course of what should be the story.

Daffodil makes an impromptu stop in a small town the summer before her freshmen year of college. She’s not sure why she stopped, something just drew here there. She soon finds herself with a summer job of house sitting and the money she’ll earn will greatly help her expenses for room and board at her college. But there’s something eerily strange about this house she’s watching. She hears strange things at night, catches glimpses of shadows and figures out of the corner of her eye. It’s frightening, you could say, yet she sticks to her job of keeping an eye on things, particularly the construction crew that is working out back, yet nothing ever seems to be built or progress made.

While trying to deny the strange things that are happening in this house, Daffodil also makes mention of things from her past. Mostly about meeting a boy and the terrible, terrible thing that happened with him. Naturally, it’s a gradual process of learning what that terrible thing was, but it’s a long time coming. We get bits and pieces of the story but you kind of start to get the idea of what it was before it’s revealed. So the pacing was a little hit or miss, sometimes it was moving steadily fast and then we come to a clip where things are dragging. It was a back and forth effort. I liked how some chapters were a bit abrupt and short, but then at the same time, it was usually during an exciting moment and we were taking a pause to reflect on something or other and then bam, back to the action.

This book definitely had its creep factor. There were some seriously sinister things happening and I did get the chills every now and then. But sadly, there just wasn’t enough creepiness. While there was still a good deal of the creepy, I was also expecting to learn why there is the creepy. We are given a newspaper clipping in the beginning of an event that happen, presumably in the house, but there’s never an explanation for all the creepy! I guess we needed Sam and Dean around to get that research done.

The ending, oh what can I say about that ending? There are comments, many comments. I feel like if I get into it, I could spoil it. The ending was enjoyable and not enjoyable. I liked it and I hated it. Mostly because I am still nagging about what the heck was up with that house?! There’s NO explanation for the creepy! I need an explanation for the creepy! Don’t just write it off as nothing! The thing about books with hauntings is there needs to be a reason for all the creepy! Who are the ghosts, what do they want? Are they on a hellmouth? GIVE ME SOMETHING! And yet, it’s nothing to worry about. I think that’s the part of the ending that nags at me the most. No explanation for all the weird that happened.

This is Not a Ghost Story was a fairly decent ghost story to be truthful. The narrative is a little rough and Daffodil has times of being an unreliable narrator, but only brief moments. The big drawback is not knowing enough about all the creepy things she saw and experienced. The ending is a whopper though. I did like the shock factor to some extent, but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I know why there was so much creepy happenings in that house! So if you’re looking for a spooky read this fall, you could easily give this one a try. It’s a fairly quick read in the long run and has a good scare factor…just don’t go into it expecting answers in the end because there are none.


Overall Rating 2.5/5 stars


This is Not a Ghost Story releases November 17, 2020

i tried, but this is written in such a way that I just can't make it that far into it. I made it to the point that she hears a scratching on the outside of the house near the pantry. I just cant anymore. Its not keeping my attention and its written in such a way that its unlike any other teen book i have read and loved.

This was an interesting read. It starts off slow, so keep that it mind. The main character is hilarious and relatable. However, the ending did feel a little rushed, but I didn't mind it too much.

This was a pretty predictable read for me. The mystery was okay and was overall engaging. The pacing of the plot was solid but again, predictable. The romance was underdeveloped and uninteresting for me.

A nice mystery/ suspense story. I like the way the main lead, Daffodil, talks to the readers by starting off with “Dear Reader...”

Daffodil gets a job house sitting for a professor. She thinks it’s the perfect job for her but strange things start to happen and she feels like someone is always looking at her, although there is no one there and the house is supposed to be empty.

Throughout the book, one is never quite sure if whatever is going on is supernatural or not, and if it’s all in Daffodil’s mind.

The character of Daffodil is what makes this book great, as she’s such a genuine person.

I felt the supernatural parts could have been a little more creepy as I didn’t think they were really scary. Or perhaps they weren’t meant to be scary.

I would recommend this book for readers of the supernatural, suspense and mystery genres.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the the ARC of this book.

What a creepily fun read! This is Not a Ghost Story is a spooky pageturner that had me constantly questioning what was real or imagined. The narrator, Daffodil, has such a sardonic interior life, the book is like reading a neurotic diary – she's both aware, but deeply in denial, of what's happening in the house that she's watching for the summer.  The first person perspective is fun and funny and makes for easy consumption, and I really enjoyed the macabre haunted-house happenings. I think many readers will enjoy the journey from A to Z, but I was actually a bit let down that I ended up at Z at all, rather than a completely unique, new letter of the alphabet. I felt like I wasn't surprised by the outcome of this story and that the underlying romantic thread was underdeveloped, obscured by the narrator's explicit desire not to talk about it.

This Is Not a Ghost Story is definitely an interesting story. Full of spooky occurrences, mysterious characters, and pop culture references, this novel has you constantly questioning what is real and what is not. The narrator, Daffodil, is written as if she is having a conversation with you, with a few Gail Carriger vibes thrown in. While I found this to be an interesting book, I also found it to be predictable and unfortunately missed the mark for me in the end.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this book.