The stroy follows a girl who gets kicked out at 18 and finds herself homeless. She finds out that there is a house that if you manage to stay all through the night there, you actually end up owning the house. The house is filled with ghost.

This book was a fast read and I would say it is cozy horror. The novel is more than a story about ghosts. It’s also about being homeless, relationships, friendships and safety. It is an amazing story that gave me what really can happen when you’re homeless. It’s an important subject that is not really discussed much. The homeless are an invisible people.

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read to & review an ARC of this book!**

Please find my extended feedback below...along with some spoilers (beware).
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Things I Liked:
-I liked the premise of a haunted house story.

Things That Didn't Sit Quite Right With Me:
-Throughout the entire book, I was confused about important things (the time period, whether or not this is a dystopian setting, character details, etc).
-The writing, story line, & plot did not feel polished.
-I think the reader needs more details about the main character’s background (for example, more information about the relationship between Charlene & her mother).
-I did not like that this book turned into a story about Charlene guiding ghosts to the afterlife. I thought it was going to be more like a thriller book & it wasn’t. And each ghost just sort of gave up quickly & agrees with what she was saying. It did not feel believable as a ghost story.
-Charlene was not believable as a 18 year old giving out all this wisdom & advice.
-I felt like the ghosts’ stories were just there to discuss difficult topics (elder abuse, issues in the medical field, divorce, etc. which are all important topics) but I just found myself not interested in those points because it felt like a check off for each topic as Charlene dealt with each ghost. I was ready to get done with this book at that point.

Overall, I was disappointed & gave this book 1 star. Maybe this would work for a different audience.

Teen and YA Horror could be so good but this was written like an unedited Wattpad novel and I lost all interest in it. I am so sad that YA is often overlooked

Not creepy. Story was written very sloppy and rushed. It sounded like it could be good and had so much potential but it just fell very flat.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. This book is hard to read due to it is extremely rushed and I will be reading about one scene and then all of a sudden it goes into another send without break or easing into it. Feels more like I am reading someone's idea journal than an actual book.

This one will be short one. I didn't like it!
The beginning was promising and I hoped to have the time of my life. But the further the book go, the more unrealistic, unbelievable and strange the story went.
The main character acted not like other 18 year-olds, the way she talked and acted reminded me more of a 40 year old psychologist. Now way, such a young person can give so many advice on life.
Also I didn't understand why she was so special, that all the ghost s decided to talk to her and listen for her orders to leave the house.
The ending was just too good to be true.
Overall from a book about ghosts I expected more scare and horror and instead I've got a long psychology lesson from 18 year old.

P.S. what all this stuff about medicine? Not the time and not the place, I think.

Not really sure how I feel about this book. I love the concept but it doesn’t give you those creepy vibes I was hoping for. The book follows an eighteen year old woman who was just kicked out and is now homeless. When she finds out about a house she could win as long as she stayed there all night so she does it. But what I don’t get is that this book becomes a therapy session between her and the ghosts. Which is a bit weird to me. I wish I enjoyed the book but it wasn’t what I was expecting.

This was an interesting new concept. The back story of our main character was well enough that we could feel for them and the stories of the ghosts as well, but over all it felt a bit rushed and the ending, while happy, just didn’t feel satisfying

DNF-
I don’t know if it was just me, but I just couldn’t get into this book. It will be on my list for future reading, in an attempt to enjoy it more, but it just was not going anywhere quick enough. The pace was too slow for me to fully enjoy it and I think that is what kept me from finishing. Other than that, I enjoyed the writing style and if you’re into slow paced ghost stories, this can be the book for you. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but as someone who doesn’t always enjoy the supernatural, I wasn’t surprised.

ghosts... mysteries.. intrigue... horror... curiousity.. so many things going on in this story and i enjoyed it a lot.. it was a well written ghost story with a lot of spots that made me creep out a bit. haha.. very good!

Defying the Ghosts was an interesting concept but poorly fleshed out. Some of the details seem thrown in for good measure. For instance, why would a reader need to know the dimensions of the cards Charlene keeps in her bag? There were also randomly specific political statements about things like the travesty of today's medical treatments. I just didn't understand the rhyme or reason for those details.

I did appreciate that the story was clean. There was no romance or profanity.

This book was a fast read. It reads a bit like a cozy novel but yet it's not really a cozy. It kept me interested and focused on the story. I do wish the author would have given a bit more backstory on the main character and get relationship with her mother but overall it's not important to the story. I would recommend to others as the overall plot is really good.

It's about a girl who gets kicked out at 18 and finds herself homeless. She finds out that there is a house that if you manage to stay all through the night there, you actually end up owning the house. The house is filled with ghost. My overall take on this as she confronts each ghost is that they really just want to be heard.

This has been posted to Goodreads also.

I thought this was a very interesting book. Once I got started it was hard to put down. Charlene was a great main character. I felt bad for her at times because she got kicked out of her house at 18 and was trying to find a place to live. For awhile the place she worked her manager said she could stay, but something happened so she started to sleep at different shelters. There she met a group of guys who are licensed workers to do odd jobs here and there. Then she finds out about this haunted house where if you spend the whole night in the house you can have the house no strings attached; What I find interesting is how Charlene uses logic to reason with the ghost and how she has a very level head. This is different from most haunted house ghost stories. I also love how the author talks about being homeless and how it can be hard to find a shelter to stay and how scary that can be.

Charlene Griffin is 18 years old when her mom throws her out of the house. She is told not to come back. Charlene goes to the teen center to get her room she has requested in advance and was told yes they would have a room for even. When she arrives, she finds that they won’t let her have a room as she is 18 yrs. old. When she tells them it had been arranged throug a person who works here and check with her. She is told that person is on vacation and they can’t call her as she has her phone turned off. She leaves. What will she do? Will she find some place to sleep? She finds out about a gym where she can pay $5 a month for the right to shower. At the gym, she meets a homeless woman, Harriet who tells her about places that gives free meals, places that give a meal and then a cot to sleep on. When she goes to work, Amy, her boss tells Charlene that she looks tired. She is. Charlenes meets a group of men who tell her about a haunted house. All one has to do is spend the night there. No one has been able to do it because the house is haunted. She decides to do it as she a place where she can sleep safely. The realtor tells her that the owner will pay the yearly taxes as that is part of the deal if she is successful sleeping there. She reads up on ghosts and haunting. She finds that the information doesn’t agree about ghosts. One example is ghosts can’t hurt you while others say ghosts can hurt you. As she goes to spend the night, Charlene is reminded that she can’t leave before sunrise. She goes in and discovers that ghosts do exist. How will she survive the night? When sunrise comes, the real realator gives her the bad news that he didn’t check his email and when he did, he discovered someone had offered to buy it and went ahead buying it. She has no home. A man comes up to her and asks her Is that the haunted house. She says yes and leaves. Charlene gets a phone call from the realator’s phone but finds out the call is from the man who spoke to her in front of the haunted house. Why is he calling her?

The novel is more than a story about ghosts. It’s also about being homeless, relationships, friendships and safety. It is an amazing story that gave me what really can happen when you’re homeless. It’s an important subject that is not really discussed much. The homeless are an invisible people. They need help.which is scarce as seen in this story. I was impressed with Charlene not giving up even though she got discouraged and tired. It also shows how easy it is to be homeless. This is a terrific novel!

A charmer of a ghost story about a very self reliant and non-judgmental young woman who not only solves her own problems, but rises to adversity with practical wisdom, logic, and fortitude. A night in a haunted house is an opportunity for her to turn adversity into problem solving. Not at all scary but inspirational and very appropriate for both young teens and older readers

Sadly, for me this book felt flat. The characters didn't seem convincingly real to me. Our MC is 18 yet is not written like a 18 would think and talk. The plot was somewhat boring and I wish there was more of a twist. Even though this books wasn't for me, I hope this author's future books might be.

Joan Marie Verba has written not only a ghost story but a story about hardship, teenage struggles, bullying and holding a grudge. I think anyone of any age can relate to some of the topics in this story and even though it is classed at YA it is on the light side when it comes to ghosts but the heavy side about life, anyone can read it.

Our main character Charlene Griffin knew that she was going to be kicked out of her home when she turned 18 by a heartless mother so she arranges to find lodging at a shelter but when arriving there is a mix up which see's her on the street again, meeting a cast of colorful but loyal characters who have their hardships in common.

This is how she discovers the offer of one man who owns a supposedly haunted house. If you can stay one night, the house is yours. Against the warnings of those who have tried before her, Charlene knows that this is an opportunity that will see her not having to seek out a shelter night after night for the rest of her life. But has she bitten off more than she can chew?

As mentioned above, the characters in this book come from all walks of life and are quite colorful but loyal. Charlene herself is very mature for her age and this shows through her conversations. She is easy to like and relatable if perhaps, unrealistic about some things.

I enjoyed the stories pace. It was not too fast or slow and a lot of detail was put into her daily struggles. It certainly is not going to be a story I forget any time soon! A mother that kicks her own daughter out of the house and just does not care? The readers sympathies are already on Charlene's side here and this is the reason that she fights so hard for the house - because she has to to survive.

If you like ghost stories that are not overly scary except for some suspense, give this a go! Thank you to Netgalley and FTL Publications for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review will also be posed on my bookstagram page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this bok

The day Charlene turns 18 her mother kicks her out of the house. Desperately in need of a home, she agrees to stay in an infamous haunted house overnight. If she can make it until sunrise, the house is hers, free and clear.

This book just didn't hit any high notes for me. The characters never really spoke to me, or grabbed my attention, and while the plot was interesting, the execution just wasn't there. Half the book was simply Charlene giving therapy to ghosts. I didn't feel as though this was how a 18 year old girl would speak or act, even if she had to grow up quickly. She read more as an amateur therapist than a teenager.

I wanted there to be a real twist, or something more, but there wasn't anything. It all just fell flat for me.

I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an EARC of of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love that I picked this up during spoopy month- it was the perfect read. I really enjoyed this read. I love a good ghost story and this definitely delivered! I mean, rich of owner of a haunted house paying someone to make it through the night in the haunted house? I eat that up! I loved the spooky elements of this story and would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good ghost story!

I also really enjoyed this story because of Charlene's character growth. Her story starts on a tragic note with Charlene's mom kicking her out. However, through the book we see her surpass and overcome her challenges and grow as a person. Charlene's character growth was one of my favorite aspects of this story.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good ghost story and coming of age story.

Charlene’s mother has tossed her out on the street on her 18th birthday. With no bank card and nowhere to go, she has to start learning to survive. Sleeping in shelters, if she can get in, showering at a gym and taking food where she can get it, she intends to save every cent from her bookstore job to find a permanent place to stay. When she hears about a haunted house the owner has promised to sign over to anyone who can spend the night there, Charlene decides to give it a try.

I went into Defying the Ghosts expecting a standard haunted house tale but found so much more. From lessons about survival instincts on the street and meeting others who have fallen on hard times, to wisdom imparted to those who need it, the haunted house wasn’t the whole story. I really enjoyed the way the author showed the reality that most people living on the streets are there due to unfortunate circumstances, untreated mental health issues or escaping terrible circumstances. Many of the people in the story were working with so little to try and eke out a life.

This one is for lovers of both contemporary and ghost stories and I’d highly recommend checking it out!