Having never read Northanger Abbey, I went into this totally blind, and I was completely charmed.

Hattie, still reeling from the loss of her father, has completely abandoned the love of the paranormal he instilled in her. Too bad she goes to one of the most supposedly haunted schools ever. Her mother is the headmistress, and barely has time for her own three children, more so after losing her husband. When a new student shows up at school on a ghost hunting scholarship, Hattie couldn't be less thrilled when her mother assigns her to be Kit's ambassador at Northanger. He's determined to show her ghosts exist, she's determined to bust the myth. In true YA fiction fashion, chaos ensues and it's adorable.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press & Wednesday Books for an eARC of GHOSTED and for the opportunity to be an early reviewer.

The author's voice was the first thing that stood out to me while reading GHOSTED. Quain is a witty and heartfelt storyteller.

“In case you were wondering, the proper term for a group of paranormal enthusiasts was “an annoyance.”

Critical Thoughts:
This could possibly be one of the most quotable books I’ve read. But sadly, while I enjoyed the writing and dialogue, this story just wasn’t for me. I found it challenging to establish a connection with most of the characters and felt disconnected from the story in general. Maybe this could be attributed to the lack of maturity in Hattie and her friends.

The story starts relatively slow and takes a while to get off the ground. Not a whole lot happens in the first fifty or so pages, aside from meeting Kit. Overall, I liked Kit’s character and the paranormal content he provided. But when his relationship with Hattie quickly veered into insta-love territory, it left a sour taste in my mouth. While their relationship is sweet and makes sense, I didn’t find myself rooting for them, either.

When they’re paired together for a journalism project, Kit attempts to prove the existence of ghosts, while Hattie tries just the opposite. This created a fun, competitive spark. I only wish we could’ve seen this project presented at school when it was finished, especially since we spent so much time working on it. I don’t quite understand why we were left hanging with this, considering the subject tied in with Hattie’s character and backstory. This could’ve helped so much in showing readers why she needed to prove ghosts aren’t real. And, after all, it’s what connected Hattie and Kit in the first place. This just seemed like another missed opportunity.

Speaking of missed opportunities, I loved the paranormal aspects of this story so much, but I wish we could’ve expanded on it a little more. There were so many moments when I felt the author gave the story plenty of opportunities to have fun and explore the subject, only to skip over them instantly and move on to something else.
For example, on Halloween night, Hattie follows the Ghost Brigade into a cemetery for a haunted tour to film footage for their journalism project, but we don’t get a whole lot from this scene. Hattie chats for a while before becoming upset when her mother unexpectedly shows up for the tour. The scene then abruptly ends, and we jump to the next day. This happens many times throughout the book.


PRAISE:
I admired how Quain handled the loss of Hattie’s father. Her depiction of grief is raw and deeply human. We see how Hattie has changed since, how grief stains and seeps into every aspect of your life, leaving nothing untouched.

“My dad had been my everything. I’d arrived at Northanger Abbey missing an essential piece of myself, determined to not let anyone know how irreversibly broken I was, and armed with a final charge—to take care of the family and to make Mom proud.”

We first find Hattie when she’s angry, sad, and lost after having convinced herself that the only way to survive what she’d been through was to reinvent herself.

“Healthy? Never claimed it was. Some choices were just about getting by.”

But as the story goes on, we see her begin to heal and discover whom she wants to be in the wake of all she’s lost. A good portion of the story is Hattie trying to heal her belief system when she thought loss had ravaged it beyond repair. She’s profoundly human and incredibly imperfect. But even when you want to scream at her for making stupid choices and mistakes, you can still understand her on a human level.

All in all, the book wrapped up nicely. Though a bit rushed, it offered a satisfying conclusion. While it may not be an all-time favorite for me, I genuinely believe there is a large audience who will love this book. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy, slow-paced, heartfelt YA romance with a dash of the paranormal.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start off by saying that Ghosted is not quite the book I expected. The ghosts you'll find in this heartfelt romance aren't the scary apparitions you find in the movies but rather the ghosts of neglect and grief.

Ghosted follows Hattie Tilney, a senior at the world's most (allegedly) haunted high-school, Northanger Abbey. Growing up, Hattie had loved all the ghost stories that surround the school and it provided her an outlet of bonding with her father. However, when her father passed, Hattie put the ghost stories aside in pursuit of the highly successful academic future her mother expects.

All of that changes when Hattie's world gets flipped upside-down by Northanger's new student, Kit Morland. Assigned to be his ambassador and later his partner for a journalism project, Hattie finds herself opening up to Kit and even finding happiness as the pressure of her mother and friends' expectations weighs on her. As her relationship with Kit grows, Hattie finds that maybe it's time to dig up her past and free her own ghosts to find peace in her life.

Ghosted is a spooky atmospheric read that's perfect for the Halloween season. It is a slow burn YA romance that simultaneously touches on topics like family dynamics and processing grief.

Ghosted was absolutely fun! Quain wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.

This was okay. I liked the story and characters, but I felt that some parts were very dragged out and that some foreshadowing didn’t pan out into much of anything. It was good apart from being clunky in parts. I think some of the author’s future books could be much better.

First and foremost I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved Amanda Quain's first novel Accomplished and GOD I loved this one even more! Ghosted is a modern highschooler gender bent retelling of Northanger Abbey (which I believe is Austen's underrated work) and follows lead Hattie Tilney. Hattie has a plan for her senior year and her life and that plan does not involve hunting ghosts!, but suddenly everything starts to change when she meets Kit Morland, new kid and ghost hunter!
The story never gets too complicated and does a good job of keeping to the beats of the original novel, but now in a new era and in a new POV. By the end I felt I knew Northanger as a real school and I wanted to stay there as long as I could.
The highlight of the book though are the characters. Amanda Quain does an amazing job of imaging the character from the original novel but in our times and how changing their genders would change them, but still keeping the character cores the same.
Kit like Catherine is pure sunshine and enthusiasm, but also having an edge of naivety that others can use against them. Kit is so kind and warm to be around even through the page, but he isn't perfect and can get lost in his own ideas and world.
Hattie our lead is both a joy but also heart breaking at times to watch. She like Henry want to put on a good front to the world, but also feel the pressure to be the good child, but what it means to be a good daughter compared to a good son is different and Quain but that in to consideration when she wrote Hattie. At time I could see why a reader could be annoyed with her and the choices she makes, but it is painfully clear why she feels she needs to make these choices.
The rest of the character from Hattie's friends and family are all memorable in their own right and added to the story and its world, side note: Liam is my precious son.
I adored this book and its characters I can't wait to read the next novel this author makes, be it in this serious or otherwise.

The idea of ghosts was used in a way that I've never seen before, but I expected them to be more of a focus - Instead, the main focus was the character relationships (family and friends) and development. My favorite part was the sibling dynamics - I love how the relationships between Hattie and her brother and sister played out. Personally i found Hattie rather annoying, especially at the beginning, but her character improves throughout the story.

Note: I've never read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, so I can't say what's similar or different between the two.

*thank you St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this in exchange for a review*

I feel so bad saying this, but this book fell slightly flat. I enjoyed it while reading it, but that was about it. I feel like it was fairly average, and I was expecting a lot more ghosts. If I had had slightly different expectations, I might have liked it more, but I was hoping for a bit more paranormal and a bit less teen emotions (and I say this as a teenager).

I think a big reason why I can’t say that I loved this book, or even really really liked it, is because of the main character Hattie. I honestly just did not like her. I found her annoying and she just kept repeatedly making the same mistakes and dismissing people without giving them a real chance. I get that at the end she had some character development, but I just really don’t like those kinds of people and it was rough to wait for that change. I did, however, like Kit Morland. I thought he was sweet and cute and he really tried to help Hattie.

Overall, it wasn’t really for me, but it wasn’t a bad book either.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amanda is back with another stellar book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It was a lot of fun. One of those books that makes you feel happy, inside and out. I love Amanda's voice and how she can keep you captivated with the simplest of things. I definitely encourage you to check this one out when it comes out!

‘Ghosted’ by Amanda Quain was a great Jane Austen retelling, absolutely nailing the Northanger Abbey vibes. And I loved that it was gender bent! It was sweet and so heartfelt. Highly recommend!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Hattie Tilney, lives on the supposed haunted campus of Northanger Abbey with her Headmistress mother and two siblings.

While Hattie is forced to show the new supernatural group scholarship recipient, Kit, around, she soon discovers that she has been hiding herself away since the death of her father.

An enjoyable read with some more familal depth that worked well.

I have not read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, so I can not speak on how the retelling or gender bent aspect of this book reflects the original.
I can say that this book so such a fun and quick read. I loved the gothic atmosphere of the book and enjoyed my time reading it. I think this would have been a great fall time read because it would have really matched the atmosphere.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley.

I loved this book. I thought the characters were well developed and I enjoyed the dynamic between all of them. I wasn't expecting the slow burn Kit/Hattie romance to be as good as it was but I really enjoyed it. I also thought the expression of grief and showing how everyone really does experience grief and loss differently was wonderfully done. I look forward to reading more from Amanda Quain in the future.

4.5 star rounded up.

I just loved this book! I really loved the exploration of grief throughout Ghosted and how to move forward after na unimaginable loss. I thought that Hattie was a great protagonist, who was really easy to understand and empathize with, and I loved her character growth throughout the book. Hattie and Kit were also absolutely adorable together and I loved their relationship. I'll definitely continue to pick up Amanda Quain's books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Loved this book! A meaningful, well-paced contemporary YA novel about love, loss, and learning how to be yourself. Highly recommend!

loved this romance and finding oneself and the how the couple worked out their problems . loved all of the side characters and the friendships. Good book.

I really enjoyed "Ghosted", a "Jane Austen meets the Ghostbusters" mash-up quite a lot. Amanda Quain is a new author to me & now I will add her to my "read" list & check out her back-list. This Northanger Abbey tale is not just paranormal, it's also a gender-swapped tale too - as Henry & Catherine become Hattie & Kit, two teens at a school. This Janite approved & loved it! My sincere thanks to the publisher & Net Galley for the complimentary DRC, which was my pleasure to read & review.

A phenomenal YA mystery/romance! I highly enjoyed it and hope we will see more of this series to come! I found if you are a fan of Wednesday or School Spirits then you will highly enjoy this book!

This was a cute spooky read with some good character dynamics thrown in. I didn’t feel any major connection to any of the characters, which made it a bit more difficult to get into. It was a cute setting, with a haunted high school and the concept of the ghost hunting had a lot of promise. I wish some of heavier topics had been explored more but overall it was a light fun read.

This was a cute ghost retelling of Northanger Abbey and while this isn’t one of Jane Austen’s novels that I am very familiar with it was still really good. I really enjoyed the ghost hunting aspect of the book and how Hattie figured out who she was under the mask she has been wearing to survive since her dad died. And how her friends will still like her even if she is a little weird. Love that Hattie made herself vulnerable and actually talked with her family about their grief and trying to be better together.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.