Ghosted is a quick-witted, humorous, and banter-filled novel that also offers a delightful slow-burn romance. This book is sharp, funny, and brimming with heartfelt moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a high school English teacher, when I saw this book was based of a Jane Austen novel, I knew I had to read it. This is a well done gender role reversal of the original novel. At the heart of the story we have Hattie and her family who are trying to work through their grief after their father's death. Hattie has been hiding a lot of herself away and trying to put on a front that would protect her. Enter Kit Moreland, he helps her break down her barriers.

Although this book dealt with some heavier themes, it was still a fun read. The author has a really witty writing style which I loved. If you like Jane Austen retellings and slow burn romance then this book is for you.

Anyone who knows me has heard my very passionate rants about how Northanger Abbey is the superior Jane Austen novel. So, to say I lost my mind to see a retelling of my favorite Austen that was not another "Modern day 'Kat' likes Twilight" (insert eye roll) is an understatement.

I am not personally a huge fan of the gender bending of classics as my mom and baby sister have heard re: Elementary many a time but my GOODNESS was this book so perfect. I loved that they took my favorite part of the book Catherine's innocence and naivety towards the world and made it work in the modern world (in a not eye roll inducing manner) and for a MALE character too. It held my favorite parts of the classic novel while giving it a realistic modern day spin. I love Hattie and Kit together. I loved getting more of the Tilney family backstory and growth in the modern setting.

My only regret is I took so long to finish and review the book. I spent my time reveling in and enjoying this book because I was so impressed to find a modern adaptation that worked.

Stunning!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5/5 stars.

Ghosted is loosely inspired byJane Austen's Northanger Abbey. Ghosted follows the main character Hattie Tilney as she tries to navigate college applications, familial relationships, and senior-year anxieties all while attending America's most haunted high school - Northanger Abbey. Hattie is firmly opposed to anything that has to do with ghosts and tries to avoid them at all costs.
However, her plans get ruined when she's assigned to be the ambassador to Kit Morland - the new transfer student who's absolutely obsessed with ghosts. Naturally, the two are promptly paired together for an investigative project all about the school's haunting history. Although Hattie and Kit are almost total opposites, they slowly begin to find that they get along better than either of them could expect.

Overall, I thought this was a really quick and cute YA read. I enjoyed the first-person narration (although at some points I found Hattie's snappy tongue-in-cheek humour a bit cringy at some times). I loved the emotional journey that Hattie goes on throughout the novel and I love how she slowly becomes aware of the emotions she's been repressing since her dad died as well as how she dealt with her grief. I also really liked Hattie and Kit's relationship as I felt like the pacing was just right and i enjoyed how they supported each other.

I do think there were some parts that were rushed, like Izzy's whole redemption arc and Hattie forgiving her. Additionally, I was a bit bummed out about there not being more spooky ghost action like in Northanger Abbey. Throw those in with the timeskip at the end of the book and I was left a little bit unsatisfied by the time I finished the book. However, this was still a very enjoyable book and I'm eager to reread it!

This book, oh this book, it gives you soo many feels, so many moments that surprised or engaged me, and ohh so much ghosty baggage to unpack.

What I thought was going to be a light-hearted ghost-hunting adventure in a haunted high school was so much more, and I loved it.

Hattie has had her fair share of tragedy and has found a way to cope with it all, or at least she thinks she has until Kit turns up and turns her world upside down.

Through family drama, having her dreams crushed, then figuring out her dreams aren't what she thought they were we see Hattie grow up, Liam come into who he was born to be, and see Kit becomes the person that ties it all together.

While there weren't as many actual ghosts as I was expecting we had a busload of emotional spectres that are haunting so many people in this book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for Providing an advance copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book grew on me as I continued to read it. I thought going in I was going to get a cute romance book with some paranormal activity. The summary of the book definitely threw me off and made me actually think about what it meant to be ghosted. In the end, Amanda Quain gave me a beautiful book. This book does such a good job talking about grief and how no matter how long it has been, there is no timeline on when it (if) it'll get easier.

The story follows Hattie throughout her senior year of high school. 3 years after her father's death, her family is still struggling with the aftermath. Her mom is emotionless and hides behind her work, Her sister goes to the bar every night and her brother has isolated himself from the world. Hattie has taken up the responsibility of cooking and making sure her siblings are functioning as best as they can.

Meet Kit, a transfer from Florida who is carefree and down to earth. The relationship between him and Hattie is so healthy that after 3 years, Hattie has space to talk about what has been weighing her down. Kit gives her that space that she has needed to start to become who she was and who she wants to be without expectations weighing down on her. Through their relationship, Hattie also re-finds her love for the paranormal.

This book is not only a coming-of-age book, but it talks about grief in such a great way and how it can impact families. Follow Hattie as she navigates the struggles of falling in love, friendship, disappointment, and coping with loss (and has a lot of paranormal/ghost stories). I highly recommend this book and give it a chance because it is a slow burn, but as I said earlier, it definitely grew on me!

4/5 stars. Thank you Netgalley, Amanda Quain, and St. Martin's Press for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 rounded to 4

The characters in this book really are haunted, but not by ghosts except in the metaphorical sense. The Tilney family is still caught in grief mode after the death of their much-loved father.

Hattie, our stand-in for Henry Tilney, is responding by being a perfect preppy, as smooth and superficial as possible, a complete turnaround from her days following her ghost-loving dad around. Her mother is the stern, no-nonsense headmaster of Northanger Abbey high school, and as such is far more interesting than the obnoxious General Tilney of Austen's book.

Most of all I loved Kit Morland, who is a sweet guy, eager and enthusiastic--a perfect version of the eager and enthusiastic and kind Catherine Morland of the book. I loved what Quain did with the characters of Austen's story. However, I do wish that there had been more tongue in cheek ghostly action, even a little. Instead, what we get is a very well-written teen problem novel. Which kind of misses the fun of Austen's tale, even if it does well by the emotional complexities.

Northanger Abbey is one of my favorite Jane Austen books. This gender swapped YA retelling did it justice for sure. It was heartwarming and spooky all in one. Hattie had so much character growth in this book. I loved the family story. The book did a great job of showing grief, family disfunction and self growth. I loved how the relationships throughout the book changed and grew. I cannot wait to read more. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Ghosted by Amanda Quain is an emotional and engaging story that broke my heart and, by the end, stitched it back together. YA stories about teens grieving a dead parent often move me to tears, and Ghosted was no exception. I spent as much time in tears as I did laughing. Henrietta, a senior in high school, lost her father a year ago, and she, her two siblings, and her mother are all stuck in their grief. Of course, they are all experiencing grief differently, but for each of them, it is all-consuming, and they’ve lost their familial bonds with one another. The situation is overwhelmingly sad for me, and the counselor in me just wanted to step in and help this fictional family that is so well fleshed out and developed that it felt very authentic.

The romance is very innocent, and I loved Kit’s pure soul and his small part in significantly changing Hattie’s life. I also adored Hattie, who works so hard to be strong that she loses her identity. The romance is more of an enemies-to-lovers romance as Kit represents everything Hattie says she doesn’t want anything to do with. I always enjoy that relationship dynamic.

I also found the ghost-hunting part of the story fun. Hattie’s mom is the headmistress of the boarding school she and her brother attend. The school has a long history that is featured in ghost documentaries and movies, so it’s a mecca for ghost hunters. This paranormal aspect brings a lot of fun to the story but is also very relevant to the central theme and plot. Ghosted is much more than it might seem from the cover and blurb. It is a multi-layered story about grief and self-discovery.

I do enjoy a good modern interpretation of a classic story. It’s actually been a few years since I’ve read my Jane Austen books, so this definitely made me want to either read through all the books, or at the very least watch a film/mini-series for each one.

I did like all the little connections and easter eggs that connected this book with not just the book it is an update of, but also other popular reads of the time. I loved the references to The Mysteries of Udolpho.

Obviously there are some changes that need to be made to turn this British classic from the 1800s into a modern US tale, and having Northanger Abbey be a private boarding school. Udolpho becomes a college our main character is applying to.

Obviously there are some differences to characters, some get slight changes to name, some get cut out or only mentioned in passing.

I liked that this still kept some of the spooky vibes, even updating the story so that ghost hunting is a main element of the tale. It was actually a pretty fun take on the story.

But don’t think that just because it has spooky ghost hunting vibes that the story is all fun and games. Hattie and Kit, and even some of the secondary characters like Izzy and Priya and Freddie and Liam, they all have other issues and concerns going on. Broken families, grief, friendship growing pains, adjusting to new stages of life, preparing to finish high school and head off to college…it all felt so big and life-altering.

I mean, I know that I graduated from high school back in 2006, so it has been a number of years since I was in that position, but it felt real and relatable enough.

I loved Hattie’s relationship with her brother Liam. Her friendships didn’t feel all that deep or real, and I suppose that was for a reason. It really did seem like she connected with Kit faster and more easily and deeply than she did with Izzy and Priya.

I did want a little more ghost hunting though. But that’s just because I do enjoy a good ghost hunting stakeout.

But what I’m curious about is the fact that on Goodreads, this book is listed as Northanger Abbey #1. So either we’re getting other Jane Austen modern adaptations but set at this boarding school or we’re going to follow other students and their time and experiences at the school. I don’t know. Or perhaps neither theory is right and it’s listed as the first in a series by mistake. Because this author did a Pride & Prejudice modern update that actually follows Darcy’s sister Georgiana as she tries to recover from scandal the previous year and she thinks that secretly working to get Fitz Darcy together with Lizzie Bennett will help keep him distracted from being a helicopter-sibling to her. It’s also listed as the first in a series, with no indication on Goodreads that there will be another book.

*4.5

Henrietta and Kit are adorable. He really brought out the best in her and encouraged her to be brave. Her backstory with her dad was really interesting and I liked it. I love the progression of her and Kit's relationship, it felt very natural. I do however think that she shouldn't of forgiven her friends at the end. They were mean about Kit before she even started hanging out with him. They were bad friends.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey gets a contemporary, gender-bent take in Ghosted. Amanda Quain has taken some of the best things from the beloved classic novel and turned it into something heartwarming and new.

Since the death of her father, Hattie Tilney has tried to be the perfect student, the perfect daughter, the perfect older sister…the perfect everything. It’s her senior year at Northanger Abbey, a high school that’s also a hot spot for ghost hunters everywhere. Hattie just has to focus on making it through the year and hopefully winning her mother’s approval. Then she’s assigned to be an ambassador to Kit Morland, a junior who has transferred to Northanger on a ghost-hunting scholarship. Kit’s sunny disposition and passion for the paranormal digs up ghosts in Hattie’s past she’d rather leave behind. But somehow Kit gets under her skin and Hattie starts believing that maybe the lonely, haunted parts of her she tries to ignore have a shot at healing.

I adored Hattie. She’s trying so hard to be perfect, to not let anyone see the haunted, sometimes lost girl that she doesn’t let anyone in. Her family has been broken since the death of her father; her mother is the headmistress of Northanger and would prefer to bury herself in her work than acknowledge her children, her older sister is wild and out of control, and her younger brother is withdrawn. I wanted to see Hattie let down her walls, to let people in. And though she tries to resist his charm, Kit gets past her guard. Kit is a breath of sunshine; he’s lively, passionate, and so open and honest you can’t resist his charm. His personality is infectious and with him Hattie starts to change, to open herself up and confront the wounds of her past. The two of them are such a delight together and their worlds open up together. I adored watching them go from friends to more and they absolutely made me smile.

Ghosted isn’t a straight retelling of Northanger Abbey, but rather inspired by it. You can see the familiar characters and plot points of Austen’s novel in this work, which I absolutely loved. But if you haven’t read Northanger Abbey, never fear: this book stands on its own. All in all, I adored Ghosted. Hattie’s journey tugged on my heartstrings and Kit was so full of sunshine I couldn’t resist him. Quain balances love, loss, grief, and growing in a coming of age story that’s engaging and sweet.

Northanger Prep is known for its haunted grounds and pages of ghost stories. Senior Hattie has spent her time as a student trying to avoid them. Her late father was her best friend and avid ghost hunter and being on campus just makes her grief stronger. She has a perfect persona of the star student, and her mom being Headmistress of the school just adds more pressure for Hattie to stay on that perfect path.

Kit, a new student and passionate about the supernatural, comes along and Hattie is assigned to be his tour guide. His enthusiasm rubs off on Hattie and she starts to remember the fun parts of ghost hunting (and life in general).

I thought this book was cute and entertaining. Definitely a good spooky season read! It could have benefitted from dual POV, with Kit's added in. I was truly into this story until the last 15% when I realized that most of the book could have been solved with conversations between Hattie and her mom and sister that should have happened 3 years earlier :/ but overall an easy read with cozy vibes.

Ever since “Clueless,” I have loved a clever retelling of a Jane Austen classic! There’s something timeless about those stories, and when the homage is loving and respectful (while adding its own unique spin), it’s magic! This is where the adorable “Ghosted” really works! “Northanger Abbey” has always been so much fun and I really enjoyed this sweet and spooky genderbent adaptation by Amanda Quain!

My gratitude to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. This was a fun read. This is Amanda second book and her writing is so unique and fun that I devour her books. Hattie is gearing up for the start of a new school year, at the school where her own mother is the headmistress. No special treatment here, though her and her siblings are reeling from the loss of their father. She has enough on her plate, until she’s given an extraterrestrial project in one of her classes.

Kit Morland has transferred to Hattie’s school on a ghosting hunting scholarship and the last thing he wants to do is be paired up with Hattie. Though he is fully 100% an extraterrestrial believer, he has some work to do to get Hattie on his same wavelength.

As the two work together on their project, Hattie starts to realize that Kit might be the kind of person that makes her want to believe in something—and someone—for the first time.

This was a cute romance book and fun to read. I devoured it in a day and I loved the cover.

So first, before you pick this up this isn’t a fun ghost hunting book. I guess I wasn’t paying attention because I thought that was what I was getting. That being said I still enjoyed this. Our main character Hattie is in her senior year at Northanger Abbey, which is famously known as being haunted. Hattie used to love hunting ghost and all the things that came with it until her father passed away. Now she’s spent her high school years becoming who her mother and friends want her to be and losing her true self in the process. That is until she is assigned to be the ambassador for Kit. Kit is all about the hauntings and is ecstatic when he and Hattie get put together for an assignment to research the hauntings at the school.

This is story follows Hattie, her mother and siblings after it’s been a few years that her father has passed and how each of them have grieved. They have all somewhat shut each other out and have fallen apart as a family unit. This shows Hattie finding herself again and dropping her mask she wears at school and at home.

So if you’re going in looking for a fun ghost hunting YA this isn’t it but I still enjoyed this for what it was.

Title: Ghosted
Author: Amanda Quain
Genre: YA
Rating: 3.8 out of 5

Hattie Tilney isn’t a believer. Yes, she’s a senior at America’s most (allegedly) haunted high school, Northanger Abbey. But ever since her paranormal-loving dad passed away, she’s hung up her Ghostbusters suit, put away the EMF detectors and thermal cameras, and moved on. She has enough to worry about in the land of the living--like taking care of her younger brother, Liam, while their older sister spirals out and their mother, Northanger’s formidable headmistress, buries herself in her work. If Hattie just works hard enough and keeps that overachiever mask on tight through graduation, maybe her mom will finally notice her.

But the mask starts slipping when Hattie’s assigned to be an ambassador to Kit Morland, a golden retriever of a boy who’s transferred to Northanger on—what else—a ghost-hunting scholarship. The two are partnered up for an investigative project on the school’s paranormal activity, and Hattie quickly strikes a deal: Kit will present whatever ghostly evidence he can find to prove that campus is haunted, and Hattie will prove that it’s not. But as they explore the abandoned tunnels and foggy graveyards of Northanger, Hattie starts to realize that Kit might be the kind of person that makes her want to believe in something—and someone—for the first time.

This was a fun read, but some of the characters felt a little flimsy to me. Like Hattie’s two best friends and her sister. The way Hattie changed instantly when she met Kit didn’t feel quite believable, either, although this is a YA read, so I can overlook that. I thought the ghost-hunting stuff was fun and the ghost-centric school was a unique angle, and I’d definitely read more with these characters, I just thought it needed a bit of fine-tuning on the details. Props for the title, though. That was a nice touch.

Amanda Quain lives in Pennsylvania. Ghosted is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the free eARC for early review.

Hattie Tilney doesn't believe in ghosts, well, she doesn't believe in them now. Entering her senior year at Northanger Abbey, with her mother as the headmaster, she is assigned as ambassador to transfer student Kit Moreland, a new scholarship student sponsored by National Paranormal Society of Investigators.  

This is a gender swapped modern retelling of Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen set in a "haunted" elite high school.

Hattie is trying to be the perfect daughter since her dad died right before the start of high school, applying to the school her mom picked out, perfect grades, taking care of her little brother, so when she's introduced to Kit, her perfect facade starts cracking. Her flaws are there for all to see and she doesn't think she's strong enough to be who she really is. Or if she even knows who she wants to be.

This story is interesting, however there are a lot of pop culture references that are very prominent and a little off putting since they kind of take you out of the feel of the book. But the writing is decent and I enjoyed the gender swap since the original is told from Catherine Morland's point of view.

4 out of 5 stars. Recommend for a light grey academia vibe rather than a dark academia vibe.

I don’t have too much to say that wouldn’t be a spoiler, but I’m convinced I would have appreciated and liked this a lot more if 1) there were more ghost adventures and 2) I read Northanger Abbey before. It was a good idea, I just wanted more and feel like main characters were a bit dull.

If you are a fan of ghost hunting and Jane Austen look no further. This YA retelling of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey has what you want. Henrietta Tilney, a senior at Northanger Abbey High School, once loved all ghosty things before her father passed, but now she avoids them. Forced by her mother (the headmaster) she finds herself the guide for the new student, a ghost hunter named Kit Morland.
Ghosted to me was more enjoyable than Northanger Abbey (it has always been my least favorite of the Austen novels). Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.