First of all, this cover is absolutely gorgeous! This paranormal fantasy/romance was very enjoyable and I'm so glad I picked it up!

This paranormal YA romance had me at the edge of my seat the entire time! I have been recommending it to those who love romance, ghost stories, and things that go bump in the night!

thank you netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

haunting is a word a lot of reviewers have used and they’re right. the sense of foreboding is strong in this one. i would’ve liked more of the romance but altogether an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy in exchange for an honest opinion. Review has been posted on Amazon.

I was hesitant to read I'm Not Supposed to Be in the Dark, because I do not do well with creepy stories. I'm scared of anything that goes bump in the night. It turned out to be more than I expected.

It starts off heartbreakingly as Aria is still mourning the end of her friendship with her best friend Derek. It's been two years, but stings all the same everytime he ignores her. As strange things start to occur and Derek begins speaking to Ava again, she starts to suspect something is wrong with Derek. Uncovering the root of his odd behavior, Ava learns she may be the only one who can help him exorcise Marcus, ghost who is slowly taking over his body.

It is an eerie read laced with pain and loss. Even as I hoped Ava would find a way to save Derek, it was difficult not to grieve for Marcus and understand his motives. It moves beyond the common ghost story as it highlights the complexities of family bonds and the desire to accept one's self, faults and all. After I finished the book, the feeling that remained was how hauntingly beautiful the story was.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

I truly thought that this book was a fantasy read in the ya section. It wasn't. It's more of a thriller horror genre in the ya selection. And I don't like to read horror books at all. It's not my taste at all. Don't find it appealing to read at all. And I truly didn't enjoy while I read this book.

This book is not for me personally but I can see how YA spooky readers will really enjoy it and I would definitely add it to teen libraries where spooky books are popular.

I had my spook girl era this year and this did not disappoint. I’m so glad I started reading Ross M Neilson and want to read whatever she writes!

This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it! I am giving this book three stars, as I don't want to give it a good or bad rating, since I did not get to it.

One of my favorite reads of 2023. I loved the family secrets, magic and emotions of this book. Kept me on the edge of my seat

I liked this one, but felt it dragged a bit in the middle to rush the ending. Like the end was just a lot fit into like 3 chapters but then the middle was just very slow in coming to conclusions about things. The writing was fabulous though. Very well written, but not my favorite.

got about one third of the way into the book before I realized I didn't have a gd clue what I was reading. Specifically I got to the part where the MC got a dog bite or something so her friend took a box cutter and sliced himself so deeply he needed stitches just so she wouldn't be the only one with a scar and I said you know what... I'm out

A good, spooky read. I read through it fast and it kept me held in its grip the whole time. The main character was engaging and the storyline intriguing.

When I first started this book it captured all my attention immediately. While reading I wanted more & more I couldn't even put it down.
I love that the author grasp the readers attention with the mystery, romance & horror. Following aria journey throughout the book has really been a pleasure of mine to experience. Wow Even the cover is a beautiful piece of work. In the future I can't wait to discover more books written by this author.

Hauntingly beautiful. I read this twice in less than two weeks. What an introduction to a very talented author. I’m completely sold.

I know the moment I’m going to love a book when the very first chapter is The dead can’t bother me if I don’t let them in.” But well, it wasn’t “that good” and it also wasn’t “that bad” — 3.5 ⭐

When this book is claimed as “Horror”, I do not see where the horror would be. It was more like thrilling for me. In a good and sense way of ‘you need to keep reading’ which was good. To be honest, if this book is only contained of 5 pages, the breakdown would be like this:
1 - 4: it's for denying, rebelling, and finding what's happening with her, and the introduction
4 - 4.5: try helping Derek and the truth spilled
4.5 - 5: Wait, everything is over (?)
Even though it contained much for me, the magical realism in this book is not “that disappointing!” which is a good thing to bear.

The Storyline, is in a good sense of way that the writing is good with how the flow is going when you get a grasp of what is happening inside the book. However, for the most part of the beginning, it was boring as hell. I almost put this book down when I reached 3-10%ish and try to re-read it again from the beginning because I do really want to give this book a try. As I said in the previous paragraph that 1-4 pages would be the introductions, yeah well that's how it was while I was reading this book. Too long of the introduction contained in this book. I understand that the author probably wants to make us understand how everything works in this magical realism we are diving ourselves into and I also understood that this book is a standalone but for me, personally, the storyline in the beginning is too much and too long for introduction. However, when it comes to the world-building and how the storyline goes it was pretty impressive and relaxing. The choice of words the author had for this book is not that hard to understand. Nevertheless, the poor ending taken quite took a tool of big disappointment for me.

There are several issues this book can be bought up to the surface. The Main Key of the Issues are:
➊ Journaling, not many people know that journaling helps back in the day but nowadays, I see several people prefer to do journaling (or so you ever called writing a diary) rather than telling the other party to go and devour their emotions in the writing papers. It helps with how you can keep in check with your well-being, your mental health, and the lists you never know you needed in your life. In this book, Aria’s journaling to keep in check to her own self is I prefer good self-love. Also, it points out that it’s okay to not be okay.
➋ Societies Issues, this book holds several societal issues that break down into several points;
¹ Woman intends to only have kids and be married when they already reached that age, it was a shame truly. I forgot what year this book take place but certain people nowadays whether in fictional worlds or the real world would somehow have these thoughts for a woman.
² Several children don’t want to take the business fams, it was not a secret anymore when it comes to this. However, the funny thing is, when the child doesn’t want it, the parent pushes them. Meanwhile, when the child does the opposite, the parents always want them to go far away. Funny, isn’t it? This book points out the Grandparent shop Aria loved.
³ Lend them ears, not your mouth, people only wanted someone to listen to them. People sometimes always thought that when the other person was sharing some stories, they always wanted some advice, meanwhile, the truth was not always like that. Sometimes, those people only wanted someone to be there for them to lend their shoulders and ears only. This book was heartbreaking enough when it comes to Derek and I can feel the same way why he was being that towards Aria. Even though I won’t be blamed for Aria’s actions in the past but they could communicate these through rather than having snowballs between their steps.
⁴ Don’t keep your child in the dark, this certain issue is what happened with Aria’ and the reason why she was always asked to be drinking her tea. It was quite annoying when know the reason why the families did what they did to her. Even though the reason is pretty acceptable but still, it doesn’t have to be hidden in secret, she deserves to know!
⁵ The Good and the Bad balancing, this one was priceless and it also points out the magical works in this book. Because everything of good is happening would always have a bad effect on it. The magic work in this book is a good point this book had. I also think about the consequences Aria took in her action.
⁶ Greedy of Power, well. I wouldn’t need to write it down more when it comes to the reason why Aria’s family did because the other party who knows her ability was greedy and wanted to take advantage of it. But not everything is about money and power.
➌ Asian Heritage, I wasn’t surprised when I heard about the Asian heritage on the magic because several times, there are lots of myths that pointed out about the Filipino side of this book. Also, I wasn’t surprised when this book mentioned Asian heritage because somehow, Asians always have the biggest source of magic. It wasn’t something to be ashamed of but it was indeed predictable.
¹ Against Inter-racial marriage, it was known as if you married a different race, it would be a disgrace to the family. It was written and pointed out several times in this book in the Aria families. However, that thing was not the main issue which was quite disappointing that it only has a slight sentence and storyline when it comes to this. Because I think, it would be good enough if this one was some of the main issues.
❹ Let the death rest in peace. I think this one was the most main issue and where it all began. Even though I was nowhere on the answer to why it was happening in the first place about this beautiful matchmaker, I was expecting something more when I discovered the truth about him and why he did what he did. It just left me unsatisfied and I need more answers to that point.

The Characters. This book has several of my favorites, Lindy and Marcus. Those two people have the way to my heart very often. Those two also have different traits from each other and they didn’t come across one another if I’m not mistaken, but I love them both. The other characters, who are the MC and the love interest were not disappointed as much and they also had some development even though the main reason they developed was way too long when it come to that term. It was still acceptable tho, because I believe they all were still in High School and they still try to gain some puberty hits on their own time. There is no annoying character in a bad way, but the characters inside this book have some of their own traits and are reasonable enough for the action they took. So, they are all loveable but I prefer those two.

The Questions that left me hanging:
❶ Why it has to be Aria? — I get that she is the MC but why?
❷ Why it has to be Marcus?
❸ Why it has to be Derek? Why not Aria’s mother? Why not Derek’s father or any other Aria family member? to be attached to “that”
❹ Why none of them are dead? it just nonsense, one of them supposed to suffer because of the magic and all
❺ Only that is the price for Aria? pity. It can be built again tho

Overall, I enjoyed this book when it comes to the spirits only and when it was almost at the end of the storyline. The beginning was quite boring but it paid off with the middle storyline even though the ending was just blaaah and truly disappointing. I also appreciate the issues this book brought because it was quite common and written up on the surface, so not really hard to point them out

Thank you Netgalley for giving me privilege for reading this book before the publication date.

I thought I would love this but I just couldn't get into it :(. I think it was a good book with important representation, but simply not for me, which led me to take a while to read it!

What a ride!

I will start by saying that I am scared easily, so this was more than spooky enough.

Spooky feelings aside, I loved the story and the themes explored.

Neilson has a promising career.

What wasn't there to love? Magic, romance, Providence. This story was so thought out. I could feel the love and how freely it flowed. I loved arias search for the truth about her abilities, the descriptions of the city and local spots. Aria and Bri felt like teenagers in the purest way, the house parties and riding the bus all felt familiar to my past but still current to how teens in the city move. Aria and Dereks romance was cruel in how long it was drawn out but worth it. and finally the reveal of it all! i was stunned. safe to say i love eveything riss writes