Don't Fade Away is a contemporary paranormal story about a ghost and her journey to the other side. I have been interested in reading some paranormal stories but I get spooked pretty easily so I haven't made the leap into that genre. This is a great entry book into paranormal though! I enjoyed it and it wasn't too spooky or crazy.

The story centers around Elle and her mysterious death. The circumstances surrounding her death seems to be keeping her stuck in the house she died in. When new tenant Ethan moves in and starts noticing the energy in the house and feels Elle's presence he decides to use his suppressed gifts to help Elle.

This is a pretty quick read with an interesting plot. There wasn't too many characters so I feel that there was a little more depth to them. I did feel that the ending did drag just a tiny bit but it was still a good, heartwarming ending. Shoutout though to my boy Dean! I hope my beautiful tropical Dean finds love and happiness wherever it might be. He was definitely my favorite!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Omg so good! I couldn’t put this one down. I’m such a sucker for ghost stories! The main character was so relatable it really pulled the audience into the story. I was really hooked to the plot!

I find myself loving a good ghost story more and more!

Elle had died several years before and she is stuck between here and there. She is stuck at the dorm house where she died. She can’t leave it and she can only see the windows and walls.
Over the years, she watches the people move into the house, live there for a while, then move right out. But when Dean who is the current occupant, along with his steady stream of girlfriends and one-night stands move in Elle watches his crazy life with humor.
Death is pretty boring for Elle she can’t remember how she died. All she can do is watch Dean, that is until Ethan comes along and soon everything changes. It’s soon apparent Ethan can see Elle, at first he’s scare and then pretends he can’t, but soon they become close and they begin to work together to figure out what happened to Elle.
I really felt bad for Elle, and I enjoyed Ethan’s fear and confusion as he comes to terms with what is happening in the house.
I really enjoyed this book. It doesn’t frighten the reader, It’s more of a tragedy, part romance, with a good helping of paranormal, this was a quick read for me!

I love a good ghost story, and Don't Fade Away was heart wrenching in a way that I did not expect. I loved the characters and the premise of the story and I never got bored. The ending was pretty bittersweet

I adored this book it was dark with a gothic feel, had romance and ghosts, what more could I ask for. I read it in one sitting, it really drew me in, I absolutely loved it and can't wait to read more by the author

Big thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC for an honest reveiw!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! There was a lot of nice good-hearted humor to even out the deep-seated emotions Elle was feeling in order to move on to the other side. The side story of Ethan being there for his nephew who also shows signs of supernatural ability, was heart-warming as well. All-around a great story with easy to love (and easy to hate) characters.

I don't seek out ghost stories, but this seemed promising. This is nicely executed and I enjoyed the story and characters. Nicely done.

I really appreciate the free review copy for review!!

DNF @ 9%

I'm sorry but this is just so much nope. I already hate the love interest Dean just from the very few things we learn about him, he sounds like an utterly self-absorbed jackass (always another girl on his arm, spending alone time watching porn and making the perfect selfie, of course wearing muscle shirts and leather jackets. What a cliché.) and I hate how the new guy is being described as boring just because he is wearing t-shirts with comic figures and appears to be bit on the nerdy side.

Add to that the fact that Elle the ghost likes to watch her housemates having sex among other things, which... what? Why is that one of the first things she talks about?! Eeew.

If none of those things is a dealbreaker for you, you might enjoy this one, but I just cannot. At least the writing is decent.

This was a very simple and heartwarming read. It wasn't quite what I was expecting going in, and I will probably quickly forget I read this, but the sweet story of someone finally being seen is always fun.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing and Natalie Pierce for this ARC!

What a wonderful romance ghost story! It really captivated me from the start until the end. The friendship and the discovering oneself is what kept me most engaged but it can also be frustrating at times, but in a good way! Imagine that you die, is this case Elle, and have to walk around the house you died in unable to move on. That’s when Ethan moves in the house. He starts feeling a presence but doesn’t know what it is or how to grasp it. The story is told from a 3rd person’s perspective; however, I feel that we would have been able to connect more with the characters if it had been written in the 1st person, however, I was able to thoroughly enjoy the story anyway! Great read!

This is the kind of ghost book that won't have you leaving the lights on at night to go to sleep. So if horror isn't your thing than this book will most likely be for you. It was pretty straight forward and had a great flow. The characters were great and I really enjoyed the ending. I think that overall for me I would have enjoyed it more if it had that horror aspect. But this one was worth the read.

I received an ARC of Don’t Fade Away from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Don’t Fade Away didn’t hit all the buttons for me. Personally, the first half-ish was kind of hard to get through. Seemed to be slowly paced. However, the last half does ramp up a bit in pacing and drama. The ending was beautiful! It actually got me a little misty-eyed.
While there isn’t much more that really sticks out to me to talk about on the positive side, there’s one negative that really bothered me. The author chooses to have Elle, our FMC, make an off handed, rather tasteless and unnecessary fat joke about the MMC, Ethan. I think Natalie Pearce put that there for comedic relief. But for me, it had the opposite effect. I found it much harder to care about Elle’s plight when she’s making rude weight comments about the only guy who can help her. Really hated that. Almost DNF’d it for that reason, honestly.
But I did power through and by the end, found her to be likeable enough to be touched by the ending.
All in all, I could see myself recommending this book to someone who really likes clean romance and ghost stories. If you’re a fan of the kind of drama you typically find in high fantasy or romantasy, then it’s not going to be your cup of tea.

{4.25/5}

*Read via NetGalley. Published January 1, 2023*

Oh my gosh, this story! After a couple of duds from NetGalley, I wasn’t too sure how this one would do, but I absolutely loved it!

Elle is most definitely dead, but not quite gone. She’s been stuck lingering around her (antemortem) residence for years, watching as one housemate after another obliviously moves in and out of her (after)life. That is, until Ethan moves in…

Under normal circumstances, I don’t do ghost stories. Not in my books, not in my movies, and most certainly not in real life. But this one seemed like such a cute story that I had to give it a shot. As it turns out, ghost stories where the ghost in question is *not* a homicidal maniac are actually right up my alley. This is definitely the story for you if you’d like to check out a paranormal book without the risk of losing sleep at night.

The characters were enjoyable, the plot moved at an excellent pace, and the writing kept me engaged and entertained. It only took me a day to read, but it felt complete. There’s also a novella set prior to this book that I haven’t had a chance to read yet, but I can’t wait to get a hold of it! The author also left a note at the end of the book indicating that she’ll be releasing another book sometime this year, and I think I’m going to have to add it to my wishlist. Overall, this one was a definite win, and you should most certainly check it out.

#DontFadeAway #netgalley

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A big thank you to Netgalley & Natalie Pearce for providing me with an EARC in exchange for a review ❤️
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I really enjoyed this one! I was consumed with Elle and the mystery of why she remained in the share house after her death. I came to love and adore Ethan who also comes into his own along Elle’s journey. The story was engaging and really easy to read. I found myself wanting to keep reading it more and more. The ending was great and gives the reader lots of feels. I’m so glad I read this and love that more ghost stories are going to follow. I will definitely keep an eye out! If you love a book with mystery, ghosts & engaging characters you should definitely check this one out, it’s out now!
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If you have read this, let me know what you think?
What’s your favourite ghost story?
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Here’s a bit of what it’s about!

For Elle, haunting a share house comes with a unique set of challenges. Living tenants come and go, leaving her with nothing to fill her days except a crush on longstanding housemate, Dean, who literally doesn’t know she exists. Talk about unrequited love.
Just as she despairs at being stuck halfway to the other side for the rest of her afterlife, the newest resident sparks hope for something more than the humdrum of everyday death.
As far as mediums go, Ethan barely knows he is one. He just wants a place to knuckle down and finish his medical degree. But as soon as he moves in, he senses a presence. He tries to ignore it – but Elle is insistent…
The more Ethan uncovers about Elle, the more he suspects her death was no accident. Can he help her move on, or will greater forces intervene?

Don’t Fade Away is a spooky contemporary ghost story with a few scares and a lot of heart!

I absolutely loved this book!! It was such a quick easy read. I loved the characters in this book. I love a good ghost story but this wasn't what I was thinking and I just loved it. It was nice to have some humor, heart and some emotional moments. I couldn't imagine being dead like Elle and stuck in a house where no one knows you exist. Then one day Ethan walks in and you figure out he can actually see you. There story is so interesting and I highly recommend this book. This was my first read by Natalie and I can't wait to read more of her books.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for allowing me to read this ARC.

Thank you Natalie Pearce and collaborating publishers for this ARC. The following review is voluntary.

I’m in awe of this story! I was skeptical of the plot because paranormal books written from the POV of the ghost could be hit or miss. However, this author did an amazing job! This book isn’t a single location plot, but it’s very close, where the primary of the book takes place in the ghost’s home. I enjoyed the duel narration from the 3rd person point of view. I think the narration could have been excelled better as 1st person POV to help the reader connect more with the characters. However, this was written in a way where you could truly feel the emotions of our resident ghost and her clairvoyant roommate. Also, a mini love story between a ghost and an human?! Sign me up. Overall, I love this take on how the veil, afterlife, and special “skills” could create a thought-provoking ghost story. Equal parts cute, equal parts creepy!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op fro providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review. *
This book was really good. Elle was really an interesting character with a lot of layers in her personality that you couldn't help but fall in love with her.
Ethan and Amelia were really interesting too. The story had a lot of potential and I got really emotional especially in the last chapters.
So why 4.5 stars you ask me? Maybe it's just me, an agnostic, but I didn't love the way Ethan realized that death wasn't permanent. That there is a beyond the light if you know what I mean.
Also I couldn't connect with Amelia. Ok we know that she broke up with Adam when she learned the truth but come on, really?
But other than that it's a solid 4.5 stars.

This was such a wonderful read!! The multiple POV storyline really kept me hooked. Finished in one day!! This to me was more of a love/friendship story with a ghostly element. Definitely recommend

I’m not really one for ghost stories or for anything spooky, but this was a beautiful heartfelt love story and I loved everything abt it! I will def be sharing full thoughts here and adding this to our readers. Beautifully written. 5/5

Don't Fade Away is a truly unique book. I went into it expecting one thing and got a completely different thing, but in a good way. This book is beautiful and emotional, I really worked through feeling so many things reading this. Having lost my oldest and dearest friend last year it made me think a lot. Especially if he was still about and if he too felt like Elle did.

This book in my opinion is a general adult fiction with a paranormal aspect. It's about friendship, discovering yourself and acceptance. It's funny (The voyeurism with Dean made me laugh out loud!), it's sad and at times VERY frustrating. Told from Elle and Ethan's points of view there is only a few characters in the book, so much of it is taken up with their inner thoughts. I won't talk about the story or what happens. I will however mention Levi as he deserves a very special mention. This is definitely a slow burner, but well worth seeing through till the end. Did it end how I thought? I suppose in a way yes, as the perfect ending I'd have liked would have taken this book in a totally other direction.

Natalie (Author) is definitely someone to watch. Her down to earth writing was just what I needed and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Her characters were real and my heart went out to Elle so much in this book (And probably Ethan at times too). I highly recommend this to be added to your TBR shelf, 4 stars.

Thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with this ARC in exchange of an honest review.