I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

3/5 Stars

Thank you to HarperTeen for providing me with an arc.

If you asked me to tell you the whole plot of this book, you would stare at me like I am making it up. I thought this was just a fun ya romance with a ghost element but what I could was one of the weirdest and most unhinged books I’ve ever read and I still am unsure how I fully feel about it. I did like the banter and the main relationship but the plot was just unhinged and hard to follow at times.

Cara Tang is a Ghost Speaker, someone who can see and talk to ghosts as well as do other things and it runs in her family. She made a promise to her mother when she was younger to ignore ghosts and never ever tell anyone about her magic which she has kept. The only person who knows is her grandmother who also is a ghost speaker. But when her rival Zacharias Coleson doesn’t show up to work on their project she goes searching for him only to find his body. Now she is stuck helping him in a race against time to bring him back to life or he will be gone forever.

The banter between Cara and Zach was amazing and I felt the evolution of their relationship from rivals to friends to lovers and it was good. I really loved them together and I do believe their relationship. I thought the banter was pretty solid for a YA book and it kept me second guessing if they had feelings for each other or not.

I can’t say if I recommend this or not as I still haven’t fully sorted out my feelings but it is a decent book but not at all what I expected. Just expect somewhat chaotic plot lines, a fun rivals to lovers story, and supernatural things and you may have a fun time.

Last year I used to request every single book on Netgalley for anything that might sparkyl my interest, including the cover. I’m trying to go through my old arcs to clear up and oh how I am suffering greatly for it.

I requested this one because it was compared to Cemetary Boys and while I can see the similarities, this falls short.
Unfortunately, even though it’s YA it comes off as middle grade. I’m over YA though so that’s also my fault I don’t know why I keep trying. Our main character is absolutely insufferable and has no empathy. Not to mention she’s very immature and annoyed me the whole time. The enemies to lovers thing wasn’t well done either, they had no reason to hate each other and the romance then felt forced and random.

It was a lot more fantasy than I expected as well which I felt like didn’t fit into the story, such as magic powers. I think we needed a lot more backstory and explnations. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

This was one of my most anticipated reads for such a long time. It is such a fun and fast-paced read with great writing and a romance I was rooting for the entire read!

A cute if somewhat simple contemporary fantasy. Though I appreciated the unique magic system, it was a bit all over the place, hopping back and forth incorporating various mythologies that didn't quite connect in any particular way. A deeper storyline lingered under the surface that was never fully explored that was used as teaser bait for a potential sequel, but Cara and Zach's story feels like it started and ended cohesively here. Although their romance was a given and was heartwarming in the end, their enemies dynamic at the beginning felt forced. The entire book definitely leans towards the younger side of YA, but it can be an enjoyable and quick read if tropiness and a few cringe lines here and there are no bother to you.

REVIEW✨
If I Have to Be Haunted
By Miranda Sun

So I wanted to read this book cause the cover was so pretty and felt very autumn to me. And who doesn’t love a good ghost story every now and then. Also when I saw that it was a thrilling romantic YA contemporary fantasy about a teenage Chinese American ghost speaker who reluctantly makes a deal to help raise her nemesis from his semi dead. It sounded like the right book for me.

But I would have to disagree, it read more middle grade than young adult with the characters seeming very juvenile and not much character development happens in the book. I had a very hard time getting over the writing style along with the plot, characters, and total lack of chemistry between the two main characters. Cara and Zack go from disliking each other, with no explanation why that is… to both saying that they love each other with no explanation why. The pacing in the book was totally off, things would just happen with no explanation and then something else would happen and again no explanation. The ghosts, the liminal world, and the magical powers didn’t make sense and was never explained… this book wasn’t for me.

This book brought back much nostalgia for the late 90s and early 2000s. I felt completely called out when the author reminded me of my obsession with wanting a canopy bed. I recommend this book if you are looking for a “OH! I remember that.” For example, if you remember ‘tight squeeze, cool breeze... now you've got the shiveries!’ You are my people.

I really liked this book. It was cute, fun, and unique, and I liked the way cultural elements of the characters were included as well. This book does have more of a younger YA type vibe, which I don't mind. The type of bickering between the characters and some of the obstacles they face just feel more for a younger audience, but it's still fun and engaging for me. I loved the lore of it and the journey to bring back from death. And it's a good fit for fellow fans of enemies-to-lovers. No super big plot twists, but it's a fun story, also moving, and it incorporates a lot about love, family, and friendship in a really nice way.

Miranda Sun’s IF I HAVE TO BE HAUNTED is a fantastical debut filled with wonder and intrigue.
Cara, with the ability to see ghosts, gets stuck with the ghost of the boy who has been annoying her for ages, and while helping him find his way back to his body, finds maybe he’s not as bothersome as she thought.
I think I didn’t fully read the blurb before requesting to read, as I knew there would be ghosts (obviously) but I was pleasantly surprised by the liminal dimension travel and its fantastical creatures. The vivid detail of this novel would lend itself very well for a Studio Ghibli style adaptation. Overall it was a pleasant read that young adult audiences will enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing a review copy.

Sadly this book just didn’t grab as much as I hoped it would. I put it down and picked it up multiple times but I just couldn’t connect with it. Super bummed.

4.5/5 I...this sucked me in. I loved Cara's story and her being a ghost speaker. I loved how she had to save her "rival" but you know, that slow burn and forced proximity really kicked in. I didn't want to put this down between the romance, the journey, the writing, and just the overall atmosphere of the book. I only deducted 1/2 a star because some of the writing kind of felt like the author used a thesaurus to really be "descriptive" but it was still SO good. I liked it more way more than I thought I would.

Oh wow! I was absolutely mesmorized by this enchanting and (sometimes) spooky byt darling and cute tale about a Chinese American "ghost speaker" who is forced to work with her annoying, but charming school nemesis to bring him back from the dead or risk being haunted by him for good. How i LOVED this story. It was EVERYTHING I want in a YA book---charm, wit, banter, diversity, lore, ano soooooooooooooooooooooo much more. will be recommending this to everyone I know from now on....an NO YOU CAN'T BORROW MY COPY!

If I Have to Be Haunted by Miranda Sun was such an interesting and unique story. I loved the characters Cara and Zach and how they bantered back and fourth, you just knew that they liked each other but we're both too scared to admin it. Miranda's writing style is easy to read, and the details when world builder were superb. I am such a lover of YA thrillers and this one was so good. Cara is a ghost talker, but she hasn't decided if she wants to be one or if she wants to hide her abilities. Until one day her nemesis since they were kids Zach, gets so close to death. They have to travel to another world to save Zach, while Cara learns a lot about herself on the way. I would reccomend to anyone who loves a good YA thriller and excitement!

Okay, this book was GOOD! A lot more intense than I thought it would be for a YA read and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I was expecting a typical romance, and although that was included, the author really made so much more out of it. It was a love story mixed with a ghost story mixed with a fantasy. It was all woven together seamlessly and that was a big part of what kept me invested.

Cara was such a great FMC and I loved the chemistry between her and Zach. Their rivalry was so great and it just made their love story even better.

Above it all, the ghost/fantasy aspect was very well done. Plus that ending was so eerie and I loved it!

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for my gifted copy!

I received this book for free for an honest unbiased review from Netgalley.

I wish more books were this well written. Characters were witty and the setting fantastic.

I absolutely loved the first 35% of this. I thought it was going to be a five star read. But then we went on this weird quest that kind of reminded me of Wizard of Oz and it lost me a bit. Which is a me problem because I like my fantastical elements more grounded. This was still a stunning debut, so well written, and the enemies to lovers romance was A+. Can’t wait to see what she does next!

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

I received an e-galley of If I Have to Be Haunted by Miranda Sun from Frenzy Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed it, especially the premise of it. I don't think there's a lot of spooky ghost stories based on Chinese superstition in YA and so it made for an interesting premise and story.

The writing gave me younger YA vibes. It felt to immature for me. The premise is great though. The writing hindered the story.

"- I'll haunt you for the rest of your life. "
"- You wouldn't dare ".
" -Try me ".

Thank you @frenzybooks for gifting me a digital ARC copy of this book for an honest opinion. I really loved it ❤️. You can also see my gorgeous Fairyloot copy in the back.

Cara made a promise to her mother. She would never tell anyone that she could see ghosts and to never interact with them She inherited this ability from her grandmother, who's also a ghost.

But, when her rival, Zach, the super popular boy is found dead, he wants her to resurrect him, nothing less.

I loved that book with all my heart. The story was so good.
Cara and Zach have so much chemistry. Their banter and their rivalry since kindergarten was so fun to read. They made me laugh out loud many times.

Cara is an Asian/American who's preparing for College. I absolutely love her. She's driven, knows what she wants and isn't scared to fight her rival. She's magical, strong and sees things that no one can. She also faces racism and prejudices.

This story is all about finding yourself, choosing what you want and who you want to be. It's a story about falling in love with your enemy, about adventures and finding peace.

I highly recommend this story if you love :

✨ Ghost stories ;
✨ Enemies to Lovers ;
✨ He fell first ;
✨YA;
✨ Big Quest ;
✨ Magic.