Incredibly powerful, profound and moving. Definitely aimed for those who are older so I wouldn’t recommend to anyone under the age of 18, but I loved it!

Told in two timelines, the (linear) present and the (nonlinear) past, this book follows a nam of many names, whom we know of as Charles at first. He was 17 when he was taken to Auschwitz, with his parents and sisters.

Quickly, he, alone is taken in by a German Nazi, Berthold, outwardly as a slave, but secretly, in his basement at night, a lover. Now, 27 years later, Charles is going about his days as a free man in America when Berthold begins to frequent the cafe in which Charles works.

What proceeds is the story of Charles in all its glory and wretchedness. He can’t seem to decipher his feelings about Berthold. On one hand, he knows this man was evil to him, to Jewish people, but he was also kind and loving to him.

I was leery about reading this at first, not wanting to read a book where a German Nazi was potentially romanticized and made out to be heroic in any way, but I am so SO glad I did because this wasn’t so much the case.

Instead, this is a story of Charles and everything he endured. My heart bled for this man, his journey, and his pain. I was sobbing openly through the depictions of his terrible treatment, the treatment of his family, the conditions in the camp, as well as during the moments of his triumph.

This was a beautiful and incredibly painful story where this man faces his demons and decides whether to seek retribution or not.

A wholly unexpected five stars.

This isn’t a novel I would recommend for students in grades K-12, but it is an excellent work for college students. This story is a juxtaposition between the authentic love of two individuals during the aftermath of a loveless, hateful war. This novel gives a slice of life narrative of what love is during a time there is so much hate. The characters are developed and the different settings throughout the novel will take you a a journey that you will not soon forget. Excellent!!!!

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with this kind of storyline. A survivor of the Holocaust must face the ghosts of his past when the Nazi officer to tormented him comes back into his life.

That’s heavy!!

The entire book has an overwhelming sense of unease and melancholy. Not in a bad way but this is not for someone that is looking for a light read.

I commend the author for the story they told. I really enjoyed reading the Q&A at the end that explained how the idea came to life and why the author felt it was important to be told.

Thank you NetGalley, Jeffrey L. Richards, and Kensington for the opportunity to read We Are Only Ghosts. I have written this review voluntarily.

I had to push back all my pending reviews to talk about this book first!
I finished the book yesterday and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since!

The story:-
It is 1968, and Charles Ward is head waiter at Café Marie in New York City. Charles wasn't always this person - he used to be a different boy, in a different land at a time when the world was light years away from his present life!
Until one day, when an older couple walk into his cafe and just like that, all those years and walls and defenses against his past life crumble away!
For here is the woman who was never pleased with his work no matter how hard he tried! And here is the man who had owned his body, his soul and his life all those years ago when he was 17years old, in Auschwitz in 1941.
The man who had been so tender and so brutal to him and was in some convoluted way responsible for saving his life!

What I loved:-
This is not a typical Holocaust story.
At first it seemed to be a wistful, emotional, melancholic tale about a man who had left his younger, queer, Jewish self buried in the past. The man who refused to look too closely at the strange relationship that had sprung up between himself and the warden of his prison camp - the warden for whom his feelings of affection and hate would forever be intertwined!
Midway into the book, the story shocked me with a change in tone and it took me a while to figure out how I felt about that! Good, I decided!
The story moved out of the past and into the present, bringing with it an edge of danger, of action and a whole new power dynamics between the two main characters !
The beautiful and heart-wrenching conclusion left me exhilarated and sad at the same time, that I had finished the book!

This book releases on 20th February, 2024 - watch out for this one, I have a feeling it will blow you away!

We Are Only Ghosts
By: Jeffrey L. Richards

5 Stars

This is a novel of war, suffering, and identity. This is a story that spans decades and many locations. This is the story of a man. This is the story of Charles.

Charles has worn many faces. He has been a ghost in the background of many cafes. He has also been a Jew and a part of the Holocaust. He was a victim and a savior. Since the age of 15, he has battled to simply survive. Along the way, he battles with who he is and the man he will become.

This book was simply amazing. It was powerful as a war novel. It was also a powerful story of sexual identity. Charles was an amazing character and his story will grab you, heart, and soul, and stay with you for a long time. The pain, the suffering, and the triumphs in this story can be felt coming from the pages.

I have ready many books and this one is one I can say will be with me for a long time. It gives a different view to the war and life in general. This is a must-read. I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this amazing ARC.

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Reviews

Wow. . .this title was everything that I had hoped for and more! This title tells a unique and original character-driven story shaped by the holocaust and its aftermath. Well-imagined, written in beautiful and exacting prose. When I first read the description of this title, I was immediately hooked, but I wondered if Richards would be able to tell such a tale in a believable way and with humanity and insight. He absolutely does so! Beautiful and captivating! I hope that this book gets the attention it deserves!

We Are Only Ghosts is a thought-provoking novel of a Holocaust survivor. Charles/Karel in some ways seems to be a picture of Stockholm Syndrome. He maintains an attraction/affection(?) with respect to the Nazi who, in a way, saved his life. He remains loyal (for lack of a better word) even in the face of Bertoldt's absolute cruelty and inhumanity. I had never read anything by Jeffrey L. Richards before this book, but I intend to read more. He writes compellingly and carefully about damaged souls while not leaning on stereotypes as characters. I would point out that there are some fairly graphic depictions of sexual situations and those scenes may be more than some readers can tolerate, but there was nothing gratuitous about it. The story was about a survivor of the Holocaust and the power structure that made the horrific abuse he suffered possible. And while it was terribly dark to read at times, it was also a novel of hope, of personal triumph, and of finding the good in awful places.

Despite being set during the Holocaust, this is not your typical Holocaust book. It does at times, go into the harrowing details of life in the concentration camp, but that is not the focus of the story. It is the journey of the main character that gives this book its backbone. Charles navigates a brutal relationship that echoes those of Lolita and My Dark Vanessa. I can understand how this book has been compared to A Little Life due to its heart wrenching moments where the reader can feel the sorrow, melancholy, and pain of the main character. Each step in the journey had me pausing to ask, "What would I have done?" as I'm sure the narrator intended. Things are not black or white in any world, so it was hard to guess what would happen at the conclusion. I found myself sitting in silence after the last page.

#WeAreOnlyGhosts #NetGalley

This book!

This is one of those books that I have to sit with for a bit before writing an in depth, thoughtful review....But wow. I would definitely recommend. 5/5 stars.

I will update my review across all platforms once I have gathered my thoughts.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read the early!

5/5- highly recommend, holy grail books

I immensely enjoyed the journey of Karel from 1968 New York, to 1941 Czechoslovakia and back again. This novel is reminiscent of John Boyne- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Hearts Invisible Furies- in the portrait of a young queer man grappling with the trauma of his past. I enjoyed the exploration of identity, and reclaiming what has been stolen from you. On a lighter note, I appreciate when the title of a book is intentional and referenced within, rather than a marketing afterthought. The concept of victims being ghosts of their former selves, and invisible to their abusers is stunning and thought provoking.

-Thank you to the author, Jeffery L Richards, Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.