2.75 stars

What brought this down was Cara's voice, I just didn't care for her it's all about/whoa is me kind of attitude. I did enjoy the paranormal aspect and how the ending came about. I wanted to feel more heartbreak, if that makes sense, I wanted to see and feel more from and about Aiden's family -some of the best moments were him and Meredith talking about their past. Overall, I did enjoy it and it was a fast read.

The Ghost of Us is a sweet book with an interesting premise. The plot ends up being a bit predictable in places due to the romcom setup, but I think it works overall.

However this is a sapphic story written by a man. I dislike how the queer relationship is portrayed. Sutter reaches for younger terminology and jargon and fully misses

Thank you to NetGalley and Andersen Press for this eARC.

DNF@25%

If I would have known that this was written by a man. I wouldn't have requested it. I still wanted to give it a chance since I did though, and I regret that decision. Oversexuallizing teenagers is already gross to me, but a man oversexualizing sapphic teenage girls is another level of disgusting.

A very light and funny read that was super easy to get through without feeling and drag or slump. The cover of this book is absolutely stunning and draws you in. I feel this book would have faired better as a dual POV between Cara and Meredith to feel more depth into the pain of the loss of Aiden for Meredith. I would definitely recommend if you are looking for easy to read if you are in a slump.

I honestly did not start this one because I realized it was a WLW relationship written by a man.... and I just don't have time for that in my life rn.

The Ghost of Us is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of grief, memory, and the supernatural. The story follows a group of characters grappling with loss and the lingering presence of the past, both in their lives and in the world around them. Stutter’s writing is atmospheric and emotionally charged, weaving a tale of love and haunting regret. With its compelling characters and subtle blend of the paranormal, the novel invites readers to reflect on the ghosts we carry within ourselves.

This book’s premise was really great, and it lived up to expectations. The writing was clever and the characters were awesome. I would recommend this to anyone. I look forward to reading more from this author.

A very interesting read. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this book. It wasn't really for me, but I am sure that it will be loved by the right audience.

I enjoyed this book so much I ended up screaming into James's DM's. It was a touching story that made me feel all the butterflies!

This book had me on such a roller coaster of emotions! But in a good way?! Even though this is a young adult book and I am not the target audience I still really enjoyed the story and would highly recommend it. A very powerful and emotional story that I found dealt with grief quite well.

I am very thankful to have been gifted a copy of this book; however, at this point this book will be moving to my DNF shelf. It sounds like something I would have really enjoyed, and will happily come back and re-review once I am in a better mindset for the book.

James L. Sutter's The Ghost of Us offers an intriguing premise, blending paranormal elements with YA romance as it follows Cara, an aspiring ghost hunter, and Aiden, a ghost with unfinished business. The book has Sutter's trademark wit and explores complex themes, but the rushed ending left this reader wanting for more. Still, I will look forward to reading more from this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet romance with some fantastic elements that made the story more interesting. I enjoyed this ghost story and how Ghost Aiden tried to connect his sister and Cara to bring his sister happiness after his death. I wish Cara would have been more mature at times, but her immaturity was fitting as this is a YA novel. I wish Cara would have learned how important her friend and Meredith were to her earlier on in the book.

This was an interesting concept from a new to me author and I really enjoyed it.

Cara is a bit self-centered, which was off-putting at times, and for a long time it doesn’t seem like she would evolve away from that, but it was more about self-preservation from being hurt in the past than being a narcissist. I understand her fears, she is a good person overall, so I was able to forgive some of her actions.

Three relationships are pivotal in this story for Cara, her relationship with Meredith, with Aiden, and with her best friend Holly. And all three get pushed to their breaking points due to Cara’s behavior.

Meredith is filled with grief and a lot of anger, at both Aiden (for dying) and herself (for being angry with Aiden). I love that she opens up and stands up for herself with Cara. She is overall a very strong person, but she reveals her vulnerabilities and softness. I think Cara brings out the best in her and she pushes Cara to be a better person.

Aiden is probably the most complicated character, and not just because he’s a ghost. He cares so much about Meredith, and everything he is trying to do is for her, but he fails to see that he doesn’t always know what’s best for her. I think big brothers in general have this issue. He and Cara also develop a true friendship, which makes it all the more difficult that his ultimate goal is to cross over.

There are a lot of complicated feelings involved, and a lot of heartbreak, but this was a great read.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.5 stars, rounded down

I'm going to start out by addressing the elephant in the room - this is a sapphic love story written by a man. I went into the book with a pretty open mind, but the issues I am about to raise below have left me with one really burning question - what right Sutter think he had to tell this story?

This book, on it's face, is perfectly fine. The "fake dating" trope (though it kind of only goes one way) is used to its fullest, with Cara planning multiple dates to take Meredith on and slowly falling for her in the process. The two have multiple cute scenes, including dancing at a concert and going on a prom scavenger hunt. The kids have a close-knit group, and each character feels fleshed out, with their own wants and dreams outside of the events of the story. It feels like the author really took the time to think about the people he was writing about, which I appreciate even more in a YA novel where sometimes plot can take precedence over character development.

As I read on, though, some of the language and writing made me uncomfortable - even more so as it was repeated over and over. And over. And over.

The way that Cara talks about Meredith comes off as highly objectifying at times. While some of the language is sweet, like when she notices how alive Meredith looks when she's rock climbing, other sections are downright vulgar. There's a huge focus on sweat in this book (yeah, you read that right) and the way Cara describes Meredith's body, down to the "musky" scent of her sweat, got very weird to read after awhile. Aiden, the ghost character, had a similar issue with his dialogue. The way he talked about women was gross at times, but can be written off in a "boys will be boys" kind of way. The way he talks about his sister, though, gets really gross. He innuendos multiple times about Cara making Meredith horny and encourages Cara to go further sexually with her. There's also the constant, underlying knowledge that Aiden, as an invisible ghost, could be watching any of the multiple make-out scenes between Cara and Meredith, or watching Cara get changed or take a shower.

The other big red flag for me with this book was the hiking scene, where Cara and Meredith decide to (view spoiler). This scene was much more detailed than I would expect for a YA novel, and it cuts to black much later than I am used to in this genre. Now, I'm not attempting to pearl-clutch or make a "Think of the children!" argument here - I'm really more irritated for myself. I don't like spice in my books - at all - and I specifically seek out adult books with zero spice in them. (I was really, really pissed when I got through 99% of A Broken Blade only to have an intensely spicy scene pop up.) So, when I pick up a YA title, I expect the making out and the "tongues exploring each others mouths" (ugh) thing. I do not expect the kind of detail we got here.

Past my distaste for the sexual aspects of this book, the ending felt completely unearned because of one big mistake that a lot of YA books make - Cara doesn't earn it. After being a total asshole to her friends for the entire book, she gives one half-hearted apology and all is forgiven. I didn't even like the best friend character of Holly and her holier-than-thou attitude, but the fact that she forgives Cara after she openly insults her belief system was really too much for me. I have a pretty strong objection to organized religion, too, but I think even I could find it in me not to openly insult my best friend for her choice of religion.

This book has a fairly original premise, but feels bogged down with all the overly horny writing and an unlikable main character. By the end, my overall impression was that everyone really deserved better than Cara. I'm still left with the question of why this book was written by this person, but assuming that question will never be answered, I'm going to end this review by saying that there are better sapphic romances out there for you to read.

All Cara wants is to be a famous ghost hunter so when one shows up in her bedroom asking for a tiny favor (like taking his sister to prom), she says yes. Nothing is ever simple.

I found The Ghost of Us to be equal parts funny, sad, and frustrating for everyone involved. James L. Sutter gives us great characters and then throws them together when none of them really go together. Cara even knows that none of them fit. Yet oddly enough by the sheer force of friendship…they do.

Aiden should be glad that he wasn’t corporeal because I think Cara would have hit him more than once. (chuckle) His desire to see his sister happy and move on is all encompassing. I don’t know really how much his desire to move on really plays into it, because all I received from the story was his love for his sister.

It is hard to watch Cara’s desperation to succeed at being famous at eighteen at all costs. To think that exploiting and using everyone around her is the only way to be a success and be okay with that. Cara actually has no qualms about what she is doing as long as it works. I know the trend lately is to make morally grey characters and keep them grey and have you like them anyway, but the reality is would you stick around for this person in real life.

This brings me to the secondary cast. I give mad props to Holly and by extension Elvis. Holly is a true friend. There’s a scene in the latter third of the book that just hits and makes you think, “Girl, you are a friend for keeps forever.”

There are a lot of difficult conversations had in The Ghost of Us but none more between Meredith and Cara. The funniest of events also happen between them too. I think out of all of the characters Meredith pays the highest price in this fake-dating plot. Sutter does an amazing job handling her grief, anger, disconnection, and her reconnecting with Cara and life.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up the book. The Ghost of Us is at times funny and cute. Then it can be harsh and painful. It’s life during grief, complicated by good intentions, and one person’s ambition. It’s not your ordinary fake-dating romance, it has more depth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

Beautiful story with amazing storylines.

I saw the cover of this one and instantly wanted to read it. I also like the premise - a paranormal, sapphic romance. I liked that Cara, a wannabe ghost hunter, found a real ghost. And I enjoyed the banter between her and Aiden (the ghost). Meredith was an interesting character, and for me, probably a better character than Cara. I would have loved some chapters from Meredith's POV, as I feel like this would have added more depth to the story. There were aspects of the book I enjoyed, but I also felt like Cara was so selfish in some aspects that it took away from my enjoyment of the story.

I did not finish this book. I really wanted to like it, from the description, but the constant referencing of real life brands pulled me out of it. This book will be dated VERY quickly.

i got the arc for this at the beginning of the year and i’m just getting around to it but oh wow this was so fucking disappointing and straight up gross.

men should NEVER be allowed to write about sapphics. from the very first page, we have the main character saying she would let maya hawke “explore her upside down” but did the sexual comments stop there? of course not!

let’s go over some creepy comments written about teenage girls by this grown ass man:

1. “spaghetti strap camis showing off pale shoulders and cleavage that could’ve skipped a few grades”
2. “listen to asleep at the altar and tell me you aren’t snail-trailing your panties”
3. “aiden moaned with pornographic longing”
4. “sophia made a show of surprise, glossy pout forming the perfect sex doll ‘o’”

keep in mind that a MAN has written this book in a female perspective. also going to mention that the author has this fetish(?) for sweat and armpits? how did this shit get published? i’m convinced the arc readers or anyone who wrote good reviews for this book didn’t read it at all. it’s fucking disgusting.

as for the actual book, the writing was cringe with way too many pop culture references. the main character was selfish and lacked any empathy at all (which is crazy for a ghost hunter imo). the attempt at writing a redemption arc for her within the last 10 pages of the book was laughable. you could tell that all the female characters were written by a man because of their weird teenage boy lust vibes. in my opinion there are no likeable characters at all and none of them go through any kind of growth. the ghost, aiden, is just there to be a perv and he adds nothing but weird sexual comments

had i researched further about this book i wouldn’t have picked it up. period. the premise and cover had me intrigued but as soon as i saw a man’s name on the title page i knew it was so over before i even started. don’t waste your time with this weird shit. i’m anti ai like the rest of us, but i’m convinced that chatgpt could write a better book