This was a messy, gorgeous, swoony Sapphic YA romance with an element of the paranormal. Perfect for fans of Jennifer Duggan, Ashley Poston and the graphic novel, The hills of Estrella Roja by Ashley Robin Franklin.

An aspiring ghost hunter stumbles upon a real ghost who makes a deal with her that if she helps his grieving sister find happiness he'll help her prove ghosts actually exist. Filled with paranormal antics, screwups, epic grand gestures (oh that promposal!) and so much joyful queer love. This was great on audio and I just loved it!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review. I loved the author's debut, Darkhearts but this skyrocketed to my very favorite YA read of the year so far!

This was such a unique romance mixing sapphic with ghost hunting. Cara & Meredith were a believable pair with just the right amount of angst and longing for young adults in love. Unfortunately the relationship started based on a lie and that was a frustrating aspect to overcome. The ending seemed a bit abrupt as well. Regardless I enjoyed the read but was hoping for more.

This was a super cute, slight paranormal romance for young adult audiences with LGBT representation! I enjoyed the story and romance throughout the book. I would have liked to get to know the characters a little deeper but I thought it was an entertaining read that kept me excited while reading! Which means I would definitely recommended this book if it sounds interesting to you!

This was a cute YA romance with a hint of paranormal activity. Personally, I would have liked a little more character development, especially within the supporting cast, but since it wasn't really their story I do respect the author's choice not to develop them so deeply. Not my favorite book, but also not bad at all. It was a light, easy, read with an interesting plot but definitely geared towards a YA audience.

I want to cheer for the protagonist, Cara, and root for her and Meredith who are obviously happy getting to know each other, but it’s hard to look past Cara’s selfishness since she doesn’t attempt to change her behavior until the eleventh hour. She is unkind to both Meredith and her friends. Aiden is a delight despite his missteps, and I’m so happy for Cara and Aiden to find each other. I think their friendship is just as important as or even more compelling than the budding romance between Cara and Meredith. This book feels like less of a sweet romance and more characters dealing with their own pasts and insecurities so they can be ready for a new relationship. Overall an enjoyable read, but not what I’d choose when looking for a sweet romcom since the best character is unfortunately a platonic ghost.

Cara’s at the end of her senior year and she is devastated that she won’t be leaving small, insular Stossel, Washington, along with the other college-bound kids she’s desperate to escape. Cara had a cyber-bullying incident in junior high, when she first began public school following homeschooling with her grandma, and was a little naive. A girl she liked, who she thought liked her back, asked for some pictures that became shared around school and made Cara a pariah before she even met anyone else.

Flash forward five years and Cara’s now an amateur ghost hunter. She hopes that she can parlay her YouTube channel into a career, or any activity that gets her out of Stossel prior to her community college associate’s degree. For Cara, it’s time to start over, far away from any of her tormentors. Cara relies heavily on Holly, her only friend, who happens to be a super-devout Christian. Holly’s angle is to find evidence of an afterlife, and be a great friend to Cara. Having a hunch that shooting scenes where a former schoolmate tragically died might reveal a ghost prompts Cara and Holly to film at a nearby abandoned paper mill. Cara’s stunned when Aiden’s ghost begins talking to her later that night.

It turns out that Aiden believes his ghost remains because his younger sister, Meredith, is super depressed since his death. Meredith is also a senior at Stossel High School, and Aiden’s sure that getting Cara to ask Meredith to prom will cheer her up. It’s a bit half-baked, as Cara’s a social leper, but he’s willing to coach her up on his sis. It’s totally icky and Cara initially refuses, but Aiden says he won’t help her prove that ghosts exist if she doesn’t cheer Meredith up. Cara’s so desperate to get the fame she believes will help her escape Stossel and all the bitter bullies that have tormented her that she agrees to Aiden’s terms. Meredith has been completely withdrawn and depressed since Aiden died, as they were very close.

Unfortunately, the more Cara tries to build a rapport with Meredith–with and without Aiden’s help–the more that they connect, and the more that Cara genuinely sees Meredith as a person, someone she really likes, rather than a means to an end with Aiden and the fame she desires. Still, Cara’s only a high school senior, and she’s been intensely damaged by bullying and abandonment. She’s not really super empathetic, nor is she emotionally healthy. She’s very transactional in her thinking, which unconsciously increases the distance between her and others. Furthermore, her self-esteem is super battered, having not been accepted to a university and feeling like a loser everyone’s leaving behind. All of this leads to a bit of mercenary mindset, where she’s ultra determined to get proof of Aiden’s presence, even if it ends up upsetting Meredith. Or, hoping that she’ll be able to convince Meredith that getting insider knowledge about her from Aiden’s ghost will somehow be okay. Her naiveté is pretty on-brand, as is her ruthlessness when the major conflict comes to pass. Holly’s trying to gently call Cara out for this mercenary-type mentality, but it’s lost on Cara, who struggles with building strong interpersonal relationships. Aiden was super popular, and his brutal honesty opens Cara’s eyes more than once to her obliviousness. The more Cara and Meredith connect, the more Holly wants Cara to come clean with Meredith about Aiden’s presence.

I genuinely loved this story. Cara is such an emotional character, with her abandonment issues, deep resentments, and desire to start over. She can’t cope with Holly leaving for college, and has such a low self-esteem over not getting accepted to university. She’s not so much a pariah as a porcupine with quills out all the time. Her suppressed anger blinded her to the goodness and possibility of other friendships, like with Holly’s boyfriend Elvis, who is a genuine friend to Cara, but she sees all his effort as either pity, or in service to keeping Holly happy. I loved how Cara and Aiden develop a true friendship, as they’re very much opposed to being fake with each other. Aiden has no rep to maintain, and Cara doesn’t care about his past popularity. He’s also pretty instructive to Cara, helping her become a bit more of a compassionate person through his brutal honesty.

This is not a lighthearted rom-com. The funny moments undercut the melancholy themes in good ways, but Cara’s self-involvement and protective barriers lead to absolutely unconscionable behavior to keep hold of both Meredith and Aiden. I was just as devastated as Meredith when Cara’s crassness ruined the fragile relationship they’d built. It was quite a curveball, for me as a reader, not because it was unbelievable, but because it was so completely on brand for Cara, who’s almost incapable of seeing beyond her own pain and needs.

The resolution was super awesome, however, and allowed Cara to grow and make amends to all her friends, Aiden included, in a way that made sense and also supported Cara. There’s a little romance here, but it’s all influenced by the dishonesty Cara perpetuates at Aiden’s behest. I liked how Meredith makes it clear that she’s a person who’s got her own life and her own issues, and Cara’s better-late-than-never sensitivity was finally the “just right” approach. I wanted to shake some sense into Cara more than once, which further underlined how deeply connected I felt to her character. The conversations were pure teen voice, and I admired how well-rounded all these characters felt. This story is one I definitely recommend for readers who like YA LGBTQ adventure/romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

The Ghost of Us was so good. I recommend it for fans of paranormal stories, queer characters, and romance.

I loved the friendship between Aiden and Cara but I felt like her relationship with Meredith was forced. Also Cara was kind of the worst. I mean yes in the end she is redeemed but it takes forever to get there.

To be honest I DNF'd. I couldn't connect with the characters and the story didn't pick up for me. I tried multiple times to pick it up but just couldn't get through it.

THE GHOST OF US by James L. Sutter had some moments that were funny and enjoyable, but not enough to make a full novel work. The two biggest issues were that the romance was based on lies and the issues created by word choices/language. I still can't believe that the main character Cara used language like "No-No Zone" to refer to her body during an intimate scene. It sounds infantile and set a weird, unpleasant tone for a scene that should have been fine for an 18-year-old character.

*3.5

This book is really cute and funny! The premises were intrigued and I am satisfied by the execution. The banters are funny, Cara is a well written mc with a marvellous arc. She is mean at first and she’s mean for most of the book, but I grow found of her, I have to be honest. And I like her peculiar friendship with Aiden, the ghost she is haunted.
The romance is cute, but honestly I was expected a little more from this pov. I wanted more connection.
However, Cara and Meredith are cute together.
I’m happy to have read it and I think the best parte is the grieving.

To be completely frank, I DNF’d this at 20%. It never picked up for me, and I found myself rather bored with the characters and the plot.

This is a sweet and poignant story by the author of Darkhearts (one of my favorite reads last year).
Cara, a social outcast in her small town high school, wants to turn her amateur ghost hunting into her ticket out. Finally catching a break, Cara meets a real ghost - Aiden. Aiden is a popular boy from her school who died the year before. He agrees to help her become famous but he wants her help, too. In supernatural Cyrano de Bergerac style, Aiden convinces Cara to woo his sister, Meredith, who is still grieving his death.
As their romance blossoms, Cara also develops an unlikely friendship with Aiden. Their banter really made the book! But, of course, her lies catch up with her and she may lose everyone she cares about in the name of fame.
The book balances a sweet, humorous coming of age story with a genuine representation of grief and being able to say goodbye.

I received this digital ARC from @netgalley and publisher @stmartins in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this novel intrigued me and so I was very excited to have the chance to read it. While this book touched on the heavy topics of loss and grief, the banter and humor made for a fun read. Ghosthunting with sapphic romance? Who would have thought. The book had some good laughs and great one liners. Character I really enjoyed were Meredith and Cara’s parents. I think the scenes with her parents, though brief, were some of my favorite because of the zaniness, but also because the love for Cara came through to me. Sometimes I felt like Aiden’s personality and dialogue switched so quickly. One line he’s a jerk and the next he’s thoughtful. I know many people have a duality that they deal with, but I thought the back and forth was a bit too quick. Cara made me want to scream and shake her. She was such a selfish jerk and so needlessly mean to the people she called her friends. With her tirade with Holly, I would have been like Meredith and told her that’s it’s too little too late. She does get her redemption arc, and boy do we have to wait for it, but my goodness.

This was in no way a bad book, I thought it was okay and I would recommend it to others.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Book and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read and review.

Cara is determine to escape life as a high school outcast by finding proof of the supernatural. She is a ghost hunter. Cara discovers the spirit of Aiden, a popular upperclassman who died the previous year. She will learn that ghosts have goals of their own. In the wake of his death, Aiden’s little sister, Meredith, has become a depressed recluse. Aiden can’t pass on into the afterlife until he knows she’ll be okay. He believes that nothing pulls someone out of a slump like romance, so he makes Cara a deal to seduce Meredith out of her shell and take her to prom, If she succeeds, Aiden will give Cara all the evidence she needs for fame. If not, well―no dates, no ghost. Will Cara take Meredith to the prom? Will Aiden keep his word to Cara?

The author has included Cara’s best friend who helps with her ghost hunting. The author shows Cara’s personality/character to be all about what Cara wants. No one else matters. At times, the novel is funny but has its heartbreaking moments plus more. I found my self enjoying Cara and Meredith beginning a friendship that has starts and stops of romance due to unforeseen circumstances. I hope the author writes a sequel to this novel as I wanted more … not that there wasn’t enough — I just got greedy for more!

For how pumped I was for this book, it took me a really long time to get through. Ghost hunting and a sapphic romance was a combination I didn’t know I needed in my life until I saw the blurb for this book. The angst in this book is literally palpable, maybe a bit too heavy. The grief that was the unfinished business wasn’t portrayed very much. And honestly, the main character was a selfish a-hole. I mean, there is a redemption arc if you hang in there, but I definitely got the icks a lot when listening to the antics she was pulling.

Cara is determined to get out of her town and the way she is going to do that is to catch evidence of a ghost and post it on her YouTube channel. After another bust of a ghost hunt, she suddenly starts hearing a voice. It was the ghost she was after, and he has a deal. Help his sister be happy again and he would help prove ghosts are real.

I am very hesitant to read books with a FMC written by a man. Especially if that FMC is queer. YA is a genre that allows some flexibility with this issue, only if the plot and romance adhere to strict principles of respect. Sutter accomplishes this by allowing the characters to have personalities that grow as the story develops. Although, I wish Meredith was given a POV as well.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

DNF

This book didn't work for me. The first reason (which is no fault of the book) is that I don't read many YA books anymore, but I love a good queer romance so I wanted to give this one a try. The other reasons are that this book's humor wasn't working for me, the writing wasn't my favorite, and it had pop culture references (a pet peeve of mine in books).

Overall, I could tell that this book wasn't going to be a favorite of mine, so I'm DNFing this book.

I loved this story! It was such a fun little ghost hunting love story that was also about friendship and realizing what really matters in life (and after death). I enjoyed James' writing and will definitely be checking out his other works. Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A hilarious, light queer paranormal rom com. A qonderful band of characters, the interconnecting mentions of Darkhearts, and the absolute Seattle-ness of this book. A joyful sapphic paranormal YA!