Member Reviews
I don't know many people rooting for their house to be inhabited by a ghost, but I do know plenty of people searching for the ghosts of their loved ones! This book takes a woman from each situation and sends them on a mission to find answers. I had zero preconceived notions about where this book would lead me, and I think that was a benefit because it left me searching for how these two women are connected. Sometimes, diving in without knowing anything is the best way to pique interest in a book. I think this is just very well written and I enjoyed it.
I was so excited to get approved for this one, but to be completely honest, this audiobook just didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t as captivating as I’d hoped.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pub Day: 8/1
•
This was a Amazon First Pick and I also was able to snag the audio, which is my most favorite way to read. I went into this one pretty much blind and I really enjoyed this one.
•
Told in a dual POV and also in a dual timeline of sorts, you meet the main characters - Madelyn and Angie whose lives are intertwined in one very particular way. Follow along their journey with some pretty shocking twists and an unexpected ending. I absolutely loved the characters in this one. I felt like they were great. The pacing of this one was steady throughout with some definite suspenseful parts. I really loved the uniqueness and the freshness that this story brought to the table.
•
I especially loved all of the references to areas that I am very familiar with in Pennsylvania which made my heart so happy.
•
I listened to this one via audiobook while reading along with my eARC. The narrator - Christina Ho was fantastic. I really enjoyed how she brought this one to life for me. I felt like I was watching this entire story unfold while listening to this one. It is super easy to follow along with as well. Also, fun fact, if you are a kindle unlimited fan - this one is available to read and listen to on Kindle unlimited. Highly, highly, highly recommend the audiobook.
•
Overall, I really enjoyed this one, I read it pretty quickly and I think that my mystery friends will love this one. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Brilliance publishing, Amazong Kindle and Thomas &Mercer for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.
3 🌟 - I would’ve probably loved this book much more if it had been about 100 pages shorter and hadn’t delved into the whole supernatural aspect.
Overall, the idea was very fun and intriguing; however, the execution fell short for me.
What I loved:
- Diversity and relationships
- Adorable love story
- Potato 🐶 (and that nothing happened to the cutiepie)
- The quotes and snippets at the beginning of the chapters
- Jumping back and forth between what’s happening with Angie and Madelyn—I loved getting to know both of them
- The ending
- The narrator
What I didn’t quite enjoy:
- Pacing: the story felt way too slow for me with a lot of filler fluff
- Supernatural side plot: I would’ve loved it if there had been more to it. It felt like the whole story could have easily happened without it. It was simply unnecessary.
- Predictable villain: I really wanted some huge plot twist to happen and to have a “WHAT?!” moment, but no—things played out as expected.
- Constant reminders of the narcissistic ex-boyfriend: he came up occasionally throughout the entire book, and I just got tired of it.
Thank you, NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing, for this audiobook ARC. All opinions are my own.
I enjoyed this audiobook, from the beginning I was hooked. This is a great story to listen to when you are traveling to and from work, I couldn't wait to continue. Overall, engaging and entertaining.
With so many twists, I had no idea which way this book was going to go. I was constantly surprised and appreciated the way the author tackled the mystery element. While the story was slow to start, it did pick up around the 30% mark and I found myself reading the remainder of the book in close to one sitting. I don't usually love a paranormal element but the author wrote this one cleverly. The audiobook was engaging and well done too. This is my first book by this author and I am now keen to read more.
You Shouldn’t be Here
Lauren Thoman
This one was a mystery with a touch of suspense. A dual POV and dual timeline.
You Shouldn’t be Here is one of those books were nothing is as it seems. It’s a bit of a crime fiction that has paranormal elements.
When sixteen-year-old Angie Stewart starts hearing voices and odd sounds in her house, she's convinced she and her father are being haunted. Finally, something interesting is happening in her boring hometown of East Henderson, Pennsylvania. Her best friend Sebastián isn't thrilled about the idea of messing with a ghost, but he cares enough about her to try to help prove her right. In the same town, first-year teacher Madelyn Zhao has just moved into a new home, located near where her cousin went missing several years ago. She has a feeling that Doug Raymond, the sinister CEO of Raymond Reality Group, has something to do with her cousin's disappearance. But he seems to have every city official in his pocket, and no one in the small, claustrophobic community will talk about what happened. As Angie and Madelyn search for clues independently of each other, both of their investigations lead to the same dark place. By the time they realize that the truth could be deadly, it's too late to turn back.
The narration of this one was spot on, I really enjoyed it. The characters were brought to life and was one that I really like the audio version better than the actual book itself.
I really thought I would enjoy this one, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I found it boring and that nothing really happened to keep me interested. I had to DNF.
For the most part I enjoyed this story. There was a little sort of paranormal elements. A little romance. Lots of mystery. What I didn’t really care for was the sporadic political pushing. It just seemed unrelated & unnecessary.
The narrator was good but also made it sound more juvenile than the characters were. She sounded like a kid but the characters were mostly adults. So it was confusing a little to me. Especially the romantic parts… 😅
Overall, I wanted to know how this story developed and what happened to the missing people. So it propelled me to finish.
This was such an entertaining book. I love thrillers where there’s ghosts involved. 😃 solving the mystery of the missing women was fun and spooky. 👻 🚪
Madelyn moves to a new town to find her missing cousin
Each chapter starts with a social media post or article about the local villainous megalomaniac who runs the town, Doug Raymond. He’s rich, powerful and anyone that questions his motives seem to disappear
Madelyn comes to town to try and find her cousin Piper, knowing that Doug Raymond her old boss must know something
We also get to know teen bff’s Angie and Bas who seem to be dealing with a ghost, haunting Angie
It took 240 pages for something thrilling to happen - huge build up, and too slow for me
The audiobook, narrated by Christina Ho, did a great job matching the vibe. Super quirky and cute, I especially enjoyed her British accent
Some strong representation: the nonbinary character Syzygy and a liberal opinion on the 2nd amendment
This is a slow burn suspense with some romance, and a sliver of paranormal
I’m not a paranormal or romance fan, so this area wasn’t my cup of tea. I am a huge suspense fan, and I know that a build up is vital, but this dragged for me. The romantic element also took its time and felt kinda YA, so perhaps this book would be popular with a younger audience
Thanks to Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review