This is one wild ride! The story reminds me of a mashup of Ready Player One and a Panos Cosmatos movie. It feels hopeless and dystopian. But at the same time you can’t stop reading it.
Do know there is mention of a mental health issues, s.a., death

Overall I liked the story and the ghosts but...I could barely get through the sexual interactions between student and teacher. That trope is just a 'no thanks' for me and took away from really enjoying the story.

Amelie has spent her entire life as an elite agent of the Academy, a secretive institution that gave her stability and purpose in exchange for her loyalty and the use of her unique skills for control and destruction. She never questioned the Academy’s orders, trusting them implicitly. But when she and her team "graduate" to become full-fledged operatives, everything changes. They're taken to a remote island, where they uncover dark secrets and betrayals that challenge everything they’ve ever known.

At the centre of the mystery is Verité, a twisted virtual reality game where time is irrelevant, and your blood holds the key to your soul. In this world, the Ghosting Academy trades consciousness like currency, where morality is considered a weakness, and death is nothing more than an illusion. Now, Amelie faces an impossible choice: continue down the path the Academy has laid out for her, or fight to break free from its grip before it’s too late.

The book excels at building suspense and gradually revealing the layers of mystery that surround Amelie's world. The premise is intriguing from the outset, drawing readers in with its high-stakes and mind-bending twists. While the narrative could have benefited from more depth in some areas—particularly in fully exploring its intricate details—the central mystery and the tension around who to trust keep the story engaging.

The writing flows smoothly, with realistic dialogue and well-paced action sequences. The plot is compelling, with the concept of consciousness as currency and morality as a shackle adding a fresh and intriguing layer to the dystopian world. Even as a newcomer to the series, the book provides enough context to understand the characters and their motivations.

Overall, it’s an exciting read that delivers a unique, immersive experience, though some areas could have been more thoroughly explored. The suspense, world-building, and Amelie’s internal struggle make this a gripping addition to the series.

3.5/5.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

Mysterious and spooky, this is a great spooky season read! Enter the academy where ghosts are real, consciousness is currency, and you never know what's going to happen next.

the premise was very interesting but unfortunately i was instantly put off by the relationship between student and teacher?? i have never been a fan of that trope, in ANY context, so it was instantly downhill from then on for me. it made me feel uber uncomfortable. i also was not the biggest fan of the pacing or the writing, so it was a little bit of a let-down overall

The premise was good but I wasn't a fan of the teacherxstudent trope here. It was a bit strange in the portrayal too and made it weird. There was heavy sexual interactions which made me feel uncomfortable as a reader. There was good suspense and mystery which hit at the right times.

The premise sounded amazing for this one but I honestly just really didn't like it. I mainly want to know why on earth there were sexual situations between students and teachers?? Overall just really strange and I didn't love the writing or the pacing

Such a great story! Loved reading this just in time for halloween! Overall a cute and quick read for halloween

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book

First of all, I loved the premise--it immediately sounded cool to me, and I think that's a special quality in and of itself.

Second of all, I had never heard of the series going into this and had never read any of the other books before, which was definitely a mistake on my part. I think the book itself sufficiently explains a lot of the plot and the characters sufficiently well, so while it's a confusing reading experience it isn't unreadable. With that being said, take what I'm saying here with a grain of salt.

I think the pacing of the novel is weird, at times it overexplains and at others it underexplains. The actual plot of the novel starts pretty late within it, where it definitely could have started earlier to allow the ending more time to come together. It should slow down and allow the parts that need to breathe more time.

I was definitely uncomfortable with some of the parts, such as the heavily sexual interactions between the main protagonist and some of her former teachers--not sure why that was included. I like how it's open about sexuality, and I think it tries to develop some ideas on that topic, but where it misses for me is that it never has the time to actually go into it. I would have loved to see more though, since I think it adds to Amelie as a character.

The book is very good at building up suspense and hinting at the mystery behind it, which I liked. While it could have taken more time to delve into it, the whole mystery and twist around the protagonists deciding who to trust was nice, and it made sense in the context of the book. I think the book has a lot of strong points and the plot itself is interesting, my main issue is that it doesn't take enough time to fully delve into each of the finer details.

The writing itself is nice, and it flows well when read, and most of the dialogue is realistic. There are some parts, however, with awkward writing and clunky dialogue. While these aren't too distracting, they do sort of bring you out of the reading experience. And there is a huge amount of telling throughout the novel rather than showing, which does make it harder to get through, as there is a lot of just information dumping that can be hit or miss depending on the context.

Overall, I think it's a decent book with a strong premise, although I think it could have taken more time to delve into the action promised in the premise itself. It has a lot of promise and it does deliver on that promise to an extent.

I would give it 3.5 stars, but I'll round it up to 4 here.