Lucy Warner has managed
to fall in love with her roommate – who has been dead for about 25
years. Since he’s been haunting her bedroom from the time when she was a
baby, they have grown to be very good friends; a secret that no one
else knows about, not even her best friend Ling. But Lucy wonders if it
is possible to be more than just friends, as she realizes Ryan is the
perfect guy for her.
It is the summer after high school graduation. Lucy finds herself newly single, and slightly bitter after a bad breakup. When Ling sets her up on a date with Jon, she plays along to try and forget about her ghost and get on in life with a real living guy. But when she finds out Jon can see ghosts too, keeping her secret gets a little complicated.
It is the summer after high school graduation. Lucy finds herself newly single, and slightly bitter after a bad breakup. When Ling sets her up on a date with Jon, she plays along to try and forget about her ghost and get on in life with a real living guy. But when she finds out Jon can see ghosts too, keeping her secret gets a little complicated.
I don't see the point in rehashing the plot, so I'll just get to the heart of my review.
I picked this book up because I liked the title and the description seemed like something I would really be interested in since I am a big fan of YA paranormal romances. However, once I began reading, I experienced mixed emotions. I'll begin with the good stuff...
The Good Stuff-
Lucy is an average girl who just so happens to share her bedroom with a ghost. A good-looking, moody, teenage ghost who's been dead somewhere around 20 years if I recall correctly. While Lucy herself isn't entirely likeable, I did like her prospective boyfriend, Jon. He was shy and screamed of innocence, but when you scratched the surface, he was just your average hormonal teenage boy. A diamond in the ruff, if you will. The descriptions of Lucy's experience were also good. It painted a clear picture of what she was feeling when she encountered Ryan, so no problems there. Lucy's knack for sewing was also an interesting detail, and I often wondered if the author had some personal experience in a lot of what Lucy did in her day to day activities, because the knowledge involved was very thorough. Overall, it was an imaginative story with a lot of promise.
The Not So Good Stuff-
From the opening chapter I was faced with extreme run-on sentences, frequent grammatical errors, and unrealistic dialogue. Frankly, I was pretty close to calling it quits by the end of chapter one. I didn't want to give up, though, because the premise really captured me and I wanted to give it the old college try before I cast it aside. The story picked up a bit and, like I said before, the descriptions were well-done. I can't say the convos improved much, nor did I connect with any of Lucy's friends, but I did feel a little bad for the way she constantly ditched Ryan. They were BFFs since she was a baby, and yet she left him alone constantly. I call that rude and inconsiderate. Even if he is dead.
I also took issue with Ryan's sudden mood changes. At one point, Lucy made him upset with something incredibly minor, and he flipped out unnecessarily and called her a b**ch. I don't mind books with language, but it was so inconsistent with what I had read up to that point that it was a shock. This moment also marked a gradual increase in strong language.
Jon was a nice addition, but as we try to get to know him along with Lucy, the author sprinkled a few disturbing and, imo misplaced, encounters with Lucy's ex-boyfriend. I think this was a simple means to add drama and work an ending, but to me, it actually took away from the story. Her ex is detestable and is constantly showing up when she is all alone. His increasing display of violent tendencies and her constant disregard for her safety made me want to scream. Without giving anything away, I could see how this was going to end a mile away.
The ending was also something of a letdown. While not entirely bad, it ended up being a switching of roles. A choice had to be made, and the author did just that. I can't say how I would have liked it to go, but either way, I just wasn't feeling it.
All in all, I give Ms. Jones a thumbs up for creating a story. I know what hard work it can be and how difficult it is to get from A to B. This wasn't a bad story. Not by a long shot. I think a lot of people will really enjoy it, and I did like some of it (I finished it, didn't I?). I feel that the biggest issue with this book is not so much the storyline, but the editing(run-ons, drug instead of dragged, than instead of then and vice vera, and redundancy). If the book was cleaned up, it would make it run smoother and I allow the reader to focus more on the characters and less on the story's problems.
I'm giving this 3.5 stars and I'll say it's worth the read.
I picked this book up because I liked the title and the description seemed like something I would really be interested in since I am a big fan of YA paranormal romances. However, once I began reading, I experienced mixed emotions. I'll begin with the good stuff...
The Good Stuff-
Lucy is an average girl who just so happens to share her bedroom with a ghost. A good-looking, moody, teenage ghost who's been dead somewhere around 20 years if I recall correctly. While Lucy herself isn't entirely likeable, I did like her prospective boyfriend, Jon. He was shy and screamed of innocence, but when you scratched the surface, he was just your average hormonal teenage boy. A diamond in the ruff, if you will. The descriptions of Lucy's experience were also good. It painted a clear picture of what she was feeling when she encountered Ryan, so no problems there. Lucy's knack for sewing was also an interesting detail, and I often wondered if the author had some personal experience in a lot of what Lucy did in her day to day activities, because the knowledge involved was very thorough. Overall, it was an imaginative story with a lot of promise.
The Not So Good Stuff-
From the opening chapter I was faced with extreme run-on sentences, frequent grammatical errors, and unrealistic dialogue. Frankly, I was pretty close to calling it quits by the end of chapter one. I didn't want to give up, though, because the premise really captured me and I wanted to give it the old college try before I cast it aside. The story picked up a bit and, like I said before, the descriptions were well-done. I can't say the convos improved much, nor did I connect with any of Lucy's friends, but I did feel a little bad for the way she constantly ditched Ryan. They were BFFs since she was a baby, and yet she left him alone constantly. I call that rude and inconsiderate. Even if he is dead.
I also took issue with Ryan's sudden mood changes. At one point, Lucy made him upset with something incredibly minor, and he flipped out unnecessarily and called her a b**ch. I don't mind books with language, but it was so inconsistent with what I had read up to that point that it was a shock. This moment also marked a gradual increase in strong language.
Jon was a nice addition, but as we try to get to know him along with Lucy, the author sprinkled a few disturbing and, imo misplaced, encounters with Lucy's ex-boyfriend. I think this was a simple means to add drama and work an ending, but to me, it actually took away from the story. Her ex is detestable and is constantly showing up when she is all alone. His increasing display of violent tendencies and her constant disregard for her safety made me want to scream. Without giving anything away, I could see how this was going to end a mile away.
The ending was also something of a letdown. While not entirely bad, it ended up being a switching of roles. A choice had to be made, and the author did just that. I can't say how I would have liked it to go, but either way, I just wasn't feeling it.
All in all, I give Ms. Jones a thumbs up for creating a story. I know what hard work it can be and how difficult it is to get from A to B. This wasn't a bad story. Not by a long shot. I think a lot of people will really enjoy it, and I did like some of it (I finished it, didn't I?). I feel that the biggest issue with this book is not so much the storyline, but the editing(run-ons, drug instead of dragged, than instead of then and vice vera, and redundancy). If the book was cleaned up, it would make it run smoother and I allow the reader to focus more on the characters and less on the story's problems.
I'm giving this 3.5 stars and I'll say it's worth the read.
I found your great blog through the WLC Blog Follows on the World Literary Cafe! Great to connect!
ReplyDelete@JLenniDorner
Not sure where to comment for the current giveaway with PunchTab. The most romantic way to meet the Love of my Life would have been during some funny moment- that way we could always look back and laugh.
Sounds like this is a good book. I hope a copywriter appears to make it sparkle.
Bad Boys for me.
ReplyDeleteemily.heisler @ gmail.com