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Notes from Ghost Town
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
(This review will be found on my blog (<a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>) around the end of June).



I had been wanting to read this book since forever. I was thrilled when I found out that my local library had Notes From Ghost Town. I really liked this book.

Olivia is a 16 year old girl who has just realized that she's fallen in love with her best friend, Stern. On the day they share their first kiss, Olivia goes colorblind without knowing why. Soon after, Stern gets murdered. People are saying it was Olivia's mother as she was found with his body and because she's Schizophrenic. When Stern's ghost shows up telling Olivia to solve his murder because he doesn't believe it was her mother, Olivia must decide if she should help or if she's going crazy like her mother. Whatever she decides, she only has 9 days...

I like the title a lot. To me, it sounds kinda spooky which I like and which the book is not. I don't really understand why that title was picked since there isn't really any notes from Ghost Town unless they are musical.

The cover is alright. The girl is supposed to be the main character, Olivia. I guess she's hugging herself because Stern is gone, and she just thinks she's losing it completely. I would've had her against a back drop of Ghost Town and possibly with a ghostly Stern, but then again, I don't design covers.

I loved the world building, and the way in which Stern exists in the living world is your typical unfinished business thing. However, the world was written beautifully, and I felt as if I was a person existing in that world. Everything about this book felt real. The only thing that made the world building a little off was the fact that it's mentioned in the book that Stern's body was found all bloated and such because he'd been in the water for awhile. Yet, later in the book, it's said that he wasn't in the water for very long. Which one is it? I believe it's the latter, but the fact that both were written annoyed me a bit. Oh, and one other thing. Olivia mentions how much of an idiot Austin is, yet she hooks up with him and starts falling for him after he seems to be nice to her one time. In the real world, I seriously doubt this would happen. Jock boys that are mean to "weird" girls don't suddenly go sweet on them all of a sudden. I don't know. To me, it just didn't make sense.

The pacing starts out a bit slow, and I was worried that I had spent all my energy wanting this book for nothing. However, after a few chapters, the pacing picks up and stays that way throughout the book. In fact, I read most of this book in a day with the exception of about 60 pages. My husband wanted me to come to bed or else I would've finished it that night. Chapters flow into chapters and sentences into sentences. The pacing was brilliant after a slow start.

I enjoyed the plot even though it's been done before. Girl finally realizes she's in love with her best friend. Best friend dies right as something is getting started. Ghost haunts person due to unfinished business. However, the way the plot was written was fantastic. I felt it was a bit predictable, but I still enjoyed reading the book nonetheless. I didn't feel that there were any plot twists, but as I said, it's still an enjoyable read.

I loved the characters! I felt bad for Olivia becoming color blind since she was an up and coming artist. I loved how much she loved Stern yet she knew she had to keep on living (don't worry, that's not a spoiler). The only thing that annoyed me was how trusting she was during her investigation of who killed Stern. Also, I felt like she was just a tad bit naive because I felt it had become painfully obvious who is was. Perhaps she just wanted to see the good in everyone. I also enjoyed reading about Stern. I just wish I could've got a bit of back story on him so I would've been able to really feel for him. He dies within the first few chapters, so I never really got a chance to connect with him. While I loved reading about him, I just didn't feel for him. I absolutely loved Raina! I loved how much she wanted to help Olivia even though Olivia kept pushing her away. As for Austin, I didn't really know what to think of him. Olivia says he's mean (although she used other words for him), but throughout the book, he seemed really sweet.

The dialogue flowed freely and smoothly. Character interactions never once felt forced, and I felt that everyone spoke and acted appropriately for their age group. There is a lot of swearing in this book though, but I don't feel like it was put in just for the sake of having it in the book. The swearing felt natural, and fit right in with what the characters were going through. And let's be honest, most people would be hard pressed to find a teenager that didn't swear.

Overall, Notes From Ghost Town was a interesting and intriguing read. I loved the way Ellison incorporates a romantic ghost story in with a murder mystery. This makes for a fantastic read!

I'd recommend this book to those aged 16+ who are after an intriguing story that has a lot of different elements to read about.
  
Stalkers is the third book in the Dark Webs series and, trust me, it beggars belief. It reads like it is straight out of Hollywood, the scene of the first telling of stalker behaviour. In here, we have two stories from America and two from the U.K. They are all horrible in their own way and yet show how easy it is, if you are that way inclined, to become a stalker.

The book itself is well-written with each story almost have a fiction-like quality to it. There are facts and figures, police reports, and verdicts given though, just to prove this actually happened. They will all twist your mind but the Craigslist one is just unbelievable! I felt sorry for all the 'victims' in this book but, mostly, I feel sorry for 'Mark'.

This is the first book by this author I have read but it will not be the last. If you like #TrueCrime then this is one I definitely recommend you don't miss.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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The Book Jumper
The Book Jumper
Mechthild Gläser | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Book Jumper
Amy Lennox is a book jumper, only she doesn't know this until she arrives in Scotland with her mother Alexis. There she finds out she comes from a long line of Book Jumpers along with another family. Now a book jumper is exactly what it sounds like. You have the ability to jump into any book you like by sliding it over your face and bamn your inside. Name your favourite book and your there, in the pages of the book. Your not just in the book living the lives of the characters, your in the book able to talk to whoever you like and go wherever you like. Only you can't interfere with the story itself, but your able to go among the pages as you please. The purpose of a Book Jumper is to protect literature and keep things safe, so that the stories don't change.

Amy learns how to be one through lessons with the other students who to can Book Jump. She learns the history of the two families and how a manuscript 100's of years ago was destroyed. She is then given her first book to jump into and protect - The Jungle Book.

Whilst Amy is in the world of books she meets some great allies and experiences some great stories. But whilst she is in one book with a friend of hers, she hears that someone or something has been stealing ideas from the stories. They are stealing the thing that makes that story, the thing that starts that story off...
But who is stealing these ideas, on the island she lives there is only around 6 people. But is the thief from the island or is there more to who is stealing and why?

This book was so good and I loved every moment of it.

☕☕☕☕ 4 – I REALLY LIKED IT

Love,
Christina xx
  
Show all 4 comments.
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Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) Sep 21, 2018

This seems so cool! Added on my list!

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Christina Haynes (148 KP) Sep 21, 2018

Ah yay!?

TL
The Lost Girl of Astor Street
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Oh.My.Goodness! I don't even know where to start with this one. First of all, I am not overly attracted to books that are suspenseful and cause me to jump out of my skin when my REFRIGERATOR makes noises. However, Rachel McMillan keeps talking about this book, and I decided that I just had to read it! THAT being said, The Lost Girl of Astor Street is a must read!

This book is written in first person, but it is nothing like other books with this point of view. Most of the time when I read a book written as first person, I feel like I am simply inside the character's head, getting a front row seat to the way they think and the way they process information that comes their way. With The Lost Girl of Astor Street, Stephanie Morrill takes the first person voice to a whole new level. A level where I felt as though I became Piper Sail. I was processing the way Piper was processing, her thoughts were my thoughts...This added such a deep level of intimacy with the character that I feel like I know Piper like I know myself.

Set in 1920s Chicago, you will be swept into the Jazz Age and will be tempted to dance the night away with Piper and a certain Italian detective. Having grown up in what Piper Sail thought was a safe neighborhood, she soon comes to realize that nothing is as it appears. Has she placed her trust in the wrong people? Will she ever discover what has happened to Lydia? And will the unlikeliest of people, become her greatest champion? Follow "Detective" Sail through the underbelly of Chicago. Uproot lies, reveal truth, and fight for justice for those who can not fight for themselves.

I borrowed The Lost Girl of Astor Street from my local library. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.ull review to come.
  
Little Broken Things
Little Broken Things
Nicole Baart | 2017 | Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great Character Development and Cliff Hanger (0 more)
Jumps around, hard to keep up sometimes (0 more)
Very Intriguing Family Drama
There is nothing better than a thriller that really makes you think. You're not just reading it, you feel like you are right there with the characters, trying to figure it along with them.

Nora and Quinn are estranged sisters with secrets that they are both trying everything they can to keep hidden. Across the lake Quinn and her husband are living, their mother is secretly watching them through the telescope of her deceased husband. She's trying to figure out why Quinn is acting so strange, coming and going in the middle of the night

When Nora shows up after a year, asking Quinn to take care of something for her, Quinn is floored when she realized that "Something" is a 6 year old little girl. Without giving any answers, Nora disappears again without any explanation. So not only must Quinn figure out how to take care of this silent, helpless child, she must also come to terms with the fact that she looks unmistakably like her sister or at least someone else in their family. The same eyes... but whose child is she?

This is twisted, with unreliable characters, hidden secrets, shame and still, the undeniable bond that holds families together even when they want nothing but to be apart.
  
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Frank Black recommended Happy Soup by Baxter Dury in Music (curated)

 
Happy Soup by Baxter Dury
Happy Soup by Baxter Dury
2011 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I was researching Gene Vincent online and that brought me to Ian Dury’s song 'Sweet Gene Vincent'. I was not really familiar with it at that point. I knew his hits and I’d seen him on TV and stuff, but I’d never really connected with his music, though I respect him enormously. I was reading up on him and stumbled onto the fact that he had this son, Baxter Dury, who also does music. I checked out one song on YouTube and went, ‘Oh this is right up my alley’ and I immediately downloaded the whole record. I’ve probably listened to it 75 times in the past two months. It’s become a very important record to me. There’s a variety of things I like about it. I would say, his personality comes through the music. It’s not pretentious. You just have a sense of who he is. I love the dry, minimalist production. I like records without too much ambience on the instruments. I associate dry records with The White Album. He also has this lovely rich, lower voice and that great accent. I’m a fan of that accent from when I worked with Eddie Argos and Art Brut. I find it a pleasant tone. For a British person, accents carry baggage, but not for me. It’s all connected to you people and your culture on the island there."

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