Reviews - A Ballad of Phantoms and Hope

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263 reviews for:

A Ballad of Phantoms and Hope

K.M. Moronova

4.26 AVERAGE

stayathomebookshop's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

✨𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲✨

•• “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦”

I wasn’t sure my heart could break any more after Fabric of Our Souls, but K.M. Moronova did what she does best and left me stunned once again. This was the most heartbreaking and hauntingly beautiful happy ending I’ve ever read, and this duet will always have a special place in my heart.

Lanston and Ophelia are stuck in the in-between, as phantoms, watching the world continue around them despite their deaths. The others have started to move on but they cannot, so together they embark on a journey find the peace that evades their souls in the hopes of moving on.

•• “𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦.”

This is first and foremost a love story, but it’s also a nod to anybody who has grieved, felt alone, taken the unkindness of others to heart, or been stuck in the depths of true darkness - and a reminder that you’re never alone in your struggles. No matter how long it takes, or how hard the journey is, there’s light to be found.

•• “𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺”

“𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙮.”

•• “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺?”

“𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙡𝙮”

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩?”

“𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙄’𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩”

•• “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

“𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙚. 𝙄’𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩”

wheeliecoolgirl's review

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

lovelettersandbooks's review against another edition

5.0

Your Heart Will Break Wide Open With A Love Story That Transcends Time and Space

One of the sweetest, saddest, and most soulful love stories I have ever read.

I cried my heart out reading this book, and I mean that in the best way and for the best reasons possible. I had no idea that a paranormal romance between two tortured souls navigating loneliness and self-doubt in the afterlife would destroy me and put me back together again, but alas, it did.

K.M. Moronova artfully weaves together the stories of our MMC and FMC in a relatable way. We feel what they are feeling, we see the world through their eyes, and we hold our breath as they try to figure out love in the light, and sometimes darkness, of the universe.

The MMC is strong, soft, sweet, determined, earnest, present, and vulnerable. After meeting him as a beautiful and brave friend in the Fabric of Our Souls, I am so grateful that the author invited us deeper into his world. His story is so important. He is the friend we all wish we had, but as an individual, he could very easily fade into the background. This story is a reminder that even though sometimes we may feel like an extra on the set of our own lives, our stories are never over when we think they are.

Our FMC is slow to receive the tenderness and care that she finds in the MMC, and the struggle is relatable because she lived a human life without that tenderness.

There were so many elements of this book that resonated with me, far too many to list here, but the fated encounters, the healing of wounds, the trust, the deep vulnerability, and the growth all created a beautiful and intimate world where two forgotten and fragile souls build a powerful and everlasting connection.

This book is a beautiful and healing love story and a happily ever after in the afterlife.

shirefolk's review

3.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

deeleffler's review against another edition

1.0

slow-paced

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

domslibrary's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book healed parts of me left broken from The Fabric of Our Souls, and yet also flayed me open and left me feeling so devastated at the same time. Lanston and Ophelia understand each other in ways imo really think only happens in books like these, written for people who need reminded that you are not alone, and someone in the world sees you and loves you. This author is incredible, everything is written like poetry, and the playlists that go along with the book are always unmatched. I can’t count how many tears I’ve shed while reading this, but it will be one of my top favourites for 2025 no doubt.