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alids's review against another edition
1.0
Hm....
When I read romance, I'm not expecting characters with a lot of depth.
I'm also not expecting expansive plot and worldbuilding.
This book is no exception, just the setting is really explored.
The characters don't really have any personality, they're just all angsty and horny...
I get why this is labelled as a paranormal romance, but...I didn't feel true ghosty vibes with this. There were some hints sprinkled throughout the story but they were so far in the background I had to squint, except for one chapter. There was one chapter that I didn't need to squint.
It's also not the hot and heavy romance that I was expecting. I think this may be another instance of "had I gone in blind I wouldn't have formed that expectation". I dunno. But still, a couple wet dreams and hookups in the very end (in my opinion) don't equal hot and heavy.
Also...If I come across the term "sound the fuck trumpet" one more time I will lose my mind.
I'll give points for using condoms, I guess.
I give credit to the author for writing this, I will still try another of her books. I just won't be reading book 2. Even with the cliffhanger at the end where the ghost FINALLY decides to do something paranormal, it just wasn't enough for me to want to continue this series. I really don't care whatever happens to Faye, wherever the ghost took her away to. I just don't believe that authors should be judged on one book alone.
When I read romance, I'm not expecting characters with a lot of depth.
I'm also not expecting expansive plot and worldbuilding.
This book is no exception, just the setting is really explored.
The characters don't really have any personality, they're just all angsty and horny...
I get why this is labelled as a paranormal romance, but...I didn't feel true ghosty vibes with this. There were some hints sprinkled throughout the story but they were so far in the background I had to squint, except for one chapter. There was one chapter that I didn't need to squint.
It's also not the hot and heavy romance that I was expecting. I think this may be another instance of "had I gone in blind I wouldn't have formed that expectation". I dunno. But still, a couple wet dreams and hookups in the very end (in my opinion) don't equal hot and heavy.
Also...If I come across the term "sound the fuck trumpet" one more time I will lose my mind.
I'll give points for using condoms, I guess.
I give credit to the author for writing this, I will still try another of her books. I just won't be reading book 2. Even with the cliffhanger at the end where the ghost FINALLY decides to do something paranormal, it just wasn't enough for me to want to continue this series. I really don't care whatever happens to Faye, wherever the ghost took her away to. I just don't believe that authors should be judged on one book alone.
jreadsdarkromance's review against another edition
5.0
This is my first book by Steffanie Holmes and I am loving the spooky vibe! I love academy bully books, but this one has a new spin on the trope by being an exclusive musical academy. Everyone that attends is a top tier classical musician looking at world wide careers.
There is a lot of mysterious things happening in and around Manderley, as well as Faye and her mother's lives. I keep thinking that I've figured things out, only to have more questions.
This book gives off lots of ghosty vibes and I am here for it. This book has had me on the edge of my seat, while also giving me chills. I was not expecting it to end like it did and now I need answers! What is happening at Manderley and why?!?
There is a lot of mysterious things happening in and around Manderley, as well as Faye and her mother's lives. I keep thinking that I've figured things out, only to have more questions.
This book gives off lots of ghosty vibes and I am here for it. This book has had me on the edge of my seat, while also giving me chills. I was not expecting it to end like it did and now I need answers! What is happening at Manderley and why?!?
raginilk's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
So bland i could read this to sleep
helloskayuu's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
poplora's review against another edition
3.0
So, I love the mystery, the intrigue, and all the lies spinning together into a rather complex web. I had a lot of fun reading it! Classical music is close to my heart, and it's a joy to see it here in reverse harem form. It's also fun to see the setting in a Gothic manor with all the spooks and cliches of a good horror story. I'm definitely picking up the next one when it comes out. I need to know how this all comes together!
Some things I noticed were just a few little typos, like putting the name Dorian where Ivan should have been, and saying "get vertical" instead of "get horizontal" in reference to sex. I put that in my highlights in case of the odd weird chance the author sees this.
Some things I didn't like, was how over the top dramatic some things were, but I mean it's an RH about classical music. everyone tends to treat music in an overly dramatic way anyway lmao. Although there were some bits where it seemed a little unrealistic and out there.
There were a few errors as well in regards to classical music, things that everyone gets wrong in everything ever and again I don't expect complete accuracy here. This is just some fun facts :)
1. Fast playing doesn't mean it's difficult. Pieces that audiences tend to find amazing are usually fast pace. For instance, "Flight of the Bumblebee", is often misinterpreted as being difficult because it's fast. But, it's actually not. In fact, some slower pieces are much more difficult.
2. Moving around while you play, especially if you're playing violin, is super hard and may make your playing not so great. In movies and shows this tends to be a trope that happens a lot. Super dramatic playing, fast bowing, dancing around etc. In truth, behind the scenes usually no one is actually playing and you just hear screeching. They dub over it in post by someone who can actually play. It's also incredibly hard to stand face to face playing violin. You gonna smack each other with your bows. and those by themselves are expensive.
3. Dude. Bro. Throwing your violin into a chair, having sex on a piano, waving alcohol around a piano, playing your violin in the rain is soooo sacrilegious. Do you know how much that stuff costs? for a decent orchestra violin it's something around 10,000$ and that's just on the lower end. There are violins today that literally cost millions of dollars. A fancy piano that's mentioned in the book, is worth around 256,000 - 560,000$
I'm not even a musician and I was cringing.
4. This one is just a fun fact. Currently it is a trend to not clap at concerts unless it's the end of the piece or the concert master lets you. However, this has not always been the case. In fact people like Mozart expected people to clap and even talk during performances. Spontaneous applause was encouraged. But, somewhere around mid 19th century when classical music became more of a public thing, things called claques were created. Basically, they were professional applauders that were paid to show up and clap for performers. But, a lot of people hated that and so it became a thing for audiences to be asked not to clap until the end of the performance. Some professionals today don't actually mind clapping, though after certain movements when silence would sound nice they don't appreciate it.
:) I still loved the story though and i'm looking forward to the next one.
bookwormbunny's review against another edition
4.0
Ghosted is the first book in Steffanie Holmes new Manderley Academy series and after reading the blurb I was excited to read this book. I am a huge fan of this author so I was, of course, expecting great things.
This book pulls me in from the beginning, but then it has me wondering about quite a few things as the story progresses. Faye's mother is in the hospital and Faye is struggling to pay the bills for her mother's care. One day her mother was fine and the next she was struck down by a mysterious illness that none of the doctors could identify. Cue the entrance of someone Faye never expected to see...a woman who wished to be or was her father's mistress. Faye is offered a prime opportunity...not just for herself, but for her mother as well. She jumps at it, but things are about to take a twist that she never saw coming.
Ghosted is a reverse harem bullying paranormal romance novel. I am an avid reader and lover of paranormal novels and I do enjoy a good reverse harem book as well. I'll admit that I tend to shy away from bully romance novels, but I was curious to see how this book would play out with the music angle. There is a lot of mystery in this book. Mystery swirls around Faye's mother's sickness, the strange happenings at the Manderley mansion, and what is really going on all around Faye. Strange things are going on from creepy noises in the walls, to the destruction of something truly precious to Faye. I'll admit that I loved these strange occurrences, but I also kept waiting for...more.
Now, I'm probably going to be viewed as really strange for this opinion, but...I had mixed feelings about the bullying in this book. I viewed some of the things that happened as harmless pranks, but, of course, the line gets crossed when something truly precious is destroyed. Question arises though...who...or what...really did it? While Faye does get bullied...she does some bullying herself so she's not completely viewable as the victim in everything. I'll even go so far as to say that I did get a bit annoyed with her in one scene for her behavior. I honestly feel that the target of her anger should have been mostly Dorian and less towards the other two since they barely do anything if they do anything at all. So...hence why I said I had mixed feelings about it all.
This book has a couple of steamy scenes, but they aren't overly graphic or too in-depth. They are in enjoyable, but I was hoping for a bit more and for them to be a bit more...balanced. They seem a bit rushed. I get that Faye is attracted to the guys and vice versa, but I feel that she accepts things a bit too quickly. I'm waiting for some real drama to kick up that will threaten her being able to stay. Hopefully, that will occur in the next book.
For now, I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. This book is classified as a paranormal book, but I didn't get as much of that as I would have liked. Odd occurrences, weird noises, unexplained happenings...it's a start, but I'm ready for something bigger to happen and reveal some secrets to Faye as to what is going on in that house. I truly did enjoy this book, but I'm hopeful that the next book will be a bit more balanced and have less of the teenage pranks. If you enjoy a good bully romance novel then I'm sure that you'll enjoy this book, as it is a good start to a new series.
This book pulls me in from the beginning, but then it has me wondering about quite a few things as the story progresses. Faye's mother is in the hospital and Faye is struggling to pay the bills for her mother's care. One day her mother was fine and the next she was struck down by a mysterious illness that none of the doctors could identify. Cue the entrance of someone Faye never expected to see...a woman who wished to be or was her father's mistress. Faye is offered a prime opportunity...not just for herself, but for her mother as well. She jumps at it, but things are about to take a twist that she never saw coming.
Ghosted is a reverse harem bullying paranormal romance novel. I am an avid reader and lover of paranormal novels and I do enjoy a good reverse harem book as well. I'll admit that I tend to shy away from bully romance novels, but I was curious to see how this book would play out with the music angle. There is a lot of mystery in this book. Mystery swirls around Faye's mother's sickness, the strange happenings at the Manderley mansion, and what is really going on all around Faye. Strange things are going on from creepy noises in the walls, to the destruction of something truly precious to Faye. I'll admit that I loved these strange occurrences, but I also kept waiting for...more.
Now, I'm probably going to be viewed as really strange for this opinion, but...I had mixed feelings about the bullying in this book. I viewed some of the things that happened as harmless pranks, but, of course, the line gets crossed when something truly precious is destroyed. Question arises though...who...or what...really did it? While Faye does get bullied...she does some bullying herself so she's not completely viewable as the victim in everything. I'll even go so far as to say that I did get a bit annoyed with her in one scene for her behavior. I honestly feel that the target of her anger should have been mostly Dorian and less towards the other two since they barely do anything if they do anything at all. So...hence why I said I had mixed feelings about it all.
This book has a couple of steamy scenes, but they aren't overly graphic or too in-depth. They are in enjoyable, but I was hoping for a bit more and for them to be a bit more...balanced. They seem a bit rushed. I get that Faye is attracted to the guys and vice versa, but I feel that she accepts things a bit too quickly. I'm waiting for some real drama to kick up that will threaten her being able to stay. Hopefully, that will occur in the next book.
For now, I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. This book is classified as a paranormal book, but I didn't get as much of that as I would have liked. Odd occurrences, weird noises, unexplained happenings...it's a start, but I'm ready for something bigger to happen and reveal some secrets to Faye as to what is going on in that house. I truly did enjoy this book, but I'm hopeful that the next book will be a bit more balanced and have less of the teenage pranks. If you enjoy a good bully romance novel then I'm sure that you'll enjoy this book, as it is a good start to a new series.
shelovestoread81's review against another edition
5.0
Do you like intrigue, classical music, and friends to enemies to possible lovers? There is so much deception and questions I have in this book I just can't
_gnawknee's review against another edition
4.0
Perfect romance that ends on a cliffhanger. reverse harem
rrrmatey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75