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halynah's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty great end of a very unusual and entertaining series! Liked it a lot!
steph01924's review against another edition
4.0
A satisfying conclusion to what was a completely surprising trilogy. I was not expecting to enjoy these books as much as I did when I first downloaded "The Ghost and the Goth". The characters, the good writing, and the engaging plot really made the first book shine, and this last one was no exception.
Kade employs the 'he said, she said' alternate POV chapters style, which a lot of authors can't pull off well, because their characters don't have distinct enough voices. Alona and Will are very different, though, and I never had to wonder whose brain we were in during any given chapter.
Alona was still her feisty self, but she's been tempered with actual character advancements and maturity. Similarly, Will is finishing up his journey to being a fully realized member of society, complete with a backbone. I've said it before, but it's so nice to see the pay-off in characters--they're learning and growing as they should instead of making the same mistakes over and over throughout the series.
The ending was exactly as I felt it should be, if you were hoping for a
Kade employs the 'he said, she said' alternate POV chapters style, which a lot of authors can't pull off well, because their characters don't have distinct enough voices. Alona and Will are very different, though, and I never had to wonder whose brain we were in during any given chapter.
Alona was still her feisty self, but she's been tempered with actual character advancements and maturity. Similarly, Will is finishing up his journey to being a fully realized member of society, complete with a backbone. I've said it before, but it's so nice to see the pay-off in characters--they're learning and growing as they should instead of making the same mistakes over and over throughout the series.
The ending was exactly as I felt it should be, if you were hoping for a
Spoiler
happy ending. Others may have wanted a more 'realistic' ending, with sacrifices/practical choices being made (Alona going towards the light) and for some stories, that may be totally justified. But this particular piece was a light, fun read with a lot of surprising heart and thought injected into it, and it would've saddened me to see the characters end up in any place but where they did, happy and together.nicholeb84's review against another edition
4.0
It may not be as good as the first book, but it is streets ahead of the second book in the trilogy. I'm a bit iffy about the end, but I suppose it works for the series.
This novel was a light and fun read. The pacing was great, the plot was solid, and Will and Alona had distant voices. It was a pleasure all the way through.
The series on the whole was fast paced with great characters. Plus, there was a lot of humor in the series and it was so refreshing to read an YA novel that has teenagers speaking and acting like real teenagers.
This novel was a light and fun read. The pacing was great, the plot was solid, and Will and Alona had distant voices. It was a pleasure all the way through.
The series on the whole was fast paced with great characters. Plus, there was a lot of humor in the series and it was so refreshing to read an YA novel that has teenagers speaking and acting like real teenagers.
reddyrat's review against another edition
4.0
One of the saddest things in life is to see a good book series end (perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit, but you know what I mean.) I fell in love with Will and Alona in The Ghost and The Goth and have enjoyed seeing their adventures continue. Body and Soul brings the series to a satisfying end.
Despite having a strong plot, I looked at Body and Soul much more as a character driven novel. Will comes into his own in this book. His "talent" has secluded him from his peers and, even worse, the knowledge of what that ability did to his father makes him feel even more alone. He thought the Order might be a place where he belonged, but disagreed with their ghostly philosophy. With her forceful personality, Alona provides a clear path. But Will is finally ready break free. And doing that means rebelling from Alona's guidance. Will's task in this book is to figure out not only who he is, but who Alona is and how to come to a happy medium where he and Alona can be together but with separate identities. It's even harder to understand your girlfriend when she's inhabiting the body of your former best friend/love.
Alona has grown from someone who vaguely irritated me into a character I truly care about. Alona starts out the novel whining about Lily's appearance and how disappointed she is by being "ugly." It's easy to criticize Alona for being insensitive. But it's understandable. If you've been pretty all your life and society has primarily noticed you for your looks, it's natural to be troubled by suddenly looking average. The way the world looks at you significantly influences how you look at yourself. Alona starts out a shallow and vain person. She'll always be somewhat shallow and vain, but in this book she learns to let other people into her life. She has a new family who loves her. They take care of her instead of her having to take care of an alcoholic mother. Will goes from being someone she has to take care of to someone who can stand equally at her side.
There's no better way of gaining perspective than losing what you don't adequately appreciate. Another ghost named Erin threatens Alona/Lily. I love how one character or one plot element can highlight so much. Erin gives both Will and Alona an idea of how much worse it would be if things weren't status quo. And their fears are put to the test...can they prevent Erin from destroying everything they've accomplished and each other?
I love how this book ended. It brought everything to a nice conclusion, but left a sliver open for possible spin-offs or follow-up books. How I'd love to see this series continue in some fashion! Overall, Body and Soul is a solid book. The Ghost and The Goth, the first book is my favorite in the series simply because it was a breath of fresh air in the paranormal romance world. Body and Soul is probably the substantive best - writing and character development - of the three books, but can't quite reach the magic of the first in the series. Still, I'm very happy with it and highly recommend any and all to read The Ghost and the Goth series.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Despite having a strong plot, I looked at Body and Soul much more as a character driven novel. Will comes into his own in this book. His "talent" has secluded him from his peers and, even worse, the knowledge of what that ability did to his father makes him feel even more alone. He thought the Order might be a place where he belonged, but disagreed with their ghostly philosophy. With her forceful personality, Alona provides a clear path. But Will is finally ready break free. And doing that means rebelling from Alona's guidance. Will's task in this book is to figure out not only who he is, but who Alona is and how to come to a happy medium where he and Alona can be together but with separate identities. It's even harder to understand your girlfriend when she's inhabiting the body of your former best friend/love.
Alona has grown from someone who vaguely irritated me into a character I truly care about. Alona starts out the novel whining about Lily's appearance and how disappointed she is by being "ugly." It's easy to criticize Alona for being insensitive. But it's understandable. If you've been pretty all your life and society has primarily noticed you for your looks, it's natural to be troubled by suddenly looking average. The way the world looks at you significantly influences how you look at yourself. Alona starts out a shallow and vain person. She'll always be somewhat shallow and vain, but in this book she learns to let other people into her life. She has a new family who loves her. They take care of her instead of her having to take care of an alcoholic mother. Will goes from being someone she has to take care of to someone who can stand equally at her side.
There's no better way of gaining perspective than losing what you don't adequately appreciate. Another ghost named Erin threatens Alona/Lily. I love how one character or one plot element can highlight so much. Erin gives both Will and Alona an idea of how much worse it would be if things weren't status quo. And their fears are put to the test...can they prevent Erin from destroying everything they've accomplished and each other?
I love how this book ended. It brought everything to a nice conclusion, but left a sliver open for possible spin-offs or follow-up books. How I'd love to see this series continue in some fashion! Overall, Body and Soul is a solid book. The Ghost and The Goth, the first book is my favorite in the series simply because it was a breath of fresh air in the paranormal romance world. Body and Soul is probably the substantive best - writing and character development - of the three books, but can't quite reach the magic of the first in the series. Still, I'm very happy with it and highly recommend any and all to read The Ghost and the Goth series.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
flowersofquiethappiness's review against another edition
4.0
The end of Queen of the Dead left me wondering where on earth the story would go from there. Unexpected but fun places it turns out! A few more twists and turns happen in this final book, which ups the tension. Yet Alona and Will are as hilarious and adorable as ever! Those two and their arguments. They're perfect together! They just need to work on their communication skills a little more. And they make this series entertaining and well worth reading. :)
heyjudy's review against another edition
4.0
~4-4.5/5
[Taken from my blog: http://geekyreading.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-body-soul-ghost-and-goth-3-by.html ]
I was really looking forward to this book, although a bit worried, but mostly excited. And I’m not really sure if it was everything I was hoping for. It was really good, yes, but it just didn’t seem as polished or as good as the last few.
This book was the conclusion to the series, which is upsetting, but it was a good ending, so that was nice. It starts off somewhat close to where the last one ended, and moves forward pretty smoothly. I was a bit surprised at some of it, when we met some new people, and maybe would have liked to meet more people like Will, but it was interesting nonetheless. I won’t spoil what happens, but I wasn’t expecting it when starting the novel (although I did leave my mind open to whatever was going to happen). It was good, and I liked the ending. It’s what I was hoping would happen.
In the other books, I really liked Will and Alona, and I still did in this book, but they didn’t seem as perfected, as in-character, as they should have been. A little exaggerated, maybe, or immature. Some of it just seemed like Kade could have gone over the book again, like it needed another edit run-through for the characters and just some general sentences, and it would have been as good as the previous ones. I’m disappointed about it. Also, Will and Alona were fighting way too much, almost always arguing with each other. I get that they were unhappy with each other, but there was too much couple-angst going on, and it bothered me. I’m not sure if that’s just because I wanted more romantic stuff to happen or because it wasn’t all that well done, though. Maybe the previous books were building up to this, to this problem for them to fight over? It might have just been me, since it did have some reason.
Aside from that I enjoyed it. As I said, I liked the ending. The whole choosing thing was nice, and I was happy with it. I'm also looking forward to whatever Kade's releasing next.
[Taken from my blog: http://geekyreading.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-body-soul-ghost-and-goth-3-by.html ]
I was really looking forward to this book, although a bit worried, but mostly excited. And I’m not really sure if it was everything I was hoping for. It was really good, yes, but it just didn’t seem as polished or as good as the last few.
This book was the conclusion to the series, which is upsetting, but it was a good ending, so that was nice. It starts off somewhat close to where the last one ended, and moves forward pretty smoothly. I was a bit surprised at some of it, when we met some new people, and maybe would have liked to meet more people like Will, but it was interesting nonetheless. I won’t spoil what happens, but I wasn’t expecting it when starting the novel (although I did leave my mind open to whatever was going to happen). It was good, and I liked the ending. It’s what I was hoping would happen.
In the other books, I really liked Will and Alona, and I still did in this book, but they didn’t seem as perfected, as in-character, as they should have been. A little exaggerated, maybe, or immature. Some of it just seemed like Kade could have gone over the book again, like it needed another edit run-through for the characters and just some general sentences, and it would have been as good as the previous ones. I’m disappointed about it. Also, Will and Alona were fighting way too much, almost always arguing with each other. I get that they were unhappy with each other, but there was too much couple-angst going on, and it bothered me. I’m not sure if that’s just because I wanted more romantic stuff to happen or because it wasn’t all that well done, though. Maybe the previous books were building up to this, to this problem for them to fight over? It might have just been me, since it did have some reason.
Aside from that I enjoyed it. As I said, I liked the ending. The whole choosing thing was nice, and I was happy with it. I'm also looking forward to whatever Kade's releasing next.
laughlinesandliterature's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fantastic ending to this series! I'll admit I would've liked a little more Future Will and Alona but overall I thought it ended perfectly. I'm not a big fan of the whole body snatchers thing but I don't really feel like Alona did that. Will was being such a jerk at the beginning! I mean I totally understood where he was coming from but he was taking it out on Alona and she was really struggling too. I don't think that he contemplates how difficult it has to be for her! First she ends up dead, then she ends up a ghost, then she goes into the light, and then she comes back, then she ends up in Lily's body and end's up dealing with her family, and then she gets her body hijacked! I mean come on Alona's been through alot! I have to say that I truly enjoyed Alona's transformation from horrible high school cheerleader to a snarky but ultimately sweet girl! I truly enjoyed this series and will keep an eye out for other books by this author.
papalbina's review against another edition
4.0
Aaaaand another saga closed!! I enjoyed it more than the second one and as much as the first book in the series, although I still have a lot of questions about the Order and Mina and Alona's situation. I keep thinking that the second book is superflous and could have been skipped...
Anyway, some day I will read the three books one after another. I have the feeling I will enjoy them very much.
Anyway, some day I will read the three books one after another. I have the feeling I will enjoy them very much.
m_allardyce's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0