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lampbee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Really like her mysteries they’re not always complex but they’re entertaining. This one was less entertaining , the plot focused a weird amount on explicit sex scenes which didn’t feel like they matched with the tone of the story and went on for a very long time. The mystery itself was interesting but too much time spent on developing two romances so the actual ghost case was sort of bland.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Murder, Medical trauma, Sexual content, and War
kimberlyf's review against another edition
2.0
Excuse me, but… Was this a romance novel with a haunting mixed in?? The romantic relationship within this story was so annoying to me. Romance readers might love it but I don’t like romance and when I pick up a horror ghost story, that’s what I want. Not romance.
Like can we pleaseeeee have a thriller/mystery/horror with a female MC who isn’t dying for some random guy's attention and affection? COME ON AUTHORS. We are better than this. UGH it ruined a lot of the story for me because it overtook too much of the narrative and I hated hearing the childish internal dialogue. A pity really because it was a interesting ghost story besides that.
Like can we pleaseeeee have a thriller/mystery/horror with a female MC who isn’t dying for some random guy's attention and affection? COME ON AUTHORS. We are better than this. UGH it ruined a lot of the story for me because it overtook too much of the narrative and I hated hearing the childish internal dialogue. A pity really because it was a interesting ghost story besides that.
caw281's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jenhurst's review
3.0
3.5. This is Simone St James’s debut and its certainly not as strong as her later books. It’s still very engaging and easy to read but the character and writing is not as honed
mel_c_bell's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have discovered my ultimate bookish vibe: Historical Murder Mystery Romantic Cozy Horror.
Got a copy of this on Audible during a BOGO sale. When I saw it I thought “Why da fuq not? Simone St. James seems to get a lot of love on the bookstagram and I’m tired of the FOMO.” Now, I fully understand why so many readers praise this author.
Sarah is a young woman working for a temp agency in post Great War England who accepts an ‘odd’ job with a handsome, young, and clearly rich veteran to make contact with the ghost of a young woman who hung herself in a barn.
I didn’t find the plot wholly original or surprising BUT the story is just so *squeals with aggressive cuteness overload* — I’m going to cry in *wants to read for the first time again*.
There’s great care taken in this book to approach uncomfortable topics like PTSD, CSA, and grief—which ultimately builds the unnerving atmosphere and draws you to each character.
This will be a book recommendation you’ll see me hyping at obnoxious levels 😬
Got a copy of this on Audible during a BOGO sale. When I saw it I thought “Why da fuq not? Simone St. James seems to get a lot of love on the bookstagram and I’m tired of the FOMO.” Now, I fully understand why so many readers praise this author.
Sarah is a young woman working for a temp agency in post Great War England who accepts an ‘odd’ job with a handsome, young, and clearly rich veteran to make contact with the ghost of a young woman who hung herself in a barn.
I didn’t find the plot wholly original or surprising BUT the story is just so *squeals with aggressive cuteness overload* — I’m going to cry in *wants to read for the first time again*.
There’s great care taken in this book to approach uncomfortable topics like PTSD, CSA, and grief—which ultimately builds the unnerving atmosphere and draws you to each character.
This will be a book recommendation you’ll see me hyping at obnoxious levels 😬
j_h_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was a nice enough story but I felt it could have moved along at a faster pace.
krystibarrak's review
1.0
Sarah doesn’t have much, just a lonely flat in London and a temp agency to provide her work. Until Alistair - he calls her temp agency and requests a woman for work. The work? She must summon a dead girl and find out why she is haunting a barn. Maddy Clare killed herself but has stuck around in anger and wanting vengeance. She wouldn’t speak to men in life and won’t now in death. Torn between what’s real and what’s fake, Sarah has to embark on this journey with Alistair’s other employee Matthew. Maddy’s powers know no bounds and they must solve Maddy’s mystery before it’s too late.
I… have not a single good thing to say about this book. There was no mystery (to me), I knew exactly where this story was going about 25% in, it wasn’t scary (again to me), and the possible(?) love story thrown in just felt very forced and off topic from the story line as a whole. I’ve never DNF’ed a book and I came SO close to DNF’ing this one. *sigh* 1⭐️ from me and almost no desire to read another book by this author again.
I… have not a single good thing to say about this book. There was no mystery (to me), I knew exactly where this story was going about 25% in, it wasn’t scary (again to me), and the possible(?) love story thrown in just felt very forced and off topic from the story line as a whole. I’ve never DNF’ed a book and I came SO close to DNF’ing this one. *sigh* 1⭐️ from me and almost no desire to read another book by this author again.