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dianxia_'s review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.0
If I Have To Be Haunted is a standalone novel about a girl named Cara, who can see ghosts, and a boy from her school, Zach. Who dies and becomes a ghost. The overall plot of the book follows the two in an adventure through worlds as they try to bring Zach back to life.
The two characters Cara and Zach “didn’t like” each other in school, always bickering with each other over petty things and pretty much going out of their way to get on each other's nerves. I feel like their bad relationship, despite being a key point of the book, was very shallow and didn’t have much sustenance. While I did personally find the bickering funny, it was very pointless and over the most stupid things. As if the author wanted them to fight but couldn’t or decided not to think of actual valid reasons for them to.
I originally read the book because I was drawn to Zach as a character. Having read the book I would say that he is my favorite character in the series. I also like Brittany but she is not my favorite for reasons I will get into. Throughout the entire book, it feels as if Zach is arguing with Cara in sort of an almost flirty, pulling-the-girl-you-likes hair sort of way. He really just enjoys annoying Cara, he doesn’t seem to take their bickering too seriously and it doesn’t come across like he has any actual hatred towards her.
Cara however, gets kind of annoying to read, which is a shame given that it is from her point of view. She very much does take the bickering seriously and actually does dislike Zach. Always getting very snappy and mean over very minor things. As someone who likes Zach, this is a pain to constantly read. If It were done in a deeper way maybe I could at least understand her point of view, despite not agreeing. However, the things she gets mad about are so stupid that it really just makes you dislike her.
Brittany is a character who I feel really doesn’t need to be in the book. I liked her character, she was funny, but that was all she had going for her. The entire book I was always just questioning why she was there, because she didn’t add much to the story. One could argue that she was there to teach Cara some family values, but I don’t really think that was a necessary way to go about that. Cara kind of learns it on her own anyway at the end.
The book overall is a slow burn enemies to lovers paranormal romance story. The slow burn is most definitely there with Cara and Zach keeping up their "hatred" for each other most of the book. The enemies to lovers is there, but again is very shallow and almost feels a bit forced. And the paranormal is there but it’s almost too there. Throughout the story, new powers and paranormal elements are constantly being added, and it’s done in a way that makes me feel like the author just couldn’t pick one.
The ending epilogue seemed unnecessary, and all it did was make clear all the strings that were left untied throughout the story. It ends off like it should be a series with a next book coming up but to my understanding, the book is a standalone.
I did personally enjoy parts of the story so it doesn’t feel like I wasted my time or anything like that, I am glad I gave it a try. But it’s definitely not a book I loved and it is not something I would read again. I feel like it fell short of a lot of its potential. This is my view on the book as someone who has read many books, typically with very vast detailed plot lines. I’m sure the younger me would have ate this book up.
The two characters Cara and Zach “didn’t like” each other in school, always bickering with each other over petty things and pretty much going out of their way to get on each other's nerves. I feel like their bad relationship, despite being a key point of the book, was very shallow and didn’t have much sustenance. While I did personally find the bickering funny, it was very pointless and over the most stupid things. As if the author wanted them to fight but couldn’t or decided not to think of actual valid reasons for them to.
I originally read the book because I was drawn to Zach as a character. Having read the book I would say that he is my favorite character in the series. I also like Brittany but she is not my favorite for reasons I will get into. Throughout the entire book, it feels as if Zach is arguing with Cara in sort of an almost flirty, pulling-the-girl-you-likes hair sort of way. He really just enjoys annoying Cara, he doesn’t seem to take their bickering too seriously and it doesn’t come across like he has any actual hatred towards her.
Cara however, gets kind of annoying to read, which is a shame given that it is from her point of view. She very much does take the bickering seriously and actually does dislike Zach. Always getting very snappy and mean over very minor things. As someone who likes Zach, this is a pain to constantly read. If It were done in a deeper way maybe I could at least understand her point of view, despite not agreeing. However, the things she gets mad about are so stupid that it really just makes you dislike her.
Brittany is a character who I feel really doesn’t need to be in the book. I liked her character, she was funny, but that was all she had going for her. The entire book I was always just questioning why she was there, because she didn’t add much to the story. One could argue that she was there to teach Cara some family values, but I don’t really think that was a necessary way to go about that. Cara kind of learns it on her own anyway at the end.
The book overall is a slow burn enemies to lovers paranormal romance story. The slow burn is most definitely there with Cara and Zach keeping up their "hatred" for each other most of the book. The enemies to lovers is there, but again is very shallow and almost feels a bit forced. And the paranormal is there but it’s almost too there. Throughout the story, new powers and paranormal elements are constantly being added, and it’s done in a way that makes me feel like the author just couldn’t pick one.
The ending epilogue seemed unnecessary, and all it did was make clear all the strings that were left untied throughout the story. It ends off like it should be a series with a next book coming up but to my understanding, the book is a standalone.
I did personally enjoy parts of the story so it doesn’t feel like I wasted my time or anything like that, I am glad I gave it a try. But it’s definitely not a book I loved and it is not something I would read again. I feel like it fell short of a lot of its potential. This is my view on the book as someone who has read many books, typically with very vast detailed plot lines. I’m sure the younger me would have ate this book up.
loveykei's review
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
shakiral's review against another edition
A protagonist that lacks basic human empathy and decency after finding the ghost of a guy who just died and is confused and scared, just because he's her "rival". No, not for me.
caroreads97's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
littleredmacks's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I adored the premise of this book and I feel like the romance aspect was really well done, though I wouldn’t say it’s enemies to lovers, so keep that it mind. It’s more like bickering/annoying each other to lovers. I do think that it would have been better if we’d gotten more of a background on why they didn’t like each other, but they were still cute.
I feel like I was constantly questioning the world we were in and it never felt concrete. Some more world building could have made this much stronger.
It was also disappointing that this wasn’t a standalone. The main plot wraps up and I think I will leave it there. However, you do get a sneak peak at the conflict the next book will have.
I feel like I was constantly questioning the world we were in and it never felt concrete. Some more world building could have made this much stronger.
It was also disappointing that this wasn’t a standalone. The main plot wraps up and I think I will leave it there. However, you do get a sneak peak at the conflict the next book will have.
runaps's review against another edition
3.0
3.5⭐️
A light and fast paced read. It was a sweet take on a “enemy to lovers but not really” that I enjoyed a lot.
A light and fast paced read. It was a sweet take on a “enemy to lovers but not really” that I enjoyed a lot.
pitbulls_and_prose's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Our main character, Cara, is a normal teenager except for the fact that she has a family gift for speaking to ghosts. When her nemesis, Zach, accidentally dies, she has to help him find his way back to the living before his time runs out for good.
This book was only okay. It had an extremely similar setup to Cemetery Boys (which I loved!!!), but with its own swing on things. The beginning and end were decent but the middle was pretty jumbled with all of the obstacles our two main characters had to deal with. There was also a completely random character introduced in the middle that felt very superfluous. The romance was a little rushed, but still cute!
The ending implies there may be a sequel and that this is a larger story being told. I think a second book has a lot of potential, but for me, as I’m questioning how much YA I enjoy these days 😅, I’ll probably bow out here.
kygeo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
anneleen_vda's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
urbanesunset's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75