Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
When most people have ghosts in mind, they're thinking of autumn and Halloween. Pumpkins, leaves changing color, sweaters, apple cider, and a mild chill in the air. But Haunt Your Heart Out takes place in Vermont, just weeks before Christmas. This isn't a common setting for a story about hauntings, but it's a great one; Roberts really gets the magic of ghost stories across. It gave me strong "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" vibes—not the movie, but the story.
A bright spot in this book, aside from the sparkling descriptions, was the main character, Lex. Her anxiety is introduced to us early on, and I made the (bad) assumption she would be a bit meek in her interactions. Not because I believe anxiety leads to insipidity, but because I'm used to authors conflating the two. Roberts doesn't do this. Lex is opinionated, funny, sarcastic, and witty. She has—oh god, am I really going to say it? Am I going to go with that word? Okay, here it goes: she has spunk. Ew. But there is it. It's true. I don't know why it feels like I have to describe her like I'm a 1950s board room executive, but it feels right. She's got moxie and was a joy to read.
I particularly like the time she spends in California with her parents. I'm trying really hard to avoid spoilers here, but all of the interactions in this part are wonderfully written. Her relationship with her sister is wonderful, and the letter her parents write her made me cry. It's just beautiful.
Now, the negatives: the sex scene was a weird choice. I'm not trying to kink-shame by any means—I don't think the kink is outlandish at all—but introducing it for the very first time these two have sex just hit me wrong. (I'm not going to say what the kink is due to spoilers.) It felt more like a second or third time sexual encounter in a book. I have no real logic behind that, but it's how I felt reading it.
Second, I felt like there were some inconsistencies with the Charles/bookstore plot. Why wouldn't Charles outright ask Lex to buy the store? He says he thought she'd never accept it, but early in the book, she already knows this is her dream. When Charles fakes his fear of ghosts, Lex jumps to offer to buy it, and then he acts reluctant to sell. I'm not sure him having a scheme to sell makes sense, but I will say that the resolution to this is quite heartwarming.
But overall, it's a nice, cozy read. It's not overly dramatic, it's sweet, and the backdrop of hauntings is fun.
A bright spot in this book, aside from the sparkling descriptions, was the main character, Lex. Her anxiety is introduced to us early on, and I made the (bad) assumption she would be a bit meek in her interactions. Not because I believe anxiety leads to insipidity, but because I'm used to authors conflating the two. Roberts doesn't do this. Lex is opinionated, funny, sarcastic, and witty. She has—oh god, am I really going to say it? Am I going to go with that word? Okay, here it goes: she has spunk. Ew. But there is it. It's true. I don't know why it feels like I have to describe her like I'm a 1950s board room executive, but it feels right. She's got moxie and was a joy to read.
I particularly like the time she spends in California with her parents. I'm trying really hard to avoid spoilers here, but all of the interactions in this part are wonderfully written. Her relationship with her sister is wonderful, and the letter her parents write her made me cry. It's just beautiful.
Now, the negatives: the sex scene was a weird choice. I'm not trying to kink-shame by any means—I don't think the kink is outlandish at all—but introducing it for the very first time these two have sex just hit me wrong. (I'm not going to say what the kink is due to spoilers.) It felt more like a second or third time sexual encounter in a book. I have no real logic behind that, but it's how I felt reading it.
Second, I felt like there were some inconsistencies with the Charles/bookstore plot. Why wouldn't Charles outright ask Lex to buy the store? He says he thought she'd never accept it, but early in the book, she already knows this is her dream. When Charles fakes his fear of ghosts, Lex jumps to offer to buy it, and then he acts reluctant to sell. I'm not sure him having a scheme to sell makes sense, but I will say that the resolution to this is quite heartwarming.
But overall, it's a nice, cozy read. It's not overly dramatic, it's sweet, and the backdrop of hauntings is fun.
My favorite part of listening to this audiobook is that it helped me fall asleep easily due to it being incredibly boring. 10/10 for sleep. 2/10 for entertainment.
I also feel like the synopsis for this is a complete bamboozle.
I also feel like the synopsis for this is a complete bamboozle.
This is a very cute, fairly simple and fast-paced audiobook. Perfect for the month of November!
And guess what, Matilda is the narrator. Adorbs.
And guess what, Matilda is the narrator. Adorbs.
This is a fun rom-com if you're looking for a sweet pallet cleanser. She works at a bookstore, he's a ghost hunter. And their chemistry is amazing right off the bat. We love a good spooky time set during Christmas in Vermont. I also love the LGBTQIA+ representation with the FMC being Pansexual and the MMC being Bisexual.
Thank you Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC
Thank you Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC
Took me forever to read this it just wasn’t for me. The story is cute and I’m glad everyone got their HEA! The way anxiety was shown was amazing and that’s why I stuck around.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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
the FMC was suuuuuper annoying and whiny in this one. unbearably selfish and made everyone else suffer because of her own issues. i was also bamboozled into thinking this was a spooky/holloweeny type of story when in fact this takes place very christmas? v confused.
an extra star because the they were a childfree couple. and there was a cute dog.
an extra star because the they were a childfree couple. and there was a cute dog.