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jennadb's review
4.5
4.5 stars
Stars Like Gasoline is my first introduction to Jessika and her unique way of telling a story. I have never read anything by this author before and I was delightfully surprised. She has cleverly orchestrated a cast of well-developed characters in a tale that will have you checking dark corners as the chills as thrills intensify your senses.
What makes Stars Like Gasoline so encompassing is that it has multi-faceted complex plots and storylines. They are carefully woven together to give us the right amount of mystery, intrigue, suspense and some paranormal elements. The characters are just as equally complex and fully realised and delightful.
Ghostly encounters, missing artists, an international art scandal, romance, and a stalker and so much more
Celia loves her job is an art curator for a museum where she suddenly finds herself thrust into the underbelly of fine art and the art world. It is interesting to read about each painting and piece of sculpture as Jessika’s passion and vivid descriptions brings them to life and makes it hard to believe they aren’t real.
I love to watch the British TV show Fake Or Fortune where owners find out if the piece of art they have procured is a real piece by the artist or a fake. It made this story much more relatable and real.
The story is beautifully written despite the spine-tingling ghostly encounters that haunt Celia.
leaves us feeling as if the characters will invite us into their home for fine wine, good conversation and a few extra secrets after turning the last page.
If you love a good mystery, ghosts, with a sweet romantic tale then you will love Stars Like Gasoline.
bwagner's review
fast-paced
4.0
I enjoyed reading this story. This is a newer author for me which I enjoyed her writing skills and attention to details. I look forward to seeing what is next for her. I found this book to be well written and hard to put down. It is a story full of spirits and haunting. Celia buys a house that once belonged to her brother’s finance. What she was expecting to find was the spirit and the events that follow. This is an engaging story where the characters pull you in from the beginning. They are creative, unique, connectable and supportive of each other. I enjoyed what they brought to the story and how realistic it is. There is great growth with the plot as well as with the characters throughout the story. This is a story that you don’t want to miss. I highly recommend this book.
shellyk51's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
What an intense story! I jumped in right from the start and didn’t come up for air until I finished the story. The intensity just grabs you. I love the suspense and how the author wrote it into the story. The author does a tremendous job of introducing the characters to us. The plot is out-of-this world. This is a story that just might make you rethink turning those lights off (even if it is a stalker, I’m not telling). This is a definite must read.
trish_beautifulchaosreviews's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
I have never read anything by this author before, but if she writes anything as enchanting as this novel--sign me up! This book was suspenseful, with a mystery to be solved, ghosts, and a sweet romantic story. Celia, Adrian, and Oscar make up this cast--the story is poignant at times as we learn about the loss of Oscar's fiancee Nate who was also Adrian's best friend. The story is complex, and when I think of it now, there were so many facets to it that required a deft hand at writing for it all to come together, and this author did it wonderfully.
Celia's fascination with the two artists in the story. One who is alive and no one knows where they are or what they are doing, but Celia loves their whimsical art featuring the sea and chrysanthemum. The other who is deceased whose art featured is described as would be described by an art lover to where you can see the painting in your mind. (Honestly, it had me searching the Google to see if the artist was real--he's not.) The mystery around the art drives the action in the book, including the suspense with a real bad guy and edge-of-your-seat scenes.
Then there are two romances we get to watch bloom and take root. And it wasn't easy sailing for either, but it only made the story that much more fun to read. This is five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, in my opinion. Though the paranormal part is not a huge portion of this book, I would say. The paranormal is integral to the story and provides just what is needed without overtaking the story's main idea--mystery and romance. Read it!
Celia's fascination with the two artists in the story. One who is alive and no one knows where they are or what they are doing, but Celia loves their whimsical art featuring the sea and chrysanthemum. The other who is deceased whose art featured is described as would be described by an art lover to where you can see the painting in your mind. (Honestly, it had me searching the Google to see if the artist was real--he's not.) The mystery around the art drives the action in the book, including the suspense with a real bad guy and edge-of-your-seat scenes.
Then there are two romances we get to watch bloom and take root. And it wasn't easy sailing for either, but it only made the story that much more fun to read. This is five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, in my opinion. Though the paranormal part is not a huge portion of this book, I would say. The paranormal is integral to the story and provides just what is needed without overtaking the story's main idea--mystery and romance. Read it!
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