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melissaslibraryy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Love that the romance subplot of the story was between two childhood rivals bc their banter was so cute and from the reader’s perspective you could definitely tell just how much they acted like they didn’t get along knowing Cara and Zach wanted each other🤭 the epilogue ended off on a cliffhanger so I’m interested in seeing what the plot of the potential sequel will look like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racism, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Minor: Violence, Blood, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
frantically's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
DNF af 60% (yes i count anything after 50% as read, leave me alone)
Guys, when I tell you this book was BORING. And dry as tinder.
The characters were so two-dimensional and I couldn't stand the MC at all. As soon as she figures out the guy's dead, she's already annoyed at him again. Like, I know you hate him but girl, he just DIED. give him a second 😭😭
thought this was gonna be about ghosts but it's just them going on this trip to find an antidote for his death (long story) that was revealed to them by the guy who killed him (most ridiculous villain i've seen in ages) and it all felt really middle-grade-ish.
at least my fairyloot edition is pretty 🫡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Car accident, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief and Child death
Minor: Blood
aryelee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Listen. Was the worldbuilding messy? Does it need some more work? Did the powers come out of nowhere? Are the other character generally falling flat? Yes. BUT. I LOVED this book, okay. Cara and Zach had me YELLING they are so good, they are THE couple for me right now, highkey obsessed with them. It's a slow burn in the context of the story! They have a history together from when they were kids and they have specific views of each other that are hard to shake, but going on a magical fetch quest together let them grow closer and it was amazing! Their chemistry is literally so good.
Everything going on with Cara and her mom and her Lao Lao were incredible and I loved it. What we learned about Zach's family made him and Cara such good foils. I wish we saw more of Brittany, I have so many questions about this gay, black, youngest child ghost hunter girl. Give me a novel entirely about her, honestly, I would love it.
This is setting up for a sequel, and I would love to see it, but I hope things are a little more balanced in terms of characters. Cara and Zach were amazing, but outside of Cara's family, all the other characters felt like they were just wingmen for them. Brittany especially, please let her shine without them, she has so much potential.
The pacing of the worldbuilding honestly felt a little rushed, but there was more than enough character driven scenes/interactions that I don't mind it all that much. I just love character driven narratives, especially with unique characters with their own strong voices, and Miranda Sun excels at writing characters. Read this book. Do it for them.
Everything going on with Cara and her mom and her Lao Lao were incredible and I loved it. What we learned about Zach's family made him and Cara such good foils. I wish we saw more of Brittany, I have so many questions about this gay, black, youngest child ghost hunter girl. Give me a novel entirely about her, honestly, I would love it.
This is setting up for a sequel, and I would love to see it, but I hope things are a little more balanced in terms of characters. Cara and Zach were amazing, but outside of Cara's family, all the other characters felt like they were just wingmen for them. Brittany especially, please let her shine without them, she has so much potential.
The pacing of the worldbuilding honestly felt a little rushed, but there was more than enough character driven scenes/interactions that I don't mind it all that much. I just love character driven narratives, especially with unique characters with their own strong voices, and Miranda Sun excels at writing characters. Read this book. Do it for them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
alyssajp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief
kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Cursing, Racial slurs, and Grief
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Zach and Cara have never gotten along, but they clearly get something out of riling each other up. Cara doesn't like the way Zach gets whatever he wants due to his parents' position and money. Zach must at least somewhat enjoy riling up Cara because he keeps doing it. Cara agrees to help Zach in exchange for money, but as they continue on their journey and keep having to rely on each other, their rivalry and grudging cooperation turns into something more.
Cara is caught in the middle of a rift between her mother and grandmother. Cara's mother denied her own ghost-speaking abilities until she lost them, and her grandmother lingers as a ghost in the house, speaking with Cara but unable to speak to her own daughter. Cara feels stuck between them, unable to please her mother unless she denies her grandmother's continued existence. She's also not as much of a ghost-speaker as her grandmother wants her to be, since she's afraid to disappoint or anger her mother more than she already is. Most of the book takes place during her quest with Zach to stop the venom from killing him for good, which means she has time to grow away from her mother and grandmother, space to feel more like her own person. It's an excellent coming-of-age story.
The worldbuilding is really cool, on their journey to find the antidote the teens pass through several different areas which all have their own atmosphere, wonders, and dangers. Some of the worldbuilding is clearly intended to lay the foundations for later stories, but because Cara is trying to understand her grandmother and her own history, nothing feels like it was only said for the sake of some future story. The details matter here, in this book, and hopefully they'll get to matter again if this ever gets a sequel. This seemed like it was a stand-alone book until the very last chapter, when it sets up a hook for a future story. It pulls on threads laid down throughout the rest of the book but which seemed to be just background details for the main plot. It's a smart narrative choice, since if there's never a sequel then this story still feels very satisfying and complete, but if there is more to come then it's a great teaser for later books to address.
Cara is caught in the middle of a rift between her mother and grandmother. Cara's mother denied her own ghost-speaking abilities until she lost them, and her grandmother lingers as a ghost in the house, speaking with Cara but unable to speak to her own daughter. Cara feels stuck between them, unable to please her mother unless she denies her grandmother's continued existence. She's also not as much of a ghost-speaker as her grandmother wants her to be, since she's afraid to disappoint or anger her mother more than she already is. Most of the book takes place during her quest with Zach to stop the venom from killing him for good, which means she has time to grow away from her mother and grandmother, space to feel more like her own person. It's an excellent coming-of-age story.
The worldbuilding is really cool, on their journey to find the antidote the teens pass through several different areas which all have their own atmosphere, wonders, and dangers. Some of the worldbuilding is clearly intended to lay the foundations for later stories, but because Cara is trying to understand her grandmother and her own history, nothing feels like it was only said for the sake of some future story. The details matter here, in this book, and hopefully they'll get to matter again if this ever gets a sequel. This seemed like it was a stand-alone book until the very last chapter, when it sets up a hook for a future story. It pulls on threads laid down throughout the rest of the book but which seemed to be just background details for the main plot. It's a smart narrative choice, since if there's never a sequel then this story still feels very satisfying and complete, but if there is more to come then it's a great teaser for later books to address.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Confinement, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Classism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, Car accident, Animal death, and Child death
Minor: Racism, Self harm, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Vomit, and Ableism
markedwithanm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Grief, and Death
not_asha01's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Racism, Cannibalism, Death, Grief, and Violence