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A review by haley_j_casey
The Ghost Files by Apryl Baker
3.0
The pros:
Officer Dan. Yep. Love him.
Mattie's attitude. I love sarcasm, and (while I think some things could have been done differently/less explained) Mattie had a lot of it. Apryl Baker never started making her soft, didn't start out with her being sweet and turning sarcastic or vice versa; Mattie's character developed as the story went, but her personality stayed true and she was a very fun protagonist.
Mattie starts out with a boyfriend, but what I really liked was that as we learned more about Mattie so did Jake. And that complicated their relationship. It made things complex.
The relationship between Dan and Mattie. It stayed on the edge between friendship and relationship, their banter was perfect, and the fact that they still have room to grow made any scene between the two of them the best part of the book.
The cons:
The relationship between Dan and Mattie. Yes, they were fun, and yes, they had excellent banter, but it felt like Baker couldn't decide on just what age to treat Dan. Technically he's 20, and a cop, and still in college, but sometimes he seemed much older than Mattie, and sometimes he was like a high school student. And I know that college students can totally be like that, but he didn't stay consistent enough for me. It was distracting, even though I liked his character.
Every boy in the book was in love with Mattie. She was hot and could take care of herself and was mysterious, but seriously, every guy spent the whole book hitting on her.
And she couldn't make up her mind. She's in love with Jake in the beginning, then she's trying to figure out how she feels about Dan (more than once), and then she gets Mason's phone number and thinks he's so super cute, then, all of a sudden at the end, she's IN LOVE with Eric. And that one seriously through me and kind of ruined the end of the book. WAY too sudden, unreal, and Baker spent the whole book building Dan up just to throw in this guy at the last second that Mattie is way too attached to, way too quickly... It didn't fit with the way the rest of the book had been going.
Overall:
Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a big fan of scary stuff (horror movies, nighttime in general, getting good and truly spooked). So this book was fun: ghosts, murderers, mystery, oh my. And while the mystery was good and the ending was a surprise, there were things that were done well and then things that took away from the rest of it. Mattie's attitude was great, but the fact that the author told us more than once how sarcastic Mattie considered herself and explained the fact took away from it because it felt to me as the reader like the author thought I had to be told what sarcasm was. I loved Dan and Mattie's relationship, then then a dozen other guys jumped in and took away some of the depth. I wish it had all been more consistent, but it was still a fun read with a great protagonist and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the sequel.
2.75 stars
Officer Dan. Yep. Love him.
Mattie's attitude. I love sarcasm, and (while I think some things could have been done differently/less explained) Mattie had a lot of it. Apryl Baker never started making her soft, didn't start out with her being sweet and turning sarcastic or vice versa; Mattie's character developed as the story went, but her personality stayed true and she was a very fun protagonist.
Mattie starts out with a boyfriend, but what I really liked was that as we learned more about Mattie so did Jake. And that complicated
Spoiler
and ruinedThe relationship between Dan and Mattie. It stayed on the edge between friendship and relationship, their banter was perfect, and the fact that they still have room to grow made any scene between the two of them the best part of the book.
The cons:
The relationship between Dan and Mattie. Yes, they were fun, and yes, they had excellent banter, but it felt like Baker couldn't decide on just what age to treat Dan. Technically he's 20, and a cop, and still in college, but sometimes he seemed much older than Mattie, and sometimes he was like a high school student. And I know that college students can totally be like that, but he didn't stay consistent enough for me. It was distracting, even though I liked his character.
Every boy in the book was in love with Mattie. She was hot and could take care of herself and was mysterious, but seriously, every guy spent the whole book hitting on her.
And she couldn't make up her mind. She's in love with Jake in the beginning, then she's trying to figure out how she feels about Dan (more than once), and then she gets Mason's phone number and thinks he's so super cute, then, all of a sudden at the end, she's IN LOVE with Eric.
Spoiler
The ghost. The ghost who attacked her, who she knew for a day during which she was being tortured, the guy she didn't actually know in real life, all of a sudden, she's just freaking in love with him.Overall:
Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a big fan of scary stuff (horror movies, nighttime in general, getting good and truly spooked). So this book was fun: ghosts, murderers, mystery, oh my. And while the mystery was good and the ending was a surprise, there were things that were done well and then things that took away from the rest of it. Mattie's attitude was great, but the fact that the author told us more than once how sarcastic Mattie considered herself and explained the fact took away from it because it felt to me as the reader like the author thought I had to be told what sarcasm was. I loved Dan and Mattie's relationship, then then a dozen other guys jumped in and took away some of the depth. I wish it had all been more consistent, but it was still a fun read with a great protagonist and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the sequel.
2.75 stars