Ghost House

The Ghost House Saga #1

by Alexandra Adornetto

From the New York Times bestselling author of Halo comes the start of a beautiful and powerful new series.

After the loss of her mother, Chloe Kennedy starts seeing the ghosts that haunted her as a young girl again. Spending time at her grandmother's country estate in the south of England is her chance to get away from her grief and the spirits that haunt her. Until she meets a mysterious stranger…

Alexander Reade is 157 years dead, with secrets darker than the lake surrounding Grange Hall and a lifelike presence that draws Chloe more strongly than any ghost before. But the bond between them awakens the vengeful spirit of Alexander's past love, Isobel. And she will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who threatens to take him from her.

To stop Isobel, Chloe must push her developing abilities to their most dangerous limits, even if it means losing Alex forever… and giving the hungry dead a chance to claim her for their own.

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Ghosts, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Horror

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 26, 2014

About the author

Alexandra Emily Adornetto was born on the 18th of April 1992 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She is the only child of an English Teacher and a Drama Teacher and attended, in her own words, "many" schools including MacRobertson Girls' High School, Ruyton Girls' School and Eltham College. She has loved stories for as long as she can remember. In 2006, she won the State Legacy Public Speaking competition. She began writing a Children's novel when she was only 13, inspired by J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. At 14, she sold it to HarperCollins Publishers, that also bought the two next novels of The Strangest Adventures series. The Halo series is her first YA fantasy romance and marks her international debut. She relocated to Oxford, Mississippi, where she divided her time between the USA and Australia, while she studied and wrote. Now she lives in Hollywood, where she hopes to combine novel writing and acting as Alexandra Grace. Her passions include old-school country music, theology, singing and performing.

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this was what passion felt like! This was what prompted lovers to take wild risks. I understood now how invincible Romeo and Juliet had felt.

Maybe she's born with it...Maybe it's Twilight...only worse.

Grab a bottle of vodka, settle in. This is going to be a long fucking review, guys.

A beautiful young woman, attractive to everyone but herself, is torn from her mother. She is sent off to a wild, rural town to live with a relative she barely knows. Her father is distant, cold, not quite sure of how to take care of a young woman.

In this distant, cold, rural region, so far away from the warm landscape she has always known, this young woman finds an unsual young man. This young man is...not alive.

“You’re not real, are you?...Alive,” I clarified, impatient for the answer.

“No.” He sighed. “But you already knew that.”

He needs an invitation to enter.

“Do you see it as an invasion?” he asked with a wry smile. “You invited me in.”

He haunts her room.

I took him in from head to foot, only then realizing that he’d appeared in my room without coming through the door.

He is over 100 years old.

“I certainly don’t feel young,” he replied. “Perhaps because I’ve had a century and a half to dwell on my mistakes.”

And he doesn't want her to suffer his cursed existence.

“Chloe, you have a whole life to live. Mine is a half-life, lurking in shadows, trapped by the past. I have nothing but an illusion to offer. I won’t ruin the life of someone I love.”

Not exactly. You see, Alex has golden hair.

He was tall and broad shouldered, with dark gold hair tousled by the wind and a slender body.

SEVEN REASONS WHY TWILIGHT IS SUPERIOR TO GHOST HOUSE

1. The main character, Chloe is a bigger Mary Sue than Bella

It was years before I realized I was alone in my abilities. I would sometimes wonder why me?

She is almost an orphan. At the beginning of the book, her mom died. Her dad doesn't care, and she is sent off to live with her grandmother, where she is pretty much unsupervised throughout the entire fucking book. Do whatever! Sneak out! Who cares! It's a vacation! She doesn't even have to go to school! People?! Who are people? She's alone all the fucking time to chill with ghost boy Alex.

She is special. So fucking special. Not only Alex falls into insta-love with her (more on that later), but local boy Joe falls in love with her, both within, like, 50 fucking pages of the book (more on that later, you better fucking believe there will be more on that later). But she's soooooooooooooo special. She has special abilities! There's nobody else like her! At least Bella doesn't develop anything super special until later on. This is book 1, people. BOOK 1.

May’s eyes shone. “You can do a great deal. More than all of us combined.”

But then again, Bella never fell in love with a man with golden hair.

I could just make out the bold sweep of golden hair that accentuated his fine-featured profile.

2. The main character talks and thinks like a 13 year old

Maybe all this has been a figment of my imagination. Maybe I’m really a patient in a psych ward and this is just a fantasy I’ve created in my head. Maybe I never left America. Maybe my name isn’t even Chloe. Okay…this train of thought isn’t helping.

Call me unforgiving, but when a character is almost 18, claims to be absurdly intelligent, and blessed with special special abilities, it is pretty reasonable of me to expect her to talk, like, you know...an intelligent 18 year old?

- “Are you trying to scare me?” I demanded. “Because that’s a dick move.”

- “Fine, be a jerk!” I shouted, kicking at the dirt. “But I just want you to know, this is very uncool. Friends don’t bail on friends when things get tough.

- “Not cool,” I told them.

Not cool. Cool. Dick move. Wiki it. Don't bail on me, duuuuuuuuuuude. What am I watching? MTV? Or maybe I should just get out my walker and cane now, being the ripe old age of 30 as I am. Maybe this is how all the yong, hip cats talk these days. Bella would never!

But then again, Bella never had the sense to fall in love with someone with golden hair.

Alex stops, his blue eyes startling in the sunlight, strands pushed away from his noble forehead like a mane of gold.

3. Alex is an 18th century Ken Doll, with neither a penis or a brain

“We’re not ready, Chloe,” he answered. “We should wait. I wouldn’t want you doing anything you might regret…even in a dream.”

OH MY GOD, IT'S HALO ALL OVER AGAIN. The main love interest doesn't have a dick. He is so fucking pure, he might have worn one of those purity rings if they had existed back then. To be fair, everyone sorta wore purity rings internally when he was alive, because virginity was the shit in the 19th century, but this is Alex, this is a guy who cheated on his own brother with his brother's wife. BUT NOOOOOO. IT'S PURITY CHASTITY ALL THE WAY WHEN IT COMES TO CHLOE.

He thinks all other girls dress like sluts...including Chloe's friends.

“Good God,” his eyes widened. “Why do you carry images of harlots on your person?”

And the sad thing is that Chloe doesn't even disagree that they're harlots. Alex is such a fucking prude (coming from the 19th century), yet he thinks nothing of coming into Chloe's room and being alone, *gasp* UNCHAPERONED with her at night. So fucking contradictory.

Alex is as sexless as Ken. As much as Edward. But then again, Ken never had...oh, wait. He does have golden hair. Just like Alex.

His wheat gold hair was tousled and took on a pale sheen in the moonlight.

4. There is overwhelming insta-love and the MC

It might be imprudent and it might be irrational, but something was happening here, even if I couldn’t find a label for it. Time and space dissolved around me, and I felt like I’d been waiting all my life for Alexander Reade to show up.

You'll take my word that there's insta-love, right? I mean, I could include all the quotes I have marked down for the luuuuurve, but then again, I can't be quoting half the book. Let me just reassure you that it exists, and there's lots of it. The main characters are like OMG WE ARE MEANT TO BE DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU ONCE LOVED SOMEONE MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF AND SO MUCH THAT YOU'RE HAUNTING THE HOUSE IN WHICH SHE LIVED IN FOR 150 YEARS BECAUSE YOU'RE TIED TO HER!111ONE!!1

Seriously, I swear to god there's insta-attraction when they meet, and in several days, she feels like their connection reaches down deep into the sooooooooooooul, maaaaaan! Groooooooovy, dude! And he's all I CARE FOR YOU AND YOU ARE SPESHUL EVEN IF I'VE ONLY KNOWN YOU ALL OF 3 DAYS. And she, who protested so much against leaving California, comes to feel like HE IS HER WHOLE LIFE.

It was as if my whole life was now contained in this house and its grounds. I wasn’t even sure I would remember how to place an order at Coffee Bean or navigate traffic on the 405.

THE HORROR THAT IS GHOST HOUSE.

But then again, insta-love may be acceptable, I mean, Alex had golden hair.

He was wearing the long fawn coat I’d seen once before and his golden hair was swept boldly away from his face.

5. There is a completely unnecessary love triangle...at least Twilight waited til book 2

“But the thing is, Chloe…” He bit his lip. “I think I might be falling for you. I wouldn’t take a chandelier for just anyone.”

P.S. A chanderlier literally fell on him, impaling him, and almost killing him. But it's all good because Joe did it for the love of Chloe.

Joe = the half-assed version of Jacob, without, well...this.



In the middle of fucking England, you have a cowboy-boot wearing private-school attending horseman. Who's very handsome. Who just happens to instantly fall for Chloe because she admires his music. He thinks she's special after she utters all of 5 words to him, words that are like the equivalent of "Uh, hyuk hyk hyuk, u cool man." Lol Chloe so adorkable. Fuck you.

-_______________-

Doesn't really matter if the school next to his is filled with girls, one of whom is lovely, sweet, and desperately wants to love him.

Cause Joe-y's only got eyes for Chloe. I meant that to rhyme. Chloe's fucking perfect. Even after she nearly causes him to die, his parent's all, like...

“Joe never stops talking about you.” Joe’s mother smiled through her tears. “You must be very special.”

She likes Joe! She loves Alex! What's a girl to do?!?!??!!!1

But maybe there wouldn't even have been a love triangle if one of the love interests in Twilight had golden hair.

I knew it was Alex, by the way he held himself, stiff and upright with the straight fall of gold across his face.

6. There were at least relevant female characters in Twilight. Ghost House is about CHLOE CHLOE CHLOE

Her best friends in California are shallow bitches who are never seen again, and only brought up occasionally for slut shaming. When we meet them for the first (and last time), they're portrayed to be stupid fucking California hos without a brain cell in their boobs. They use their looks to get ahead.

Sam’s voice on the other line was shrill and demanding. I could just picture her wearing the puppy-dog pout she always wore when she wasn’t happy about something. It was a face her dad had trouble resisting. Recently it had scored her both a new car and a pair of Louboutins.

She is so much better than her friends, and she only hangs out with them because...well, because there's no other option. But the implication is there. Chloe is superior to every girl or woman in the book.

I wasn’t sure how the conversation had turned into me consoling them. Sometimes I had to wonder how they’d come to be my closest friends.

Her grandmother is a bossy, icy British bitch, the equivalent of Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet) from Keeping Up Appearances. The old housekeeper, well...

God, she was creepy, with her crumpled body and shadowy eyes. I knew I was being unkind; she was probably just old and tired. What did I know about her life and its hardships?

That might have been cute if she had truly believed she was being unkind, but the entire book emphasizes how old and thin and creepy Miss Grimes looks. It feels less observant. More malicious. Spiteful.

But it's all good, because the only female character that matters falls in love with someone with golden hair.

Alex is wearing a ruffled shirt, and his burnished gold hair is pulled back in its usual ponytail.

7. In comparison, Stephanie Meyer can actually write

Examples from Ghost House

- I let out a soft gasp as his body pressed against mine. It was cool in a comforting way, like when you scalded your hand and ran it under water. His touch always brought me relief, like he was soothing my body, which felt like it was on fire right now.

- ...a huge chunk of my family had been ripped away, like when a tornado sucks out the guts of a house, leaving an empty shell.

- His words, although intended to offer comfort, were like opening a wound that had just started to close over. I felt like I was wading into uncharted waters without a life raft.

- Isobel. It was the name of someone you wouldn’t want to mess with. It even sounded ominous, like the tolling of a bell.

- Rory’s teeth were clattering so loudly it sounded like coins falling onto a wooden floor.

But then again, she never gave Edward a golden head of hair. Shame.

Through the glass panel of the door I caught a flash of a figure striding by in a dark coat, his tangle of golden hair falling over his eyes.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Also reviewed for Addicted2Heroines

It's readable, I finished it, and it might be a keeper if you're part of the under 18 crowd.
There. I was nice.

I didn't research the author or the book before I requested it from NetGalley, so I went into this with no preconceived notions.
As I was reading this, I assumed two things:
1) This was probably the author's first book.
2) This was probably a self-published novel.
So. Imagine my shock when I finished the book, and found out that neither of those things were true.
Not only that, but her Halo series?
It's the one that a couple of my friends have been trying to shove down my throat for over a year now. One of my pals even gave me her copy, and it's sitting on my bookshelf right now!
I swear, I've been meaning to get to it, but it's a young adult romance about angels falling for humans or something... Not really my cuppa, if I'm totally honest.
Also, those guys are really into the House of Night series, so I have a hard time taking recommendations from them seriously.

Anyhoo. Ghost House is about a girl named Chloe who (Surprise!) can see Ghosts, and goes to live in a (Surprise!) haunted House.
And then she falls in love with a ghost. Not the Eeeevil one, mind you, the hot 'n sexy one.
Why?
Oh, you know, for all the usual reasons you fall for a ghost. He's got jewel-like eyes, nice hair, and he looks dashing riding around on his ghost-horse.
In other words, Insta-Lurve.
She sees him, and immediately knows he's speshul! More importantly, he stirs up feelings that she's never felt before...in her ENTIRE life. 'Cause 18 years is a long freakin' time to go without finding your True Love!
*rolls eyes*
Side note: The author is young. 'Nuff said.
It all culminates in a bigish battle with the hot ghost's evil ex-girlfriend. Chloe must learn to embrace her powers...or risk losing everything!

I was underwhelmed. The plot, dialogue, romance, character development...all of it.
Underwhelming.
Not truly awful, just not impressive.
I'm giving my friend her copy of Halo back tomorrow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital arc, in exchange for an honest review.

[Paige (Illegal in 3 Countries) · Rating 1 out of 5]

See more of my reviews on The YA Kitten! My copy was an ARC I got from BEA 2014.

I am no stranger to Alexandra Adornetto's work; against my better judgment, I read her entire Halo trilogy and hated almost every page of it for its anti-feminist themes, internalized misogyny, poor plotting/pacing/writing, and general poor quality. Ghost House was never something on my radar, but it ended up in my possession at BEA and I didn't want to just abandon it. According to some behind-the-scenes gossip I heard, she's supposed to be a much better writer now than she once was. Would it kill me to give her another shot and see if her craft has improved? It definitely didn't kill me, but it hurt a good bit. Anyone who has read Halo or either of its sequels should expect the same level of quality here.

I'm trying to breathe and not go boom because the content of Ghost House is nowhere near as infuriating as that of any single Halo novel (but there is some pretty offensive stuff--I'll tell you later), but this book does manage to make me incoherent with rage anyway because it's a thing that happened. Absolutely anyone could have written this book because it reads like such a paint-by-numbers effort. It hits all the main points it has to but does so without developing anything or breathing any life into this beaten-to-death story. The death of Chloe's mom and its effect on her? Completely glossed over even though the novel wants to pretend she's so agonized over it she considers dying. Chloe's romance with Alex? I literally cannot understand why they like each other or what kind of chemistry they have. It's like shoving two planks of wood into each other to make them kiss. The Gothic atmosphere Ghost House is going for? Completely absent.

If only its underdeveloped lifelessness were the worst thing about this novel. Nope. Chloe is supposed to be a sympathetic character, but what I see is an immature teenager who hates other girls her age and is unable to have meaningful relationships with other women. When a new (male) friend says her best friends sound like Real Housewives in the making, she agrees with him. She also says that "between the two of them, my friends could write a book of sexcapades to rival that of many thirty-year-olds" (169) and the italicized word "sexcapades" reeks of judgment. WHO CARES IF THEY HAVE A LOT OF SEX? THEY CAN BONE UNTIL THEY'RE BONES AND CHLOE ISN'T ALLOWED TO JUDGE.

When she pushes Alex to open up about his past and he mentions a woman named Isobel, Chloe decides she hates Isobel on the basis of her name. This is before Isobel enters the book as the one-dimensional antagonist whose only motivation is a man, mind you. Alex calls her "part enchantress" to explain his attraction to her, which is really problematic because he's blaming his feelings on her to avoid owning up to them himself. A woman is never at fault for something like that just as the woman who gets groped on a subway isn't at fault for the groper feeling like he needs to grope her. You get what I mean?

The only semi-relevant females in this book are older than her. One of them is the dead mom she doesn't actually think about much or seem to miss even though the book says the does; the other two are middle-aged sisters renting rooms in Chloe's home while they investigate spirits and serve as occasional helpers with Chloe's ghost troubles. Other than that, it's The Chloe Show, which is not that interesting. Bumbling around with Alex, knowing facts about the deaths of some ghosts not others (this is explained away with "I just know" in the cases where she does know, but this might be fixed in the final copy), and hating other girls her age is all in a day's work for her.

Adornetto upholds the same kind of damaging gender roles and "purity" standards I was so disgusted by in her Halo trilogy. Our heroine is meek, virginal, and good. Meanwhile, all the girls her age are evil, sexual beings there to make our sweet heroine look even better! Our hero is allowed to have sex, but it must be in the past, it must have a tragic end, and he must quickly decide our heroine is now the only one for him. Our heroine can never have a past like that because it makes her impure, but for him, that backstory essentially makes him that much more swoony.

GAG ME. These kinds of romance-novel tropes instantly make any book worse with their presence.

The sad thing is that I saw potential. To motivate myself to keep reading, I made revisions to the novel in my head. Instead of Isobel being the antagonist because she wants Alex all to herself (and that's really the only characterization she gets), Alex's tyrannical father or Alex's brother/Isobel's husband Carter is the antagonist and continues to lord his power over Alex and Isobel in death with an iron fist and keep them apart. Though they realized in death that what they had was fleeting and let each other go, the father/husband simultaneously pushes them together and pulls them apart to keep himself around because he is too proud and too twisted to go gently into that good night.

Isobel could have been a friend to Chloe and they would have had great conversations about how hard it is to be a woman in any time period because someone is always there to limit her because of her gender. Chloe's defeat of the tyrannical father or husband would be a symbol of her bucking the patriarchy and it would free two people who have been tortured for 150 years over an ephemeral affair of the heart. Instead, Chloe takes part in the systemic continuation of internalized misogyny through her conflict with Isobel and nothing quite so interesting happens. I'll keep my headcanon, thank you.

Also, there's the whole thing where a woman gets blamed for an unstable man's actions that end in the deaths of multiple people. For those who want further details and spoilers: Just before we find out about the Tragic Thing that happened in Alex and Isobel's past, one of the servants on the estate tells Alex "[Isobel] is a Jezebel!" and she will "bring darkness upon this house" (256). Shortly thereafter, Carter catches Alex and Isobel having sex and he decides that hey, because my wife is cheating on me with my brother, I'm going to smother their infant son to death, shoot my brother, kill myself, and make my wife so miserable with my actions that she commits suicide by drowning herself in the lake.

HOW IS SHE A JEZEBEL FOR THIS? If anyone brings darkness upon the house, it's CARTER. Y'know, the one whose actions directly result in two murders and two suicides? Sure, Isobel and Alex are being adulterous, but it takes two to tango. Why is she a Jezebel and he is a good man? Still, it's more important that all of this is being blamed on Isobel and not Carter, he who cannot handle his anger at finding out his wife is cheating on him in a healthy way. She is NOT at fault for what results from Carter's actions. Never. The book saying it is her fault is an especially gross cast of victim-blaming and not something I will stand for.

I want to say something good about this. I really do. Unfortunately, the only praise I can come up with is this: "At least's it's not Halo all over again and 400+ pages long." That's pretty much it. Ghost House is not the lengthy, super-preachy YA novel most readers associate her with and is less offensive than that novel. Praising this novel based on what it isn't hurts me more than all the time I spent reading this novel and ranting about its issues.

If you're a fellow fan of ghost stories and Gothic novels, you will probably want to find something else to read. Ghost House is only the incorrectly assembled, bare-bones skeleton of the story you do want.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pre-read: Oh wow, I think...this may be my very first read from the author here.

I'm going in, guys. Seriously, I'm taking the plunge. Let's hope it turns out well. *crosses fingers*

Post-read: Upon finishing "Ghost House", I feel a myriad of frustrations along several levels, but the one comment I've made that my mind keeps coming back is this: "If this book had been put in the hands of a more capable writer, this could've actually been a good story, despite how formulaic it was. Unfortunately, the downfall - pretty much 98% of the problems I saw - of the novel was its extremely juvenile and lackluster writing."

Full review:

I feel like I've run a marathon reading Alexandra Adornetto's "Ghost House" because of the many patience breaks I took to be able to slog through it. This is my first read from the author, and while I haven't read her first series "Halo" (and notably, I don't plan on doing so because of its respective content issues), I've read enough excerpts and opinions surrounding the series to get an idea of what it offered.

One note I'll start with in this review is that I'm really drawn to YA ghost stories. Liked them ever since I was a kid. I think some can be creepy, some contemplative, some reflective, others sweet depending on the content of the work.

The thing about "Ghost House" that I knew going in was that it had a very template PNR structure to it. Upon finishing it, I would say that pretty much any YA writer could've made this a compelling, powerful read in the vein of PNR or a tough subject read reflecting on loss and even having an ending that provides an unexpected promise of reunion. You have a protagonist who unexpectedly lost her mother (never mentioned cause of death, probably would've made it more significant if something had been), the girl's life gets upended to England, she meets a ghost with a troubled past and has an alluring pull to her in more ways than one. But in the same breath, she ends up the target of another vengeful spirit who has ties with the ghost her affections turn toward, and there's a bit of a historical story interspersed that tells the story of these two ghosts and the tragic circumstances that befall them. And interspersed with that, the protagonist has to come to terms with her own loss and sentiments with the people who surround her.

That sounds like a compelling template, right? And like I said, pretty much any writer in the vein of YA could probably make this work in an interesting way.

Anyone EXCEPT Alexandra Adornetto. *Rose pinches brow and sighs* I'm pretty floored in the aftermath of reading this because the main problem with "Ghost House" is the extremely poor writing. And there's no excuse for it, none at all. A lot of the problems I saw in this narrative are things that are textbook Fiction Writing 101 - things that can be fixed with thorough editing and just common sense for knowing what makes a narrative move best. There are massive infodumps that cut the tension in this book short where it would be more potent, superfluous tangents that a reader probably wouldn't care less about, and formulaic progressions that have very little to no imagination behind them, particularly with the template considered. And I don't understand why these issues weren't addressed before this book ever hit primetime.

Chloe, the protagonist, is a rather insufferable lead to follow when all is said and done. She's not as bad when we first meet her, considering the loss of her mother and dealing with family issues. I kind of felt for her because I had the consideration of the recent loss of my own mother, so the beginning had me for Chloe's struggles. She shows her naivete in places with the assumptions she makes about British culture and for an American teenager, she felt quite awkward for presentation for the most part - I honestly thought it was an inaccurate portrayal. She comes across as not only culturally ignorant, but also uses phrases that seem to bounce between American and something else - too formal for the character voice. It threw me out more than a few times through the story.

What made it worse was the fact that Chloe's character is constantly assuming and in her own head most of the narrative - there wasn't a lot of dynamic actions to be had. Details were told more than shown, and the moments that were shown were superfluous environmental details that did too much, bogging down the flow of the story. The dialogues between characters were stiff, particularly as Chloe makes her way to England, ends up instaloving between a handsome ghost that she sees upon the grounds, and also instaloving on another living boy who befriends her. It's all too convenient and the way that Chloe will go from the immediate encounters that promise fear and peril to random tangents that break the tension really bothered me (I mean seriously, digressing to contemplations over ghost sex? Come on...). One of the times when Chloe's brother was *drowning,* she really doesn't do anything but observe in the scene and what should've been a scene with heightened tensions came across as a heroine who really did nothing at all while everyone else was acting around her and felt tedious in its recounting of details.

But Chloe's has the *power* to right all wrongs and triumph over evil!**

**Wait...wrong scenario, I'm thinking of Sailor Moon.

I struggled quite a bit to follow Chloe because for all the clumsiness she had as a character, her telegraphing of her clumsiness and the cluttered presentation of that and lack of focus made it a hard read. (Word to the wise: just because you have a clumsy character doesn't mean your presentation of that should be clumsy.) I struggled through this even when I was at least partially intrigued by the backstory of the ghosts - particularly Alexander Reade and his former lover Isobel. Alex wasn't exactly a bad character for a ghost (but he was too convenient of an LI), and Isobel had enough creepy factors surrounding her and mystique to carry the narrative at least some of the way. Not enough, but some - and that's what saved this narrative from me giving it a half star or even 1-star for the read. I'm being extremely generous with saying that, because people with lesser patience than me - I don't see them even getting past the tedious and formulaic points.

I still feel like the periodic details of this were skipped around and not really accurate to the time for language and set-up. When it is revealed what led to Alexander's and Isobel's demises, it's a tragic circumstance, but the juvenile interludes really shortchange the impact of what that presented here. Also, I saw that the narrative was trying to draw a powerful parallel of loss in Chloe's life with the ghosts here, but again - the problem is the focus of the narrative. On one hand it tries too hard to telegraph this in blunt terms (not allowing the emotion to come through on its own) and on another, it diverts from the more pertinent turns of the narrative to Chloe's instalust.

The ending is really another beginning in what seems to be a longer series, but while I saw a parallel in the ending of this with an anime series I remember watching long ago (Fushigi Yuugi), I can't really say it was a cute reveal because it was such a long slog getting to that point. I was ready to be done with the novel by the time I finished, and I think if the narrative is going to carry past this point, it's got to gain one major thing in its overarching presentation: FOCUS. And Adornetto does not have that in her narrative here.

There weren't many specific things I could recall that I was offended by in the overarching narrative - maybe a few things about virginity and other odd tangents that made me side-eye my reader screen a few times. But while it's not the worst narrative I've read, it could use a lot of work.

I think those who have read Adornetto's "Halo" series or her other books will not have seen much growth in narration from the author here, and that is likely to her detriment. "Ghost House" seems to make the same mistakes for narration, and follow so much to the template of its genre that it doesn't really stand out in the vein of YA PNR. And that makes it a forgettable title, despite some points where it could've had promise. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed, and I'm not sure if I'd pick up another title from the author based on this, considering it was such a tedious, unfocused read.

Overall: 1.5/5 stars

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Harlequin TEEN.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

*In no way am I trying to criticize the author. I am simply giving my honest opinion on a novel and I just happened to no enjoy it.*

I moved schools at the start of this year. When I moved schools, I found out the most exciting news: Alexandra Adornetto was a past student from my current school. In fact, she had the same English teacher as me. I CANNOT STRESS THIS AWESOMENESS. So, despite the fact that her Halo series was not all that promising, I decided to read Ghost House hoping to expect something...well, different. Unfortunately, I had my breath held for nothing.

My first issue was how whiny the main character, Chloe, was. Her mother recently died and ever since she's been seeing ghosts again. Her grandmother decides to take Chloe and her brother away from America to England for the holidays and Chloe is not happy.

“But I don’t want to go!” It came out more petulant than I intended.

At this point, I understood Chloe's situation; she wanted to stay in a familiar place and have some time to breathe because her mother passed away. But, her whining goes on pages and pages. She even starts criticising English people and the language.

“But our whole lives are here! We don’t need a holiday and I think you mean vacation.”

She has this very serious grudge against British people, apparently.

Grandma Fee gripped my hand, the only sign of emotion she allowed herself to show in public. Don’t get me wrong; she wasn’t unfeeling. She was just British.

I don't get it.

“Only five thousand miles,” Gran said briskly. Was that a British attempt at humor?

I mean, gee. I was expecting better from a 17 year old. But of course, by the time Chloe arrives at England and meets this crazy beautiful guy, Alex, all is forgotten.

He was tall and broad shouldered, with dark gold hair tousled by the wind and a slender body.

And, because we must emphasize on his beauty, every time he enters a scene, we must have a good description of him.

He looked different than anyone I’d ever seen before. He was handsome, but not in the run-of-the-mill, captain-of-the-football-team kind of way. He had a more gut-wrenching beauty, with his straight, fine features, pale skin and full lips. He looked like a prince from some faraway land you might find in a book. But his eyes were most startling, the clearest shade of cornflower blue, with just a hint of sadness that couldn’t be concealed.

Well hello, Mr. Perfect.

I could just make out the bold sweep of golden hair that accentuated his fine-featured profile.

Quiiiiite sure I get that he's got gold hair and a fabulous figure. Can we move on with the plot now? Oh wait...what plot? WHAT IS PLOT!? IT EXISTS!? Well, I never.

Aside from the fact that this book is bloated with constant descriptions of Alex and his beauty, the plot is barely even in this book for majority of the book. Things only really start happening much later on, but by then, it was just too late for me. I had already started skimming.

Here's just a few more reasons why I started skimming. The instant-love.

When our eyes met, the connection was inexplicable, overwhelming and impossible to ignore. It felt like there were currents swirling in the air, binding us together. Although we barely knew each other and came from opposing dimensions, I felt strangely comfortable with him.

and

As I drank in the details of his face, I could feel the distance between us closing. It might be imprudent and it might be irrational, but something was happening here, even if I couldn’t find a label for it. Time and space dissolved around me, and I felt as though I’d been waiting all my life for Alexander Reade to show up.

and

The first thing  saw was Alex’s face, so radiantly beautiful, it was hard not to feel like the wind had been knocked out of me all over again.

*rips eyeballs out* THE CLICHES. I CANNOT BEAR IT. I swear, I felt like I was reading a novel where all the most cliche and over-used lines were all put together into one book.

“You know something,” he replied thoughtfully, “I believed my connection with Isobel to be something that happens only once in a lifetime, an experience never to be replicated.” I felt my heart sink into my stomach, but I nodded anyway. “Until you showed up.” His words hung in the air like a magic spell.

With a nice serving of melodrama and cheesiness, too, of course. *gags*

You know what else pissed me off? The love-triangle. Introducing...dude-who's-name-I've-already-forgotten:

I noticed that his tousled hair was the colour of milk chocolate and his smile was contagious. He was tall and loose limbed with broad shoulders, the sort of guy who was comfortable in his own skin.

I'm seriously having a hard time imagining a loose limbed person, here. Also, another perfect guy. IS THERE NOT A SINGLE CHARACTER HERE WHO IS ACTUALLY REALISTIC?

This book only seemed to revolve around one female character, and that was Chloe. She's special and is therefore superior to everyone else.

He nodded. “You clearly have a gift.”

Is that gift called idiocy and annoyingness? BECAUSE I AGREE.

“I’ve never encountered a girl like you, Chloe,” he said. “You’re quite remarkable.”

*shakes fist*

Oh, but we do have other girls in this book. Chloe's got two friends in America. Here's what Alex has to say about them.

“Good God.” His eyes widened. “Why do you carry images of harlots on your person?”

NO. YOU DID NOT JUST. The slut-shaming. And Chloe doesn't even go to defend them. What a friend. *slow claps*

WAIT. We haven't admired the writing yet!

"Her skin is the color of moonstones and the nails on her long fingers are polished gems."

*facepalm*

I'm done here.

~Thank you HarperCollins Australia for sending me this copy!~

[Nasty Lady MJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really 1.5 stars. To see full review click here

MJ: I think this is the year to fuck up with Meg Cabot series. First the Princess Diaries series got fucked over by Royally Lost and now Alexandra Adornetto is bastardizing The Mediator series.

Why? Alexandra Adornetto of all people?

What was Harlequin Teen thinking? Maybe they recommend the series to Adornetto so that she could get a feeling of what a strong female character but…

You know what, I’ve done enough talking. I think it’s time to take this review to today’s guest host. I don’t own property rights to her or her handsome costar since I’m not the great Meg Cabot, but I do envy her sassy sense of dressing, her non-jerky not so dead boyfriend, and her penchant for headbutting ghost. Give a hand to Ms. Susannah Simon.

Suze Simon: I thought this was suppose to be a lecture on how to ghost bust?

MJ: It’s actually more of a tutorial session. I mean, you’re going to be teaching someone how to ghost bust. Someone grossly incompetent.

Suze: I’m assuming that’s not you.

MJ: Obviously, not. I’ve watched enough episodes of Ghost Adventures to know it’s a bad idea to provoke ghosts and run around like a girl. And oh, static is so a spirit on the other side trying to talk to you.

Suze (rolls eyes): Reality television. So, if I’m not here to teach you then who am I teaching?

MJ: Well, Chloe from Ghost House of course.

Suze: Oh, fuck.

MJ: Jesse wouldn’t approve.

Suze: Oh, Jesse can deal. I don’t want to teach her.

Chloe: Why not?

Suze: Because it’s obvious that you read my story and didn’t listen to any of my advice.

Chloe: I found a boy in my haunted bedroom, didn’t I? He has an accent and is British. So, obviously that’s more exciting then your lame-o hot Spanish ghost in your bedroom.

Suze: Um, my ghost lame. No. Resounding no. Your boyfriend on the other hand, what a chauvinist pig.

Chloe: He’s old fashion.

Suze: There’s a difference between being old fashioned and chauvinist. And your boyfriend (or insta crush since all you do is notice how good looking he is) is a pig. Seriously, he says your friends are skanks and you’re totally okay with it? Do you know what I’d do to Jesse if he did that?

Chloe: Um, not be friends with them anymore.

Suze: No, I’d tell him that he needed to get over it or we weren’t going to be together anymore. And Jesse would get over it. Because he’s just that type of guy.

Chloe: But…what sort of relationship is that when you argue and make compromise?

Suze: Argue? I’m just asking him to respect my friends it’s what a decent person would do. And I for one would never trash my friends behind their backs.

Chloe: Well, they are silly.

Suze: MJ, why am I here again?

MJ: To teach Chloe the trade of the ghost busting business so she won’t get killed. Consider it community service.

Suze: Why can’t Slater do it? He needs to do some community service. I mean, he almost sent my boyfriend to hell multiple times.

MJ: Fine, Paul get your ass over here.

Chloe (giggly): He’s handsome. Now, I’m in an actual love triangle.

Slater: Simon…

Suze: Unformed character who thinks pretty people=love. Let’s talk Paul, what do we do when we have a rowdy ghost? Do we moan and let other ghosts try to solve our problems?

Slater: Hell, no. We exorcise the son of a bitch.

Chloe: Exorcise?

Slater: And you call yourself a shifter.

Suze: Mediator.

MJ: Actually, in this book guys it’s called medium. Which is actually a fairly common term. But you’re right in the fact that there seemed to be little to no rules when it came to the world building. I mean, Chloe can just randomly do things like go back in time. Of course, she has a seizure during this which makes little to no sense but…

Slater: Going back to time is difficult. It took us six books. And it just didn’t happen random. There’s a science behind it.

MJ: I’m just saying.

Slater: I’m sure you are, babe.

MJ: You’re too young for me.

Slater: Actually, I’m being aged up in a sequel so if you want my contact info…

MJ (blushes at her one bad boy literary crush): Um, yeah. I mean, no. I mean, yeah. Just to do an interview of course. Got to keep a blogger professionalism going.

Suze: Don’t fall for it.

MJ: I never said I was. Though he’s going to be legal though and he is unattached.

Suze: Jesse was always legal.

Chloe: And Alex is legal. And he’s perfect. I knew as soon as I saw that golden hair, those blue eyes, that it was meant to be. And he always saves me. And doctors me up in his own old fashion…

Suze: What did you just say?

Chloe: I said he fixed my injuries..

Suze: You so got that out of my book.

Chloe: I bet Jesse didn’t ask you questions about why women read Cosmo?

Suze: Actually, he did.

Chloe: Danced when no one could see you?

Suze: Did.

Chloe: Had weird thoughts about having sex with a ghost?

Suze: Regrettably, yes.

Slater: Ew, Suze, ew. And as for you, did you too do anything original? I mean, Simon and Rico Suave and pretty vanilla when it comes to the romance department, but they did have a bit of a werido relationship that’s only theirs to create. I mean, couldn’t you do something like…go on a picnic on the moors?

Chloe: But what would we eat?

Slater: Picnics aren’t all about food, Chloe, if you know what I mean. Hey, MJ, picnic?

Suze: You leave her alone.

Slater: No, way Simon. But you know, you really could’ve done more to show off England. I get it rains all the time and according to you the food sucks, and it’s all about Prince Harry. But there’s really more to that country.

Chloe: Like what, bangers and mash?

Suze: Like a thousand plus years of history. You could do a better job showing said history. Have some anglo-Saxon ghosts. But of course you get your boring Heathcliff wannabe. Well, he’s probably not a Heathcliff wannabe since he doesn’t kill puppies.

Slater: Was that really necessary, Simon?

Suze: You can’t ignore details when it comes to ghosts, Paul. You know that.

Slater: True. But they were living the moment.

Suze: Yeah, until his ‘evil’ ex girlfriend or dead girlfriend since they didn’t actually break up was in there.

Slater: Don’t be too hard on her, Maria was a bitch too. Remember?

Suze: But that was different, I didn’t blame Maria for all her mistakes. Diego was just as responsible for putting Jesse in the ground. Isabelle did nothing but cheat on her husband with Alex. But instead of Alex getting any of the blame, it’s all Isabelle’s fault that every thing went to shit. Also, I love how she appears this decomposing monster and he looks like a supermodel.

Slater: I personally, thought de Silva had a maggot in his nose. The evil ones are always ugly.

Suze: Yes, just look at yourself in the mirror. But seriously, there’s nothing in the world that tells why Isabelle looks the way she does while Alex looks perfect.

Chloe: Because he’s good.

Suze: Whatever. And your medium powers. Just randomly come up. Aided by supposed paranormal investigators who have no respect for your privacy.

Slater: I so would’ve exorcised them.

Suze: A headbutt would’ve done just fine.

Chloe: They were just trying to help.

Suze: They almost killed you. You lack common sense.

Chloe: So, what am I suppose to do then? I mean, really?

MJ: That’s a hard one for me to answer. I mean, I really don’t have much control over your future Chloe. And neither do Suze and Paul.

Chloe: Then why are we staging this intervention? It was just for you to hook up with a fictional character, wasn’t it?

MJ: Um, no. But that was a perk. Actually, it was to point out the flaws of this book. And how eerily similar it was to The Mediator series. Which you’d think would be a great thing, since that series is probably one of the best paranormal YA series out there. The thing is, even though it’s a blatant ripoff, it still reeks of Alexandra Adornetto’s signature faux pas regarding misogynic views and insta love. Though, I will give Ally’s new editors this, they cut a lot of the purple prose out. Oh, it’s still there. But it’s much more bearable now.

Chloe: So, this has no purpose? Other than to show what a flop of a character I am.

MJ: Well, yeah.

Slater: OOh, burn. MJ, totally taking you out to dinner for that.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ghost House reminded me of The Mediator series by Meg Cabot, in the way the paranormal aspect was incorporated, and I was actually excited for a while until a crushing thought came over me: Ghost House and I are not a good fit. It's like trying to mix gasoline and water together. In hindsight, I should've seen it coming. Still, this was a risk I took, so I have no one to blame but myself and my apparent naivety.

The writing was all over the place. Metaphors and adjectives were used poorly and extensively. I still can't believe I survived it. Jarring and grating, I had to stop reading every now and then because I just wanted to cry in the corner and lament about how awful this reading experience was.

“The sky had changed color to a streaky mauve, scattered with stars like glittering rocks.”

“..the moon still hanging in the sky like a pale sickle, I knew it had to be the early hours of morning..”

“Her skin is the color of moonstones and the nails on her long fingers are polished gems.”

“Inside, dark wooden beams ran across the ceiling. In the stalls stood solemn horses with glossy coats and liquid brown eyes.”

— Are you scratching your eyes yet?

Chloe is one of those MCs you would like to forget immediately after reading. She's inconsistent and supercilious, two qualities that made for a highly aggravating character. She reprimands Alex because he called her friends harlots, but she'd be the first person to throw them under the bus anyway. Her modesty that's supposed to make her endearing, made her unbearable.

“When our eyes met, the connection was inexplicable, overwhelming and impossible to ignore. It felt like there were currents swirling in the air, binding us together. Although though we barely knew each other and came from opposing dimensions, I felt strangely comfortable with him.”

— Yeah right. *ignores*

Do I even need to talk about the romance? I'm not going to pretend I'm disappointed with the instalove. It's bound to happen. If the over-the-top description won't clue you in while reading, I don't know what will. The attraction didn't make any sense and only served to provide drama and angst. I had to endure reading about a depthless relationship I couldn't even care about.

“As I drank in the details of his face, I could feel the distance between us closing up. It might be imprudent and it might be irrational, but something was happening here, even if I couldn't find a label for it. Time and space dissolved around me, and I felt like I'd been waiting all my life for Alexander Reade to show up.”

— Please hold my hair while I gag.

Also, what is this thing about perceiving deep sadness just by looking at someone's eyes? WHY IS THIS EVEN A THING?

“...But his eyes were the most startling, the clearest shade of cornflower blue, with just a hint of sadness that couldn't be concealed.”

“He was tall and loose limbed with broad shoulders, the sort of guy who was comfortable in his own skin. I thought I could see a trace of sadness in his eyes, the sort of thing only I picked up when meeting someone for the first time.”

— What made you such a speshul eye-reading snowflake, Chloe?

The narrative was not the worst thing I've ever read, but the absence of any oomph factor was disappointing. It's uninspired and flat. It's such a shame because I do feel that the tragedy behind the ghosts of Grange Hall was actually quite interesting. It also goes without saying that the plot was predictable. Side characters were used if needed and the MC's ability made progress when it's convenient. The Harry Potter references that usually gets me fist-pumping, ended up being tacky and forced. Plus, don't get me started on how her mother's passing was just swept aside and brought up when necessary, the slut-shaming, and how Isobel, being alluringly evil, was the only one to blame for everything.

This novel did not aspire to break the mold and I could live with that. But what really set my teeth on edge was its painful attempt at a cliffhanger. I don't even know how I managed to finish this book and now I have to look forward to more installments? Ugh. I think I need a chocolate or something.

This review is also posted at Smitten over Books. A copy was provided by the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

[Alec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, some of you people are very harsh on this new book. I, for one, am really excited to read this book.

As a fan to the Halo books, her style has really been enlightening. Other authors who write about angels seem to take it very seriously. By having Beth, the angels seem to appeal more as humans.

Why are there people going against this book? All we have is a summary people. We don't have the full blown novel to discuss over. Why shoot down the dove before it takes flight?

_____________________________________

Excuse me? This book being "terrible" and "shitty" based on her prior books? What the hell people! I understand that there are some of you who will never care for it, but judging it by it's summary makes me so disgusted! What gives YOU the right to hate this book?

An author can change her style, and if she didn't, who cares? It is her story - a product she created and spent numerous hours trying to make better. How would you want someone to regard something you have written?

Would you want many people making comments about how your topics and type of writing makes people want to "throw up" and is "pure shit"? YOU HAVE NOT READ THE DAMN BOOK PEOPLE. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE PUTTING DOWN THIS BOOK BEFORE IT EVEN COMES OUT.

KNOCK IT OFF PEOPLE.

[Crowinator · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here is a representative sample of the writing in this book. Let me set the scene: Chloe's mother has just died, and she is at the grave site with her father and brother. She says of her dad, "His face was an open book, proclaiming his loss. But who could blame him? My parents had always believed their relationship was strong enough to weather any storm, except death, I guessed." [p. 11]

You...GUESS?

[Debbie]

I read one chapter.

One fucking chapter and I know this novel will be shit. I am pissed off.

[shazzalovesnovels · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars
Original rating: 4 stars

Where did our loved ones go after death? They didn't go anywhere. They stayed right where you left them, because you carried them with you. They were a part of you, like a tattoo. Trying to forget them was like trying to forget you had legs.

I first read this book when I was in Primary school and I remembered that I never read the sequel, and after so many years a reread was needed before continuing.

It's funny how perception changes over time. I loved Ghost House when I first read it. I thought it was well written and I enjoyed the plot. Now I see it as very cliché. I liked it, but it didn't hold up like I hoped.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghost House (The Ghost House Saga #1) by Alexandra Adornetto is such a great book, it just ripped my heart out so many times! Oh, I can't tell you how awesome this ghost story is. Scary, wonderful, romantic, haunting beautiful and sad. A fantasy I am so glad I picked up from the library. This is sooooo good, I would read it again and I never re-read books! Yes, that good. LOVED it.

[Bookaholic (reads every mortal thing) · Rating 2 out of 5]

What did you first think when you first saw the cover?

A) Looks dark and spooky. Ooh! That title! Gives me the chills! Yep, onto the TBR list.
B) Meh. I've seen spookier. But I will admit, I am intrigued...
C) Sounds like every other generic YA PNR. I'll pass.

Unfortunately, I fall in the B category. Unfortunately, I believe in author redemption. Having read an excerpt of Halo, I had almost written off Alexandra Adornetto from my TBR list. But then I heard of the premise of Ghost House, and immediately found similarities between it and The Mediator series, which I love.

I wondered if Alex Adornetto could pull it off without making the two books seem overly similar to one another. Needless to say, it was.

But where Mediator was action packed and fun, Ghost House was a much more angstier, baseless and watered down version of it. Don't get me wrong, it wants to seem spooky and different but the purple prose was too much for the eery factor.

Having not read Halo, I hardly knew what to prepare myself for. I swear, I went in with an open mind.

There is a pointless love triangle, a love interest who seemed about as mysterious as a cardboard cut out, no explanation, base or purpose to Chloe's ability to see ghosts. Oh yeah, and the insta-love.

Then there was Chloe's extremely annoying tendency to write off everything her Grandmother does as British-

Grandma Fee gripped my hand, the only sign of emotion she allowed herself to show in public. Don’t get me wrong; she wasn’t unfeeling. She was just British.

Oh, pfft. Faultless deduction, Holmes.

"Things will get easier,” she said. “I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but trust me, I’m speaking from experience. When my mother died it really hit me for six.”
The expression was unfamiliar but I knew what she meant.
I figured it was a reference to cricket, which we didn’t follow in America on account of it being the world’s most boring sport.

HEY! Don't knock it till you try it. I may find it boring, but that's because I don't understand it.

Why was everything little with these British people? Little chats and little ideas and little freaking cups of Earl Grey tea.

You're kinda testing my patience now.

“Only five thousand miles,” Gran said briskly. Was that a British attempt at humor?

Lolwut?

You can go horseback riding or play in the woods. And if you’re very good, I’ll take you for tea and scones in the village.”

Yes, because all British people do is play croquet, sip teas and eat scones.

You get my point. But I found the grandma to be far superior than Chloe-

...squinting curiously over my shoulder at the Twitter page on the screen.
"What’s this silly little sign?” she [Gran] asked.
"That would be a hashtag.”
"What’s it for?”
"Well, um, it’s sort of…it’s meant to…”
"See, even you don’t know!” she said triumphantly. “Honestly, I’ll never understand why people feel the need to share what they’re having for lunch or what the person next to them on the train is wearing. It isn’t even remotely interesting.”

That makes you and me, Grandma.

But the again, there's always a moment of disagreement-

You do know I’m vegan, right?" [Chloe said]
"Don’t be so ridiculous,” she [Gran] scoffed. “You’re not a hippie.”

Well, I guess I'm a hippie then


If you are still interested after all this, please, go right ahead. But as for me, I am done.

[MaryannC. Fiendish Book freak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read.

Chloe, a spirited young woman on the verge of turning 18 has just lost her mother. Grieving and sad, her grandmother from England suggests she and her younger brother return with her for a change of scenery. Not happy to leave the sunny California shores Chloe finds herself smack dab in the English countryside at her grandmother's estate where gloom and boredom are the norm there. Wandering the estate one day Chloe comes across a handsome young man who looks like he just stepped out of the past and figures he is one of her grandmother's guests, little does Chloe know that the roguish, good looking man is a ghost named Alexander Reade who haunts the estate.

This had some great elements to the storyline, a dashing ghost, drama, excitement, malevolent entities and romance. This is part of a series which quite honestly I tend to avoid sometimes because after the first book the subsequent plot lines seem to lose their punch, but I am looking forward to picking up the next installment titled Haunted, because I thought this was an engaging read, the ending was a surprise and I need to know what happens next!

[Bern]

You know something's wrong when a book titled Ghost House is described as "beautiful and powerful".

Is it too much to ask that suckish YA authors stop trying to twist good clichés into bad fanfiction for tweens?

[Natalie Monroe]

EDIT 2/10/2014: A lot of reviewers are comparing its premise to The Mediator series by Meg Cabot. I now see why Cabot has brought Suze out of retirement: it's to undo the god-awful mess Adornetto has cooked up and bring honor back to the falling-in-love-with-a-ghost plot.



I may just read it for the lolz at this point. Then again, why settle for a pale imitator when you can read the original?

Pre-review: I see the series name is called The Ghost House Saga.

Now, is this a real saga, which is defined as the appearance of the second generation of the MC(s)? Or is this the product of gross idiocy mislabeling as with The Hush, Hush Saga, which is as much as a saga as Homer Simpson is in shape?

[Micheala · Rating 4 out of 5]

HOW COULD IT END LIKE THAT?
I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS NOW.

MY REVIEW
Ghost House is the first book that I have read by Alexandra Adornetto; but I have to say, I really do not understand why so many people give her books bad reviews. I saw many negative reviews for Ghost House before the book was even out; but I did not let that stop me from getting my hands on this romantic ghost story, and I am glad I didn’t. I really enjoyed this book.

I think that Alexander was a great character, along with Joe. However, I found Isobel to be incrediblly awful throughout the entire book (which I know she was intended to be), but I honestly had a hard time feeling any sympathy for her. Chloe also frustrated me a lot. I feel like she let things go too easily and was a slight push-over at times.

[Spoiler Section: It was very irritating when Chloe and Alexander just met yet clearly had feelings for one another, then (to placate Isobel) Alexander pretended to be in love with her, and left Chloe freshly injured without so much as a glance back. Then when he shows back up Chloe just seems to be completely okay with that, and continues to act like a love-sick puppy. There were also a couple of other similar situations that she just remained completely calm about when it was not fitting to remain calm.]

I found the plot of the book to be very interesting though, and the story seemed to flow along nicely. The ending (which some may have found slightly predictable) definitely left me with quite a few new questions and a longing to read the next book.

Also, after reading this book, I can now say that I will definitely consider reading Alexandra Adornetto’s Halo novels… if I can ever find the time. (Let’s face it, none of us are ever going to beat our TBR list.)

So to wrap things up, I will just say that I found this book to be good, but not great. In the next book, I hope to see improvements in Chloe’s character, and have some “heat” between her and Alexendar (if you know what I mean *wink, wink*). Ghost House gets 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars from me, and was my favorite out of all the books I read in October.

My Book Blog: http://reading-to-escape-reality.tumb...

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Harlequin TEEN and NetGalley.)
17-year-old Chloe is devastated when her mother dies unexpectedly, and then angry when her Grandmother wants her to go and live with her in England for a while whilst she grieves.
Once Chloe arrives at her Grandmother’s stately home, which doubles as a bed-and-breakfast, she is surprised to find that her ability to see ghosts may come in handy with the number of ghosts floating around the property, and even finds herself attracted to the boy called Alex.
What painful past caused the ghosts to be so unsettled? And can Chloe really help?


This was an interesting ghost story, and even though it did have a rough patch, I ended up really enjoying it.

I really liked Chloe, and I liked how she changed throughout the book. I really couldn’t stand her at the beginning, she behaved like such a brat, she was selfish, and mean, and mocked British people! I was so glad that during the story she changed, growing up, realising what was important and what wasn’t, and having the strength to do what needed to be done, even if she didn’t want to.

The storyline was quite good, although it did have a rough patch. At 47% I didn’t think I was going to like this book, especially because of one of the ghosts who seemed to be telling Chloe that he was in love with her! I was really not impressed by that!
Thankfully the story picked up after this though, and even expanded, turning this story from a story about a girl and a ghost, to a story about a girl with the strength to save people she loved, and to put tortured ghosts to rest.

There was some romance, and funnily enough, I was kind-of glad when this turned into a love triangle. I really was not loving the whole ‘a ghost is in love with me’ thing, and so the arrival of a real live human boy to the mix was a bit of a relief!

The ending was good, and I liked the way things were resolved. The very last chapter left us with a bit of a cliff-hanger though, and I really want to read the next book in the series now to find out what is going on!
Overall; good ghost story,
7.5 out of 10

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't want to do this. I reeeeally did not want to do this. I've been trying to avoid it for months, reading a book, thinking bad thoughts about it but keeping myself under control and rating it a lowly couple of stars and just walking away.

But I cant do that anymore. Ghost House has broken me.


In short? This book is bad. Really bad. Frustratingly bad. I knew that by the end of chapter one. And yes, I continued to read. For anyone out there under similar impressions to me, thinking 'maybe I'll give this a try. Even if it starts out bad it could get better. Couldn't it?'


No it couldn't and no it doesn't. My one word of advice to you? Run. Drop this awful thing in the nearest bin and run away.



Now for the long? - Yes, that was the short. I ramble. ANYWAY...

My main issues. Because I'd be a hypocrite if I labelled a book frustratingly bad and didn't proceed to tell you why.

1.) Chloe is not an exciting protagonist. I said earlier that I knew from chapter one that this was not going to be a fun read, this was due to Chloe. Her mother has died just prior to the opening chapter and we begin at the funeral. Already I feel a nothingness from Chloe. Bare emotions, just cold descriptions with no emotions behind them. As the story goes on Chloe does not improve. We are told by numerous (generally male) characters how wonderful and vibrant and full of life she is. But we are never shown this in her actions or ways of thinking.


To be fair the characters who have said those things are the two love interests (Did Joe even stand a chance? I don't care that the author is telling me through Chloe he did because, er no, he did not) who are trying to get into Chloe's pants. So I guess props to them for being good liars?



--> The golden rule. Show me don't tell me.

2.) The 'love interests'. Yes, there is a love triangle. Turn away for fear of them spoilers.

As I said above, Joe (the one who is alive) never stood a chance. The dude took a chandeliar in the neck/body/some-vital-artery on Chloe's behalf after knowing her for about two weeks. Yes, the story spans a few weeks (it actually feels like days) and its enough time to get a love triangle. Anyway, Joe is described to us as being opposite of Alex yet also being perfect. He also basically confesses he is falling for Chloe after a few days of, er... what exactly did they do?
Have coffee // ride his motorbike // go into a barn where Chloe proceeds to tell him its haunted and confesses she sees ghosts. And he doesnt call her crazy. Because, she's pretty and American?(He's British) // asks her to the ball and she basically says 'sorry, you're really hot and all and if I hadn't met the dead guy first I'd totally be into you but, uh, apparently I'm into dead dudes' (she may not have said that last part. I digress).

Do you feel that? Its love, people!!


Alex isn't any better. He's the one we are supposed to root for (though I don't know why anyone would root for that guy). He's 150 years dead, has glorious golden hair (we are told this every three pages) and cheated with his brother's wife, which is the reason they are all dead and haunting Ghost House. What a stand up guy. They just don't make them like that anymore.

Anyway, my favourite part is when Chloe - in a dream state, because ghosts can enter your dreams and whatever happens in the dream totally counts as if it happened in the real world, though this is never touched on again after that one scene - is trying to seduce (I use the word thinly) Alex he stops her and says 'We aren't ready yet.'
We? WE? Who do you think you are, buddy?! Yes, Chloe has known you about four days and already wants to jump you but you do not have the right to tell her what to do. If you aren't ready say it but gahh this rubbed me up the wrong way. And she just accepts it! Upstanding heroine right here.
Mind you this seducing occurs because Chloe and Alex both feel the love for eachother. Makes sense after the four days they spent together that consisted of...
Talking on the stairs // Being stalked by Alex's crazy dead ex // Seeing flashbacks of Alex being seduced/painting/pronouncing undying love for said dead ex /// Talking about dead ex // Watching Chloe sleep (I don't even need to remind you of why that's familiar).

Oh Alex, tell me about your dead crazy psycho ghost ex one more time? #Feelings.



3.) Her friends. At first they sounded awful. And whats worse is Chloe doesn't defend them. When Joe calls them 'real housewives' or Alex exclaims 'why have you got photos of those harlots (on your phone)!' Chloe agrees with them! This is a direct quote from the book:

"Between the two of them, my friends could write a book of sexcapades to rival that of many thirty-year-olds. I'd lied to them about it (being a virgin) for fear of being labeled frigid, one of the more inedible of high-school stains."

Firstly, why is she friends with these people?! If you have to lie about your experience or lack there of sexually in fear of judgement, then they aren't really your friends. Secondly, so what if the girls could write a book of sexcapades? Why does Chloe get to fear being called frigid yet basically can go around judging her (apparently) overly sexual friends and laugh and agree with a 150 year dead cheating ghost who calls them harlots?

As the book went on I realised it wasn't her friends who were awful, its Chloe herself who is the awful one.

Seriously, I hate Chloe.

And Mondays.

4.) Final point (Hey, I told you this was the long part). The Harry Potter references.

I love Harry Potter. Give me all the references you want. I will take them on board. I will embrace those references.




But in this book the references confused me. Even as I've finished the book I don't know whether Chloe (and to an extent Adornetto herself) actually like Harry Potter or think its some geeky nerdfest. The first reference is made when Grandma Fee tells Chloe they will be holding a ball and she should attend. Chloe makes some reference to hanging out at SoHo house not some Hogwarts school ball.
That sounds like HP shaming (does anyone say that? I totally just coined that) to me.
Yet, later on when magical ghost stuff happens she keeps saying things like 'it sounded like some spell out of Harry Potter' or some 'Hogwartsy kind of magic'. Er, if you dislike HP and think its nerdy would you have that as your only pop culture reference in the whole book?
And if she is indeed a HP fan then why was the ball judged in such a snarky almost condescending way through the HP reference?

Look, Im all for a pop culture reference every once in a while. But you better have your intentions set.

And don't mess with my Harry.

Hiya, Harry!

Thats it, I'm done. Don't say I didn't warn you.

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never let it be said that I don't love a good ghost story. It doesn't matter the time of year, season, or whether it is night or day, I love them, sometimes crave them and seek them out every chance I get.

This has all the aspects of a good ghost story, without being so gruesome or frightening it is hard to stomach or will keep you up at night.

It will give you the chills and make you guess, maybe even creep you out at times but it isn't overly done or dramatic. With a setting ripe for the taking and a good haunting to take place, really you can't go wrong with this one.

Except, that it slightly did go wrong. It maybe was a bit too mild at times and the romance had a nasty habit of taking over the storyline and although it had a grand setting fit for a fabulous gothic feel, very little atmosphere was established and set for the story to really take root and thrive.

The story did get more solid as it went but still never lived up to it's expectations.


I can see a younger audience really liking the romance aspect and of course the unforeseeable cliff hanger at the end is sure to draw people back to read the second book simply because they are curious to see where the story will go from there but I don't think I will be one of them.

[K. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: death of a parent (It opens with her mother's funeral, if anyone tells me this is a spoiler and I've ruined the book for them I will scream), romantic relationship between a 17 year old and a 23 year old (who's been dead for 157 years), death of a child, cheating, drowning, suicide

This book was a trashfire. I mean, it was a very READABLE trashfire and I didn't have any of the problems with it that I did with, say, Twilight. But still a trashfire.

Like, the romantic relationship alone was enough to have me wanting to throw up. Can YA authors please stop telling teenage girls that it's okay for men in their 20s to be romantically interested in them? BECAUSE IT'S NOT. IT'S FUCKING DISGUSTING.

But when you add in the fact that two guys - one of whom is a ghost - fall almost instantly in love with Chloe, when you add in the fact that I honestly have no idea how long this story takes place over, when you add in the fact that she barely spares a thought for her recently deceased mother after the funeral is over, and when you factor in that the story of the two ghosts features the love interest - when he was alive - sleeping with his brother's wife, getting her pregnant, the brother finding out and killing both the baby and the love interest, and then both the brother and the wife killing themselves? Yeah, no. I'm not entirely sure how this stuff ended up in a YA book, but it did.

Also, he slut shames Chloe's friends and is all "YOU SHOULD PROTECT YOUR VIRTUE OR NO ONE WILL WANT TO MARRY YOU" but he also spends a lot of time hanging out in her bedroom watching her sleep. Like????????????

So yeah. Trashfire.

[Michael Dawson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book second hand for free somewhere and after reading a couple of pages even though the reason I picked up this book is because it had ghosts in it, the writing style and the characters put me off reading this book because the characters didn't have an interesting backstory.

[What Makes Patri · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club, to know more about this book, go to the post in our website:

Ghost House (The Ghost House Saga #1) by Alexandra Adornetto

If you are interested, you can visit our website:

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club's Review:

Rate: 4 stars

Review:

I was shocked when I entered on goodreads to mark this book as read and see a lot of people not liking the book. When I finished this book I went all crazy because I needed to know what happened next. I liked the story, the plot and the sinister and terrifying touch that Alexandra Adornetto used the welcome us to her new "Ghost World".

After Chloe's mother passes away, Chloe has to face a world without her and also the dead that she could control before are showing again. With a not so welcome trip to England, where her grandmother lives, all that ghost world that was left behind resurfaces in full force and she finds herself in the middle of a doomed love story that ended up with the lovers dead.

With a possessive vengeful spirit wondering around and a sweet, handsome gentleman who Chloe finds herself really attracted to, her life becomes more dangerous than ever.

I believe the plot from this story has a lot of potential and that Alexandra did a great job. It is true that the story is kind of slow, but for some reason I didn't find this annoying. Quite the opposite. I think the author gave enough time for the readers to understand Chloe's emotional state after losing her mother and brings out a normal teenage behavior towards something she does not want to do. After that, we have a transition, where we meet Alexander and scary Isobel while getting pieces of their story. As the story progresses the relationship between Alexander and Chloe is stronger than ever and I was always hanging into the book to read more of their private moments, wondering what would happen between them at the end. As for Isobel, her craziness and scary aura, keeps growing until the very end. It is true that there are some things unsaid and could be considered plot holes, but I think the story behind the pages is a good one.

The only thing I didn't quite know how to handle was Isobel's behavior. I knew she had issues: she was a possessive woman and her life was not easy. But her behavior as a ghost was very temperamental, you didn't know what would do: if she would end up killing everyone over a rant or going on inoffensive ghost without leaving the creepy part. I think this is because the author wanted to make her also a victim of life, but I would have wanted more scary Isobel all the time.

You know those stories who look like they are about to have an ending that would might leave you sad, because it was not the ending you were hoping for, but a good and nice one? The ones that allow the reader to sleep at night? Well, then Ghost House was about to be that book until the very last chapter where your inner book addict might go all crazy about it. I was left with some many questions, and not about the obvious one (How...?), but with a bunch of them that would might unravel all the mystery in the series.

I truly enjoyed Ghost House. It had the scary factor from the very first page and an impossible romance during the turmoil of dealing with the death of a loving one and a creepy and scary ghost trying to kill the main character. It is a slow story, that If you are willing to read it with patience might surprise you.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin TEEN for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

First, the good, what there was of it. It moved quickly because there was so much useless description, I could skim it easily. The ghost really was pretty terrifying, more so because she was unable to be reasoned with. So actual props on making a scary ghost.

Now the bad.

TSTL character. Love interest who was 1) dead, 2) an adulterer in his former life with his own brother's wife, 3) older than the MC female love interest.

Also, the "love" between the two of them was completely unrealistic. There was nothing there, no chemistry. They professed love, really it was obsession, but I never ONCE felt it. Not quite insta-love, but close.

Also, WHAT GIVES?!?! The MC male ghost can somewhat control the crazy murderous female ghost. He claims to love the living MC female. so why the HECK doesn't he keep a better eye on the cray-cray ghost and intervene BEFORE she gets all dangerous to others and stuff? Ok, you know what, that deletes a star. I don't like it when the characters SAY one thing, but their actions say something COMPLETELY different. Like, what the heck was he doing when the lady ghost was trying to drown people at the lake? Combing his golden hair?

Oh, another thing that irks me that I have seen more and more recently. An MC with the same, or VERY, similar name as the author. That is so full of ego it's not even funny. That or so lacking in originality that a different name for an MC can't be thought of. That's just sad.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. The female MC is an idiot, the male MC has horrible morals and the mother who died is only described as having long dark hair. The male MC is described EVERY SINGLE TIME he's seen by the female MC. I get it, he has Fabio's hair and cornflower blue eyes. Plot please? No? Ok.

1.5 stars, rounded down because as I was writing this review, I started to get angry and realized it wasn't worth two.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why did I do this to myself? I read the Halo series with my buds last year because the only way to choke it down is to lambast it aloud, and I guess I wanted to see what new mierda Adornetto is shoving down the throats of young girls.
The one reasonable thing I will say about this is that either the technicality of her writing is vaguely improved or she has a new editor. Other than that, it was literally nothing but a watery ripoff of Meg Cabot's Mediator series, with Adornetto's characteristic insta-love, sexist undertones, and other wonderful trademarks. The heroine is vapid and bitchy, and Adornetto tries SO HARD to breathe what she seems to think the modern teen is like into her that it's forced and painful. The love interest is more or less a cardboard cutout that's been instilled with the stereotypical traits of an 18th-century gentleman written into a fanfiction by a twelve-year-old. My favorite character was probably the villainous ghost, who was crazy but at least had character development, closely followed by the guy who actually has a bit of personality that the heroine of course isn't at all interested in.
Remember girls, all you should care about in life is yourself and chasing that ghostly booty! Forget friends, family, or future-- make out with a guy who's non-corporeal and terrifyingly obsessed with you after like a day.

[♡Julalicious Book Paradise♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating: 2.75/5

I really wanted to love this book because I love the author, but I couldn't wrap myself around the story.

I can't express what really bug me about this story... Perhaps, the characters didn't call to me or the idea didn't appeal as much as the story unfolded. I wouldn't be able to pinpoint where I realized... This wasn't for me.

The cliffhanger is just enough to make me want to read the next one, but since it doesn't have a release date, perhaps, I might never read it.

[Kara]

I tried, you guys. But after sampling this writing style, I know this book would drive me batty. First person, way too much telling. You are writing a ghost story in a historic hall. It NEEDS to be atmospheric. This is just...not.

Which means I don't even know if she handles the relationships or religion in this book the way she has in the past. And I am not masochistic enough to find out.

[Nancy The book junkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5/5

Review coming soon!

[Trisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had really tough time with this one. It felt like it drug, I didn't understand the draw of obsession with the love interests. And the story just didn't hold me. I had to push myself to read a chapter or 2 and then finally, just to sit down and finish it.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why did she have to fall for a ghost!? >:(