From the Bookshelf of Turning Pages At Midnight…

The Ghostwriter

A.R. Torre

Start date: December 11, 2017

Finish date: December 17, 2017

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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What Members Thought

Oct 02, 2017 CC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, feels, thriller-suspense-mystery, f-br

Helena Ross is a successful author living with a secret. Even though Helena writes relatable characters, she has struggled with establishing connections and guards her essence with certain rules. For the past four years, Helena’s choices further compounded her need for a solitary existence. After receiving news of her terminal illness she decides to tell her story and learns the value of honesty, acceptance and friendship.

“Once I write her story, she will be real, she will be exposed, dead to edits but open to everyone’s eyes.”

Over the next three months, Helena shares her story in what will be the last book of her career. Along the way, Helena’s defenses become penetrable and her perspective seems to slightly shift. While this occurs, the inevitable is looming and the tension of Helena’s secret mounts.

“How can a person know what they can handle if they aren’t challenged by life?”

Told in multiple POVs, Helena’s words set the landscape of a grim narrative about a neglected attempt at marriage, motherhood and other successive failures. With a strong secondary cast supporting the pacing of Helena’s biopic, they add dimension to the tragedies but also breakthrough moments underscoring the gravity of Helena’s loss of time and misdirected behavior.

As the story unfolds, the pacing is fairly measured with questions being raised at different intervals in search of the ultimate answer with a twisty revelation. While Helena doesn’t make it easy to like her, she does have relatable emotions, especially those that make her question how to assimilate or experience a sense of normalcy. Of course, her deepest regret is eroding what’s left of her emotional and physical strength.

Knowing this book is Alessandra Torre’s first foray into the non-romance genre, it is a worthy effort showcasing her stylistically recognizable prose. Though I was expecting a deeper connection with the protagonist and felt some plot points needed further introspection, the story held my interest and I empathized with the reality of her predicament.

Steeped in contemporary fiction with elements of suspense The Ghostwriter is a book about sacrifice, loss, and acceptance.

*An ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

*This was a (F)BR with Twinsie Hawkey and Loyda!

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Nov 30, 2017 Jennifer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: loved-it, devoured, suspenseful, intriguing

Just amazing.... I'm a little speechless right now! Just no words... It's taking me a little bit to write this review because what words do you use to describe a book that just leaves you with no words! A book that just blows you away and leaves you thinking that was just genius! That is how i felt after reading The Ghostwriter! It's so twisted and delicious I have no way to express how much I loved it!! Just to say GO READ THIS BOOK!!!

The story is just so brilliant and the story played out in ...more

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Oct 16, 2017 Beth McCraw rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Holy cow, this was so good

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Sep 30, 2017 Julie rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc

Expiration dates…….so many things possess them. It’s the final notice that many ignore. When it comes to your life, it puts a finality on every moment that has passed. A chance to reflect on the good and the bad. For Helena Ross - writing has always been the focus in her life. The ‘final notice’ on her time on this earth leaves Helena contemplating a story that must be told. The final chapter on that untold tale that will shake things up when she is gone. The only question is how can this final Expiration dates…….so many things possess them. It’s the final notice that many ignore. When it comes to your life, it puts a finality on every moment that has passed. A chance to reflect on the good and the bad. For Helena Ross - writing has always been the focus in her life. The ‘final notice’ on her time on this earth leaves Helena contemplating a story that must be told. The final chapter on that untold tale that will shake things up when she is gone. The only question is how can this final book be written before Helena’s passing? The only solution Helena can see revolves around a Ghostwriter.

With quirks and demands throughout her career that have left her ‘friendless’ and alone, Helena knows that there can be only one person who she trusts to make this book happen. A rival in the industry known for turning out book after book. What Helena didn’t expect was to have the people she turned away rally around her for this final hurrah!! A culmination of years worth of trials and tribulation that have lead to this moment. A final time to place pen upon paper.

Nothing could have prepared Helena to relive those moments with someone that was quickly becoming more ‘friend’ than ‘foe’. The only question remaining is if this last verse will make it to see the light of day. Putting all of her hurt and heartache aside, Helena pushes through the pain to find the courage to share one of the most epic novels with the one that will help her through it all.

First let me start by saying that if you are a fan of the author, this novel is unlike any of her previous works. The story has a life of its own that will lead you down a path of heartache and hurt. While I enjoyed the story as a whole, I managed to figure out the plot long before I probably should have. There were moments that I felt could have had more realistic occurrences. The premise that a Ghostwriter would automatically accept Helena’s terms without much resistance just didn’t pan out for me.

Then there is the tag line that the novel falls into the suspense category. Nope…..definitely not suspenseful in the content. Which was a bit of a letdown when I finished the book. With that said, The Ghostwriter DOES have one of the more unique story lines to date from the author. A fact that should be acknowledged in this market of repetitive story ideas. The Ghostwriter falls into its own category. One that will lead readers on a path of indecision, second looks, and a heartache so deep you will feel it through the words in each chapter. ...more

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Sep 30, 2017 Heather rated it it was amazing

OMG! This is hands down the best book I've read this year. (And I've read a lot of books) The Ghostwriter was unlike any book I've ever read. It was highly suspenseful, I never knew what to expect from page to page. Helena Ross is a best selling author who is writing the very last book of her life. It's her story, a story no one else knows. Helena was a bitter woman who I didn't initially understand. As I read the story everything she said or did made more sense. I devoured this book. It consume ...more

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Apr 14, 2018 Lori rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-unlimited

There are books, that when you finish them, you know they will linger in your mind and you will not soon forget them. The Ghostwriter is one of those books. The Ghostwriter is a complex story of a woman, a writer, who is writing the most important book of her life. Alessandra Torre takes her time, helping the reader to get to known Helena, the main character, in such a way that at times you are disliking her and then without realizing it you are falling in love with her. I did smile some while r ...more

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Dec 26, 2018 Jecca rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Dark, heartbreaking, and fantastic in a way that only something this raw can be

Heartbreaking. Gut-wrenching. Real and raw and not what I expected. I'm not a crier when I read, but I shed some ugly tears reading this book, discovering Helena. It's kept me up all night. It's made me go and sit with my son as he sleeps. It's made me snuggle up to my husband tighter as I climb back in bed with him. It's made me more aware of how much I KNOW them and how much I LOVE them. I didn't know I wasn't appre ...more

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Oct 12, 2017 Rebecca Kelly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Heavy ending

I'll be honest, I love this author. She is always one of the few I buy as soon as the book comes out. This book I did the same and started reading right away buyout I was disappointed how long it took me to truly bribe invested in the story. I liked the concept and the characters as well but something about it just wasn't clicking and then I get about 50% through and I couldn't put it down. You pretty much know at least part of the ending from the very beginning but the rest you agon ...more

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