Wednesday 11 December 2019

I was a Teenage Ghost Hunter: Volume 1 by Brian.K. Henry





Publisher's Information

Moody sixteen-year-old barista Devin Mulwray is doing his best to ignore bizarre manifestations at his job in the chilly Northern California town of Arcata. Already teased about his recurrent ‘phase-outs’, the last thing he needs is to get pegged as a guy who sees ghosts. It doesn’t help his state of mind that his boss is a sarcastic slacker, his single dad is always on the road with clients and local occult fan girl Nayra is spreading ‘ghost boy’ rumours about him online.

But when violent paranormal activity badly spooks teens at an abandoned estate, Devin’s pushed into investigating by his eccentric friends Clive, a budding composer, and Rex, a tech head excited by ghost hunting gadgetry. At first reluctant to get involved, Devin’s encouraged when Emily, one of the more empathetic girls at Grey Bluff High, is impressed with his daring.

Together the friends explore the creepy Rousten manor. But as the only person able to perceive the manifestations, Devin soon finds himself going one-on-one against a powerful spirit who attacks the locals and infiltrates Devin’s own dreams.

Devin must face his fear of confronting the spirit world and get to the bottom of the haunting before the spectre unleashes more havoc on him and his friends.

Wattpad readers loved I Was a Teenage Ghost Hunter. Here is a sample from fans who read the book when it was featured on Wattpad:

“Best ending ever!!! I loved it, you've done a seriously great job and it was such an awesome read. I really love Devin and everything about this book :) " Bookworm177

“Done reading this last night, and it was awesome! What a spooky story indeed. Clive and Rex's bickering moments were also funny!...You have my 30 votes. :) " - Chemister

"amazing story I enjoyed it very much...and it kept a mystery element till the end :) thank you for uploading it! keep up the good work! :) " - Sriparnaman

"Thanks for the awesome book. I love ghost stories and I count this as one of the best that I read. Please do write another. :D " Robby_Lao

                                              
A twisty tale with horror, comedy and adventure. There was lots of humour in the story which kept the scenes light rather than scary. I really enjoyed Devin. I was quite intrigued by him and wanted to find out more about the source of his gift and how it affected him growing up. His side kick friends were a fun bunch and their antics added to the humour. I also loved how the author wrote the ghost's ability to physically manifest and its ability to manipulate objects; clothes and books, and use them as weapons. The flying objects were a nice touch. Who wouldn't love a library where your books could rearrange themselves in a neat and orderly manner?

The story is billed as Young Adult but I imagine that younger teens will be tempted to give up once started because a large amount of the vocabulary is too advanced for them. Added to this are the very wordy descriptive passages. In the first half of the book everything is described in minute detail making sentences very long and laborious to read. This lessened somewhat as the story progressed and the pace of the book sped up as a result.

I enjoyed the second half of the book more because it was full of drama and the pace was quicker.  Everything came to a satisfactory conclusion at the end.


I Was a Teenage Ghost Hunter is available now. Amazon

Tuesday 10 December 2019

We Met in December by Rosie Curtis, Narrated by Jessica Preddy and Finlay Robertson, (2019)



Prepare to fall head over heels. This is the perfect book for fans of Josie Silver, Richard Curtis and anyone who ever fell in love with the wrong person.
What if you couldn't get away from the one who got away?
Unlucky in love Jess is following her dream and moving to London. It's December, and she's taking a room in a crumbling Notting Hill house-share with four strangers. On her first night Jess meets Alex, the guy sharing her floor. They don't kiss under the mistletoe, but as far as Jess is concerned, the connection is instant. She lets herself imagine how their relationship will grow over the following year. 
But when Jess returns from a Christmas holiday, she finds Alex has started dating someone else - beautiful Emma, who lives on the floor above them. Now Jess faces a year of bumping into (hell, sharing a bathroom with) the man of her dreams...and the woman of his. 
Jess is determined to move on and survive the next 12 months...but love has a way of hampering even the best laid plans.... 
Set over the course of one life-changing year, this is the most uplifting and moving love story of 2019.






The story is cute and romantic. Events take place over the course of a year so it is quite a slow romance in terms of them getting together but it's so worth the wait. You get a good sense of how it's all going to play out so just relax, sit back and enjoy the journey. 
The two protagonists begin the year with an instant attraction but they muck it up and end up dating other people. They spend the rest of the year being best friends and sight seeing around London together in their spare time. I loved those heart warming scenes where they spent a lot of time together and chatted.
I was pulled along with them, eagerly waiting for the eureka moment when they would finally get together. 
I loved the dual narration in this book. Both narrators were excellent and the story was made that bit more dramatic by having the two. 
If this came out as a Christmas movie I would definitely go see it. For a squeezy dose of feel good feelings this book is it! 

I'm almost sorry I didn't save this one for Christmas Day. It's lovely.
#WeMetInDecember #Avon #HarperCollins

We Met in December is out now. AudioBooks.com    Audible 

Also available in paperback Book Depository

Only £1.01 for Amazon Kindle