e-Audio, 08:42:09
Narrated by: Sarah Skaer
Release Date: April 30, 2024
Published by: Hachette Audio (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Read from: May 11-12, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
Content Warning: Grief, Loss of a best friend
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Asian), Realistic Fiction, YAPerfect for fans of the buzzworthy tearjerker You’ve Reached Sam , this emotional will-they-won’t-they romance follows Natalie and Leander, two teens who navigate love, loss, and everything in between during a fateful summer internship.
Natalie and Imogen are inseparable, and wildly different—Imogen is infuriatingly humble and incredibly intelligent, while Natalie is brave, jumping into danger and new adventures. Still, one thing ties them their love of the supernatural. Every summer, they vacation with their parents at the famously haunted Harlow Hotel. Imogen is a true believer, while Natalie sees ghost stories as nothing but pure fun.
Then, Imogen suddenly passes away from an undiagnosed heart condition that no one saw coming, and Natalie is left to take on the summer before senior year alone.
Without Imogen, Natalie throws herself into her senior project. Her passion is still horror, so she plans to spend her summer back at The Harlow Hotel recording fun fake footage that will get her on the teen ghost hunting show of her dreams. And her plans would be a lot less complicated if Leander, her irritatingly attractive arch rival from school, wasn’t working on his senior project at the very same hotel.
The longer Natalie stays at the Harlow Hotel, the more she realizes that Leander might be helpful for her project. After all, she could use an extra hand to help record her fake footage.
But, when strange things start happening at the Harlow, Natalie wonders, could there really be something to these ghosts after all?
Readers of Emily X.R. Pan, Nina LaCour, and Dustin Thao will fall for this story that explores what it means to believe—in ghosts, in the people you love, and in yourself.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I hate to say I was excited for this one since someone loses their best friend, but with author name drops like Emily X.R. Pan and Nina LaCour, I knew I needed to read it immediately. Add on to this the ghost hunting and stuff and it was everything I needed. And in most ways it was, but in some ways I was a bit disappointed.
The bit I was disappointed in is probably a me thing, but I still think it needs to be said. I get the whole bit about not believing that her friend came back, but for some, seeing those little bits and pieces of memories in some ways, whether or not they were coincidences, can help people to feel better. I don’t think it’s ok to make them feel like what they’re feeling is fake or bad. I don’t get that this was the intention, but I don’t want anyone to feel bad about actually believing. This is a touchy subject because everyone grieves differently and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. While it shined light on their way of thinking, I can’t help but to think it alienates those that find those “small instances from their loved ones in Heaven.”
Everything else was pretty cool. I liked the way the two teens were there for each other and got help with their issues before they got together. As teens that’s not something they would normally even think of, so I was very impressed with the way they first took care of each other. And I also was impressed with their investigative skills. They were more observant than most adults I know lol But I know they had been working on things like this for a while, but it was still impressive.
The romance itself was a bit of the back burner. She hated him for a piece of the book but then they started getting closer once they started working at the hotel. It was your average enemies to lovers. And I actually didn’t mind the amount of time they spent together in this book. It seemed like it was more of a coming of age book and not actually a romance book. They came together when they needed each other and I loved that.
The writing style was ok tho. I think the characters were ok and the plot was really good. Definitely gave everything I love about a book. I can’t wait to read more by Mariko Turk. This author is definitely going on my authors to read.
Overall, I give this
