rachinthecosmere's review
1.0
DNF 48%
this book didn't capture my interest so far, so i decided to DNF it. i guess victoria schwab is not for me tbh.
this book didn't capture my interest so far, so i decided to DNF it. i guess victoria schwab is not for me tbh.
thebooksareeverywhere's review against another edition
4.0
Re-read October 2021
This is my second time reading this book as me and Alex are hosting a readalong of all 3 of these books throughout the next few weeks! You can join us on Twitter by using the hashtag #ghostsalong, and you can find more information in the YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/qvOrLkB1El8
On a second read, this book was just as much fun as the first time. I decided to read most of this on audio format and I absolutely loved it – it was such a great way to reread this one. The first time I read this, it made me want to visit Edinburgh, and I’m sad to say I still haven’t made it to Scotland. Yet again, this book drew me to the city once more with the atmosphere and adventure.
”Stories have power,” she says.
Cassidy makes for such an interesting main character and I love her friendships. She has such entertaining dynamics between the ghosts she can communicate with and her best friend Jacob. There are some interesting moral discussions raised by her surroundings and story, which I liked.
I really liked the writing, and found it super entertaining for an older reader. Although parts of the plot were slightly predictable, there is definitely enough for any age to enjoy and I found myself shocked at parts even re-reading this one.
”So long as you believe them.”
Overall, this is such an entertaining and fun start to the series and I can’t wait to carry on following Cassidy Blake on her adventures!
★★★★
4 out of 5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
This is my second time reading this book as me and Alex are hosting a readalong of all 3 of these books throughout the next few weeks! You can join us on Twitter by using the hashtag #ghostsalong, and you can find more information in the YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/qvOrLkB1El8
On a second read, this book was just as much fun as the first time. I decided to read most of this on audio format and I absolutely loved it – it was such a great way to reread this one. The first time I read this, it made me want to visit Edinburgh, and I’m sad to say I still haven’t made it to Scotland. Yet again, this book drew me to the city once more with the atmosphere and adventure.
”Stories have power,” she says.
Cassidy makes for such an interesting main character and I love her friendships. She has such entertaining dynamics between the ghosts she can communicate with and her best friend Jacob. There are some interesting moral discussions raised by her surroundings and story, which I liked.
I really liked the writing, and found it super entertaining for an older reader. Although parts of the plot were slightly predictable, there is definitely enough for any age to enjoy and I found myself shocked at parts even re-reading this one.
”So long as you believe them.”
Overall, this is such an entertaining and fun start to the series and I can’t wait to carry on following Cassidy Blake on her adventures!
★★★★
4 out of 5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
mouwuol's review
3.0
I looooved the atmosphere of this book, all dark and dusky but the characters were so bright. It was a fun little read :)
alexisneuville's review
4.0
Haven't read middle grade in a while, so I'm happy I picked this up. Another great novel from Victoria Schwab! Full review on the blog coming August 27.
Literary Lexi
Literary Lexi
kba76's review
4.0
A suitably spooky read for primary readers, but which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Cass almost died in a river, but she was saved by a young boy called Jacob. Jacob is dead. Now Cass straddles the lands of the living and the dead, and she can see ghosts.
This would be entertaining enough, but her parents are renowned for hunting ghosts even though they have no ability, and her father doesn’t even believe in them. However, they have been sent to Edinburgh to film a TV show and Cass finds herself in the middle of some dangerous situations.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not there are some spooky moments, and there’s a real sense of enjoyment to this. There’s also potential for more from Cass, as I can’t help but think Jacob won’t be quite what he appears to be.
Cass almost died in a river, but she was saved by a young boy called Jacob. Jacob is dead. Now Cass straddles the lands of the living and the dead, and she can see ghosts.
This would be entertaining enough, but her parents are renowned for hunting ghosts even though they have no ability, and her father doesn’t even believe in them. However, they have been sent to Edinburgh to film a TV show and Cass finds herself in the middle of some dangerous situations.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not there are some spooky moments, and there’s a real sense of enjoyment to this. There’s also potential for more from Cass, as I can’t help but think Jacob won’t be quite what he appears to be.
isabeltavares's review against another edition
4.0
4/9/2019
I reread this via audiobook and, as much as I love this story, I really disliked the narrator. Jacob's voice was exactly like Milhouse from The Simpsons, so that confused me a bit.
I mentioned that the Harry Potter/ J.K. references were overwhelming and it bothered my experience. This time around I wasn't as annoyed but it may be due to the fact that I was listening to it on my commute. Here's the reason why it bothers: I don't think Harry Potter should be the end-all-be-all of book series and J.K. Rowling isn't the best there is: I also always feel uncomfortable when we put a person on a pedestal and they can do no wrong. However, this is a personal taste and I just thought it should be mentioned. Obviously, it's not like this for everyone.
City of Ghosts premise is extremely interesting and I hope Cassidy starts to learn more about the Veil and her role in it. Her friendship with Jacob is wholesome and I don't want anything to happen to it! I am also curious about Edinburgh and the places they mentioned, so add that to my bucket list.
Overall, it's a great start to a middle-grade series and it's only mildly scary.
P.S. I hope Grim gets more screen time in the sequel. I know he's just a cat but as an honorary cat lady, I have to look out for him.
8/5/2019
I originally rated this as a five-star read and even though I do plan on rereading it before the second one comes out, I decided to lower it to a 4 star. It's a great start to a new series but I remember feeling a bit annoyed at all the "J.K. Rowling is so great" comments.
This is definitely a personal taste and I do plan on reviewing this better in the future.
I reread this via audiobook and, as much as I love this story, I really disliked the narrator. Jacob's voice was exactly like Milhouse from The Simpsons, so that confused me a bit.
I mentioned that the Harry Potter/ J.K. references were overwhelming and it bothered my experience. This time around I wasn't as annoyed but it may be due to the fact that I was listening to it on my commute. Here's the reason why it bothers: I don't think Harry Potter should be the end-all-be-all of book series and J.K. Rowling isn't the best there is: I also always feel uncomfortable when we put a person on a pedestal and they can do no wrong. However, this is a personal taste and I just thought it should be mentioned. Obviously, it's not like this for everyone.
City of Ghosts premise is extremely interesting and I hope Cassidy starts to learn more about the Veil and her role in it. Her friendship with Jacob is wholesome and I don't want anything to happen to it! I am also curious about Edinburgh and the places they mentioned, so add that to my bucket list.
Overall, it's a great start to a middle-grade series and it's only mildly scary.
P.S. I hope Grim gets more screen time in the sequel. I know he's just a cat but as an honorary cat lady, I have to look out for him.
8/5/2019
I originally rated this as a five-star read and even though I do plan on rereading it before the second one comes out, I decided to lower it to a 4 star. It's a great start to a new series but I remember feeling a bit annoyed at all the "J.K. Rowling is so great" comments.
This is definitely a personal taste and I do plan on reviewing this better in the future.
softstarrynights's review
3.0
I love V.E. Schwab but never got around to reading her new middle-grade series. While I wait for Darkdawn to come available from the library I saw that this was available and downloaded it to listen to while I did some painting. At only 5 hours of listening (bearing in mind I usually listen at x2) I finished this very quickly and thought it was decent enough middle-grade. If I had to compare it to any of her other works then it reminded me of The Near Witch in its style. Unfortunately, that is my least favourite of her books, so City of Ghosts didn't really make much of an impression on me. I understand that I'm not the target demographic for this book and that I don't read a lot of middle-grade but I'm not sure this would have been my sort of thing. However, there is one character who I'm really interested in and that just might be enough to keep me going with the series.