A review by alistairlowe
Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas
4.0
“It was enough. It was enough to make me realize that most people enjoyed horror because it was far removed from their reality, while I enjoyed it because it showed me I didn’t have it so bad, not really. “
I was once again drawn by the cover! Look how beautiful it is!!!
This sounded like something along the lines of Cemetery Boys which I liked so I was keeping an eye on it. I have to say I didn’t even notice the author until I got it and imagine my surprise it’s by Leah Thomas. I read Because You’ll Never Meet Me few years back and I absolutely loved it so I expected no less of this book.
The story sets place in period of late 90’s to early 2000’s and it focuses on Dani who is coming to terms with the fact that he is trans while also being able to see ghosts. Dani’s only friend is a ghost named Sarah who doesn’t want to speak about her death. The main plot kicks in when Sarah convinces Dani to help some ghosts they run into which turns out to be a lot more dangerous than they expected.
I do have to say I think that the synopsis of this book is somewhat misleading. That did not affect my rating or enjoyment of this book but I think for some people it might. The synopsis literally says:
“Dani and Sarah might be more than friends, though Dani dares not say so. Dani is afraid that if he tells Sarah he’s trans, she won’t bother haunting him anymore.“
So I totally expected some ghostly romance between Dani and Sarah. However it turns out Sarah has feelings for Dani, but Dani pretty much rejects her for the whole book and it in fact makes him quite uncomfortable. There is actually a different love interest for Dani and I really liked how that relationship developed and even preferred it, I was just totally expecting something else.
This is a pretty heavy and dark book. It deals with trauma, murder, assault, sexual abuse, suicide and so on. There is a lot of emphasis on women who have been wronged by men. I thought that was handled really well. There is no sugarcoating, the pain they felt was portrayed as brutal and sick as it really is. However because it deals with such topics it might not be a book for everyone.
Personally I loved the characters and the way Leah Thomas writes. All of the side characters were very intriguing. The story was well paced even though there was a lot happening. Some thing were left with an open ending but I feel like it works better that way instead of giving them closure.
There are some minor things I take issue with which is why this is a 4 star read for me. Overall I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to Leah Thomas’s books in the future.
I was once again drawn by the cover! Look how beautiful it is!!!
This sounded like something along the lines of Cemetery Boys which I liked so I was keeping an eye on it. I have to say I didn’t even notice the author until I got it and imagine my surprise it’s by Leah Thomas. I read Because You’ll Never Meet Me few years back and I absolutely loved it so I expected no less of this book.
The story sets place in period of late 90’s to early 2000’s and it focuses on Dani who is coming to terms with the fact that he is trans while also being able to see ghosts. Dani’s only friend is a ghost named Sarah who doesn’t want to speak about her death. The main plot kicks in when Sarah convinces Dani to help some ghosts they run into which turns out to be a lot more dangerous than they expected.
I do have to say I think that the synopsis of this book is somewhat misleading. That did not affect my rating or enjoyment of this book but I think for some people it might. The synopsis literally says:
“Dani and Sarah might be more than friends, though Dani dares not say so. Dani is afraid that if he tells Sarah he’s trans, she won’t bother haunting him anymore.“
So I totally expected some ghostly romance between Dani and Sarah. However it turns out Sarah has feelings for Dani, but Dani pretty much rejects her for the whole book and it in fact makes him quite uncomfortable. There is actually a different love interest for Dani and I really liked how that relationship developed and even preferred it, I was just totally expecting something else.
This is a pretty heavy and dark book. It deals with trauma, murder, assault, sexual abuse, suicide and so on. There is a lot of emphasis on women who have been wronged by men. I thought that was handled really well. There is no sugarcoating, the pain they felt was portrayed as brutal and sick as it really is. However because it deals with such topics it might not be a book for everyone.
Personally I loved the characters and the way Leah Thomas writes. All of the side characters were very intriguing. The story was well paced even though there was a lot happening. Some thing were left with an open ending but I feel like it works better that way instead of giving them closure.
There are some minor things I take issue with which is why this is a 4 star read for me. Overall I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to Leah Thomas’s books in the future.