Ghosted

by Rosie Talbot

When Mitch finds out that someone is beating up his ex-bestfriend Charlie, he knows he shouldn't care, let alone get involved. But if there is one thing Mitch hates more than the secrets that drove them apart, it's bullies.

Heartstopper with paranormal undertones, this short story set in the world of Sixteen Souls explores friendship, queer identities and falling in love.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, LGBT, Young Adult, Romance, Queer, Contemporary

49 pages, ebook

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

A lover of dark and tightly woven stories, Rosie is inspired by creepy things in junk shops, haunted houses and strange magic. She is a graduate of Curtis Brown Creative and Write Mentor.

By day she works as a bookseller. By night, she spends time sewing big skirts with even bigger pockets and wondering why her family has a suspiciously large collection of cauldrons. She currently resides in a mysterious pocket of the Sussex countryside with her very patient spouse and two cats called Tinkerfluff and Captain Haddock.

You can connect with Rosie via Tiktok and Instagram (@merrowchild) or on her website www.rosietalbot.co.uk.

Reviews

[River · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

[Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shortstorys find ich immer schwer zu bewerten, aber gab nen guten Einblick auf eine ein paar Charaktere von Sixteen Souls aus einer anderen Perspektive, fands nice als Ergänzenung:) War nur bisschen wired, das Ebook zu bekommen, musste dafür den Newsletter der Autorin abonnieren 🦦

[Lazzyig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this a few days after twelve bones :(((

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The first thing you need to know about me is that I seem like I’ve got it all together…but look up 'disaster' in the dictionary and it's a painful image of me kissing my best friend.”

Ghosted is a prequel short story to Sixteen Souls. Centring around Charlie’s former best friend, we get Mitch’s perspective about what happened in France as he witnesses Charlie enter the death loop that changed everything. This short story gives us an insight into the depth of Mitch’s feelings towards Charlie and the ways in which he has looked out for him in the background.

Ghosted feels very much like a coming-of-age story for Mitch as he grapples with his sexuality, romantic attraction towards his friends, and an abusive home environment. I can’t believe how much character growth and emotion has been packed into just 49 pages 🤍

I would 100% recommend reading this as a companion book to the main series.

[Reuben Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic companion to Sixteen Souls. It was so interesting getting inside Mitch's head and seeing his perspective on the lead up to things, and I just want to give them all a big cuddle. Please never stop writing these characters Ms Talbot 😭

[JennyBuysBooks | Find me on Fable! · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made me so sad for Mitch

[Drakoulis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mitch was one of the pleasant surprises of Sixteen Souls - we rarely get to see the consequences for the friends who get left out of the supernatural "awakening" of the main character. Well, Mitch didn't abandon Charlie as you already know from Sixteen Souls, but Charlie was not in a good place to see that.

Mitch's POV of the events will make you smile (knowing that in the end he and Charlie become friends again) and you will also see the start of his relationship with Leonie (which is very puppy-love in an odd British-slang-using way).

Goodreads, stop removing Ghosted from your database!

[Sophie Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at the events prior to Sixteen Souls through the eyes of a different character.

[Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Content warnings for Ghosted include: bullying, homophobia, domestic abuse, toxic relationships, parental sickness, and mentions of self-harm.
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Ghosted is a short story following some of the characters found in Sixteen Souls, namely Mitch and Leonie primarily.
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It's a prequel to Sixteen Souls, and goes into the lives of some of those characters, and talks about events featured in it, but from different perspectives.
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This isn't my first time reading it, but it was a fun time all the same.