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Ghost Slayer #1
Ghost Slayer
Twenty-one-year-old Kaelyn has spent half her life hunting ghosts and killing them. But she’s not like the other ghost hunters who have to rely on spells and curses to banish ghosts back to where they came from, hoping that they don’t come back. When Kaelyn kills a ghost, they stay dead.
But in Mortimer Hall, a behemoth of a house, Kaelyn is about to face the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she ever met, and what she doesn’t know is that the ghost has been waiting just for her…
But in Mortimer Hall, a behemoth of a house, Kaelyn is about to face the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she ever met, and what she doesn’t know is that the ghost has been waiting just for her…
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 24, 2018
2 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Majanka Verstraete
70 books404 followersAuthor Majanka Verstraete has written more than twenty unique works of fiction. A native of Belgium, Majanka’s novels explore the true nature of monsters: the good, the bad, and just about every species in between. Her young adult books include the acclaimed Mirrorland (YA Dark Fantasy) and Angel of Death (YA Paranormal) series of novels.
Majanka is currently developing a new YA shifter series with a fresh take on fierce female detectives called THE ADVENTURES OF MARISOL HOLMES which will be published by Monster House Books in October 2018.
Her NA paranormal romance series, Ghost Slayer, has been picked up by Fire Quill Publishing. The first volume will be released in 2017.
When she’s not writing, Majanka is probably playing World of Warcraft or catching up with the dozens of TV series she’s addicted to.
You can find more about my books on http://majankaverstraete.com
Majanka is currently developing a new YA shifter series with a fresh take on fierce female detectives called THE ADVENTURES OF MARISOL HOLMES which will be published by Monster House Books in October 2018.
Her NA paranormal romance series, Ghost Slayer, has been picked up by Fire Quill Publishing. The first volume will be released in 2017.
When she’s not writing, Majanka is probably playing World of Warcraft or catching up with the dozens of TV series she’s addicted to.
You can find more about my books on http://majankaverstraete.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
March 26, 2018
I try not to give books genuinely harsh reviews unless they’re downright offensive. If you look at my 1-star reviews, almost all of them are because the book was incredibly problematic, and that’s not an issue with this book (there are a few issues, but nothing blaring). I made a concerted effort to round this up to 2 stars, but while jotting down the outline of this review, I realized it didn’t stand a chance. I actually tried to write a comprehensive, full review for this book, but after it reached several paragraphs of ranting, I decided to just make a list of all the reasons why I hate this book.
• The dialogue is incredibly stilted and has no natural flow. It’s honestly downright awkward to read.
• Kaelyn, the narrator, repeats and contradicts herself constantly.
• The MC makes herself out as a lonely old woman recovering from an abusive relationship or something, when we find out she’s 21, her only relationship was when she was 16, the whole thing was a bizarre misunderstanding, and, oh, right, they never stopped loving each other. Of course.
• There’s a side character at the beginning of the book who we are told Kaelyn hardly knows, and has barely spoken to, but two chapters later, she begins referring to the character as her “best friend”. And that character proceeds to almost never be called by name, she’s just “my best friend” or “my BFF”. Despite, you know… the girls hardly knowing each other. Oh, and Kaelyn slut-shames the “BFF” at the beginning of the book.
• Hoooooooly Mary Sues, Batman! This MC is completely inept, but considers herself a gift to the world of ghost slaying, and we are constantly reminded of how powerful she is, how strong her “senses” are, etc.—despite the fact that she literally fails at 99% of the tasks she sets out to do in this story.
• Plot twists! Everywhere! And none of them make any sense or get any explanations!
• We’re expected to believe that Kaelyn’s mother has been dead for, like, a decade, and CPS never took this little girl in? Also, ghosts can’t touch things and non-slayer people, except her mom makes her pancakes every morning?
• Characters constantly start to say terrible, foreboding things before being cut off and then it never gets brought up again. WHY DID YOU START THE SENTENCE, THEN?
• Every single side character is horrible, one-dimensional, boring, plain, and overly simplified. There is literally no exception to this statement.
• So many things happen that just aren’t realistic, but not even in a paranormal way. Like, Kaelyn says she’s never had alcohol, but then downs half a tumbler of whiskey and says, “Mm, tastes good!” … what? Have you ever had whiskey? Nobody likes cheap whiskey on their first try. (Most people don’t like cheap whiskey on their hundredth try.) (I’m going to stop being so petty now.)
The only thing I liked about this book was that it was an incredibly quick read, but even that was a double-edged sword, because I have a hard time DNFing short books (“it’s only gonna take me another 30 minutes!”) and then I finish the book and think, “Okay, but, every minute I spent on that book was still a waste.”
Like… I honestly wanted to like this book. I was pumped for it. I loved the cover, I loved the idea of it, and I was like, “Yeah! Finally gonna start reading some new adult ARCs! Finally gonna get some good ghost hunting stories started!” And then this book just fell flat in literally every single possible way I could ever have imagined, and I am so sad that I ever read it at all.
• The dialogue is incredibly stilted and has no natural flow. It’s honestly downright awkward to read.
• Kaelyn, the narrator, repeats and contradicts herself constantly.
• The MC makes herself out as a lonely old woman recovering from an abusive relationship or something, when we find out she’s 21, her only relationship was when she was 16, the whole thing was a bizarre misunderstanding, and, oh, right, they never stopped loving each other. Of course.
• There’s a side character at the beginning of the book who we are told Kaelyn hardly knows, and has barely spoken to, but two chapters later, she begins referring to the character as her “best friend”. And that character proceeds to almost never be called by name, she’s just “my best friend” or “my BFF”. Despite, you know… the girls hardly knowing each other. Oh, and Kaelyn slut-shames the “BFF” at the beginning of the book.
• Hoooooooly Mary Sues, Batman! This MC is completely inept, but considers herself a gift to the world of ghost slaying, and we are constantly reminded of how powerful she is, how strong her “senses” are, etc.—despite the fact that she literally fails at 99% of the tasks she sets out to do in this story.
• Plot twists! Everywhere! And none of them make any sense or get any explanations!
• We’re expected to believe that Kaelyn’s mother has been dead for, like, a decade, and CPS never took this little girl in? Also, ghosts can’t touch things and non-slayer people, except her mom makes her pancakes every morning?
• Characters constantly start to say terrible, foreboding things before being cut off and then it never gets brought up again. WHY DID YOU START THE SENTENCE, THEN?
• Every single side character is horrible, one-dimensional, boring, plain, and overly simplified. There is literally no exception to this statement.
• So many things happen that just aren’t realistic, but not even in a paranormal way. Like, Kaelyn says she’s never had alcohol, but then downs half a tumbler of whiskey and says, “Mm, tastes good!” … what? Have you ever had whiskey? Nobody likes cheap whiskey on their first try. (Most people don’t like cheap whiskey on their hundredth try.) (I’m going to stop being so petty now.)
The only thing I liked about this book was that it was an incredibly quick read, but even that was a double-edged sword, because I have a hard time DNFing short books (“it’s only gonna take me another 30 minutes!”) and then I finish the book and think, “Okay, but, every minute I spent on that book was still a waste.”
Like… I honestly wanted to like this book. I was pumped for it. I loved the cover, I loved the idea of it, and I was like, “Yeah! Finally gonna start reading some new adult ARCs! Finally gonna get some good ghost hunting stories started!” And then this book just fell flat in literally every single possible way I could ever have imagined, and I am so sad that I ever read it at all.
October 16, 2017
I received an arc of this novel in exchange for a honest review. Thank you, Netgalley and Fire Quill Publishing, for the opportunity!
Ghost Slayer by Majanka Verstraete pretty much fulfills every YA cliché. While I still had some hopes when I started reading it, I found myself rolling my eyes more and more often towards the middle and the end of the book. It felt like a 2010 throwback … and at a bad one at that.
Things I did not enjoy:
・ The main character Kaelyn is a Mary Sue par excellence. She's got the green eyes and the dark hair and pretends to be super badass because she's a Ghost Slayer. Except she doesn't really slay ghosts, and every time she encounters one, she founds herself glued to the floor. A shame, considering she's been doing this for years.
・ Even worse: She stops pretending to be strong as soon as the love interest aka Alex Miller is around. He touches her and – BOOM – his touch suddenly is everything that's holding her together, that's making her strong. Without him, she couldn't survive anything. (That's pretty much quoted.)
・ The story didn't make SENSE. Literally NOTHING was explained. Every time the topic Ghost Slayers comes up, an explanation is left out. Even the most basic questions (what makes Kaelyn a Ghost Slayer, how did she end up becoming one, why is she so bad at slaying ghosts?) are left unanswered.
・ No, wait, it actually gets worse. Some questions are answered, and answered so badly that the book made even less sense. It was a mess. There were plotholes everywhere, giving me the feeling I was reading a first draft, not an arc.
・ The writing was bad as well. When I first started reading Ghost Slayer, I thought it was just a little bit too simple (especially considering Kaelyn is 21 yet behaves like a ten-year-old), but it really is bad. It's repetitive. There's just telling, not showing.
・ I didn't connect to any characters. Because of a) the bad writing, b) the bland characters, c) the gaping plotholes. Self-explanatory.
I'm sorry, but … I literally can't say anything good about this book. I could read it pretty quickly because of the simple-yet-really-bad writing, but in the end, it was a waste of my time. Don't repeat my mistake.
Ghost Slayer by Majanka Verstraete pretty much fulfills every YA cliché. While I still had some hopes when I started reading it, I found myself rolling my eyes more and more often towards the middle and the end of the book. It felt like a 2010 throwback … and at a bad one at that.
Things I did not enjoy:
・ The main character Kaelyn is a Mary Sue par excellence. She's got the green eyes and the dark hair and pretends to be super badass because she's a Ghost Slayer. Except she doesn't really slay ghosts, and every time she encounters one, she founds herself glued to the floor. A shame, considering she's been doing this for years.
・ Even worse: She stops pretending to be strong as soon as the love interest aka Alex Miller is around. He touches her and – BOOM – his touch suddenly is everything that's holding her together, that's making her strong. Without him, she couldn't survive anything. (That's pretty much quoted.)
・ The story didn't make SENSE. Literally NOTHING was explained. Every time the topic Ghost Slayers comes up, an explanation is left out. Even the most basic questions (what makes Kaelyn a Ghost Slayer, how did she end up becoming one, why is she so bad at slaying ghosts?) are left unanswered.
・ No, wait, it actually gets worse. Some questions are answered, and answered so badly that the book made even less sense. It was a mess. There were plotholes everywhere, giving me the feeling I was reading a first draft, not an arc.
・ The writing was bad as well. When I first started reading Ghost Slayer, I thought it was just a little bit too simple (especially considering Kaelyn is 21 yet behaves like a ten-year-old), but it really is bad. It's repetitive. There's just telling, not showing.
・ I didn't connect to any characters. Because of a) the bad writing, b) the bland characters, c) the gaping plotholes. Self-explanatory.
I'm sorry, but … I literally can't say anything good about this book. I could read it pretty quickly because of the simple-yet-really-bad writing, but in the end, it was a waste of my time. Don't repeat my mistake.
April 25, 2018
*Source* NetGalley
*Genre* New Adult, Paranormal Romance
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Ghost Slayer is the first installment in author Majanka Verstraete's Ghost Slayer series. The story really starts out wonderfully. Kaelyn is on a job trying to get rid of a 19th century ghost who has killed several people. Why should I care, you ask? Because when Kaelyn gets a job, she does what she is paid to do; remove ghosts permanently. The other curiosity is her relationship with her mother. No, I am not going to spoil it for you.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
*Genre* New Adult, Paranormal Romance
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Ghost Slayer is the first installment in author Majanka Verstraete's Ghost Slayer series. The story really starts out wonderfully. Kaelyn is on a job trying to get rid of a 19th century ghost who has killed several people. Why should I care, you ask? Because when Kaelyn gets a job, she does what she is paid to do; remove ghosts permanently. The other curiosity is her relationship with her mother. No, I am not going to spoil it for you.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
October 7, 2017
Verstraete is a Hitchcock author! A ghost story can make one shiver with fear but it is the dark heroes that keep a reader in a trance till the last page. Amazing Ghost Slayer Kaelyn uses her dagger to vanquish evil. Story starts off fantastic and continues that way till the end. Look forward to seeing how this series will progress with some of the other amazing talents her friends possess. "A copy of this book was provided by Fire Quill Publishing via NetGalley with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read and the comments here are my honest opinion."
August 30, 2017
***I received this arc from Netgallery in exchange for an honest review***
2.5 Stars
This was an Ok read. There wasn't really anything exceptional about it, something to read when you want something different.
Kaelyn is a ghost slayer, she goes on a school trip with several of her classmates to a haunted mansion, things start to happen, people die and evil is vanquished. There's not really much to it. I wanted to know why the MC decided to start slaying ghosts, when/how did she know she had that power, is this about greek myths, why did she cross the river styx, it just seemed a lot of things were glossed over and not explained.
For a book with more than a 100 pages we don't really get to connect with the characters, Kaelyn likes to kill ghosts and that's about it. We meet Alex who she loathes but it turns out she doesn't really, she just had a traumatic experience and repressed the memory. I don't want to be harsh but everything felt like a cliche.
I hope the author can provide more structure in the upcoming books as this was ok enough to have me interested in the next one.
2.5 Stars
This was an Ok read. There wasn't really anything exceptional about it, something to read when you want something different.
Kaelyn is a ghost slayer, she goes on a school trip with several of her classmates to a haunted mansion, things start to happen, people die and evil is vanquished. There's not really much to it. I wanted to know why the MC decided to start slaying ghosts, when/how did she know she had that power, is this about greek myths, why did she cross the river styx, it just seemed a lot of things were glossed over and not explained.
For a book with more than a 100 pages we don't really get to connect with the characters, Kaelyn likes to kill ghosts and that's about it. We meet Alex who she loathes but it turns out she doesn't really, she just had a traumatic experience and repressed the memory. I don't want to be harsh but everything felt like a cliche.
I hope the author can provide more structure in the upcoming books as this was ok enough to have me interested in the next one.
November 6, 2017
Same Review Also Posted In My Blog:Dreamy Addictions
*e-ARC received from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Okay, I requested this book on netgalley because it sounded interesting. Besides fantasy, Sometimes I also like to read ghost hunting paranormal books so I thought “why not give it a shot?” After finishing this book, I felt this was an Okay-ish read. This is one of those books that you read for fun and entertainment. Ghost Slayer was an enjoyable read with some ghost hunting and some spooky stuff, but honestly it wasn’t as creepy and scary as I hoped because I’ve read books way more creepier than this one. The plot was interesting but It would’ve been great if the author has provided more info on ghost slayers and the exorcists. The characters were not bad but I wish the protagonist Kaelyn wasn’t so annoying.
The story follows twenty-one year old ghost slayer Kaelyn who’s been ghost hunting since she was young. she lives alone with her ghost mom and to survive, she hunts ghosts like some kind of part time job. She doesn’t use any spells or witchy stuff like other ghost slayers, She just uses her dagger to kill the ghosts. Every ghost she has killed stayed dead forever and they never resurface. She studies parapsy-chology in college and when her whole class goes to Mortimer hall for a study trip, she decides to go along with them but they aren’t aware that some evil ghost is haunting that place. After entering the Mortimer Hall, Kaelyn realizes that she just lost her ghost sensing powers. When things take a turn for worse, Kaelyn has to use her ghost hunting skills to save her friends before they get killed but she didn’t expect the ghost to be so powerful and deadly. When Kaelyn searches for clues and the history of the place, so many buried secrets are finally revealed including the one she has buried in her memory.
Although I enjoyed the story, I can’t connect with the characters. I expected Kaelyn to be a badass slayer but she totally wasn’t, and add to that she was kind of annoying too. Her attraction to her ex-love Alex always made me roll my eyes. She seriously hates the guy for something he has done in the past but she can’t stop the butterflies in her stomach whenever he was near *clichéd much*. Alex is smug and arrogant character. He isn’t a ghost slayer but he banishes ghosts with his spells. I actually liked this guy until he started to act like the know-it-all guy. He didn’t have much part in this book but I really liked Kaelyn and Alex as a team. Professor Logan, Kaelyn’s teacher from her para-psychology class is a guy with so many secrets. From the start, I had suspected that he was hiding something and his revelation totally surprised me. The secondary characters in this book aren’t interesting enough to describe. They didn’t do much in the story besides being the hostages.
The plot was good but I think it could’ve been executed even more better. Though it wasn’t too spooky enough to scare me, I like the mystery and all the thrills and chills it gave. The pacing was good and I didn’t feel bored because the story kept me engaged through out. There are some unexpected twists which really surprised me. It was a short story and some scenes felt a bit rushed especially the ending part. Nonetheless, it has a satisfying end. The story was told from Kaelyn’s first person POV. The writing was not bad but it definitely needs some improvement. I loved the setting! I liked how the author build a dark and creepy atmosphere in the story.
Overall, it was a good read but nothing amazing! Despite issues, I had fun reading it! The book finally concluded with no cliffhanger but it does left some unanswered questions . I’m not sure whether I’m gonna pick up the next book when it releases but we’ll see.
*e-ARC received from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Okay, I requested this book on netgalley because it sounded interesting. Besides fantasy, Sometimes I also like to read ghost hunting paranormal books so I thought “why not give it a shot?” After finishing this book, I felt this was an Okay-ish read. This is one of those books that you read for fun and entertainment. Ghost Slayer was an enjoyable read with some ghost hunting and some spooky stuff, but honestly it wasn’t as creepy and scary as I hoped because I’ve read books way more creepier than this one. The plot was interesting but It would’ve been great if the author has provided more info on ghost slayers and the exorcists. The characters were not bad but I wish the protagonist Kaelyn wasn’t so annoying.
The story follows twenty-one year old ghost slayer Kaelyn who’s been ghost hunting since she was young. she lives alone with her ghost mom and to survive, she hunts ghosts like some kind of part time job. She doesn’t use any spells or witchy stuff like other ghost slayers, She just uses her dagger to kill the ghosts. Every ghost she has killed stayed dead forever and they never resurface. She studies parapsy-chology in college and when her whole class goes to Mortimer hall for a study trip, she decides to go along with them but they aren’t aware that some evil ghost is haunting that place. After entering the Mortimer Hall, Kaelyn realizes that she just lost her ghost sensing powers. When things take a turn for worse, Kaelyn has to use her ghost hunting skills to save her friends before they get killed but she didn’t expect the ghost to be so powerful and deadly. When Kaelyn searches for clues and the history of the place, so many buried secrets are finally revealed including the one she has buried in her memory.
Although I enjoyed the story, I can’t connect with the characters. I expected Kaelyn to be a badass slayer but she totally wasn’t, and add to that she was kind of annoying too. Her attraction to her ex-love Alex always made me roll my eyes. She seriously hates the guy for something he has done in the past but she can’t stop the butterflies in her stomach whenever he was near *clichéd much*. Alex is smug and arrogant character. He isn’t a ghost slayer but he banishes ghosts with his spells. I actually liked this guy until he started to act like the know-it-all guy. He didn’t have much part in this book but I really liked Kaelyn and Alex as a team. Professor Logan, Kaelyn’s teacher from her para-psychology class is a guy with so many secrets. From the start, I had suspected that he was hiding something and his revelation totally surprised me. The secondary characters in this book aren’t interesting enough to describe. They didn’t do much in the story besides being the hostages.
The plot was good but I think it could’ve been executed even more better. Though it wasn’t too spooky enough to scare me, I like the mystery and all the thrills and chills it gave. The pacing was good and I didn’t feel bored because the story kept me engaged through out. There are some unexpected twists which really surprised me. It was a short story and some scenes felt a bit rushed especially the ending part. Nonetheless, it has a satisfying end. The story was told from Kaelyn’s first person POV. The writing was not bad but it definitely needs some improvement. I loved the setting! I liked how the author build a dark and creepy atmosphere in the story.
Overall, it was a good read but nothing amazing! Despite issues, I had fun reading it! The book finally concluded with no cliffhanger but it does left some unanswered questions . I’m not sure whether I’m gonna pick up the next book when it releases but we’ll see.
November 5, 2017
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.
With a title like this, it was bound to grab my attention. I am all in for some epic ghost slaying. And for the most part I did get some epic ghost slaying. What I missed was the depth. In a few different kind of places.
While the whole premise of The Ghost Slayer caught my attention, that is where it stayed. It had my attention but didn’t truly engage me. It couldn’t make me move emotionally. When the book initially started I thought that maybe this was a world where ghosts was something everyone knew about. That would have been great. But as we moved through a few chapters it became clear this was not the case. It was just our world, but with ghost slayers and mediums. And other things. All very interesting but very little world building was done. These terms were thrown around but very little was explained. Demons were just tossed into the conversation as if I was suppose to know their place in this world. I needed more explanation, more thought into how everything fitted into this world.
The same thing was the case for the background of our characters. I missed a whole lot here and there. How did Kaelyn really roll into the ghost slaying and so on. How did she meet Alex. Because even the end gave nothing about that away while it did delve into that background. Just not enough.
Untitled
And also I missed depth in the relationships. Just because you write the word friends to describe two characters relationship doesn’t mean it will come across that on the page. And the same goes for the romance. That whole ending romance wise just fell so very flat for me as I could not feel an inch of chemistry between these two characters.
And it is a shame because I think the idea, the world and the characters could have been great had the execution been better. There is potential here for sure. The idea of ghost slayers and their powers for instance is certainly something interesting, but also the hints about her father and her mother could create a great deepening of background and story. Kaelyn and Alex also have great potential for good characters if only they would get more deepening.
The author’s writing style in itself flows incredibly well and I did fly through this book in one sitting. Because of the good things I see I am interested in reading on with this series.
With a title like this, it was bound to grab my attention. I am all in for some epic ghost slaying. And for the most part I did get some epic ghost slaying. What I missed was the depth. In a few different kind of places.
While the whole premise of The Ghost Slayer caught my attention, that is where it stayed. It had my attention but didn’t truly engage me. It couldn’t make me move emotionally. When the book initially started I thought that maybe this was a world where ghosts was something everyone knew about. That would have been great. But as we moved through a few chapters it became clear this was not the case. It was just our world, but with ghost slayers and mediums. And other things. All very interesting but very little world building was done. These terms were thrown around but very little was explained. Demons were just tossed into the conversation as if I was suppose to know their place in this world. I needed more explanation, more thought into how everything fitted into this world.
The same thing was the case for the background of our characters. I missed a whole lot here and there. How did Kaelyn really roll into the ghost slaying and so on. How did she meet Alex. Because even the end gave nothing about that away while it did delve into that background. Just not enough.
Untitled
And also I missed depth in the relationships. Just because you write the word friends to describe two characters relationship doesn’t mean it will come across that on the page. And the same goes for the romance. That whole ending romance wise just fell so very flat for me as I could not feel an inch of chemistry between these two characters.
And it is a shame because I think the idea, the world and the characters could have been great had the execution been better. There is potential here for sure. The idea of ghost slayers and their powers for instance is certainly something interesting, but also the hints about her father and her mother could create a great deepening of background and story. Kaelyn and Alex also have great potential for good characters if only they would get more deepening.
The author’s writing style in itself flows incredibly well and I did fly through this book in one sitting. Because of the good things I see I am interested in reading on with this series.
January 25, 2018
I was very excited to read this book. I loved the cover and it caught me and pulled me in to look closer at this book. I liked that the main character, Kaelyn, likes to kill ghosts but I was confused a little in the beginning of the book because the author didn't tell me enough about the characters or pull me into their lives the way I was hoping. All in all, this book was not bad but I was hoping for more. "This book was given to me for free at my request by NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review."
April 25, 2018
This was a pretty fun read. I enjoyed the ghost slayer/paranormal lore. I'm not sure the plot was perfectly put together, but it did keep me engaged. Full review to come!
Full review on Stellar Kitten Book Reviews:
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Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!
Wow! You know, I just had a really fun time reading this book. Being a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan I really enjoyed the idea of a young adult/new adult trying to balance her home and school life with fighting supernatural creatures. Although the story spent less time in the classroom/school setting. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I feel like many times books stuck in the school setting can get stale, but I didn’t get that from Ghost Slayer.
Aside from the total Buffy fangirl appeal, I also loved this book because it read like a semi-cheesy horror movie. We had this group of students going to a haunted mansion for a weekend and then suddenly finding themselves trying to fight for their lives. Of course, there was also a big reveal about one of them being a traitor, there was a little bit of romance, and the main character having to face the truth about the past. It just all came together to create the kind of scene you’d end up watching with a bowl of popcorn late at night.
Now, let’s talk details. Ghost Slayer, Kaelyn Rivers, does not live a normal life. The only real perk of being a ghost slayer is that she gets to interact with her deceased mother. Kaelyn doesn’t have much of a social life given that she spends most of her time with the dead (either with her mother, or slaying other ghosts). What little free time she has is spent in class it seems. So she totally fits the role of the solitary protector.
She doesn’t stay in one place for very long, she’s barely getting by, doesn’t really get paid much for her work (when she is lucky enough to get a paid job). She seems underappreciated and kind of lonely. But I think that’s part of the appeal of her character. I liked that she used her powers to help others without expecting anything in return most of the time and that she didn’t fight her calling. It definitely made things interesting when Verstraete introduced the plot twist about Kaelyn’s powers.
I also want to say that I enjoyed the lore about ghost slayers that was introduced into the book. It was nice to have some theories thrown out there by some of the characters, but I also enjoyed the mystery of not completely understanding how Kaelyn came to be. I know for one, I did not see the reveal about her father coming. I’m curious how that will play into the next book in the series.
One thing about that I think could’ve used some more work was the plot. At times the motivations for the characters didn’t make sense. I can’t say who without spoiling things, but it didn’t make sense for one of the antagonists to have been working with the enemy in my opinion. If you read the book I’m sure you’ll figure out what I mean.
There was also the big bad enemy inviting the one person who could defeat them to the mansion. It was interesting for sure to have these different pieces come together, but some of the plot felt a bit forced. It just seemed like all these elements were against Kaelyn and not all of them felt like they made sense.
Still, I think overall it was a good start to the series and it was an entertaining enough read. It’s the kind of book you’d enjoy if you like light-horror. Not too creepy or gory, and it’ll keep you guessing until the end.
Ghost Slayer was just released today, April 24th, so go check it out!
Full review on Stellar Kitten Book Reviews:
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❝ Mary-Ann had warned me, she’d had dreams about the ghost from Mortimer Hall calling for a ghost slayer. Now I’d come and every life lost was on me. And I feared that by the time dawn approached, many more lives might be lost. ❞
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!
Wow! You know, I just had a really fun time reading this book. Being a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan I really enjoyed the idea of a young adult/new adult trying to balance her home and school life with fighting supernatural creatures. Although the story spent less time in the classroom/school setting. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I feel like many times books stuck in the school setting can get stale, but I didn’t get that from Ghost Slayer.
Aside from the total Buffy fangirl appeal, I also loved this book because it read like a semi-cheesy horror movie. We had this group of students going to a haunted mansion for a weekend and then suddenly finding themselves trying to fight for their lives. Of course, there was also a big reveal about one of them being a traitor, there was a little bit of romance, and the main character having to face the truth about the past. It just all came together to create the kind of scene you’d end up watching with a bowl of popcorn late at night.
Now, let’s talk details. Ghost Slayer, Kaelyn Rivers, does not live a normal life. The only real perk of being a ghost slayer is that she gets to interact with her deceased mother. Kaelyn doesn’t have much of a social life given that she spends most of her time with the dead (either with her mother, or slaying other ghosts). What little free time she has is spent in class it seems. So she totally fits the role of the solitary protector.
She doesn’t stay in one place for very long, she’s barely getting by, doesn’t really get paid much for her work (when she is lucky enough to get a paid job). She seems underappreciated and kind of lonely. But I think that’s part of the appeal of her character. I liked that she used her powers to help others without expecting anything in return most of the time and that she didn’t fight her calling. It definitely made things interesting when Verstraete introduced the plot twist about Kaelyn’s powers.
❝ I’d always been good at ghost slaying. In fact, it was the only thing I was good at. Without that… who was I? What was my purpose? ❞
I also want to say that I enjoyed the lore about ghost slayers that was introduced into the book. It was nice to have some theories thrown out there by some of the characters, but I also enjoyed the mystery of not completely understanding how Kaelyn came to be. I know for one, I did not see the reveal about her father coming. I’m curious how that will play into the next book in the series.
One thing about that I think could’ve used some more work was the plot. At times the motivations for the characters didn’t make sense. I can’t say who without spoiling things, but it didn’t make sense for one of the antagonists to have been working with the enemy in my opinion. If you read the book I’m sure you’ll figure out what I mean.
There was also the big bad enemy inviting the one person who could defeat them to the mansion. It was interesting for sure to have these different pieces come together, but some of the plot felt a bit forced. It just seemed like all these elements were against Kaelyn and not all of them felt like they made sense.
Still, I think overall it was a good start to the series and it was an entertaining enough read. It’s the kind of book you’d enjoy if you like light-horror. Not too creepy or gory, and it’ll keep you guessing until the end.
Ghost Slayer was just released today, April 24th, so go check it out!
August 29, 2017
Ghost Slayer by Majanka Verstraele.
Twenty-one-year-old Kaelyn has spent half her life hunting ghosts and killing them. But she's not like the other ghost hunters who have to rely on spells and curses to banish ghosts back to where they came from, hoping that they don't come back. When Kaelyn kills a ghost, they stay dead.But in Mortimer Hall, a behemoth of a house, Kaelyn is about to face the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she ever met, and what she doesn't know is that the ghost has been waiting just for her...
OMG an absolutely fantastic read with brilliant characters. I loved Kaelyn. She was my favourite character. Did not see that coming. What a twister of a read. Chilling and dark. 5*. Highly recommended. Netgalley and fire quill publishing.
Twenty-one-year-old Kaelyn has spent half her life hunting ghosts and killing them. But she's not like the other ghost hunters who have to rely on spells and curses to banish ghosts back to where they came from, hoping that they don't come back. When Kaelyn kills a ghost, they stay dead.But in Mortimer Hall, a behemoth of a house, Kaelyn is about to face the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she ever met, and what she doesn't know is that the ghost has been waiting just for her...
OMG an absolutely fantastic read with brilliant characters. I loved Kaelyn. She was my favourite character. Did not see that coming. What a twister of a read. Chilling and dark. 5*. Highly recommended. Netgalley and fire quill publishing.
October 5, 2017
Advance copy received from netgalley in exchange for review. Absolutely adored this book! As soon as I finished I went off to search for more by this author. It scared the daylights out of me, reading in my kindle in a dark room, luckily I didn't need the loo as no way I was going on my own :) Descriptive, scary, fun and great characters, I really hope there's a sequel.
September 6, 2017
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book :)
This book starts out strong, but kind of crumples in the middle and then gets back on track by the end. I hesitated between the three and four star mark, but that beginning was just so good that it ultimately upped the rating.
Ghost Slayer is an almost YA/New Adult Urban fantasy type book. Although I enjoy such books, it's been a while between drinks so all of this felt fresh for me. Kaelyn is your typical kick butt heroine, nursing a broken heart but still getting the job done. After slaying wayward ghosts, she goes home to her own dead mother, goes to college and thinks about where the money for rent is going to come from. You know? Average, except the ghost killing part.
It's only when a class trip for her Supernatural Class (is there such a thing in America? If so cool!) starts going wrong that the action heats up. This is when the writing and the book suffers as Kaelyn muddles through. We have characters hiding things, important information getting lost in translation. If I heard one more person say ghosts can't hurt you after JUST witnessing one hurt them I was going to scream, and not in fear!
The book also suffers from a large cast of characters, many of whom don't do much at all. It leaves things unexplained, but not in a let's find out next time kind of way (although, we probably will find out more in book two, this is a series after all. I just needed more key information in THIS book) There are times where I feel the writing needs to be stronger, and some of the sentences were just plain lazy. Probably just needs a little polishing, although that could just be me.
However, for all the minor things wrong with this book I also enjoyed many aspects. There's a subtle romance with backstory. Real friendships develop. A good introduction to the Supernatural, although obviously the world at large doesn't know about ghosts, demons, curses etc. I really will keep my eye out for book two, because I think this series has potential. Four stars, even though I hovered between three and four for ages!
This book starts out strong, but kind of crumples in the middle and then gets back on track by the end. I hesitated between the three and four star mark, but that beginning was just so good that it ultimately upped the rating.
Ghost Slayer is an almost YA/New Adult Urban fantasy type book. Although I enjoy such books, it's been a while between drinks so all of this felt fresh for me. Kaelyn is your typical kick butt heroine, nursing a broken heart but still getting the job done. After slaying wayward ghosts, she goes home to her own dead mother, goes to college and thinks about where the money for rent is going to come from. You know? Average, except the ghost killing part.
It's only when a class trip for her Supernatural Class (is there such a thing in America? If so cool!) starts going wrong that the action heats up. This is when the writing and the book suffers as Kaelyn muddles through. We have characters hiding things, important information getting lost in translation. If I heard one more person say ghosts can't hurt you after JUST witnessing one hurt them I was going to scream, and not in fear!
The book also suffers from a large cast of characters, many of whom don't do much at all. It leaves things unexplained, but not in a let's find out next time kind of way (although, we probably will find out more in book two, this is a series after all. I just needed more key information in THIS book) There are times where I feel the writing needs to be stronger, and some of the sentences were just plain lazy. Probably just needs a little polishing, although that could just be me.
However, for all the minor things wrong with this book I also enjoyed many aspects. There's a subtle romance with backstory. Real friendships develop. A good introduction to the Supernatural, although obviously the world at large doesn't know about ghosts, demons, curses etc. I really will keep my eye out for book two, because I think this series has potential. Four stars, even though I hovered between three and four for ages!
April 15, 2018
*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
I always request Net Adult books and then get really nervous I won't like them, since that is what tends to be the case. I'm glad to say, I quite enjoyed this one-- but I also raced through it.
This book has a lot of problems. The characters run kind of flat, things don't always make sense or it is like the author changed their mind (person who Kaelyn barely talks to later is known as their best friend, never hangs out with people yet she totally does and it is messing with her, and Kaelyn's powers seem all over the place and aren't actually defined).
Along with Kaelyn's powers not being defined, the world/setting itself isn't defined either which made the book a little confusing. There is a course at the college about ghost hunting and some people pay for ghost slaying and exorcisms, yet people also don't believe in ghosts. Which is it?? And the college thing, COME ON! It was written more like high school in the way that 1. there is a field trip for a WHOLE weekend (okay, yeah I have heard of this happening but it is rare), 2. the course spans TWO semesters??? No. No way. Not the same course-- it would be marked different and the same students might not be in it.
The most confusing character is Professor Logan. Just pick what you want him to be!! He seemed all over the place and making him a potential love interest was so weird.
The romance isn't prevalent, which I kinda liked, but the whole thing was so silly.
BUT, I did enjoy reading this book. I sped through it, reading it in about 3 hours, but visualizing what was going on did frighten me -- yeah, I'm a scaredy cat. It was fun though following Kaelyn around even though I didn't understand the world and things kept contradicting themselves.... honestly, I don't know why I enjoyed this so much. If I had read this at any other time I'm sure my rating would be even lower.
Will I recommend it to people? Probably not unless they are looking for a book exactly like this. I don't think I'll read the sequel.
I always request Net Adult books and then get really nervous I won't like them, since that is what tends to be the case. I'm glad to say, I quite enjoyed this one-- but I also raced through it.
This book has a lot of problems. The characters run kind of flat, things don't always make sense or it is like the author changed their mind (person who Kaelyn barely talks to later is known as their best friend, never hangs out with people yet she totally does and it is messing with her, and Kaelyn's powers seem all over the place and aren't actually defined).
Along with Kaelyn's powers not being defined, the world/setting itself isn't defined either which made the book a little confusing. There is a course at the college about ghost hunting and some people pay for ghost slaying and exorcisms, yet people also don't believe in ghosts. Which is it?? And the college thing, COME ON! It was written more like high school in the way that 1. there is a field trip for a WHOLE weekend (okay, yeah I have heard of this happening but it is rare), 2. the course spans TWO semesters??? No. No way. Not the same course-- it would be marked different and the same students might not be in it.
The most confusing character is Professor Logan. Just pick what you want him to be!! He seemed all over the place and making him a potential love interest was so weird.
The romance isn't prevalent, which I kinda liked, but the whole thing was so silly.
BUT, I did enjoy reading this book. I sped through it, reading it in about 3 hours, but visualizing what was going on did frighten me -- yeah, I'm a scaredy cat. It was fun though following Kaelyn around even though I didn't understand the world and things kept contradicting themselves.... honestly, I don't know why I enjoyed this so much. If I had read this at any other time I'm sure my rating would be even lower.
Will I recommend it to people? Probably not unless they are looking for a book exactly like this. I don't think I'll read the sequel.
March 20, 2018
It's not very often that I encounter a book that perfectly fits the mould for young adult fiction, but Majanka Verstraete's Ghost Slayer does just that. The book is a pleasant, quick read that kept me just interested enough for me to devour it in a few days. Also, I find that it would appropriate for teens, even though its main character is a twenty-one year old college student.
Kaelyn isn't your average college ghost hunter. She's a bit more of a Winchester sort, with less flash and more stab. Fortunately for her, she's got a ghost to deal with in an old haunted house and the an old flame on her mind. As if that's not enough, something's wrong with her powers! It's a pretty standard paranormal plot, largely feeding off cliché haunted house movie tropes - which I feel is a great beginning place for teenagers.
Character-wise, we see much of the same themes. I don't want to go into spoilers, but we do encounter a damsel, or rather several, damsels in distress as well as a strong female lead character. So I guess there's that. I feel that main character's love interest could have been a little less stereotyped and a bit more fleshed out, too. He was a tad too generic.
Overall, I liked several elements of this book. I think it finished more strongly than it began and had a few excellent concepts at its closing. I look forward to possibly checking out the second book. A special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for the purpose of an unbiased review.
Kaelyn isn't your average college ghost hunter. She's a bit more of a Winchester sort, with less flash and more stab. Fortunately for her, she's got a ghost to deal with in an old haunted house and the an old flame on her mind. As if that's not enough, something's wrong with her powers! It's a pretty standard paranormal plot, largely feeding off cliché haunted house movie tropes - which I feel is a great beginning place for teenagers.
Character-wise, we see much of the same themes. I don't want to go into spoilers, but we do encounter a damsel, or rather several, damsels in distress as well as a strong female lead character. So I guess there's that. I feel that main character's love interest could have been a little less stereotyped and a bit more fleshed out, too. He was a tad too generic.
Overall, I liked several elements of this book. I think it finished more strongly than it began and had a few excellent concepts at its closing. I look forward to possibly checking out the second book. A special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for the purpose of an unbiased review.
April 22, 2018
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I no means want it to be the last. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book! Yes, there were a couple things that bothered me about this book, one being that while the protagonist is only 21, she’s already had a terrible relationship at 16 that soured her on relationships. I think that would have worked a little better if it hadn’t been that long or if she were older. And, her sort-of love interest wasn’t as fully fleshed out as I would have liked. However, all that aside, I quickly read this in one setting as I was anxious to find out what would happen next. That is a mark of a good book to me whether or not there were other issues. I really enjoyed this part paranormal/part horror story from beginning to end, and I’m really looking forward to more! Highly recommend! I was provided the e-book which I reviewed voluntarily.
January 7, 2020
Ghost Slayer by Majanka Verstraete is the first book in a new adult series. Twenty-one-year-old Kaelyn has spent half her life hunting ghosts and killing them. But she's not like the other ghost hunters who have to rely on spells and curses to banish ghosts back to where they came from, hoping that they don't come back. When Kaelyn kills a ghost, they stay dead. But in Mortimer Hall, a behemoth of a house, Kaelyn is about to face the most powerful Twenty-one-year-old Kaelyn has spent half her life hunting ghosts and killing them. But she's not like the other ghost hunters who have to rely on spells and curses to banish ghosts back to where they came from, hoping that they don't come back. When Kaelyn kills a ghost, they stay dead. But in Mortimer Hall, a behemoth of a house, Kaelyn is about to face the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she ever met, and what she doesn't know is that the ghost has been waiting just for her.
Ghost Slayer is an interesting read with a few problems. I liked the idea of the story, and the twists and turns that the story takes. Let's start with the good. I liked the twist on ghost hunting- that while most have to rely on tools and magic Kaelyn has a special level of control with the dead. I liked the role her mother plays and that she is doing her best to get by and get through college while working a less than typical job. I get her loner attitude, and her reluctance to take part in ghostly activities with her class. Now, I did think that there were several contradictions in the story that irked me as I read. I am not sure if this is supposed to be happening in the real world or an alternate world with different rules- as that is never made clear and either could be true. Kaelyn says that she is not a drinker- but downs straight vodka and a whisky and soda with ease and no effect. Also, she is very much a loner and refers to her classmates as people she barely knows but that quickly changes to one of the friendlier girls suddenly being her best friend. As I read bits of the story seemed vaguely familiar- but I think that boils down to having read enough paranormal books that feature ghosts and secrets as major plot points. I did like the book overall, but it did have its issues. I suspect that as the author continues to write this series it will improve- especially since they left themselves plenty of interesting directions to take the story.
Ghost Slayer is an interesting read, but one that had both good and bad moments. Fans of the paranormal and gothic genres are most likely to enjoy it.
Ghost Slayer is an interesting read with a few problems. I liked the idea of the story, and the twists and turns that the story takes. Let's start with the good. I liked the twist on ghost hunting- that while most have to rely on tools and magic Kaelyn has a special level of control with the dead. I liked the role her mother plays and that she is doing her best to get by and get through college while working a less than typical job. I get her loner attitude, and her reluctance to take part in ghostly activities with her class. Now, I did think that there were several contradictions in the story that irked me as I read. I am not sure if this is supposed to be happening in the real world or an alternate world with different rules- as that is never made clear and either could be true. Kaelyn says that she is not a drinker- but downs straight vodka and a whisky and soda with ease and no effect. Also, she is very much a loner and refers to her classmates as people she barely knows but that quickly changes to one of the friendlier girls suddenly being her best friend. As I read bits of the story seemed vaguely familiar- but I think that boils down to having read enough paranormal books that feature ghosts and secrets as major plot points. I did like the book overall, but it did have its issues. I suspect that as the author continues to write this series it will improve- especially since they left themselves plenty of interesting directions to take the story.
Ghost Slayer is an interesting read, but one that had both good and bad moments. Fans of the paranormal and gothic genres are most likely to enjoy it.
September 23, 2020
If you’re sitting around a campfire on a spooky night glowing with a full moon and someone asks, “Tell us a scary story,” be smart and don’t tell them the one about the girl who has the power to kill ghosts. Why frighten those kids with nightmares filled with spooks and demons? But if a touch of evil blackens your soul, tell them about Majanka Verstraete’s thriller, Ghost Slayer.
Kaelyn is a college student enrolled in Professor Logan’s Parapsychology class. The professor’s class project, which will determine his students’ grade in class, has to do with spending Friday through Monday morning at Mortimer Hall. The sprawling mansion stands in the middle of no man’s land and is surrounded by a swamp. The students’ job at this mansion of doom is to encounter ghostly voices, investigate Mortimer Hall, and if possible, communicate with spirits. The students will use EVP (Electronic voice phenomena) meters, cameras, séances, and Ouija boards to contact the ghosts haunting the home. After the weekend, each student will write a paper exploring his or her findings. (That’s if they survive.)
Ghosts are a familiar part of Kaelyn’s life, for she’s been slaying them since she gained the power at ten years of age. For a few years she had teamed up with Alex Miller, a handsome exorcist, but that didn’t work out. Now, after years of not seeing him, Alex contacts Kaelyn to help out on a job. A very wealthy client needs an exorcist to force a ghost from his daughter’s body and Kaelyn is the only ghost slayer near by to do the job. However, Alex doesn’t know that the ghost slayer’s powers have diminished over the years.
Majanka Verstraete’s paranormal thriller, Ghost Slayer, is a plot driven horror story that will keep her readers up at night as they plow through a novel that will turn dark hair white. Verstraete’s characters feel very plausible, especially the mysterious Professor Logan. Kaelyn’s best friend Mary-Anne is a catalyst whom ghosts find easy to possess. There’s something weird about classmate Alex, and Mrs. White, the caretaker of Mortimer Hall, seems to be a bit of an oddball. But once the sunsets and the students begin their investigation, the spooky times begin.
What Kaelyn doesn’t realize, she’s about to meet the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she has ever encountered as the 12 students and their teacher are pawns in the ghost’s plans for immortality.
Kaelyn is a college student enrolled in Professor Logan’s Parapsychology class. The professor’s class project, which will determine his students’ grade in class, has to do with spending Friday through Monday morning at Mortimer Hall. The sprawling mansion stands in the middle of no man’s land and is surrounded by a swamp. The students’ job at this mansion of doom is to encounter ghostly voices, investigate Mortimer Hall, and if possible, communicate with spirits. The students will use EVP (Electronic voice phenomena) meters, cameras, séances, and Ouija boards to contact the ghosts haunting the home. After the weekend, each student will write a paper exploring his or her findings. (That’s if they survive.)
Ghosts are a familiar part of Kaelyn’s life, for she’s been slaying them since she gained the power at ten years of age. For a few years she had teamed up with Alex Miller, a handsome exorcist, but that didn’t work out. Now, after years of not seeing him, Alex contacts Kaelyn to help out on a job. A very wealthy client needs an exorcist to force a ghost from his daughter’s body and Kaelyn is the only ghost slayer near by to do the job. However, Alex doesn’t know that the ghost slayer’s powers have diminished over the years.
Majanka Verstraete’s paranormal thriller, Ghost Slayer, is a plot driven horror story that will keep her readers up at night as they plow through a novel that will turn dark hair white. Verstraete’s characters feel very plausible, especially the mysterious Professor Logan. Kaelyn’s best friend Mary-Anne is a catalyst whom ghosts find easy to possess. There’s something weird about classmate Alex, and Mrs. White, the caretaker of Mortimer Hall, seems to be a bit of an oddball. But once the sunsets and the students begin their investigation, the spooky times begin.
What Kaelyn doesn’t realize, she’s about to meet the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she has ever encountered as the 12 students and their teacher are pawns in the ghost’s plans for immortality.
October 26, 2017
You know how when you’re reading a book and you need to put it down so you can get food, water, go to the bathroom, pick up your kids, go to bed, etc so you’re looking for that “stopping point” where you feel comfortable being able to do that? Kind of like the moment you’re ok to pause the TV because it’s not like you’ll miss anything – I mean it’s paused that’s why it was invented so we could stop living like cave animals. Well…..this book had no good stopping point.
I completely get how illogical that sounds because it is a BOOK! Meaning you can read one page, one paragraph or one sentence and put it down then come back and pick up exactly where you left off and not miss anything – that’s a huge benefit of a book. There just isn’t a moment where you feel like you’ll be okay not knowing what’s going to happen next. Which is how I found myself exhausted, eyes watering, and desperately needing to fall asleep but unable to until I knew how this was going to end.
It starts off like any typical ghost story. Girl finds ghost, kills ghost, hangs out with dead mom and goes to her college class. It’s a little more involved and action packed than that with one heck of a gut punch opening but it’s good enough that when I started I was curious enough to keep going. It doesn’t take long before the thrills, twist, turns, mysteries and of course ghosts gets ramped up. The action scenes with exorcisms and ghost slayings can be intense.
Verstraete knows how to write an addictive story that moves faster than you think possible with an air of intensity that just sucks you in. I loved the sprinkling of pop culture such as references to Buffy that added bits of humor that really worked with her story. She knew how to word them just right so instead of coming off cheesy they’re fun and will bring a smile to your face.
It appears this may be the first in a series and though the book ends as if it could be a standalone I’m really hoping there is more.
I completely get how illogical that sounds because it is a BOOK! Meaning you can read one page, one paragraph or one sentence and put it down then come back and pick up exactly where you left off and not miss anything – that’s a huge benefit of a book. There just isn’t a moment where you feel like you’ll be okay not knowing what’s going to happen next. Which is how I found myself exhausted, eyes watering, and desperately needing to fall asleep but unable to until I knew how this was going to end.
It starts off like any typical ghost story. Girl finds ghost, kills ghost, hangs out with dead mom and goes to her college class. It’s a little more involved and action packed than that with one heck of a gut punch opening but it’s good enough that when I started I was curious enough to keep going. It doesn’t take long before the thrills, twist, turns, mysteries and of course ghosts gets ramped up. The action scenes with exorcisms and ghost slayings can be intense.
Verstraete knows how to write an addictive story that moves faster than you think possible with an air of intensity that just sucks you in. I loved the sprinkling of pop culture such as references to Buffy that added bits of humor that really worked with her story. She knew how to word them just right so instead of coming off cheesy they’re fun and will bring a smile to your face.
It appears this may be the first in a series and though the book ends as if it could be a standalone I’m really hoping there is more.
April 19, 2018
I received an arc of this novel in exchange for a honest review. Thank you, Netgalley and Fire Quill Publishing!
!!!!!!!THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!
I really really wanted to like this book! At first it was small things like the girl she just begrudgingly went to meet for drinks one night is suddenly out MC's best friend and even the professor is referring to her as the MC's BFF....I was willing to over look this one along with the editing error sand mixing up of Zach and Alex's names at one point because it did show potential storyline wise....until it didn't.
Things started contradicting themselves an example of this is in Chapter 12 when Kaelyn leaves the girls room with her dagger to explore. "Barefoot, my dagger strapped tightly to my calf under my yoga pants,..." then in Chapter 13 we read "...then I reached for my dagger just as I remembered I left it in my backpack."....not according to the previous chapter, you should have it strapped to your leg!!
Then, in come the plot twists....so many plot twists. I was cool with the professor having a daughter he was searching for there, I was okay with him being non human ( we never find out what), I was fine with Kaeyln suppressing the memory of being one of the people to come originally with the professor's daughter. Chapter 26 is where I just couldn't handle anymore silly plot twists and when we get the most ridiculous plot twist of all in Chapter 30 when she meets the demon of the river styx I was just so done and glad that I didn't have much more to go.
I hardly EVER rate books this low and this book had so much potential that was ruined by un-needed plot twists that I just cant give it more than 2 stars. I know there are some people who love this book and that is fantastic! There is something out there for everyone, this one just wasn't for me.
I give Ghost Slayer a 1.5 rounded up to a 2
!!!!!!!THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!
I really really wanted to like this book! At first it was small things like the girl she just begrudgingly went to meet for drinks one night is suddenly out MC's best friend and even the professor is referring to her as the MC's BFF....I was willing to over look this one along with the editing error sand mixing up of Zach and Alex's names at one point because it did show potential storyline wise....until it didn't.
Things started contradicting themselves an example of this is in Chapter 12 when Kaelyn leaves the girls room with her dagger to explore. "Barefoot, my dagger strapped tightly to my calf under my yoga pants,..." then in Chapter 13 we read "...then I reached for my dagger just as I remembered I left it in my backpack."....not according to the previous chapter, you should have it strapped to your leg!!
Then, in come the plot twists....so many plot twists. I was cool with the professor having a daughter he was searching for there, I was okay with him being non human ( we never find out what), I was fine with Kaeyln suppressing the memory of being one of the people to come originally with the professor's daughter. Chapter 26 is where I just couldn't handle anymore silly plot twists and when we get the most ridiculous plot twist of all in Chapter 30 when she meets the demon of the river styx I was just so done and glad that I didn't have much more to go.
I hardly EVER rate books this low and this book had so much potential that was ruined by un-needed plot twists that I just cant give it more than 2 stars. I know there are some people who love this book and that is fantastic! There is something out there for everyone, this one just wasn't for me.
I give Ghost Slayer a 1.5 rounded up to a 2
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2017
I have been trying to dig deep and recall when was the last time I read a ghost story like that one that is nota pure horror story, and for the life of me I cannot recall. I would have preferred to be reading this one for sure for Halloween than some of the very scary book, I did read for the occasion.
Here we have Kaelyn that is a Ghost Hunter, she is also a college student and lives with the ghost of her mom.
She pretty much kills mean ghosts.
Then for a week end she goes with her classmates to a "Haunted House" for her paranormal class and let me just say that things go to hell...
Yup.. pretty much!
You know, I try not to give out too much spoilers, but I can tell you that I really like Ghost Slayer! I am not sure if this will become a series, it certainly has the potential and the characters have a lot of room to grow and misbehave...
I have a lot of questions, and there is a lot of backstory that I am really curious about, that again can be filled in future books; it really depends on Majanka's plans.
As a character, I really liked Kaelyn quite a lot!
Though dabbling in killing ghosts which is quite uncommon, I found her to be relatable and actually down to earth; I enjoyed her spirit and her fight. I mean you can clearly see that she is, despite her powers a normal girl wanting what we all do.
The other characters are equally as good and certainly entertaining some providing levity when needed.
Ghost Slayer is a lovely read, it had good characters and an interesting story, I am now hoping that this is the first book of a series where Kaelyn will have a lot of adventures in hunting ghosts!
I would love to see the gang back!
When can we expect book 2? I am only asking cause I read this one in one go and I am not crazy about waiting for a year for the next one pretty please!!!
Here we have Kaelyn that is a Ghost Hunter, she is also a college student and lives with the ghost of her mom.
She pretty much kills mean ghosts.
Then for a week end she goes with her classmates to a "Haunted House" for her paranormal class and let me just say that things go to hell...
Yup.. pretty much!
You know, I try not to give out too much spoilers, but I can tell you that I really like Ghost Slayer! I am not sure if this will become a series, it certainly has the potential and the characters have a lot of room to grow and misbehave...
I have a lot of questions, and there is a lot of backstory that I am really curious about, that again can be filled in future books; it really depends on Majanka's plans.
As a character, I really liked Kaelyn quite a lot!
Though dabbling in killing ghosts which is quite uncommon, I found her to be relatable and actually down to earth; I enjoyed her spirit and her fight. I mean you can clearly see that she is, despite her powers a normal girl wanting what we all do.
The other characters are equally as good and certainly entertaining some providing levity when needed.
Ghost Slayer is a lovely read, it had good characters and an interesting story, I am now hoping that this is the first book of a series where Kaelyn will have a lot of adventures in hunting ghosts!
I would love to see the gang back!
When can we expect book 2? I am only asking cause I read this one in one go and I am not crazy about waiting for a year for the next one pretty please!!!
September 15, 2017
I've been on a streak of love stories, especially HEA's. I enjoy reading them, but sometimes I just need a get-off-the-couch-and-kick-a$$ paranormal story. The story doesn't have to be long or involve complicated plots with intense world-building. Some of my favorite urban fantasies are nothing more than good storytelling. That's why I liked this book. The premise of this book is a slight twist on accepted tropes. The plot increases speed until the end where it ties up the story and could serve as a standalone or a great beginning to a pretty decent series.
The main character is a strong female lead who struggles with her connection to the other world and the human world. A lot of urban fantasy female leads are so excepting of their other worldness, it's almost as if it's not that big of a deal that they have super powers and can see creatures that most of us can't see. That gets old. Kaelyn felt like a real new adult trying to figure out how to get her school work done, pay her bills, date, and, of course, fight ghosts.
This was just a fun book to read and I read it one sitting.
**I received this book through NetGalley**
The main character is a strong female lead who struggles with her connection to the other world and the human world. A lot of urban fantasy female leads are so excepting of their other worldness, it's almost as if it's not that big of a deal that they have super powers and can see creatures that most of us can't see. That gets old. Kaelyn felt like a real new adult trying to figure out how to get her school work done, pay her bills, date, and, of course, fight ghosts.
This was just a fun book to read and I read it one sitting.
**I received this book through NetGalley**
November 2, 2017
Kaelynn is a ghost slayer that is different. When she kills a ghost, it stays dead. She doesn't use spells to kill ghosts as other slayers do. She is taking a class where half of her grade will depend on her experience at a haunted home. There is a mystery at this haunted house. When Kaelynn first appears, she is puzzled as she can't feel any ghosts. Why? Her friend and classmate Mary Ann is a ghost catalyst. What does that mean? Will Kaelynn experience any ghost activity or ghosts?
The novel is more than a haunted house story. It is also a father searching for his lost daughter. It's about relationships besides the mysteries of the large haunted home and its' ghosts. I found it to be an engaging story that I didn't want to end. I want to read the next book in the series.
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
The novel is more than a haunted house story. It is also a father searching for his lost daughter. It's about relationships besides the mysteries of the large haunted home and its' ghosts. I found it to be an engaging story that I didn't want to end. I want to read the next book in the series.
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
September 4, 2017
Twenty-one-year-old Kaelyn has spent half her life hunting ghosts and killing them. But she's not like the other ghost hunters who have to rely on spells and curses to banish ghosts back to where they came from, hoping that they don't come back. When Kaelyn kills a ghost, they stay dead.
But in Mortimer Hall, a behemoth of a house, Kaelyn is about to face the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she ever met, and what she doesn't know is that the ghost has been waiting just for her...
This was a really good start to a series that I will look forward to reading more in the future. The storyline starts of well with a good mix of characters.
Kaelyn does seem to come off younger than a twenty one year old, but they might just be me!!
I would like the other stories to explain more about Kaelyn past as there are quite a few unanswered questions.
Really good story easy to read with characters I would like to follow more in the future.
But in Mortimer Hall, a behemoth of a house, Kaelyn is about to face the most powerful and life-threatening ghost she ever met, and what she doesn't know is that the ghost has been waiting just for her...
This was a really good start to a series that I will look forward to reading more in the future. The storyline starts of well with a good mix of characters.
Kaelyn does seem to come off younger than a twenty one year old, but they might just be me!!
I would like the other stories to explain more about Kaelyn past as there are quite a few unanswered questions.
Really good story easy to read with characters I would like to follow more in the future.
September 28, 2017
**I received the copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
This was such a fun read! I loved the main character, the story, the supporting characters, and just about everything else.
Kaelyn is such a loveable MC. She's a loner, she doesn't have many friends (she literally has one friend). But she never feels sorry for herself because of it. Actually, she thrives off of it. It's who she is. But she never hesitates to help someone she knows is in need of her help. She constantly puts herself at risk for others and never expects anything from it. She's fun to read about and I love her inner voice. She gets mad, she gets scared, but she never backs down.
The story was fun and had me guessing the entire time. I did not see a lot of what happened coming. It wasn't obvious. It was fun. I loved the mystery.
Overall great read! Definitely recommend!
This was such a fun read! I loved the main character, the story, the supporting characters, and just about everything else.
Kaelyn is such a loveable MC. She's a loner, she doesn't have many friends (she literally has one friend). But she never feels sorry for herself because of it. Actually, she thrives off of it. It's who she is. But she never hesitates to help someone she knows is in need of her help. She constantly puts herself at risk for others and never expects anything from it. She's fun to read about and I love her inner voice. She gets mad, she gets scared, but she never backs down.
The story was fun and had me guessing the entire time. I did not see a lot of what happened coming. It wasn't obvious. It was fun. I loved the mystery.
Overall great read! Definitely recommend!
September 18, 2017
Ghost slayer was a wonderful starter book for a new paranormal series. Kaelyn is a great character that is multi-dimensional from the beginning and a wonderfully kick-ass slayer that just happens to be female. The story is a touch creepy without being overly gory or too scary of a horror story; perfect for people like me who love reading supernatural based stories without being overly scary.
The story starts with action and continues to deliver throughout the entire story. I also loved the mystery aspect and look forward to learning more about Kaelyn Rivers and see how she continues to grow as a Ghost Slayer. This book was a super quick read for me and I'm glad to see that the romance for the lead character will progress fairly naturally. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends who are paranormal fans.
The story starts with action and continues to deliver throughout the entire story. I also loved the mystery aspect and look forward to learning more about Kaelyn Rivers and see how she continues to grow as a Ghost Slayer. This book was a super quick read for me and I'm glad to see that the romance for the lead character will progress fairly naturally. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends who are paranormal fans.
May 9, 2018
Thank you to Fire Quill Publishing/NetGalley for sharing a copy of the first book in Ghost Slayer series. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ghost Slayer. It had me at the beginning with "toddler ghost". I wanted to know how a ghost slayer deals with child ghosts to the old and wrinkly. Is she ruthless? Does she have compassion? How did she acquire her supernatural powers?
The story does not disappoint. Action packed and exhilarating from start to end. I didn't want to put it down until the very last chapter. Since the story was easy to read and fast paced, the book felt more like middle school genre than new adult. Lastly, I'm very intrigued with Kaelyn's paranormal background. Would love to read more.
Read by Tina of tanglednbooks.blogspot.com
The story does not disappoint. Action packed and exhilarating from start to end. I didn't want to put it down until the very last chapter. Since the story was easy to read and fast paced, the book felt more like middle school genre than new adult. Lastly, I'm very intrigued with Kaelyn's paranormal background. Would love to read more.
Read by Tina of tanglednbooks.blogspot.com
June 18, 2018
I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley. In exchange, I was asked to write an honest review and post it. My thanks to them both.
I didn’t think this book would scare me, but I couldn’t read it at night. It was a little creepier than I expected. It’s a short book with lots of action, fast paced and no slow boring parts. But then we didn’t get much character developement either...I think this book is a set up for a series and the author was leaving that for the books that followed.
Kaelyn Rivers is a student, a daughter, a friend and a Ghost Hunter. It’s her mostly secret identity. But when her Parapsychology class goes to investigate a haunted house she gets more than she bargained for. Creepy and mostly fun.
I didn’t think this book would scare me, but I couldn’t read it at night. It was a little creepier than I expected. It’s a short book with lots of action, fast paced and no slow boring parts. But then we didn’t get much character developement either...I think this book is a set up for a series and the author was leaving that for the books that followed.
Kaelyn Rivers is a student, a daughter, a friend and a Ghost Hunter. It’s her mostly secret identity. But when her Parapsychology class goes to investigate a haunted house she gets more than she bargained for. Creepy and mostly fun.
September 2, 2018
*copy received via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
This book wasn't my favourite but I didn't hate it.
I was really excited because the plot seemed really cool but I was a bit disappointed to be honest.
It was an OK story but I didn't really get the storyline that much and it felt like a lot of it was based on something stupid.
There were lots of things that could have been explained better (or at all, for that matter) and we also don't know that much about the characters.
There were some parts that were a bit boring and some other parts that were just there without a valid reason. I felt like there were also some clichès here and there. So, overall I would say this book could have been structured a bit better.
This book wasn't my favourite but I didn't hate it.
I was really excited because the plot seemed really cool but I was a bit disappointed to be honest.
It was an OK story but I didn't really get the storyline that much and it felt like a lot of it was based on something stupid.
There were lots of things that could have been explained better (or at all, for that matter) and we also don't know that much about the characters.
There were some parts that were a bit boring and some other parts that were just there without a valid reason. I felt like there were also some clichès here and there. So, overall I would say this book could have been structured a bit better.
December 15, 2021
Ghost Slayer has a fantastic concept and gave me plenty of chills while reading, but at the end of the day, the book ended up flopping. From the very beginning, Verstraete goes straight into the action that kept me turning the pages and invested in finding out what would happen next, but it is very much a plot-driven story with a lot of action... and not much else. The characters aren't memorable and bland - hell, I don't even remember who's who and what, and I'm writing this review mere hours after finishing the book. The world feels very undeveloped even for a first novel in a series; while there are some questions that are answered,there are plenty of more left unanswered. At the end, I ended up feeling like a more jumbled mess than before I started the book.
August 27, 2017
This is the first book that I have read by Majanka Verstraete. I always enjoy reading books that have a paranormal aspect in it; and this ghost slayer is awesome. Kaelyn is a ghost slayer; she has the ability to banish ghost and not worry about them coming back. Unfortunately things don't always work out how you participate. Reading this story it becomes apparent that there is more going on with Kaelyn and Alex and it makes this book all the more interesting. I cannot wait to read the next book, Thank you NetGalley and Majanka Verstraete for allowing me to read and give an honest review of this book.
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