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Heartthrob : Heartthrob Saga, Book One
Heartthrob is a young adult book with new adult factors that will leave you begging for more.The panicking voices around me were growing distant. My ears were plugged as if I was locked under water. The warmth of my blood flowing from my body now blanketed my shirt. As the adrenaline violently pulsed through my veins, the room went pitch black.I was walking back down the hallway of my new high school in Ohio. Dave’s blue aura was filling the air around me. His ghostly spirit felt like the dead of winter. My fist was clenching the strap of my bag jolting up the staircase. My body swung around, revealing the most beautiful green eyes, his sweet woodsy smell floated up my nose. Jason Blackstone stood before me. My body filled with vibrations – I'd seen his latest movie only a month ago. What was this Hollywood heartthrob doing in my new school? Ohio was miles away from California.My body turned back around; two beefy hands were grasping my shoulders tightly. A pool of hatred erupted in my father’s eyes. I watched his hand reach for the gun. The stone in my necklace was causing my skin to feel frostbitten. Dave’s ghostly hand went to grab my father’s, but the gun had already fired.If you liked the movie Enough (2002) and Endless Love (2014) with a twist of The Ghost Whisperer, then you will fall in love with this new saga!
- GenresParanormalRomance
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 5, 2021
20 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Estalyn
6 books73 followersEstalyn loves writing her romance books that blend between YA and NA, always twisting the real world with the fictional ones she creates, but that is not all she does. She is also a photographer and full time dog mom to her chihuahua! She has a very sweet, humorously annoying husband that supports her in all she does. She also went to school for journalism to be an entertainment news reporter! She resides in Ohio working on her next project!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
September 1, 2022
--potential spoilers--
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I was gifted this book as an ARC. I had high expectations for this, and I was so excited to review it, but alas, I made myself push through it to end the 330+ page plate of paranormal bits and immature romance with a generous side of no {main} plot. *sigh* I'm not even sure if I could make sense of the story and it is somewhat hard to follow while being pierced with Jason's green eyes.
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Skylar, an 18 year·old high school student (but still won't be graduating this year) who's best friend, Dave is dead-she talks to him and sees him constantly. Her necklace glows when he is going to appear or is near and she has full·blown conversations with him in person and via text. Dave has piercing blue eyes. She is on the run with her mother from her alleged murderous father. "Sky" is also chasing a crush, Jason, a 20 year·old with forest green eyes, fellow high school student, and he's famous. I don't want to forget Joey, Missy, Kyle, Alex, and all the other characters that insert themselves throughout the book. Did I mention Jason has forest green eyes?
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This book seems to be loaded with back & forth, miscommunication, and just a lot of anything and everything going on. There are so many inconsistencies, punctuation errors, typos, overuse of words, and run·on sentences. I find the "main" characters to be very underdeveloped--and now I'm sitting here thinking about the rest of the saga and how I couldn't bear the next two books, let alone stop thinking about Jason's green eyes.
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Unfortunately, It's a no from me dawg.
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And I'm not totally devastated to be cutting ties with Jason piercing me with his green eyes.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I appreciate having this opportunity and I absolutely love the author, she's great! I wish her the best of luck in her future.
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I was gifted this book as an ARC. I had high expectations for this, and I was so excited to review it, but alas, I made myself push through it to end the 330+ page plate of paranormal bits and immature romance with a generous side of no {main} plot. *sigh* I'm not even sure if I could make sense of the story and it is somewhat hard to follow while being pierced with Jason's green eyes.
·
Skylar, an 18 year·old high school student (but still won't be graduating this year) who's best friend, Dave is dead-she talks to him and sees him constantly. Her necklace glows when he is going to appear or is near and she has full·blown conversations with him in person and via text. Dave has piercing blue eyes. She is on the run with her mother from her alleged murderous father. "Sky" is also chasing a crush, Jason, a 20 year·old with forest green eyes, fellow high school student, and he's famous. I don't want to forget Joey, Missy, Kyle, Alex, and all the other characters that insert themselves throughout the book. Did I mention Jason has forest green eyes?
·
This book seems to be loaded with back & forth, miscommunication, and just a lot of anything and everything going on. There are so many inconsistencies, punctuation errors, typos, overuse of words, and run·on sentences. I find the "main" characters to be very underdeveloped--and now I'm sitting here thinking about the rest of the saga and how I couldn't bear the next two books, let alone stop thinking about Jason's green eyes.
·
Unfortunately, It's a no from me dawg.
·
And I'm not totally devastated to be cutting ties with Jason piercing me with his green eyes.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I appreciate having this opportunity and I absolutely love the author, she's great! I wish her the best of luck in her future.
August 6, 2023
Great story with well written characters! I also enjoyed all of the tropes added in! Sky takes you on such a rollercoaster but wow cannot wait for the next book. Definitely never got bored and things were constantly happening that keeps you wanting more!
April 3, 2022
This was my first experience as an ARC reader.
And I must admit... this wasn't a very good one.
The author is a really nice person, and I wish her the best of luck in the future, but this book...
I really couldn't like it. I pushed through to finish it, but I couldn't seem to make sense of what was happening in the story.
For me, too many plots were happening at the same time : the dead friend she could see, the murderous father, the famous guy she had a crush on...
But more than that, it was the terrible inconsistencies that made it hard for me. Not only did the sentences not always make sense (the switch between past and present verb tenses made me cringe throughout my reading), but the actions were also inconsistents. Some characters were there for no reason, with no depth at all (hello, Joey!) and too much miscommunication was going on...
To finish, I couldn't connect with Skylar at all. She was always contradicting her own thoughts and words, going from « I want to be with him » to « I can't, he'll be in danger, but I can't tell him, so I'll just break his heart » too many times during the book.
I think you could like this book if you like really fast paced stories with a lot of twists and turns and the « I can't be with you even if I want to because I don't want to put you in danger » trope.
For me... it didn't work at all.
And I must admit... this wasn't a very good one.
The author is a really nice person, and I wish her the best of luck in the future, but this book...
I really couldn't like it. I pushed through to finish it, but I couldn't seem to make sense of what was happening in the story.
For me, too many plots were happening at the same time : the dead friend she could see, the murderous father, the famous guy she had a crush on...
But more than that, it was the terrible inconsistencies that made it hard for me. Not only did the sentences not always make sense (the switch between past and present verb tenses made me cringe throughout my reading), but the actions were also inconsistents. Some characters were there for no reason, with no depth at all (hello, Joey!) and too much miscommunication was going on...
To finish, I couldn't connect with Skylar at all. She was always contradicting her own thoughts and words, going from « I want to be with him » to « I can't, he'll be in danger, but I can't tell him, so I'll just break his heart » too many times during the book.
I think you could like this book if you like really fast paced stories with a lot of twists and turns and the « I can't be with you even if I want to because I don't want to put you in danger » trope.
For me... it didn't work at all.
September 3, 2022
I received this as an ARC and I could not put it down (well...I couldn't put my phone down that is lol). I've always enjoyed cute romcoms and paranormal romances. This was almost completely different than anything I've read before. I instantly hated the mean girls, loved Jason, and now have huge questions about the real reason behind the main villain's intentions! I have ideas about the twist at the end and can't wait to dive into the next book for some answers!
September 6, 2021
This was a great book and I enjoyed reading it. “Most people would claim this to be their idea of the perfect life, but that was them looking in from the outside.”
October 2, 2021
Tried really hard to finish.
I had to keep skipping through the book because there was a lot of over explaining and unnecessary plots in it. I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn’t get into it.
I have read a lot of bad bulky worded books but this one was too much for me. I couldn’t get over the over explanation of scenes that didn’t need the extra paragraphs.
I wish I could give this a 4 or 5 star rating but sadly I’m having to give it a 1 star for the writing style, errors in the book and the story itself not jumping out at me. It sounds like a cute plot, but it was terribly executed.
I’d recommend if you are unsure if you should read it try reading it in Kindle first. Just because I give it a low rating doesn’t mean other people won’t enjoy the book.
I had to keep skipping through the book because there was a lot of over explaining and unnecessary plots in it. I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn’t get into it.
I have read a lot of bad bulky worded books but this one was too much for me. I couldn’t get over the over explanation of scenes that didn’t need the extra paragraphs.
I wish I could give this a 4 or 5 star rating but sadly I’m having to give it a 1 star for the writing style, errors in the book and the story itself not jumping out at me. It sounds like a cute plot, but it was terribly executed.
I’d recommend if you are unsure if you should read it try reading it in Kindle first. Just because I give it a low rating doesn’t mean other people won’t enjoy the book.
March 22, 2024
I was super excited to read this based on the synopsis. And I was even excited in the beginning because it started off with a pretty fast pace.
Unfortunately, I ended up forcing myself to finish it.
Skylar's inner monologue is the most annoying character I've ever had to listen to. She is the epitome of contradiction. At first I tried to remember that she is a teenager. I can usually appreciate when it's written well as a teenager point of view because a teenager's thought process can be annoying, but this is just painful to endure.
Besides the CONSTANT contradiction in her thought process, I cant get over how at one point she was so uncomfortable about Jason (or anyone) speaking for her, yet every thought she had and action she took was based on what SHE thought was best for someone else, giving them zero chance to make their own decisions.
I found myself skimming through the second half of the book because there was an unbelievable amount of grammatical and structural errors; to the point that I, often, had to give up trying to understand what was actually trying to be portrayed or said. There were times I couldn't even guess.
I felt as if I was reading book length run-on.
The story does seem like a good story to be told, yet this first book was drug out considerably with zero answers. I like some suspense, but it was annoyingly layered on, and the most basic questions never crossed the inner monologue nor were they asked by other characters. So they could never be answered- let alone the fact that you can't build suspense to a reader if the suspense you are trying to portray is not painted into our minds.
I do plan on attempting to read the next book in the series as I made a commitment to read and review. However, if the writing structure has not matured and it seems to not have gone through an editor... I'm out. No story is good enough to endure painful reading.
Unfortunately, I ended up forcing myself to finish it.
Skylar's inner monologue is the most annoying character I've ever had to listen to. She is the epitome of contradiction. At first I tried to remember that she is a teenager. I can usually appreciate when it's written well as a teenager point of view because a teenager's thought process can be annoying, but this is just painful to endure.
Besides the CONSTANT contradiction in her thought process, I cant get over how at one point she was so uncomfortable about Jason (or anyone) speaking for her, yet every thought she had and action she took was based on what SHE thought was best for someone else, giving them zero chance to make their own decisions.
I found myself skimming through the second half of the book because there was an unbelievable amount of grammatical and structural errors; to the point that I, often, had to give up trying to understand what was actually trying to be portrayed or said. There were times I couldn't even guess.
I felt as if I was reading book length run-on.
The story does seem like a good story to be told, yet this first book was drug out considerably with zero answers. I like some suspense, but it was annoyingly layered on, and the most basic questions never crossed the inner monologue nor were they asked by other characters. So they could never be answered- let alone the fact that you can't build suspense to a reader if the suspense you are trying to portray is not painted into our minds.
I do plan on attempting to read the next book in the series as I made a commitment to read and review. However, if the writing structure has not matured and it seems to not have gone through an editor... I'm out. No story is good enough to endure painful reading.
April 7, 2022
This was my first experience as an ARC reader and I could not have been more excited. This is not my typical genre of choice, but as soon as I got into the story it took me back to being 14, staying up late waiting for new chapters of addicting romance stories, to come out on polyvore (if anyone remembers polyvore). This story and writing reminded me of why I fell in love with reading in the first place.
I fell hard for the love story, but personally wanted to yell at Skylar for being so indecisive. The supernatural element is subtle and mysterious, making me want more explanation of how and why.
The story kept me hooked, and had just enough backstory for each character that it did not dominate the story that was presently going on.
I do have to say that my favorite thing in this whole book is CHAPTER TITLES! Where have chapter titles been the last 10 years and can Estalyn please be the author that brings them back???
The ending left me with a lot more questions than answers, and I cant wait to read book 2!
I fell hard for the love story, but personally wanted to yell at Skylar for being so indecisive. The supernatural element is subtle and mysterious, making me want more explanation of how and why.
The story kept me hooked, and had just enough backstory for each character that it did not dominate the story that was presently going on.
I do have to say that my favorite thing in this whole book is CHAPTER TITLES! Where have chapter titles been the last 10 years and can Estalyn please be the author that brings them back???
The ending left me with a lot more questions than answers, and I cant wait to read book 2!
April 6, 2022
This YA romance is off to an intriguing start. The author does a good job of drawing you in with this mysterious storyline that does tend to jump a bit all over the place but once you get used to how the author writes you find yourself unable to put it down. You have Sky who is in hiding for various reasons, you have Jason our teen heartthrob / actor who falls for Sky and then you have Dave our mysterious and very intriguing and protective ghost though sometimes you re not too sure whose side he is on! It’s an interesting read that got off to a slow start then gets very exciting but needs a little more back story especially on Dave and how he came to be Sky’s guardian and on Jason and his family and on Sky’s family past. I really hope we get more answers in book two.
May 13, 2022
I was lucky enough to read this as an ARC. That being said, I will say it does start out slow, but then picks up to leaving you wanting more. I will say this read a little too young for my type of reading, but none the less, I did enjoy it. At times the dialog was a little unnatural and there are some grammatical errors, but nothing to stop the flow of the story. I am looking forward to reading Book 2!
November 4, 2022
I enjoyed Heartthrob overall. The plot was intriguing, and the characters were well written, if not a little whiny. I felt like there was a lot of tropes thrown in and it did feel overwhelming at the beginning. However, as the book went on, everything become a lot clearer in a sense that I felt like everything was more understandable. They have the typically teenage angst and, while cringey, is exactly how a realistic teenager acts. I'm going to have to start the second as soon as possible!
August 27, 2021
Finished this yesterday and really enjoyed it.
Lots of twists and turns and a sweet, slow burn romance.
Different from most of the books I've read, it's left me with lots of unanswered questions. Bring on book 2! ❤
Lots of twists and turns and a sweet, slow burn romance.
Different from most of the books I've read, it's left me with lots of unanswered questions. Bring on book 2! ❤
April 8, 2022
I'm not generally a YA reader. I usually read very dark, very heavy, very triggering. I wanted to give Heartthrob a chance though and I wasn't disappointed. It's a nice mix of themes (reality vs perception, life and afterlife) with a good bit of mystery thrown in. Yes, personal preference wants it all to be more intense but I'm definitely hanging on to the cliff to find out how Skylar and Jason and, my favorite, Dave, all handle what you can sense is about to come crashing down.
September 16, 2021
Read the blurb on an author facebook page, which hooked me in, telling us it was being released soon, and couldn't wait for that day. Was a little slow to start, but then Skyler's story took you away. There were lots of twists and a few unanswered questions, bring on book 2 to find out the answers. Looking forward to reading the next chapters in Skyler and Jason's lives.
April 7, 2022
Great book! After getting sucked in by the initial plot so many other factors came into play. I had a hard time putting it down and can’t wait for book 2!
March 18, 2022
Not many books hook me from the beginning but this one definitely did! It isn’t like other Romance books where the relationship is perfect from the beginning Heartthrob has a more realistic touch but still great romance! I would 100% recommended this to anyone who wants to read a good romance book!
October 16, 2022
Intriguing tropes!
This book has some tropes that I have never seen combined quite like this!
Definitely one of those books you just devour in one sitting (I did) because you are constantly wanting answers to the next question that pops up.
I had so much fun and am excited to read the next one.
This book has some tropes that I have never seen combined quite like this!
Definitely one of those books you just devour in one sitting (I did) because you are constantly wanting answers to the next question that pops up.
I had so much fun and am excited to read the next one.
March 13, 2022
Loved it!
Over all I loved the book! Just a couple of kids finding themselves in this world with a crazy life following both of them. Some parts were slow but I pushed through and I’m glad I did cause they came together in the end!
Over all I loved the book! Just a couple of kids finding themselves in this world with a crazy life following both of them. Some parts were slow but I pushed through and I’m glad I did cause they came together in the end!
September 4, 2021
I was an ARC reader for this book and I must admit it started out slow for me. With that being said it got better and pretty quickly. There's a good back story and it keeps you wanting more. There's a lot of things that leave you wanting more. The characters are interesting and although Skyler is my least favorite character I want to know why what is happening to her is happening. I want to know what's to come with Jason and David. I'm very interested in knowing more about Kyle and his story. Overall it's a good story. I definitely can't wait to find out what happens next.
August 22, 2022
I huge thank you to Estalyn and her team for the opportunity to read this book, and give an honest review. 🥰 You are officially the first eBook I have ever read! 😆
To start off, this is the first celebrity romance with paranormal tidbits that I've ever read. And I'm not horribly disappointed with it. Personally, I do think that we don't get enough character/storyline development for me to really start to feel like I know and understand the characters. The characters and storyline have so much potential, I am excited to see what book two gives us (This is book One in a 4 book saga).
Skylar totally dives headfirst for the boy (a little too fast in my opinion) but she is 100% a typical teen/YA who can't make up her damn mind. Come on girl. I will admit, sometimes the whole "I can't be with you because I'm trying to save you" trope makes me want to scream at the characters. Just let it happen!! 😆 Be more of a free spirit damnit. With all that being said, I did enjoy the book. It was a super fast paced read, none of the chapters were overly long, and it has a ton of twists and turns (maybe a few less would have been nice, I may have got whiplash LOL). So overall, I give the book.....
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars!!
To start off, this is the first celebrity romance with paranormal tidbits that I've ever read. And I'm not horribly disappointed with it. Personally, I do think that we don't get enough character/storyline development for me to really start to feel like I know and understand the characters. The characters and storyline have so much potential, I am excited to see what book two gives us (This is book One in a 4 book saga).
Skylar totally dives headfirst for the boy (a little too fast in my opinion) but she is 100% a typical teen/YA who can't make up her damn mind. Come on girl. I will admit, sometimes the whole "I can't be with you because I'm trying to save you" trope makes me want to scream at the characters. Just let it happen!! 😆 Be more of a free spirit damnit. With all that being said, I did enjoy the book. It was a super fast paced read, none of the chapters were overly long, and it has a ton of twists and turns (maybe a few less would have been nice, I may have got whiplash LOL). So overall, I give the book.....
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars!!
November 7, 2022
Heartthrob follows the story of Sky, a teen girl who’s struggling with a tumultuous backstoryi, starting fresh in a new town.. that just so happens to be home to her biggest celebrity crush. Chaos and drama ensue as their relationship takes off. You’re left on the edge of your seat throughout the suspense wondering if these two teen loves will make it, or will their families keep them apart?
With. H4N ending, I was pleased with how the plot and storylines were brought together at the end of the novel. There are many unanswered questions that have me anxious to dive into book two and see where this bumpy road takes us.
While the back and forth between the two characters got annoying at times, lots of will they, won’t they, it was very on track with a YA teen love story. They had me rooting for them from page one.
With. H4N ending, I was pleased with how the plot and storylines were brought together at the end of the novel. There are many unanswered questions that have me anxious to dive into book two and see where this bumpy road takes us.
While the back and forth between the two characters got annoying at times, lots of will they, won’t they, it was very on track with a YA teen love story. They had me rooting for them from page one.
Read
January 8, 2025Firstly, there were definitely some details of the story that were triggering for me so new readers BE AWARE of the content trigger warnings!!! ⚠️
I asked to read this series through facebook from the author and at first was hesitant because I don't typically read paranormal romancey stories but I literally GOBBLED this book up! I started it on a friday and finished it over the weekend! I really enjoyed the character development, although it is kind of slowly developing even near the book ending, there's plenty of room left for both Jason and Sky to further develop into the next book. I also have to say how much I ADORE Jason even from the beginning! I can't wait to see what happens next! SO MUCH SUSPENSE!
I asked to read this series through facebook from the author and at first was hesitant because I don't typically read paranormal romancey stories but I literally GOBBLED this book up! I started it on a friday and finished it over the weekend! I really enjoyed the character development, although it is kind of slowly developing even near the book ending, there's plenty of room left for both Jason and Sky to further develop into the next book. I also have to say how much I ADORE Jason even from the beginning! I can't wait to see what happens next! SO MUCH SUSPENSE!
November 5, 2022
Skyler is new to Ohio and Hollywood heartthrob Jason attends her new school. These two have an instant connection but she keeps pushing him away for his own safety. Skyler and her mom are running from her abusive father and she doesn’t want to lead him to Jason!
This book ends in a HFN, but there are a lot of unanswered questions that I can’t wait to dive into book 2! I really enjoyed this book and even though there were times I wanted to knock some sense into them I loved how there story played out!
This book ends in a HFN, but there are a lot of unanswered questions that I can’t wait to dive into book 2! I really enjoyed this book and even though there were times I wanted to knock some sense into them I loved how there story played out!
November 22, 2021
So disappointed
This book had great potential but was a huge disappointment. Not enough character development. The storyline was also very underdeveloped. There's a lot of adolescent back and forth. While I understand it is a story about teenagers, it was still all just very immature.
This book had great potential but was a huge disappointment. Not enough character development. The storyline was also very underdeveloped. There's a lot of adolescent back and forth. While I understand it is a story about teenagers, it was still all just very immature.
March 17, 2022
Interesting, action packed plot with suspense and twists. Great start of what could be a solid paranormal series. Not having read on in the series, I look forward to seeing where this story goes. Already invested in the characters but want to learn more about their pasts. Overall an interesting YA series in the making.
March 16, 2022
After receiving this as an ARC for the trilogy, here is my honest review:
Synopsis from Estalyn:
Heartthrob is a YA novel with adult features.
The panicking voices around me were growing distant. My ears were plugged as if I was locked under water. The warmth of my blood flowing from my body now blanketed my shirt. As the adrenaline violently pulsed through my veins, the room went pitch black.
I was walking back down the hallway of my new high school in Ohio. Dave’s blue aura was filling the air around me. His ghostly spirit felt like the dead of winter. My fist was clenching the strap of my bag jolting up the staircase. My body swung around, revealing the most beautiful green eyes, his sweet woodsy smell floated up my nose. Jason Blackstone stood before me. My body filled with vibrations – I'd seen his latest movie only a month ago. What was this Hollywood heartthrob doing in my new school? Ohio was miles away from California.
My body turned back around; two beefy hands were grasping my shoulders tightly. A pool of hatred erupted in my father’s eyes. I watched his hand reach for the gun. The stone in my necklace was causing my skin to feel frostbitten. Dave’s ghostly hand went to grab my father’s, but the gun had already fired.
Review:
Absolutely taken aback at how awesome this book is! There is excitement, suspense, romance, and so much more! While it is a slow burn in the beginning, readers are left in suspense wanting to know what happens to the characters.
Esalyn provides a new outlook on YA & NA in her first novel, and I was not disappointed. Skylar is on the run with her mother, desperate to hide from her father. From there, we are taken on an adventure of Skylar starting at a new school with the famous Jason Blackstone. Underneath his charm, Jason is a very real and relatable person once Skylar gets to know him.
Skylar is an independent and strong female lead. This is seen throughout the novel as her character grows.
Thank you to Estalyn for the chance to read this novel! So excited for you and cannot wait to see what other novels you write!
Synopsis from Estalyn:
Heartthrob is a YA novel with adult features.
The panicking voices around me were growing distant. My ears were plugged as if I was locked under water. The warmth of my blood flowing from my body now blanketed my shirt. As the adrenaline violently pulsed through my veins, the room went pitch black.
I was walking back down the hallway of my new high school in Ohio. Dave’s blue aura was filling the air around me. His ghostly spirit felt like the dead of winter. My fist was clenching the strap of my bag jolting up the staircase. My body swung around, revealing the most beautiful green eyes, his sweet woodsy smell floated up my nose. Jason Blackstone stood before me. My body filled with vibrations – I'd seen his latest movie only a month ago. What was this Hollywood heartthrob doing in my new school? Ohio was miles away from California.
My body turned back around; two beefy hands were grasping my shoulders tightly. A pool of hatred erupted in my father’s eyes. I watched his hand reach for the gun. The stone in my necklace was causing my skin to feel frostbitten. Dave’s ghostly hand went to grab my father’s, but the gun had already fired.
Review:
Absolutely taken aback at how awesome this book is! There is excitement, suspense, romance, and so much more! While it is a slow burn in the beginning, readers are left in suspense wanting to know what happens to the characters.
Esalyn provides a new outlook on YA & NA in her first novel, and I was not disappointed. Skylar is on the run with her mother, desperate to hide from her father. From there, we are taken on an adventure of Skylar starting at a new school with the famous Jason Blackstone. Underneath his charm, Jason is a very real and relatable person once Skylar gets to know him.
Skylar is an independent and strong female lead. This is seen throughout the novel as her character grows.
Thank you to Estalyn for the chance to read this novel! So excited for you and cannot wait to see what other novels you write!
August 20, 2022
Skylar is a normal 18-year-old girl…except she sees the ghost of her dead best friend Dave. Oh yeah, and she and her mother have fled from Florida to Ohio in an effort to escape her demented father—an effort that would later prove to be in vain. Upon her arrival, Skylar is instantly captivated by Jason, local town hottie and Hollywood celebrity. Skylar and Jason’s romance unfolds in a sweet slow-burn that is wrought with the challenges of meddling, and sometimes seemingly weirdly jealous family members, as well as the obstacles associated with Jason’s celebrity status. I became so engrossed in their romance, that at times I almost forgot that the sinister specter of Skylar’s father Richard was lurking in the backdrop of the story terrorizing her and her mother for some as yet undefinable reason. This story success for me in being a nice YA novel with elements of the paranormal, romance, and mystery. As an adult who reads a lot of dark fantasy/romance/sci-fi, this served as a nice palette cleanser as it has been a very long time since I’ve read a YA novel. Overall, I enjoyed the story. Considering how it ended, I can tell that this first novel served as more of an intro, as it left plenty of question unanswered. Would definitely be interested in reading the sequels and would anticipate based on the trajectory of this first story that they would likely ramp up. The aspect of the book the feel short for me had nothing to do with the plot of the story itself. As I was reading, I came across numerous grammatical errors and strange turns of phrase that I found to be distracting in some instances. As a professional editor, reading some of these things made me cringe, and somewhat hindered my immersive story experience. Overall I’d give the book a 3.5/5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2022
Page turner with a few critiques
"He said forever, writing the word eternity in my heart."
Estalyn graciously allowed me to be an ARC reader for the first time ever with this clever book. I'm more than happy to share my honest thoughts.
It definitely takes awhile to get going, but once it does the twists and turns will keep you flipping pages. This is not a genre I typically gravitate towards, but I did enjoy it.
One critique I have for the author is to work on the dialog a bit. Most sentences between characters start with the characters name they're speaking to and it comes off unnatural. It can hender the moment at times.
Other than that, it was a good read that left a lot of questions hanging in the air!
"He said forever, writing the word eternity in my heart."
Estalyn graciously allowed me to be an ARC reader for the first time ever with this clever book. I'm more than happy to share my honest thoughts.
It definitely takes awhile to get going, but once it does the twists and turns will keep you flipping pages. This is not a genre I typically gravitate towards, but I did enjoy it.
One critique I have for the author is to work on the dialog a bit. Most sentences between characters start with the characters name they're speaking to and it comes off unnatural. It can hender the moment at times.
Other than that, it was a good read that left a lot of questions hanging in the air!
August 16, 2022
“He said forever, writing the word eternity in my heart.”
TBH I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started this book. It has been a long time since I've read YA fiction but I was pleasantly surprised I actually liked this. Especially with its paranormal elements 👻
I'm a little confused about her spiritual guide Dave and how all that plays out. I am hoping we get more answers to their roles in peoples lives.
I think this was a good coming of age story. The on/off again relationship with Sky and Jason was complicated by her past and his his terrible family. It is sad to see these kids just wanting a normal life and not having that chance. I am hoping they get a HEA in the future. I am rooting for them 🙂
TBH I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started this book. It has been a long time since I've read YA fiction but I was pleasantly surprised I actually liked this. Especially with its paranormal elements 👻
I'm a little confused about her spiritual guide Dave and how all that plays out. I am hoping we get more answers to their roles in peoples lives.
I think this was a good coming of age story. The on/off again relationship with Sky and Jason was complicated by her past and his his terrible family. It is sad to see these kids just wanting a normal life and not having that chance. I am hoping they get a HEA in the future. I am rooting for them 🙂
August 27, 2021
This is one of the most original and amazing YA/NA books I’ve read in such a long time. The suspense, the excitement, the what ifs and maybes — even now whilst waiting for book 2 — Estalyn has a way of weaving a story that you can’t put down, with characters that you fall in love with and become emotionally attached to (whether you’re Team Dave or Team Jason).
This is a beautiful book full of love, heartbreak, coming of age, lessons learnt, suspense, the paranormal, friendship, and everything else in between.
If you add only on book to your to be read pile for rest of this year, make sure it’s this one.
This is a beautiful book full of love, heartbreak, coming of age, lessons learnt, suspense, the paranormal, friendship, and everything else in between.
If you add only on book to your to be read pile for rest of this year, make sure it’s this one.
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