dbguide2's reviews
664 reviews

Ghost Squad was a cute and short middle grade but nothing really past that. It held its own in terms of characters and plot but I don’t think it’ll be a book I remember much of. The book shined in the characters and their relationships with each other, which was nice to see. I liked that Lucely (our main character) and Syd were such close friends and how Syd stuck by Lucely. 

It’s not that I didn’t like the plot, it was easy enough for a middle grade but that was about it. Nothing really further to it. I’ve read other middle grade books with better plots so I know it can be better. But I think this book will be the perfect match for another reader. 

This was a sweet and really good book and I’m not mad that it’s friends to lovers! I have to either really like the author or the trope has to be done well (to like the trope/book) – luckily both applied here! What I like most about Pacton’s books are her characters. She writes them so well you can tell she loves them and had fun writing their journey. That makes it easier for me to like the characters. They’re also easy to love! Well, most of the time. With The Vermillion Emporium I took a while to start liking the characters. With this book I almost instantly loved Sybil and Esme. They had fun personalities and they worked well with each other. You could tell they were real friends and not just friends because they roomed together.

I loved how easy it was to believe they’re friends and then when that changed to romance that too was very easy to believe. I definitely rooted for them to be together long before they actually were and that is… rare with friends to lovers because I don’t like how the trope seems to set up the idea that you can’t really have friends. That you’re bound to have crushes on them and that’ll ruin the friendship. Although, most of the books I’ve read that have that trope are m/f relationships so maybe that’s the problem/solution (solution being don’t read m/f friends to lovers haha).

The descriptions absolutely made me feel like I was in the book and there’s nothing more that I like when that happens. It’s something I hope that could happen in all books but unfortunately that isn’t the case. Pacton, however, is always so amazing with that so it’s easy to feel like I’m in the novel. I wanted to spend more time in this book – in either realm – so I was sad when the book ended! Pacton certainly doesn’t slack when it comes to her plots. It’s always well-written and I wasn’t bored while reading (always a pleasure when I have that). Plus the descriptions really just added to the plot, elevated them to a point where (at least I felt like) you couldn’t not be entranced by the book.

I’ve really begun to like Parker’s narration! I definitely want to see what else she’s done (I already have my eye on a reread of Alison Cochrun’s newest release – peep that review soon I hope). I love how you can tell that she’s passionate about the characters and the story. Even sped up it’s clear to me, which I love and that’s what I look for in audiobook narrators. I want to hear you’re enjoying it and it’s not just a job for you (looking at you dude who does Game of Thrones audiobooks). 

This was a sweet and really good book and I’m not mad that it’s friends to lovers! I have to either really like the author or the trope has to be done well (to like the trope/book) – luckily both applied here! What I like most about Pacton’s books are her characters. She writes them so well you can tell she loves them and had fun writing their journey. That makes it easier for me to like the characters. They’re also easy to love! Well, most of the time. With The Vermillion Emporium I took a while to start liking the characters. With this book I almost instantly loved Sybil and Esme. They had fun personalities and they worked well with each other. You could tell they were real friends and not just friends because they roomed together.

I loved how easy it was to believe they’re friends and then when that changed to romance that too was very easy to believe. I definitely rooted for them to be together long before they actually were and that is… rare with friends to lovers because I don’t like how the trope seems to set up the idea that you can’t really have friends. That you’re bound to have crushes on them and that’ll ruin the friendship. Although, most of the books I’ve read that have that trope are m/f relationships so maybe that’s the problem/solution (solution being don’t read m/f friends to lovers haha).

The descriptions absolutely made me feel like I was in the book and there’s nothing more that I like when that happens. It’s something I hope that could happen in all books but unfortunately that isn’t the case. Pacton, however, is always so amazing with that so it’s easy to feel like I’m in the novel. I wanted to spend more time in this book – in either realm – so I was sad when the book ended! Pacton certainly doesn’t slack when it comes to her plots. It’s always well-written and I wasn’t bored while reading (always a pleasure when I have that). Plus the descriptions really just added to the plot, elevated them to a point where (at least I felt like) you couldn’t not be entranced by the book.

I’ll be down for reading more gothic books if they’re like this. I liked Temperance, thankfully, almost from the get-go. When you have a small cast (or rather the focus is mostly on a group of people) and the story is in a first person POV; it’s important (at least for me) to connect easily and early on with the main character/s. Family is a big part of Temperance’s life, her personality. Why she does what she does.

There’s also Temperance’s job, which is taking over as the town’s Lamplighter after her father passed away. The job has to be done as there are dangers in the fog. For the first bit I did want the dangers to be revealed or at least for us to understand what’s really in there. But as we carried on I preferred that we were in the dark much like the town and Temperance through most of the book. That way we learned through her and shared her experiences. It’s also characteristic of a gothic novel, I believe. Even though I’m not so clued up on the genre, I know some things. Like when there’s monsters, you won’t typically see them, if at all, for most of the story. It’s about how the creatures makes the characters feel, what roles they play in the story, even what themes and morals the characters possess because of the antagonists.

Temperance isn’t necessarily a quiet character but she’s in a time and community where women are meant to be seen, not heard, perfect wives or planning to be perfect wives. She was out there with a job and giving opinions, trying to have her say – which of course, no one wanted to listen to her. Which means she had to go it alone and discover what was happening herself. I liked the subplot of her sister potentially marrying someone in the town but he’s not a good person though Temperance is the only one to see that. It added some more mystery to the book and also added to her personality as you can see she cares a lot for her sister. 

I really liked the creatures and everything surrounding them. I could’ve done with a lot more focus on them than anything else. Of course I understand why they were pushed into the background but a bigger focus on them would’ve been great.