About the Book:Title: The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts (The Unbelievables #1)
Author: K.C. Tansley
Pub. Date: August 1, 2015
Publisher: Beckett Publishing Group
Pages: 242
Rating: 4/5 stars
Synopsis:
Kat Preston doesn’t believe in ghosts. Not because she’s never seen one, but because she saw one too many. Refusing to believe is the only way to protect herself from the ghost that tried to steal her life. Kat’s disbelief keeps her safe until her junior year at McTernan Academy, when a research project for an eccentric teacher takes her to a tiny, private island off the coast of Connecticut.
The site of a grisly mystery, the Isle of Acacia is no place for a girl who ignores ghosts, but the ghosts leave Kat little choice. Accompanied by her research partner, Evan Kingsley, she investigates the disappearance of Cassie Mallory and Sebastian Radcliffe on their wedding night in 1886. Evan’s scientific approach to everything leaves Kat on her own to confront a host of unbelievables: ancestral curses, powerful spells, and her strange connection to the ghosts that haunt Castle Creighton.
But that’s all before Kat’s yanked through a magic portal and Evan follows her. When the two of them awaken 129 years in the past with their souls trapped inside the bodies of two wedding guests, everything changes. Together, Kat and Evan race to stop the wedding-night murders and find a way back to their own time—and their own bodies—before their souls slip away forever.
The site of a grisly mystery, the Isle of Acacia is no place for a girl who ignores ghosts, but the ghosts leave Kat little choice. Accompanied by her research partner, Evan Kingsley, she investigates the disappearance of Cassie Mallory and Sebastian Radcliffe on their wedding night in 1886. Evan’s scientific approach to everything leaves Kat on her own to confront a host of unbelievables: ancestral curses, powerful spells, and her strange connection to the ghosts that haunt Castle Creighton.
But that’s all before Kat’s yanked through a magic portal and Evan follows her. When the two of them awaken 129 years in the past with their souls trapped inside the bodies of two wedding guests, everything changes. Together, Kat and Evan race to stop the wedding-night murders and find a way back to their own time—and their own bodies—before their souls slip away forever.
Review:
I'm always a sucker for ghost stories, and with it being Fall, I knew this was going to be the perfect read! I enjoyed every second of this book and am glad that I had the second book on hand to read right after finishing this one because I definitely wanted to stay in the Unbelievables world a little longer. Even though this is a pretty quick read, Ms. Tansley creates a classic ghost story that has all the right elements to make you fall in love.
This book is very reminiscent of a classic gothic ghost story that you hear about growing up....which how can you not love that sort of thing? Especially at this time of year. The atmosphere really made this book for me and Ms. Tansley writes it perfectly. You feel the spookiness coming off the page. The one thing I loved is how Ms. Tansley really delved into the spirit world/lore. She took the time to go in depth about the paranormal elements to make sure we understood things and the world she was creating. I found her spin on things like the spirit world, reincarnation, souls, and possession unique and frankly, it just made sense. I was very intrigued while reading because I couldn't wait to learn more about the world she created. I also loved the time traveling element to the story. Although in some books the addition of time travel might not have fit, again...it just made sense in the story. I adore when authors can seamlessly blend genres like this and have it feel so natural.
The characters were well written for the most part as well. Kat is strong-willed and despite knowing how much danger she is putting herself in, knows that she has to do what is right and figure out the mystery. Kat was an enjoyable character from the get go for me and I liked how relatable she was. Evan, while a bit haughty at the beginning, really loosens up and becomes a likable character by the end. By the end I was shipping Kat and Evan pretty hard (and believe me...you will too). However, one thing that was a little off to me was the fact that the 19th century characters were more well-developed than the modern day characters. By this I mean, I felt like I knew all of the characters in the 19th century better than Kat, Evan, or any of the other characters that we were originally reading about. While the majority of this story takes place in the past, I would have liked a little more characterization for the 21st century characters as well.
There was one other small thing that made me lower my rating, and this was how Kat was able to "get rid of" the ghosts when they started appearing to her. I found it incredibly difficult to believe that by just repeating the phrase, "ghosts don't exist" over and over again would suddenly cause a firm believer to be "ghost-free." If the author would have said that Kat found some other way to rid herself of the ghosts, it would have been more in line with all of the other elements that Ms. Tansley incorporated. This concept just felt so unnatural in such a well-crafted storyline. However, it didn't bother me too much because it basically made me go from 4.5 stars to 4 stars.
Despite a couple of little things, I highly recommend checking out this novel by K.C. Tansley! It was a fantastic start to a new paranormal series and it sure to be a major hit with a little more attention. With Halloween coming soon, this is the perfect spooky October read!
This book is very reminiscent of a classic gothic ghost story that you hear about growing up....which how can you not love that sort of thing? Especially at this time of year. The atmosphere really made this book for me and Ms. Tansley writes it perfectly. You feel the spookiness coming off the page. The one thing I loved is how Ms. Tansley really delved into the spirit world/lore. She took the time to go in depth about the paranormal elements to make sure we understood things and the world she was creating. I found her spin on things like the spirit world, reincarnation, souls, and possession unique and frankly, it just made sense. I was very intrigued while reading because I couldn't wait to learn more about the world she created. I also loved the time traveling element to the story. Although in some books the addition of time travel might not have fit, again...it just made sense in the story. I adore when authors can seamlessly blend genres like this and have it feel so natural.
The characters were well written for the most part as well. Kat is strong-willed and despite knowing how much danger she is putting herself in, knows that she has to do what is right and figure out the mystery. Kat was an enjoyable character from the get go for me and I liked how relatable she was. Evan, while a bit haughty at the beginning, really loosens up and becomes a likable character by the end. By the end I was shipping Kat and Evan pretty hard (and believe me...you will too). However, one thing that was a little off to me was the fact that the 19th century characters were more well-developed than the modern day characters. By this I mean, I felt like I knew all of the characters in the 19th century better than Kat, Evan, or any of the other characters that we were originally reading about. While the majority of this story takes place in the past, I would have liked a little more characterization for the 21st century characters as well.
There was one other small thing that made me lower my rating, and this was how Kat was able to "get rid of" the ghosts when they started appearing to her. I found it incredibly difficult to believe that by just repeating the phrase, "ghosts don't exist" over and over again would suddenly cause a firm believer to be "ghost-free." If the author would have said that Kat found some other way to rid herself of the ghosts, it would have been more in line with all of the other elements that Ms. Tansley incorporated. This concept just felt so unnatural in such a well-crafted storyline. However, it didn't bother me too much because it basically made me go from 4.5 stars to 4 stars.
Despite a couple of little things, I highly recommend checking out this novel by K.C. Tansley! It was a fantastic start to a new paranormal series and it sure to be a major hit with a little more attention. With Halloween coming soon, this is the perfect spooky October read!
Happy reading :)
Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Come back this Friday to see my review for the second book in this series, The Girl Who Saved Ghosts as part of the the Blog Tour :)
Come back this Friday to see my review for the second book in this series, The Girl Who Saved Ghosts as part of the the Blog Tour :)
~Cassie
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