*REVIEW* Notes from Ghost Town

Synopsis:

They say first love never dies...

From critically acclaimed author Kate Ellison comes a heartbreaking mystery of mental illness, unspoken love, and murder. When sixteen-year-old artist Olivia Tithe is visited by the ghost of her first love, Lucas Stern, it’s only through scattered images and notes left behind that she can unravel the mystery of his death.

There’s a catch: Olivia has gone colorblind, and there’s a good chance she’s losing her mind completely—just like her mother did. How else to explain seeing (and falling in love all over again with) someone who isn’t really there?

With the murder trial looming just nine days away, Olivia must follow her heart to the truth, no matter how painful. It’s the only way she can save herself.

Notes from Ghost Town was really, really good! It's got the perfect amount of mystery and intrigue, with a pinch of love, romance, and family thrown in. It's a fast-paced and quick read, mainly because you won't want to put it down! Best news? It releases TOMORROW so you don't even have to wait that long to scoop it up!

Notes from Ghost Town introduces us to Olivia, a teenage girl dealing with the aftermath of the murder of her best friend, Stern. Complicating things further is that fact that her mother has confessed to killing him. Her mother had been spiraling further down into a schizophrenic episode so the best Olivia can hope for is for her mom to be found insane and locked away in a mental institution. The case seems all but solved until Olivia receives a shocking visitor--the ghost of Stern. Stern is convinced that Olivia's mom was not the one who killed him, but his memory is patchy and he needs Olivia's help to figure out what really happened.

Olivia begins a desperate search for the truth, a search that leads her to shocking discoveries. On top of her search, Olivia begins spending time with an unlikely male admirer, even though her guilt over Stern makes things extremely complicated. Will Olivia discover the truth in time to prevent her mother from being found guilty for a crime she didn't commit, or will she be too late? And will discovering some secrets put her own life in danger? It's a race against time in this fast-paced novel by Kate Ellison.

YAY! What a great book. I admit that I had put some things together before they were revealed in the book, but that's pretty common I think if you're a detailed reader. Even with that though, the story was very entertaining and I did NOT want to put the book down! I think some of the things Olivia is going through, like her dad getting remarried, blending into a new family, is a common thing that many readers will empathize with. It helped keep her character relatable, even as she went through some VERY uncommon things, like going color-blind and rendezvousing with her dead best friend. You will find yourself rooting for her, hoping she can discover the truth before it's too late.

I really don't have many complaints with the book at all, it was a super enjoyable read for me. I AM glad they changed the cover though because I really didn't like the cover of the ARC. It looks like they decided to do a redesign and I'm glad they did because the new cover is way better. I highly recommend this book. I rated it 4 of 5 stars on Goodreads because I'm getting VERY picky about my 5 star books. But trust me, this is a solid read that you will not regret. Enjoy! *XOXO*

Expected publication date: February 12, 2013 by EgmontUSA