Review: City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Title: City of Ghosts

Author: Victoria Schwab

Publisher: Scholastic

Publishing Date: August 28th, 2018

Pages: 272
Audio Length: 

Genre: MG Paranormal
TW: Death

Series: Cassidy Blake

Source: Audio

 
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Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspectres, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.
When The Inspectres head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn't sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn't belong in her world. Cassidy's powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.

What made me pick this book up: 

City of Ghosts has a very ominous sounding title. So of course the title caught my eye, that paired with a creepy cover and it's definitely my type of book.

What did I like about the cover: 

I absolutely love the colors of this cover. I love how it looks ghostly and snowy (Because she almost dies in icy water I feel like it matches the book well) And of course I love the cat. 

What made me read this book: 

So some of you may or may not have noticed that we've been a bit M.I.A. lately. Well that doesn't just pertain to blogging. I know that since August I've read maybe a handful of books, but I honestly do not remember what they were. At all. I have been in a HUGE reading slump, I have tried starting a few different books and I couldn't get into any of them. 

I think the biggest part was that they were all so long (Well... 10 hours. But that sure feels like long when you haven't listened to a book in a few months) and it just seemed like it would take me forever to finish them and it was all really overwhelming.

Okay so that was probably more info than y'all really needed. Anyway! I have a list on my Scribd that is books that are 6.5 hours or shorter, so I looked on there. And this book was on that list and I liked the cover and I know creepy crawly books always get me. So I went with that one.

What did I like the most: 

I'll start with the story. The story is really interesting. City of Ghosts is about a girl named Cassidy Blake who almost died. She fell off a bridge into icy water and was saved by a ghost named Jacob. Jacob and Cassidy have been best friends ever since. Can I just say that I wish I had a ghost best friend?

Anyway! 

Ever since she almost died she can see ghosts. She goes into a place she calls "the veil" and can see where and how a ghost died.

Cassidy's parents write books about ghosts, and they get opted for a tv show. With the TV show they travel to Scotland which has a city called the City of Ghosts. The story just goes on from there, her meeting people, seeing ghosts, and getting attacked and almost having her life taken by a ghost who basically steals children's souls.

I have a thing about ghost books. I absolutely love them. I love anything horror, scary, jumpy, creepy. But especially ghost books. I don't know why. That being said, this is a middle grade book, it didn't have all of the creep factor I would have liked (I'll talk more about that under the what I didn't like section) but it still had an interesting story. 

Jacob was definitely one of my favorite characters. He was nerdy and had a great sense of humor. I felt myself giggling at something he was saying more than once. I also really loved how badass Lara was and there was a man who had helped them and I cannot for the life of me remember his name. He wasn't in the book nearly as much as he could have been.

Also... Cassidy has a black cat named Grim and she is a photographer. So those are both things I really loved about this book.

What didn't I like: 

I went into this book knowing that it was a middle grade book. I was hoping and slightly expecting a little bit more BOO in it. A little more jump scares or what not but I didn't get any.

I didn't really feel too much attachment or growth with any of these characters either. I found myself not really caring what happened to them. Except the cat. I would have been very upset if something happened to the cat.

This is the first book I've read by Victoria Schwab but I feel like I've read some great reviews about her other books, however, I feel like the writing was really simple and just kind of... dry in parts. I feel like it could have been just more. 

I understand it's a middle grade book, but I've read middle grade books meant for much younger kids and it felt like there was more depth to it. 

I felt about halfway through the book that it would end up being rated a 3. By the end I upped it to a 3.5

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I think so. I want to find out what happens.

I set out to read a short, fast paced book and I definitely got it out of this one.

“One foot in winter and one in spring.
One foot with the living and one with the dead.”
― Victoria Schwab, City of Ghosts

Victoria is the product of a British mother, a Beverly Hills father, and a southern upbringing. Because of this, she has been known to say "tom-ah-toes," "like," and "y'all."
She also tells stories.

She loves fairy tales, and folklore, and stories that make her wonder if the world is really as it seems.

Website: http://www.victoriaschwab.com
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Member Since: November 2008
URL: https://www.goodreads.com/veschwab