This is a book that I took a picture of about a year and a half ago and then finally bought it in Waterstones at the beginning of January. I was very excited to read this because the synopsis held so much promise for me.

Synopsis (as taken from back of the book) is as follows:

They’re here.

They’re watching.

Cass can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead.

When Cass’s parents start hosting a TV show about the world’s most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh. Here, graveyards, castles and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms.

But when Cass meets a girl who shares her “gift”, she realises how much she still has to learn about the Veil – and herself. And she’ll have to learn fast. The city of ghosts is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

Reading this book was like jumping down a rabbit hole of twists and turns, every time I had a theory formed, the book would twist another way and I’d be clueless as to what would happen.

Ability to read – I found this very easy to get into. I thought it might be a little chaotic but I was pleasantly surprised that the book flowed smoothly and at a pace that was understandable. I thought the language was easy to understand and the structure of the book was simple enough. I could clearly visualise what was happening and understand the character’s as they moved around the world.

Characterisation – I found Cass to be an interesting character. I thought she was quite complex and that there were many sides to her. The experiences she had gone through leading up to where this book starts, were intriguing and I’d love to know more about her past. The dynamic between Cass and the other character’s was interesting as was they dynamic of her parent’s where one was a believer of ghosts and the other a sceptic. I thought the dialogue between the different character’s was eye-opening and gave me a better insight into the characters in play.

Visualisation – I have never been to Edinburgh and yet I could clearly construct a visual for what was happening in this story. I got the darkness and the claustrophobic nature of how Cass feels very early on and it was interesting to see – with my imagination – how she navigated the side of life that no one knew about and how she floundered when she found she wasn’t the only one.

Uniqueness – I don’t read a lot of stories that are solely about ghosts because I find them a little predictable but I thought this one was very good and different and original. There was a lot of uncertainties that I had by the end and I’m hoping (and crossing my fingers) that there will be a sequel to this book but I guess only time will tell.

Hannah xoxo