Review: [ARC] Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison

Title: Notes from Ghost Town

Author: Kate Ellison

Publication Date: February 12, 2013

Rating: 2 Stars

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Book Blurb

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.

My Thoughts

I picked this one up thinking it was going to be really creepy and as exhilarating as the Mara Dyers. We have the teenage girl who thinks is going crazy, a ghost, even a murder! But even with all that this book turned out to be painfully average. 

I still don't get why Olivia goes colorblind, and when I say colorblind I mean she only sees in shades of gray, not like actual colorblindness where you mistake colors for others. If the only reason was because of the shock, then it was kind of a let down. I was expecting something more to come of it.

Olivia was a real brat, she was acting like the divorce and remarriage/Stern's death had just happened when this had all occurred over 10 months ago. I don't blame her with Stern's death, cause you never really just get over something like that, but the divorce was happening even before that, so she really needed to get it together in that regard. She was an ass to her friend too. The way she kept thinking about her made me not like her, but the thing is the friend never really did anything wrong, she was just trying to help distract her from the pain the only way she knew.

The murder mystery was a joke. I don't know why she took so long to figure it out, and she only did once she was confronted with the murderer...I knew who it was as soon as we meet that person. I kept reading thinking it can't be just that, there just had to be more. There were more reasons behind the murder but nothing special, it was all just normal (for a murder).

Up to here I would have even given it 3 stars cause Olivia really does try to figure it out and is putting the pieces together somewhat and it was mildly entertaining. What I couldn't forgive was how EVERYONE kept telling the girl she was making it up. 

*Slight spoilers ahead!*

Your daughter is telling you someone tried to kill her and you tell her she is just rationalizing it?! REALLY? Wouldn't you AT LEAST hear her all out and look into it a bit, just to make sure someone isn't actually trying to kill her? I just got so pissed. It wasn't just her dad either. It was everyoneee, her dad, best friend, possible romantic interest. It was all just a bit much.

In the end this book was just nothing new. I kept reading in the hopes it would pop out with a mind-blowing secret at the end, but no. You get what you see and nothing more.

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