Nothing is as it seems in this chilling, twisting tale by bestselling author Andrea Portes, perfect for fans of Madeleine Roux and Danielle Vega.Rife with dark humor and chilling twists, This Is Not a Ghost Story is American Horror Story meets There’s Someone Inside Your House. It will have readers flipping back to the very first page after the shocking finale. I am not welcome. Somehow I know … after the shocking finale.
I am not welcome. Somehow I know that. Something doesn’t want me here.
Daffodil Franklin has plans for a quiet summer before her freshman year at college, and luckily, she’s found the job that can give her just that: housesitting a mansion for a wealthy couple.
But as the summer progresses and shadows lengthen, Daffodil comes to realize the house is more than it appears. The spacious home seems to close in on her, and as she takes the long road into town, she feels eyes on her the entire way, and something tugging her back.
What Daffodil doesn’t yet realize is that her job comes with a steep price. The house has a long-ago grudge it needs to settle . . . and Daffodil is the key to settling it.
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Book 87 towards my goal of 285! 3/5 stars for this YA Thriller read. What the heck did I just read? This book was a roller coaster from start to finish. Love the cover, it goes so well with the story! Narration was great as well. Definitely recommend if you like weird books!
Audio Book Review: “This is Not a Ghost Story” written by Andrea Portes, performed by Lauren Ezzo
The official description of this book follows:
“Daffodil Franklin has plans for a quiet summer before her freshman year at college, and luckily, she’s found the job that can give her just that: housesitting a mansion for a wealthy couple.
But as the summer progresses and shadows lengthen, Daffodil comes to realize the house is more than it appears. The spacious home seems to close in on her, and as she takes the long road into town, she feels eyes on her the entire way, and something tugging her back.
What Daffodil doesn’t yet realize is that her job comes with a steep price. The house has a long-ago grudge it needs to settle . . . and Daffodil is the key to settling it.Daffodil Franklin has plans for a quiet summer before her freshman year at college, and luckily, she’s found the job that can give her just that: housesitting a mansion for a wealthy couple.
But as the summer progresses and shadows lengthen, Daffodil comes to realize the house is more than it appears. The spacious home seems to close in on her, and as she takes the long road into town, she feels eyes on her the entire way, and something tugging her back.
What Daffodil doesn’t yet realize is that her job comes with a steep price. The house has a long-ago grudge it needs to settle . . . and Daffodil is the key to settling it.”
I give this description because a reader shouldn’t go into reading this book without much more information. There is an in-the-moment, conversational, stream-of-consciousness style to the book, narrated by Daffodil who is obviously keeping secrets – from herself as much as from her readers. This works remarkably well when narrated by a talented voice actor, which Lauren Ezzo most certainly is. I felt the words of a witty, charming, and mixed-up young person in a real and identifiable way by listening to the audio presentation of this book. If you’re interested in the atmospheric “This is Not a Ghost Story,” this audio book is a great way to go about it.
The title isn’t wrong…
I expected it to be a horror story even though the title was very clear about it not being a horror story. I really went in not knowing what the story is about other than hoping some creepy stuff will happen. I got more than just that, thanks to the amount of surprises this book had.
This book had a lot of things that nobody can expect, even I didn’t see what was coming for the majority of the book. The story remind me of those psychological thrillers in which the narrators are so unreliable, but still you keep reading because it intrigues you, and also because a lot of things just doesn’t add up. I thought I was reading a thriller book more than a horror book, but I wasn’t disappointed, I was just surprised due to the unexpected stuff that happened in the story.
This and its bleakest setting really set the tone for the story. I can feel the chill runs through me since the beginning when Daffodil arrived at the mansion she was supposed to take care of while the owners are away. You definitely can feel the scary tone in the story at that point. The fear that I felt was real. It has been a few years since I last read horror books, but this one is far better in so many ways. The author really did a great job writing this story and putting the fear in me through her writing.
In this book, some things are not like what you thought. If you think you’re smart, hold that for a second because this book will spin your head. Like I said earlier, this is similar to psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators except this is more to horror than thriller, and the only similarity is that some things are real and some things are not, so expect there are some things that aren’t adding up. The conclusion will leave you in a shock because you didn’t see it coming.
I’ve questioned some of the things in this book because there are stuff that doesn’t make sense, and when the sudden realization came to me…I was shocked!!! Honestly, I really did not see many of the things coming, especially the twist in that ending.
Daffodil as the narrator is very intriguing and since she doesn’t interact much with people, it was really interesting to see how this story would go on without much human interaction. Basically, majority of the story was just about Daffodil telling the readers about her daily life and updating the readers on what she’s doing and what she’s going to do next. It wasn’t boring to me but uniquely entertaining, if you know what I mean. It was really great to know what was on her mind, and how she was as a person when she wasn’t with anybody. To get to know a character like this is really rare, especially if she doesn’t interact much with people and only talk to herself for the majority of the book.
When she always talk about dreaming and imagining, that’s when I knew right away that she is an unreliable narrator so I was preparing myself for the ‘real’ and ‘not real’ thing. Too bad, I just didn’t know which is real and which is not because Daffodil is a very good narrator that she made everything look so believable.
When I read about the things that happened to her when she was staying in the house, for example: a misplaced pot, a missing hammer and frog…I knew something wasn’t right about the house, and the prologue showed a strange tragedy happened in that house before so I was really looking forward to uncover the mystery. I’ve suspected an evil spirit lived in there and it wanted Daffodil out of the house hence why it was playing tricks with her and messing with her mind. I was fully ready just in case the ghost would make a surprise appearance but it didn’t happen which made the story a lot scary. Strange noises, missing things, and no ghost? It’s scary to me, really scary!
Finding out the truth and what actually happened is the reason why I stayed up all night to finish the book just so I can find out everything. Totally worth it even though I messed up my sleeping schedule for staying up late. If I really look into it and then look back to the beginning, Daffodil was acting so odd that it made her look suspicious. After that big reveal, I knew how this whole story came to be. Also, the conclusion revealed how Zander is playing a big part in this story, and what does he mean to all the things that happened to Daffodil in the story. It was a really nice conclusion.
I was shocked about the twist in the ending because at first I was like, “NO WAY! What if…” and then I was, “NOOOO!!! MY HEART.” It was a nice way to surprise the readers I admit, and also a good way to wrap the story up, but also kind of sad how it ended for both Daffodil and Zander. She deserve to have a great life and he deserve a second chance, but the universe had other plans for them. At least the universe isn’t cruel enough to separate them.
This is definitely not a ghost story, but it’s a love story with some creepy and scary elements. Daffodil and Zander’s love story is greater and sadder than most love stories I’ve read. I got so emotional at the ending because I was both happy and sad. Happy that they get to be together again for forever, and they don’t have to be afraid of another separation because obviously it won’t happen since they’re in a much better place. Sad because they have to live a life together in a different world and that they didn’t get to taste how it’ll be like living a life together in a world where everything is normal like it used to before that night changed their fate forever.
In conclusion, whatever happened to Daffodil in this book is a one big scary obstacle she had to face on her own. The scary things she had to endured in this book is like a game or a challenge she have to win in order to get to live a better life. She was being tested to see whether she will pass whatever is being thrown at her or not. If she fail, she won’t be able to reunite with Zander. If she succeed, she will get to live a happy life with Zander. The only thing is, is she dead or is she alive but just in a coma?
I was impressed by the story and the direction it went for. It was a page-turner kind of story and you may not want it to end. I loved this creepy story, and the fact that this is my first read in October is really fitting. This is an interesting and also a heart-wrenching story of fated love but in a star-crossed lovers kind of way. You’ll either cry and being left emotionally unstable because of the couple or get scared because of the creepy stuff, there is no in-between.
A perfect ghost story, This Is Not a Ghost Story is entertaining, complete with a gripping story and a humorous narrative.
Excellent Narrative
One of the best things about this story is the narrative and voice of Daffodil. Daffodil is incredibly relatable and funny. Charismatic, Daffodil drives the story forward with her narration and expressive language. Socially awkward, Daffy is just fun. Her energy is fun, and I cannot stress that enough because it was the best part of the novel.
Daffy is left alone to take care of a haunted house, and when strange things start to happen around her, she tries to rationalize it. The reader can picture her perfectly because it is realistic. Her shaky laugh, her wide eyes, her unsure expression, all that detail that Portes put into bringing her life does just that: it brings Daffodil to life.
Then there are her hobbies. Daffy is weird in the best way possible. She likes weird conspiracy theory shows like Alien Encounters and Behind the Curse, eats ramen noodles like every college kid. Her personality instantly connects to the readers and her reactions to the events around her. Yeah, the reader can put themselves in her shoes.
Great Rising Tension
What also works for this novel is the rising tension of the story. It begins with an article obituary about the death of a man and woman in a house fire in the late 1800s. Then there is Daffy welcomed to the house to take care of it over the summer and watch over the renovation plans because yeah, at 17, she is totally qualified to do that (Daffy’s attitude, not mine).
Then strange things start to happen. First, a feeling of being watched by an empty house screaming for her to get out, then scratching at the wall behind the pantry, a mason jar with blood, a missing dead frog, and regular possessions and hallucinations. Everyday haunted house aspects.
Nevertheless, it works here. Nothing comes off as cliché because Daffy is telling the story. Daffy is telling this story to readers as if it already happened. Honestly, it is a bit of a trip, but in the best way possible.
It also has fantastic pacing. The story’s pace increases gradually and, combined with the tone and tension, grip the reader, hooked to reading the story faster and faster to solve the haunted house’s mystery.
Final Thoughts
With a surprising ending, This Is Not a Ghost Story is an incredible, quirky, energetic, and unique ghost story that will leave the reader awestruck.