Four years ago, I lied. I stood in front of the police, my friends and family, and made up a story, my best one yet. And all of them believed me. I wasn’t surprised. Telling stories is what made me famous. Fifteen bestsellers. Millions of fans. Fame and fortune.Now, I have one last story to write. It’ll be my best one yet, with a jaw-dropping twist that will leave them stunned and gasping for … twist that will leave them stunned and gasping for breath.
They say that sticks and stones will break your bones, but this story? It will be the one that kills me.
This book is not a romance. It is contemporary fiction, but very suspenseful in nature. It is about a famous romance author and a dark secret she keeps.
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The Ghostwriter by Alessandra Torre is dark and unforgettable. It’s about obsession and loss. And secrets and lies. And let’s not forget, forgiveness and love.
When Helena Ross, a successful romance author, learns she has only a few months to live, she stops writing her novel in progress and hires a ghostwriter, her worst enemy, who’s a fast writer, to help her tell the story she MUST tell before it’s too late.
I was surprised by the content of this novel an although this book contains interesting twists and turns, it’s not for everyone as its subject matter is not for the faint of heart.
From the first, I liked the characters and the story intrigued me.
And it just got better and better.
If you are looking for an unusual story where nothing is what it seems and you like dark surprises and to shed a tear or two, this book is for you.
This book has been out for a while, but I’ve finally come up for air to catch up on my wishlist for good reads. I know I can always count on Alessandra Torre to deliver one. This book has so many twists and turns that I couldn’t guess the end. Torre has a unique voice that she brings to her stories, and you know you’re about to undertake a wild ride. At first the main character jarred me with her grim outlook on life. But as I read on, I learned the reasons behind her perspective. And Torre takes you along with Helena on an emotional journey that holds you captivated until you turn the last page. I loved the suspense in this book. It was brilliantly written. I highly recommend this book for an entertaining read!
Transcendent.
Author Alessandra Torre has built an impressive writing and independent publishing empire. As an author, I have been following her tutorials religiously. So, when I finally had an opening in my reading list, her novel The Ghostwriter caught my eye because of the title, yet I had no idea what to expect.
This novel is truly on a higher level than the average romance or thriller and is more in line of psychological mystery. Although I try to avoid comparisons in my reviews, one could put this in a category with Elyn R. Saks and Joan Didion for authenticity of character, even though The Ghostwriter is fiction and not autobiographical. It also recalls Meg Wolitzer for the subject matter and wild finish.
It starts out with a disagreeable yet heroic female protagonist in the worst-case scenario who seeks the help of a rival who turns out to be nothing like she had imagined. As their relationship evolves, the details of the mystery slowly unfold.
Without giving away any spoilers, the story builds to a metaphysical level making the reader face his or her own dysfunctions and the entire experience transcends the writing, at least for me it did. It compelled me to rethink unresolved issues, while at the same time diminishing or even alleviating them, in a stark forced perspective against the gravity of The Ghostwriter’s reveal.
Now Torres’ novels are at the top of reading list and I can’t wait to crack open another!
Format Read: Unabridged Audiobook collected (via Chirp retailer)
Narrated by: Andrea Izzy Anthony
Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
Release date: 12-07-17
Publisher: Select Publishing LLC
Ratings:
Story – 4 stars!
It’s not a romance but I found the heroine’s story fascinating overall. The ending seemed realistic, and I liked how she did the epilogue update.
Performance by Andrea Izzy Anthony – 5 stars!
She was great and could do feminine and masculine voices well.
Overall – 4 – 4.5 stars!
I knew going into this novel that there probably wasn’t going to be a happy ending to the heroine’s story. The heroine’s self-awareness and insistence on hiring a ghostwriter to finish a book she wasn’t contracted to write makes more and more sense as the story goes on. She dishes out details about her marriage, her daughter and her guilt over how her writing may have negatively impacted their relationship and finally hers with her mother as her ghostwriter fleshes out each chapter she outlines for him. How she interacted with her book agent and her ghostwriter made her seem more human, more vulnerable than she first comes off. And wow, the secret her husband had was a doozy for sure.
Final thoughts:
I’m more of a romance genre fan than anything else, but I was snared by the interesting cover and premise of this one. It was quite a relief that I quickly became intrigue by Helena Ross’s story. Her ‘confession’ as she labels her book is well worth reading.
Hmmm. I want to yell and shout and announce what an amazing read this was and how it was so twisted that I was left in shock. Unfortunately, it was just, okay. It’s difficult to review without spoilers but I’m going to try.
I was completely engaged with the characters. All of them. They were interesting and their actions and reactions showcased their personality to the point that I felt like I knew them personally. There is one character that appears to be unlikable, but I suspected from the beginning that feeling wouldn’t remain. And it didn’t.
That is mainly the reason I don’t have a strong emotion regarding this book. While it was written in a manner that kept me hooked to the pages, I could pretty much predict what was going to happen next.
When I did reach the one moment that was unpredictable, I felt like I had been reading a completely different book and was unable to cheer at the “slight of hand” this author performed in leading me down one path and then twisting it up. It just felt too clunky. It needed unseen clues leading the way that afterwards I could look back and think, “What the heck?! How did I not see this?” That’s where the real shock and awe come for me and this book was missing it.
Now, saying all of that, this is a wonderfully written book that the majority obviously loves. This is just my perspective of it and to be honest, I kinda was mentally comparing it to Colleen Hoover’s Verity and it just didn’t measure up. Unfair I know, but I couldn’t stop myself from doing so.
Keeps you guessing toward the end.
This story is so relatable. So much raw emotion. So many tears shed. Bring on the tissue…
Wow. What a book. I loved how unique it was–both in the format the story was told and the characters. Whew.
This book was depressing. I wish I would have went into this book not comparing it to other books. I was expecting twisty and a thriller, but I got an emotionally charged book with a creepy guy. I really loved that Helena was able to find someone to accept her the way she was in the end and find a true friend. I was surprised by a few of the twists, but this book was really about a woman opening herself up to people and them loving her through her flaws. It’s definitely a book that you need to go into blind when you read it.
I was absolutely riveted by this book. I love a good suspenseful read, and they are usually hit or miss for me. The Ghostwriter was a big fat hit!! Helena wasn’t your typical heroine, but I loved that. She’s sarcastic, snarky, and not nice. But there is a reason for that. And I loved the other characters and how they worked their way into her life, whether she wanted them to or not. The last 40ish percent of the book had me mad flippin pages like woah. I was speed reading because I needed to find out what happened on “the night that it happened”. I’m not even regretting it today even though I’m butt tired and this review is nonsensical. Buy it and read it and love it. Boom.
The author does a great job of making you hate the main character, only to twist everything you thought you knew into a crumpled ball of paper and then sets it on fire. It’s a tragic story, but it’s worth the tears.
This book was just fantastic I could not put it down there was so many emotions. I was on the edge of my seat I had to know all of Helena’s story. Helena Ross is one of the most famous romance authors, at a very young age she knew that she wanted nothing more than to write books with more than a story she wanted to make you feel something for all of her book they are real to her. She started a fude with a fellow author that she could not let go.
She is very guarded and let no one into her life. When she has no choice but to pair up with an un likely co author to complete her most anticipated masterpiece yet. This book is so good it has so many twits and turns one minute you cant stand Helena and the next you are on her side.
I enjoyed this book so much it had me in tears.
I loved how there was really no romance but at the same time there was a whole life time of love. This book shows that you cant always judge someone by how they act. It really takes you into the life of a twisted sad lonely and emotionally unavailable person. How she tries so hard to over come her struggles and then continue a normal life.
This is one of the best books I have read this year I cant stop thinking about this book. I wish it was longer I didn’t want it to end.5 gut wrenching stars!
I’ve read every book Alessandra has written. I honestly thought, if you gave me a book of hers without her name on it, I would recognise it as hers. I would know her style, the cadence of her words, her rhythm, her voice. I was wrong.
As I read Ghostwriter, I thought it was a big trick, a joke, a play on words because it wasn’t written by Alessandra. It was an actual Ghostwriter. I would almost have believed it but for one thing; I’m Torreville. I’ve seen the updates. Known about the re-writes. Seen beach and dog writing pics. Seen enough to know it was written by her.
The lady who re-invents her writing style from the mystery of The Girl in 6E, to the erotic Blindfold series and the warm and fluffy Love Chloe, just did it again and knocked it out of the park. This book is magnificent. Extraordinary. Gripping from start to finish and oh my God plot twists that I never saw coming.
Helena Ross has three months to write a book. The most important book she will write in her lifetime. She is reclusive. Friendless and practically unfriendable but needs help from the strangest individual imaginable. Horns will be locked and the book will be written.
Ghostwriter is a book in a book. Two books for the price of one. If you rejected Alessandra’s books before because they were too sexy you should think again. If you never tried an Alessandra book before then this is the book to pop that cherry.
“I, understand secrets. I understand how one person, one whisper of truth, can crumble empires, destroy lives, reveal monsters.”
“We all have a Happily Ever After, each story just needs to pick the right time to claim it.”
“That is how life is, it gives us burdens to carry and doesn’t give a damn about the weight. We shoulder it or we break.”
“We are authors, and our lives are not the ones we live, but rather the characters that we create.”
Absolutely, most definitely, no shadow of a doubt, one of my top 2017 reads.
This is a fast paced book, with short, biting chapters that keep things moving. The story is replete with surprising changes of direction, aided by the frequent change in narrators.
It is a fictional work but it gives pause as to how much trust we put in those we might not know well enough to warrant our faith.
I loved The Girl in 6E and Black Lies. After seeing reviews for Ghostwriter and suggested by a reader, I dove in.
Helena is hard to like. In real life, she’s not a person I’d want to be friends with but towards the end it changed. I’m not sure if this was the reason why I struggled reading. The story didn’t grab me until close to the end but it totally made up for it. It was unexpected and shocking because you didn’t see it coming.
“We are authors, and our lives are not the ones we live, but rather the characters that we create. This character was her truest to date. Whether you love or hate her, I hope that she made you feel. I hope that she touched your heart. I hope that, when closing this book, you will appreciate the life in these pages.”
It did. I saw Helena in a different way and she touched my heart.
Alessandra Torre’s Ghostwriter is going to leave your mind stirred for days. Not a romance, though her work in that genre lays the ground for incredible character development of such depth you will be reeling. This hallmarks her jump into mainstream fiction with a plot that will not wrap until the final pages.
I was fortunate to be able to read this book in advance and months later, I still can’t get it off my mind. Make sure to get it on yours.
This story was cleverly written and so engrossing that I read the first half so quick.
I needed to know the secrets Helena was dying to share.
There’s a twist in here that had me gasping and laughing, it was a great scene.
It’s not a romantic story and it’s very emotional to read. You feel her pain and despair and you can’t help but be heartbroken for her.
I love Alessandra, and this is a must read if you want a read that will keep you guessing.
This book came so highly rated that I couldn’t resist starting it. It grabs you hard right from the beginning on a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns. No spoiler alerts here, but an enlightening path that seems to reach an inevitable conclusion.
One of my favorites this year. Really, really good read.