Wow! What can I say about this book? Just wow. First, let me start by saying am I such a sucker for book-in-a-book format. And this was SOME book-in-a-book. Ghostwriter is unlike any other book I have read and one that will stick with me for quite some time. I already feel my book hangover coming on.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to not read too many blurbs and just pick up this book and start reading. I am willing to go out on a limb and proclaim that this is one of the best books I have read all year. I can tell you, for certain, that it is the first book this year to earn 5 stars from me. And those don’t get given out willy-nilly. I have read quite a few good books this year, but let me tell you why this one got 5 stars when others were given 4-4.5.

I could.not.put.this.book.down. I was so invested in Helena’s story, the way the story unfolded both in present time and through the book she was writing, the pacing and the character development, all of it. It just WORKED. It flowed. And it is so original; its premise and the way it is told. Oh, it just stays with you. I don’t even know what genre I would classify this. It is suspenseful because you know you are being led down a path, but it is also the story of a broken woman. I just know that it was a damn good story and I enjoyed every single second of it.

I highly recommend this book.

I originally marked this book as a 4 star read, I AM AN IDIOT!!!!
I have changed it to it's rightful 5 star shelf.


REVIEW


What do you do when you look in the mirror? Do you take a quick glance to check all is ok, or do you stand and take a really good look?

Do you study all of your laughter lines, your wrinkles, your grey hair, or do you really REALLY look???

If you really look, what do you see?
Are you happy with who you are?
With all you have ever done?
Of who you are perceived to be?

Ghostwriter, is like standing in front of a full length mirror and seeing all of the scars you have, all of the dirty secrets that, even though you tell your best friend everything, you would never tell them that......not that....not ever!!

The main character will probably be someone that you are not really that happy with, she's OK, she's grumpy, and to put it quite frankly, a bit of a bitch!

This, will maybe make you dislike her immensely, however, stick with the story, she has reason, a reason that I cannot (and will not) divulge! (Spoilers people!)

Mark, gahh I LOVE Mark, he is such a calming presence, he is like the Ying to Helena's Yang, the chalk to her cheese, the white to her black, her.......well you get the picture.

This story starts off a little slow, like a trot, however it gains speed, and then by the time you realise what is happening you are galloping through a minefield, and leaping over the things that you don't want to see.

My advice, apart from obviously reading this brilliant book, is GO IN BLIND, don't read any reviews (except mine of course!)

Savour every sentence, every line......Take a deep breath and buckle up, you are in for a bumpy ride!

I have been a huge fan of Alessandra Torre. Her books are amazing.
When I first heard she was writing Ghost Writer I was so EXCITED. I could wait to read this book.
When I heard what the book was about it already grabbed me. I know how it feels to be sick and wonder when my it will be my time to die.

This book took me on an emotional roller coasters ride. I felt so much for Helena. Even though she was a character in a book I could understand everything she felt. I could sympathize and emphasize with why she was who she was.

This was one of the best books I have read by far this year.
If you haven’t read Ghost Writer do so!!

Thank you Alessandra for this wonderful book❤️

Every household has secrets…. In this chilling thriller, one woman’s past exposes a haunting family secret.

It was 4am when I almost finished this book. I was on Chapter 64 trying to continue. But the tears were weighing me down tremendously. I needed to sleep. However, I knew I had to finish reading until the last page. Gradually, I decided to listen to some music for inspiration. I wanted something to calm the heartache and anxiety I was experiencing. As I scrolled through my playlist, suddenly two songs became the epitome of this story:

Celine Dion – My Heart Will Go On

Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You

In paraphrasing “My Heart Will Go On”, there are books that can touch you once and last a lifetime.” Well, my titanic is The Ghostwriter. It simply just swallowed my heart and soul.

Helena Ross, a bestselling romance author wants to write the epic love story of her life. She wants to pitch it to an editor who will most likely and very well may deny publishing it. It doesn’t matter. She has a story that needs to be told. Unimaginable loss compels her to tell this story.

To create her masterpiece, she will have to confront the darkest parts of her life built on lies. Under the most difficult of circumstances she needs a ghostwriter to complete her book. Who better to write her masterpiece than the sexy blond smut author Marka Vantly who she has a love/hate competitive rivalry with via email.

The story is told in alternating perspectives of Helena and her manuscript in progress, the ghostwriter, her agent and a reporter. It weaves a mystery guaranteed to keep you guessing. It explores a life plagued with secrets, grief and guilt. It will force us to ask ourselves how well do we know those who are closest to us.

The Ghostwriter tingles with a painful edge, spinning like a whirlwind toward its shocking conclusion. It’s a gripping tale of deception and betrayal dark enough to destroy a marriage…and a life. Every chapter ends with the perfect hook. You feel all of Helena’s torment and loss.

Fiction readers should already be reading Torre. However, if you are unfamiliar with her work (where have you been?!) this is the book to start. She has taken her exceptional writing to a whole new level as a new voice in suspense thrillers. With edge-of-your-seat angst, it will keep you wondering where the next clue will lead.

Damn Helena. Becoming a human in her final moments of life.

I didn’t know how to rate this book. I finished it last night, somewhere around 2 a.m. and I had no idea if I liked the book or loved it or disliked it. It’s such a strange book that you’re left wondering how you feel about all these unlikeable characters, all these guilty people. Who do you like, who do you hate?

This book is about a romance writer, who has lost everything in her life, and now she has only three months left. Three months in which she wants to write a book, her confession to all her sins. Helena is a very intriguing character, she is so cynical that it gets funny, at times. What was a bit nerve-wrecking to me was how long it took us to find out what the big deal was. What were Helena’s sins, why were they so huge that they tormented her so much?

I have three months to write the last book of my life. Three months to confess the details of that day, and how it changed everything for me.

I think one of the best things about this story is that it includes no unnecessary romance. It has beautiful and healing friendships (between a man and a woman, too!). Can you actually believe it? I feel like friendships between men and women are so rare in media and in books, having the friends always falling in love in the end and never presenting an actual healthy friendship that has no physical part. Which is very damaging to real life expectations, causing stupid concepts like the ‘friend-zone’ or guys getting very angry when a girl only wants to be friends because hey, that’s not how things are done with the movies… ‘I was supposed to be your friend for some years and then you’d have fallen in love with me, because you owe me that.’

Anyway, enough with my rant on social issues. Let’s get back to the actual plot of this book. What is the most frustrating thing about reviewing The Ghostwriter is that I can’t tell you anything about the big thing. The huge thing that changed Helena’s life forever, it’s an awful thing, but it’s totally not Helena’s fault, which makes me happy that in the end she had found resolution, she had found forgiveness in the people that were next to her.

The only reason why I took a star off this book is that the action is very rushed, in my opinion, there’s a lot of time spent on the process of writing Helena’s autobiography (I’ll call it that) and a very small time spent on what actually happened, what shook her family. When it happened, I felt like the writing got very frantic, it felt like you were in a carousel that only went up, up, up and you couldn’t help being overwelmed.

I liked Helena and how honest she was, sometimes so honest that she came across as cruel. I could relate to her thinking it’s a waste of time to be fake, to pretend you’re something you’re not. I loved her redemption arc, I loved how Torre didn’t shy away from writing a flawed character with issues, that people most of the time overlook.

Definitely try this book if you’re a fan of mystery, unlikeable character and unlikely friendships, the writing is quite simple, so you’ll fly through it. But be aware of the fact that this book can be triggering, since it’s very dark towards the end.

If you lie enough times, no one believes your truth.

The Ghostwriter by Alessandra Torre is a dark, haunting story about secrets and lies. It’s a story about obsession and loss. And ultimately, it’s a story about forgiveness and love.

Helena Ross is a successful, bestselling romance author. She’s at the peak of her career. But her next novel will be her last. Helena has a shocking secret that she has kept hidden for the past four years. But in her final book, all will be revealed. Because this book is so wonderfully twisty, I think it’s best enjoyed without giving away too much about the plot.

Helena is a character who I know will stay with readers long after the book is over. She’s richly complex and my feelings toward her completely changed by the end of the book.

Torre’s writing is both lyrical and poignant. Her words soar off the page. I found myself engrossed in the story, but frequently had to pause, go back, and re-read because the writing is so beautiful—and, in many cases, heartbreaking. As I read the final chapters, I had to set the book down at one point because I couldn’t see past my tears. It’s that good.

I highly recommend The Ghostwriter.

This is only the second book that I have read from Alessandra Torre. I loved [book:Black Lies|22471294] and I was excited to read this one. I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting into with this book since it clearly states that this was not a romance novel. I beg to differ. Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love with boy. They get married and have a beautiful daughter together. Just no happily ever after.

Helena Ross is a bestseller author of romance novels. She has 3 months to write her final book. She has been keeping a secret for four years and this is her confession.

This book is emotional, heart-breaking and suspenseful. The mystery of her secret keeps you turning the page. All the characters are well developed. Helena is not a likable person. She is bossy, arrogant and controlling. But you also mourn her.

I definitely recommend this book. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I would like to thank NetGalley and DCA for supplying a copy of Alessandra Torre's "The Ghostwriter" in exchange for a honest review.

Okay where to begin???

I can't go into detail about why you should read this book because I say go in blind like I did and just read it!

1: This is not a romance story

2: Emotionally Captivating

3: Mysteriously glorious

4: Nail biting & Gasp Worthy

5: Mind Blowing Read

This is my favorite book of all time from Author Alessandra Torre.

My #1 Top 2017 Read!

I absolutely loved every page of this amazingly written book. And let me just say that I have started and stopped this review over and over again. I’ve thought about all of the words I want to say and not say for days. And I’m still at a loss. Mostly I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. So I will be brief.

I loved Helena. She just grabbed me and wouldn’t let go and I miss her since I closed the last page. Her story was emotional and I loved reading it. I also loved the other people that inhabited this story. They all owned my heart and still do.

The suspense was fabulous, trying to figure out the mystery kept me glued to the pages and I loved every moment of it. This author can write anything and she does it fabulously every time. This is definitely my favorite of hers to date.

So I will just stop there and say I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a really great suspenseful contemporary book with brilliant characters and some of the best writing out there. This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

I do NOT want to reveal too much about this book. The blurb was written in a specific way so we go in knowing very little. There are some books where this is a must... The Ghostwriter is one of those books so I’m going to tell you about Alessandre Torre’s writing and how this book made me feel. This was the first book I have read by Torre, however, I have a few on my kindle. I just haven’t gotten to them yet... you know, the ol’ TBR pile is stacked high! I have fallen in love with her writing during The Ghostwriter. Torre paints a picture with her words as if she was showing you an image.

There is a quote in this book that is complete perfection: “It’s not hard to write a book. The words are easy. What’s difficult is the ability to breathe life into them.” While I do not know if it’s actually easy to write a book, I do know that Torre put so much breathe into her written words that you could feel them pulsing with life. Her story took on a life that consumed me for a day while I devoured it as quickly as I could.

The Ghostwriter is written so flawlessly that you won’t know if you like the main character or not. You won’t be able to explain why such a sad and, somewhat, melancholy book can cause you to ignore your real life surrounding you. There is a horribly, beauty to this book that everyone will appreciate and relate to... sometimes life is exactly that... horribly, beautiful. This book will leave you completely stunned. If you’re like me, it will leave you speechless. I’ve waited nearly a week before writing even this bare review down. The real and raw emotion this book left me with was almost embarrassing... by the last page I was sobbing. Yes, sobbing... you know tears pouring down my blood-shot eyes while sniffling the snot trying to run out of my nose. Lovely, huh? Keep tissues handy, you will need them!

I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.

***4.5 ‘Side Effect’ Stars***

Alessandra Torre’s name is one of those that when you hear it you automatically associate with romance, even if you haven’t read any of her books your brain goes automatically goes to that word: Romance. So when I heard she had written a book that wasn’t romance I was intrigued and when I saw it up on NetGalley I had to request it just to see what she had come up with and what a journey it was. This isn’t a happy, light, swoony book in anyways, but there is a sense of rightness in the path to redemption Helena takes that made it a fascinating read that kept me turning the pages until the bitter end.

I wouldn’t say that I liked Helena ~ she isn’t someone that wants to be liked, but I did find her fascinating in how she saw the world and how she did her best to control everything and everyone around her. She is stuck in her head and her view of what is right and wrong isn’t extreme, just filled with no areas of gray ~ unless it has to do with the characters of her romance novels.

As for the story itself. I really enjoyed the style in which it was told and how everything was revealed. There is a lot of inner monologuing going on, but it works perfectly with this story because of who Helena is. There are other characters that come into play, Mark is my favorite, and they bring a bit of light to the story, but also help to give us a better and more well rounded understanding of the very enigmatic Helena Ross. Overall, this was an interesting and intriguing read that kept me guessing right up to the very end.

Alessandra Torre has been a favorite author of our blog for a long time. She is such a versatile writer, who can really write (successfully) any genre!

The Ghostwriter is not her typical genre for sure! It is more of a mystery/thriller than a romantic story-line. But it is beautifully written and captivated us from the first page! The story is raw and breathtaking and we highly recommend it!

The Ghostwriter opens with the primary narrator proclaiming that she is a murderess and that she has three months to live. Most of us would assume we’ve got the story figured out from the start, but in Torre-esque style, that is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Ghostwriter is not a romance, per se. However, this incredibly suspenseful contemporary fiction is a story of love. It tells the tale of love between newlyweds, between parent and child, and the sort of love that comes from years of acquaintance. That said, The Ghostwriter is not a sunny-field-of-flowers sort of read. I was pensive, distraught, angry, sentimental, and sad while reading this book. It has been quite some time since my eyes teared-up over a book; The Ghostwriter is definitely a book to keep the tissues at the ready.

The layers of the richly developed characters and their relationships are exposed as Helena shares her story with her ghostwriter. High strung, creative, crazy, wildly successful are all good descriptions for the main character Helena Ross. She is OCD, a bit of a recluse, and she is much more. Helena is a complex character, and while she might not be completely likeable, you can’t help but empathize with her. I loved the intense competition between Helena and her fellow writer, Marka Vantly—the terse, barb-riddled correspondence between the two masks their individual feelings that their competitor just might be better in every way.

From word one to the last I was in this story—like a specter hovering in each scene. The Ghostwriter is a gripping book that I literally didn’t put down once I started it. The story starts slowly with the introduction of characters and setting, with the tension steadily building to a crescendo like a banshee’s wail. Judging by my pounding heart, reading this book, might be equivalent to a cardio workout.

Avoid reviews with spoilers—it will absolutely ruin this book for you. Grab this book, get your chores done, and start reading. The Ghostwriter by Alessandra Torre is one of my top reads for 2017.

When I finished The Ghostwriter by Alessandra Torre, I put my iPad down and just took a minute. Or two. I needed them. This book was powerful, emotional and raw. One of the best books I have read this year. The prologue set the perfect tone for the book. Because you know something is coming. Something big. By the time I reached the last words, I was drained.

Helena Ross is an internationally known author. Many of her books have been bestsellers. She has written fifteen romance novels. You would think love and romance fills her life. You would be wrong. And now? Now in just three short months, she needs to write the most important book of her life. Her confession.

Helena Ross stopped living four years ago. After the day her life changed irrevocably. Her existence now is her words and the empty space of her home that haunts her every waking moment. I was not sure how I felt about Helena at first. She was difficult, rude and condescending to those around her. Cold and distant, she was unlikeable and someone you could never relate too.

But now that she has only three months to write this one last book, she needs helps. She needs a ghostwriter that can capture the words she needs to expel. What she has hidden from everyone for the last four years. She decides to enlist the help of her nemesis. An author she despises on principal, but one she knows can tell the story as needed. But she is in for the surprise of her life when she gets that help she so desperately needs.

And so we embark on the journey that was Helena’s life. We get some insight on how she was raised and how she became to be the woman she is today. We learn of her happy times and her lowest times. We begin to see a Helena that has many layers. Does this make her likeable? Relatable? I am not sure, but it made her human. Her story is heartbreaking and maddening. But it is her story to tell.

I have to say, I loved Mark. He came in with one thought when he met Helena, but somehow Helena touched him in a way that only a memory of a loved one can. He was a good man and the perfect partner for Helena during this time and to help put her thoughts into words for her final book.

I absolutely loved The Ghostwriter by Alessandra Torre. This book consumed me from the start. It was such a powerful story of a broken and lost person. I felt her pain, her loss, her grief. This is not a romance, but a story of a person’s downfall and final redemption. Helena was not an easy person to like, but you will come to understand her. This was one of the best books I have read this year and highly recommend reading it!

Expiration dates…….so many things possess them. It’s the final notice that many ignore. When it comes to your life, it puts a finality on every moment that has passed. A chance to reflect on the good and the bad. For Helena Ross – writing has always been the focus in her life. The ‘final notice’ on her time on this earth leaves Helena contemplating a story that must be told. The final chapter on that untold tale that will shake things up when she is gone. The only question is how can this final book be written before Helena’s passing? The only solution Helena can see revolves around a Ghostwriter.

With quirks and demands throughout her career that have left her ‘friendless’ and alone, Helena knows that there can be only one person who she trusts to make this book happen. A rival in the industry known for turning out book after book. What Helena didn’t expect was to have the people she turned away rally around her for this final hurrah!! A culmination of years worth of trials and tribulation that have lead to this moment. A final time to place pen upon paper.

Nothing could have prepared Helena to relive those moments with someone that was quickly becoming more ‘friend’ than ‘foe’. The only question remaining is if this last verse will make it to see the light of day. Putting all of her hurt and heartache aside, Helena pushes through the pain to find the courage to share one of the most epic novels with the one that will help her through it all.

First let me start by saying that if you are a fan of the author, this novel is unlike any of her previous works. The story has a life of its own that will lead you down a path of heartache and hurt. While I enjoyed the story as a whole, I managed to figure out the plot long before I probably should have. There were moments that I felt could have had more realistic occurrences. The premise that a Ghostwriter would automatically accept Helena’s terms without much resistance just didn’t pan out for me.

Then there is the tag line that the novel falls into the suspense category. Nope…..definitely not suspenseful in the content. Which was a bit of a letdown when I finished the book. With that said, The Ghostwriter DOES have one of the more unique story lines to date from the author. A fact that should be acknowledged in this market of repetitive story ideas. The Ghostwriter falls into its own category. One that will lead readers on a path of indecision, second looks, and a heartache so deep you will feel it through the words in each chapter.

Ghostwriter is a book to go into with a open mind. I was shocked and so deep into reading I couldn’t put it down. I felt like I was writing Helens story and feeling everything thru her eyes. This isn’t a romance story it’s full of heartache, lies and hidden life. This book really opened my eyes to how we see people from the outside but do we truly know someone? Or is everyone just full of lies and hiding the real them? The author gave me chills and I even had to stop reading at one point because I was so shocked and shaking. A very unique story that has you gripping your kindle till the end. 5/5 stars definitely in my top 2017 Reads for its uniqueness ****Reviewed for Sweet & Spicy Read provided for a voluntarily Advanced Reader Copy of this book ****

I have no words…
I don’t know if I will ever be able to talk about this book or how I felt while reading it.

This book haunted me, touched me, I couldn’t put it down, I cried, I have been horrified, I have been tensed from page one to the last.
This book is my first one of Alessandra Torre, and it will not be the last one. No romance here but a mystery novel, a psychologic one.

Helena Ross is a famous best-seller author. Her last wish is to finish writing her last book: the most important of her life. She has three months to do it because she is dying from cancer. It will be about her life and all the secrets inside it.
Well, that was her plan but she knows that it will be impossible because she needs one year to write a novel… So her last chance is to ask the help of a Ghostwriter, so she asks Kate, her agent, to find him.

Yes, this book is about sickness/illness but it is not just about that. To be honest, it’s a small part of the plot, more like a deadline.

This book is more about writing, the love of it! The need for an author to write, the process, the path from an idea to a manuscript and toward a book. You will be immerged in the publishing world with agents, contracts etc.

I have been captived by the story! I couldn’t stop thinking about it even when I closed the book.
Helena‘s story deeply moves the reader, there is no concession. We follow the story chapter by chapter to reach the truth, the final revelation.

Alessandra is a suspense genius, she gives us clues during all the novel. She gives us her story, we have the sensation to be a guest behind the scene because we know that each word, each clue leads to the revelation, exactly the same way Helena lives with her book.

I really loved Helena character: her spirit, her comes back, her sarcasm. I was touched by her personality. The same way I was touched by the Ghostwriter: his words, touches, he is really important for the story and I love their duet.

We can call it a psychologic mystery, a « behind closed doors » story between the past and the present.

When I finished the novel, I was totally moved. Moved by the story, the feelings, the words and last but not least: Alessandra’s style which adds « un je ne sais quoi » so real and alive.

I didn’t expect anything when I started the novel and yet I have been hooked from the first page! I highly recommend it!
You can see my review on my blog: https://lilynotebook.wordpress.com/2017/10/03/the-ghostwriter-alessandra-torre/

The Ghostwriter

by Alessandra Torre

DCA



General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 02 Oct 2017

I am reviewing a copy of The Ghostwriter through DCA and Netgalley:

Helena Ross only has three months to live, three months to write the last book of her life.

Helena Ross has written fifteen romance novels, ten of them becoming international best sellers, but will she be able to finish her final book?

Helena is only nineteen when her agent gets her first novel

Helena does not really have friends, her time was spent either reading or writing.

Realizing she is not going to have the energy to do this final book so she ask her agent Kate to find a Ghostwriter.

Her final book will bring the truth she had hidden from the police to light, the truth about her husband and daughter.

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Really good read. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. Something different from Alessendra, which is good to see.

The Ghostwriter isn't my normal read. This book is not full of fluff and a swoonworthy lead. No, this book is raw and dark, full of suspense that makes it impossible to put down. I know because I finished it at 2:30AM. I didn't even realize what time it was I was so engrossed in this book. The Ghostwriter left me in awe of Alessandra Torre's talent. This isn't my first book by her, in actuality, I'm obsessed with her writings. Going into each book I know to hold on tight because she is about to take me on a wild ride, giving me small clues along the way. It's full of twists and turns and will leave you begging for more. The Ghostwriter is no exception.

Helena Ross is a bestselling author. She's obsessive almost to the point of compulsive. My emotions toward Helena were just as much a roller coaster as the book was. At certain points I enjoyed her character and felt for her, other times I severely disliked her. I am 100% okay with that though because it evoked many emotions from me. I love a book that allows me to feel.

The Ghostwriter is hands down my favorite book of 2017. This book will stay with me for a LONG time. I can't stop thinking about and it's been days since I've finished. I want to do a re-read and see what clues I might have missed the first time. I don't want to divulge too many details because this is the type of book that you need to experience first hand. Everyone should experience this book. Let Alessandra take you on that roller coaster of emotions. I promise you won't regret it.