Creepy haunted house in a small town? Check. Missing girls that are possibly dead and haunting said house? Check. Creepy little boy that sees dead people? Check. Basically, this book has all the things that a good ghost story murder mystery should have. I liked that the book started right off the bat with creepy events, it wasn't a slow burn. And I like that some of the minor characters were right on board with the belief of ghosts, cause sometimes it gets kinda taxing to have characters go back and forth about whether or not the existence of ghosts is possible.

The mystery of what happened to the missing girls is what had me hooked, to be honest. I really wanted to know what happened to the girls, how they were murdered, where, and why. I also wanted to know who had murdered them. That mystery was the most interesting aspect of the book. I also enjoyed that the book didn't try to force romantic relationships, or rather they were more casual, rather than insta-love. There are some events that take you by surprise, so it isn't one of those predictable books, instead it keeps you wanting to read because I really had no idea where it was going to take me. But it was a fun, yet creepy ride!

The writing flowed very well, and if you're a fan of YA and ghost stories, then this book will be right up your alley.

This book follows Haley, a girl who just moved in with her family in what seems like a haunted house. From the beginning, she feels there is something off about it and it's not just because she moved away from Chicago against her will.

Haley meets the local teenagers and she learns that four girls have been missing for a while now and nobody knows what happened to them. The police and FBI stopped looking and now Haley has to live with ghosts that doesn't want to leave her alone.

This was a creepy tale and a quick read. It was okay, I didn't particularly care about the characters but I don't have anything bad to say about this book either. Maybe ghosts stories are not my favorites to read. However, if you think this might be something you will enjoy, go for it! :)

(I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley)

Since it's October I've been wanting to read something creepy. The Fade is a stand-alone ghost story that I thought would be perfect for reading around Halloween. Unfortunately it wasn't as creepy as I would have liked. The story is a slow burn, and I would have liked more happening earlier on in the book. When the twist came I did find myself surprised by it to an extent, but not completely, because of the book description. I don't want to spoil anything so I'm not going to say anything else about the plot. If you want to be completely surprised about this book then I would avoid reading the full description as it compares this book to a couple of other stories that would be a dead giveaway -no pun intended there. I will say that after the twist I found myself going back and rereading part of the book with that new perspective in mind. This is a short book, so it didn't really take that long to read even with the back tracking. I can't say I completely liked the way things turned out in this book, especially the last revelation about a certain someone, but it was good enough to give 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The Fade by Demitria Lunetta is a young adult mystery mixed with paranormal fantasy. The main character in the story is only fifteen and may even feel a tad younger so this one is a good creepy ghost story that fits the younger crowd although there is some violence.

Haley and her family have moved into a new home in a new town leaving behind their lives in Chicago. While exploring the home Haley and her sister find things left behind from the previous owners and shortly after strange things begin happening in the home.

As Haley gets out and meets a few of the kids in her new town she begins hearing the stories of what happened there before they moved in. Four of the local girls in the area had disappeared without a trace with there still being no answers to finding any of them and it’s then that Haley realizes she is sharing her home with their ghosts.

I personally thought The Fade was a wonderfully creepy tale and perfect to read this time of year. As I mentioned it does have a younger feel to it then a lot of young adult but a bit too graphic really for middle grade. The story had plenty of twists to it but probably could have been a bit longer as the end felt a tad rushed but overall I enjoyed this one and would recommend checking it out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

So let's meet Haley... she has a sixth sense and feels a prescence in her basement about 4 girls that went missing. Haley know that somehow these girls were murdered and needs to help solve the crime that the police never could.

On one hand this had a spooky and creepy feel to it but it took so long to actually get to the good stuff. It was overly slow until maybe the last 30 percent of the book which took off like lightning. It was a quick read but was missing the oomph to the core.

The entire idea behind "The Fade" was a tad bit cliche in my opinion and the ending just felt extremely flat and rushed in my opinion. It was like we were getting nowhere and than all of a sudden everything was jumbled together of finding out what happened to the girls, Haley, and the back story behind Coop.

I flew through this story but the plot seemed forced to me if that makes sense? I think the author was trying too hard and nothing was coming together nicely for her. The author had multiple twists but again those twists were disappointing upon the ending of the book.

3 stars on this one for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's Publishing for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Pub date: 12/11/18
Published to GR: 10/15/18

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley And the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book is strange. The first half is a slow burn creepiness which I did not mind at all. Then the last fourt of the book is at breakneck speed and really confusing.

So. Plot. Haunted house. Dead girls. Creepy small child. Angty guy with past.

I liked the writing although the main character Haley seemed to be written about twelve instead of fifteen and that was...odd.

Also I really really hated the ending. I'll fully admit that that's a me thing though and has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the writing.

It was suitably creepy and because I just let myself enjoy a seasonal read and didn't overthink it or try to figure things out I think I enjoyed it that much more.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Demitria Lunetta’s The Fade sounded like the perfect read! A creepy ghost story that evolved into a murder mystery when our heroine Haley starts to experience strange happenings in her new home. This book, short that it is, had its ups and downs. I was determined to read through it all after a long bout of DNFing, but sadly, this book just wasn’t what I thought it would be in the end. It still had its positive merits, but in the end, I just felt very underwhelmed.

Haley is a fifteen-year-old girl who just moved with her family into a new home in Wisconsin that she soon learns is the house of one of the four missing girls in town. It was five years ago when the first girl went missing and three of her friends soon followed and the mystery remains unsolved to this day. Haley has a hard time adapting to her new surroundings and life; she misses her friends and her home in Chicago. It’s while she’s unpacking her things, the strange things begin. She and her sister discover a secret room in the basement with a trunk filled with random items and it’s when Haley is going back upstairs, strange noises begin.

Haley soon learns about the mystery of the town and the four girls who went missing five years ago. There were no clues or evidence to what happened despite all the investigation. Haley isn’t quite trying to play detective where the real police had failed, she’s just trying to figure things out with the ghosts that are haunting her and are trying to tell her something.

And of course, there’s a boy involved! Coop is her next door neighbor and actually, the brother of one of the missing girls. While there’s no immediate connection between them, there is definitely something there.

I love ghost books and I love murder mysteries that involve ghosts as well! So this book should’ve been perfect for me and yet sadly, it just wasn’t. It’s not my first Lunetta book; in fact I still have to finish her first duology that I’ve had for a while. I’m not even sure where to start with this one. I know Haley is fifteen but I swear sometimes it felt like she was thirteen or fourteen. She just felt more childish to me than a teenager would. I know fifteen is still considered a younger teen and I did keep all this in mind but yet, I just didn’t really connect with her like I do with other teen protagonists in the past.

The book is set in the current day, or at least I assume it is, as a year is never really given. But I swear I felt like I was in the 90s at times. And of course I love the 90s but since I suspect that this is current day, it felt weird to see some of the characters talking in what felt like 90s slang at times. I was a little put off with that as well.

The pacing was a little slow as well, I tend to expect that to some extent with mysteries but this one just felt off. And then time seemed to lose all sense of its meaning and we eventually get back on track. But for a while I was left wondering when and where were we again? Things made no sense, it was like an M. Night Shyamalan movie where you don’t really see the big picture until the end…though things get clearer before those final words!

The mystery element was probably the strongest point for me with this book and really only the first mystery, as another one soon develops and while struggling to find resolution in that, it literally comes together in the last few sentence and then that’s it. The End. Having that second mystery rushed to a conclusion at the end didn’t feel as satisfying as you would’ve hoped for. In fact, I’m left with some doubts about that one and all the remained behind when the end did come about. It was just too quick to be satisfying.

Overall The Fade was just okay for me. The mystery was good, I wished there was a little more ghostly encountering going on instead of just the small bits that we received, which were still creepy as expected! There just wasn’t a whole lot of clarity in this one and at times it felt like there were just shocking revelations made just for shock factor. While this wasn’t a favorite read of mine, it has in no way turned me against trying more of this author’s work.


Overall Rating 2.5/5 stars


The Fade releases December 11, 2018

Thank you NetGalley, Demitria Lunetta, and one of my favorite publishers, Random House, for the opportunity tor read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons. The writing style is simple and easy to read/follow, and the story itself is rather simple as well. While the beginning is pretty basic, similar to a number of teen books with the whole, new girl moves to town, boy-meets-girl thing, this book later deviates with an unexpected twist, and I was blown away. At first the twist was so sudden and really threw me off, but I ended up really liking it as well as the ending. There is a love-hate relationship between myself as a reader and the last chapter or two of this book.

So what's the premise? Where are the ghosts the title of this review promises? Well, when Haley, her sister Shannon, and their mom and dad move, they end up on a street known to the town as the Bermuda Triangle, because four girls went missing there. Haley's family lives in one of the houses rumored to be haunted, and when she and her sister pilfer some jewelry left in the basement, the ghosts seem to be reaching out; but only Haley can see them, and the two neighbor boys, of which their sister was one of the disappeared victims. The bodies were never found, so Coop's family (the neighbor boy) still had hope. 

Haley's connection to the ghosts brings her to seek out help from two of her new friends. The ghosts need to pass over, and finding their killer just might be the key to helping them. She's on the right track, until a terrible accident happens. But it might just be luck that this accident brings Haley even closer to being able to solve the mysterious disappearance of the four girls five years ago, but she might not be able to help! She can only do what she can.

The cover is gorgeous and ever-so-slightly creepy. I never noticed the hand sort of grabbing/reaching out to the flower, and it almost appears frozen. I like how it has that faded look to it to match the title. The title is obviously significant and a bit bland, but relates to ghosts fading away before they can cross over to the light.

This is the first book I have read by Demitria Lunetta, and I am definitely satisfied. I looked up some of her other books, and both Bad Blood and In The After look very enticing! Some reviews I has seen so far are saying this might be too scary, but I don't think so. Some of the imagery, especially at the end, is very vivid and graphic, painting a rather horrifying image, but that just shows the author's prowess with the use of imagery. I find this book haunting enough to be both creepy and scary, but not too much so to, well, keep from having in my middle or high school classroom. I highly recommend this book for 9-12th grade and a select few middle graders who might enjoy this genre, as well as anyone who enjoys a mysterious ghost story!

This review is going to be styled a little differently then other reviews I have written for the pure fact that I don't have much to say about this book:

- The idea behind The Fade was interesting but also cliche.

-It is slow until about the 50% mark.

-The story behind the missing girls was interesting and it gets you invested in the story.
One moments Haley is alive and the next she is dead. I feel like it was very abrupt and didn't fit into where the story was at.

-The romance wasn't rushed, but I didn't seem based on much. I wish there was more development.
The last several chapters of the book moved super quickly and was where the story picked up.
We suddenly learn who the murderer is, Haley's dismay at it being her sister's boyfriend, and Coops sudden death.

-After how Coop behaved through out the entirety of the novel and the fact that his actions caused Haley's death, I think it was extremely stupid for her to save him from the darkness that awaited by letting him look over her family and her going into the light.

I hate being nit-picky in books that I read, but I am super crossed on how I feel about this book. On one hand it was a quick read that did have a creepiness factor, but that was about it. I really hoped I was going to like this one since I have really enjoyed Lunetta's other YA titles.

It takes a long time to get to the good in this book. Up until that point, it’s the basic. Basic heroine. Basic ghost story. Basic boy. Basic.

If you can get past Basic Becky and the slow haunting, you finally get to something that’s different. It was a nice surprise and, honestly, moved this from 2 stars to 3.

But…I didn’t like the ending. Not to spoil it - I’ll just say that our heroine must be some kind of idiot to allow the ending to happen as it does.

So, I didn’t love this one. I did like the surprise, but it was a long haul getting there.

If you want to be afraid to go to sleep. If you want to be afraid during the day. This is the novel for you. Haley’s family moves to a run down house in Wisconsin and she immediately senses things are not right. She meets her spooky little neighbor Chris, his older brother Coop and a host of others as she tries to determine what happened in her house. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me this scare fest in exchange for my honest review. Holy wow! It’s great!