Now, this book was really out of my comfort zone. I enjoyed it but not an engaging read for me.
It was a short book and a fast read.

DNF/DNR - Could not download to Kindle. I don't like reading on screens, so reading the PDF or on the Netgalley app would have given me a headache, which I'm prone to. Is this 100 characters yet? :)

The Ghost In The House by Sara O’Leary isn’t a scary ghost story so if you want a scary ghost story, you need to look elsewhere. The protagonist in this story Fay, wakes up in her house to find that somehow life has moved on without her. Her husband who is the love of her life has another wife and there’s a teenager living with them. Her career as an artist has somehow ended. Things in her beautiful home have been moved and changed and Fay has to figure out what has happened to her life. This story doesn’t have any big plot twists, but it is reflective of a life, of a marriage and of grief and it’s surprisingly funny at times too. Worth a read for sure.

I wasn’t sure about this read at first BUT honestly was a great read in the end kept me on my toes and really had me thinking

I really enjoyed this book. I will be keeping my eyes open for more books from this author. I recommend giving this author a chance.

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a sad story but told in a way that felt hopeful. Fay seemingly has a great life, she loves her husband, is looking forward to her new opportunities and is living in her dream house. She wakes up one morning to find things are very different for her and comes to realise she is a ghost in her own home. It is a story of loss and of letting go. There are parts of the story that make you grieve along with Fay but there is also humour. I am excited to learn that Sarah O'Leary is a Canadian author and I look forward to seeing more of her work.

This book was not what I expected. I will not publicly post a review.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Definitely enjoyed this one! Such an interesting concept and the writing was well done. I'll be looking for more from this author. I'm truly glad to have read this one!

What an incredible novel. I love how she progresses through her acceptance of death. Its interesting how they try so hard to hang-on to each other, the life they once had. It really makes one ponder, if we could be with our loved ones forever without moving on would we? What all would we be forfeiting in order to do so?
Highly recommended!

3.5 ***
I liked the concept of this book and would probably give it more stars, but I felt like the description didn't correlate to what was written. It threw me off. I kept waiting for it to be different. That would have been my only major con. Maybe that's not a reason to take away stars, especially since if I had gone in blindly I may not have, but since I didn't, again just kept waiting for more.

PRO: I really liked the characters. The story had one purpose and I thought explored what the characters needed/wanted for that one purpose. I really liked that because everything throughout the story had meaning and was interesting. I wanted to keep going to find out more and learn more about their relationships, and I learned just enough to be invested. At the end, I felt like I knew exactly what had happened within that story and was not left wondering about what else or feeling overwhelmed with to much info.

Overall, I enjoyed that it was short, quick and a good story with good characters. I really enjoyed that it had a clear focus (beginning, middle, end).

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Canada for the ARC.

I found this book a little tedious to read. The character is hard to connect with until about mid-way through the book as she fades in and out a lot. I wish I had more insight from the husband's perspective and could have looked at the years that have passed through his eyes.

This was such a potent and utterly engaging novel -- a reverie of acute loneliness that was disquieting and felt so apt for these housebound times. It resonated and in spirit, somewhat reminded me of Lily Tuck's gorgeous and poignant novella I MARRIED YOU FOR HAPPENING. But also lovely for those who loved the movie TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY. Delighted to also include it in Read & Recommended in Zoomer magazine's digital books section.

This is a quick little book coming in at 190 pages.

It’s hard to put into words my thoughts on this one. It’s a unique story, funny at times but also sad. Faye seemed a little confused in the beginning, kinda like myself but it didn’t take long to grasp the storyline and feel her wide range of emotions. That being said I think another 50 pages or so would have been great to get a good handle on the situation, even to hear from Alex would have been a welcome addition, though I understand the direction the author was going for - which was to get Faye's perspective.

This is my first time reading Canadian author Sara O’Leary and I’ll be in the lookout for more.

This book is part of my 2020 Reading off my Shelf challenge

It is difficult to fit The Ghost in the House by Sara O’Leary into one particular genre. This is the story of Fay. Her life is where she always hoped it would be: her husband is the love of her life, her house is the home of her dreams, her career is very satisfying. Until, without knowing why, she realizes that everything in her life has changed. A teenager is living in her house, her husband is married to an unknown woman, her house has been re-decorated and so on. What could have gone wrong? Who are these people? What happened to her picture-perfect life? Why did her husband abandon her? This is a beautiful novel well-worth spending time with. Highly recommended. Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an absolute gem of a read. Drawn in quickly, and read in one sitting, this is captivating writing.

The author Sara O'Leary has created an elegant yet bittersweet story of love; first loves, true loves and yearnings for love.

The story unfolds with haunting clarity as the main character comes to understand her place in the household. One house alive with memories both good and bad, where the rooms wait in hushed silences for new memories to be made.

If you believe in "Until death do us part" then this is your next read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Doubleday Canada and the author, Ms. Sara O'Leary, for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "The Ghodt in the House". The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone.

At the outset, I was not really sure what was happening to Faye, She "wakes up" in her house, but somehow the decor seems to have changed overnight, where there used to be colour, everything appears muted. Her husband Alec is living in the house, but now, there is a child in the house, (she had no children), and, there is ANOTHER woman in her beloved house. Gradually, Fay begins to realize that somehow, she has fallen out of the picture. What is she now? Is she a ghost? Who could see her? Where do ghosts get to "live" (or die) ? Is Fay forgotten by her beloved husband?

This is what The Ghost in the House is about. It is the debut adult novel by Canadian author Sara O'leary. O'leary is well established in the world of (children"s) picture books. When I googled her I found #whereissaidie, a collaboration she did, with an adorable and catchy musical video. I was surprised to read she lives in Montreal and teaches at Concordia (not completely surprised, because she moves from Montreal to Vancouver in the book ...).

This is a literary fiction, and O'leary draws inspiration from authors such as, Daphne de Maurier and her book Rebecca, (a ghost occupying her own house), as well as from Jenny Offil"s Department of Speculation, and others.

Overall I enjoyed reading #theghostinthehouse, (what footprint do we leave in the world after we die?). Thank you @netgalley and @doubledaycanada for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Doubleday Canada, Penguin Random House Canada Limited, and NetGalley for a temporary digital ARC of The Ghost in the House by Sara O'Leary, which enabled me to read it and write an unbiased review. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

The intriguing story in this short book is told from the ghost's point of view.
Fay had a great life living in her dream house with her loving husband and planning her career as an artist. But something went awry.
This is not a scary ghost story, but a
heartbreaking story of love, loss, grief, regrets, and letting go. The unexpected humour was appreciated.
This is my first book written by Sara O'Leary, and I hope to read more by this talented Canadian author.

Content Warning: Self-harm/cutting

#TheGhostInTheHouse
#NetGalley

Posted on GoodReads, NetGalley, Savvy Reader and Twitter

Speculative Fiction | Adult
I’ll just open by saying this is the best book I’ve read this year. I absolutely loved it! Fay wakes up one day to find someone else living in her house – a strange woman, and a girl she thinks may be a ghost. Then she realizes her husband is living there still, apparently with a new family. Slowly she comes to the understanding that the girl is real, and it is she, Fay, who is the ghost. As she ponders how this happened, and what she is doing in the house, she watches with a wistful heart as life continues without her. She also comes to realize how happy she was, or perhaps how happy she should have been, living in the house of her dreams, with a man she loves and who loves her, trying to launch her career as an artist, whatever that looked like at the time. This is O’Leary’s first adult novel (she is internationally well regarded as an author of picture books), and she has created an unforgettable character in Fay.
Without giving away too much, I thoroughly enjoyed Fay as a spirit character – she is loving, spiteful, childish, wise, thoughtful, impetuous, and both funny and articulate as she captures perfectly the “in your head” narratives we all have. It’s a tender and sad story – Fay died unexpectedly, after all, and at a young age – but it’s also funny, moving, and affecting, in that it’s affected me and how I view my wonderful little world, lingering long after it’s finished. My thanks to Doubleday Canada for the digital reading copy provided temporarily through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35732261

Exciting, thrilling, and unexpected. Sara O'Leary captured me into the story with her exquisite writing style.

The Ghost In The House, by Sara O'Leary, is a very moving story!
Fay's life is perfect. She is married to the man she loves, lives in her dream home and is planning her career as an artist. Then something goes wrong. Everything has changed. Everything has ended except for how she feels.
Not a scary ghost story, but a story of love, loss, grief and acceptance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada/Doubleday Canada for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.