I always love a paranormal YA story. This one was fun, but not my favorite. A nice companion to a Prelude for Lost Souls. While you technically don't need to read Prelude first, I do think it enhanced my reading of this one.

DNF - couldn't get into it and then when I went to goodreads I saw it was a sequel. Perhaps if I'd known and started with that I'd have cared more to continue this one.

The Promise of Lost Things is an engrossing YA paranormal read that interweaves romance, mystery, and a thoughtful exploration of grief. Set in the hauntingly atmospheric town of St. Hilaire, the story follows three teens with conflicting loyalties - medium Russ who wants to protect the town, mysterious Willow who wants to destroy it, and outsider Asher who is torn between vengeance and newfound love. While the paranormal elements entertain, at its core The Promise of Lost Things highlights relational bonds, loss, and letting go. An entertaining, and spooky read exploring the connections between life, death, and the spaces in between.

I loved the setting of this book—it felt like one of the characters! The spooky ambiance was also excellent. This was a fun, spooky read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the free advanced copy of this book to read.

I'm not sure why this isn't being marketed as a companion novel or series continuation to Prelude for Lost Souls, but it needs to be. While I'm sure this could be read as a standalone, it is certainly much better after having read Prelude.

Prelude introduces you to St. Hilaire and the Guild and even our main MC, Russ. I definitely liked this one a bit more than the Prelude. It's still a bit stilted at time, but as a whole, it's a good spooky queer book that has a ghost boyfriend in it.

Basically, Russ lives in St. Hilaire, a town full of mediums who contact the dead. He is the leader of the youth group of mediums that every high school senior is required to join. Russ is trying to change the framework of the Guild, the governing body of the town and his ghost boyfriend is gonna help him do it.

Then we have Willow, who is the daughter of the leader of the guild. She is radical and wants to do the opposite is Russ and Ian. She's determined to "take back her town" and will stop at nothing, not even a pesky ghost or two.

Lastly, we have Asher, the son of parents who create a show dedicated to discrediting ghost stories. After the sudden and unexpected death of his siste, Asher's parent's view about ghosts takes a turn. They still want to discredit St.Hilaire but they also are desperate to speak to their daughter again.

I mostly just wish this was a bit longer. I wanted them all to have more time to develop and get readers invested. I definitely recommend reading Prelude for Lost Souls which features a famous Russian pianist, a kid with dead parents who wants to leave St. hilaire at any cost, and the ghost that has been his "imaginary" friend for ever. Not to mention a haunted piano and piece of music.

Both Russ and Asher are queer but it's not specified on page an exact label for either.

I was so lost throughout this book and felt like I was missing something, turns out, this book is a continuation of another story, and I only found that out through reading Goodreads reviews. All in all, I feel the marketing for this book may need a bit of sprucing so people know that this isn't exactly the stand-alone book it's made out to be. It's hard to get into, but I will say the writing style is decent. The characters are also relatively well fleshed out, I just felt like I was missing something huge, which lead me to DNF at around 60%.

If you read this book and wonder about all the past events Russ references, you can read Prelude for Lost Souls and get all the details, but it's not required to follow the plot of The Promise of Lost Things. While the book does have three main characters - Russ, Asher, and Willow - the majority of the focus is on Russ and Asher, with some chapters from Willow's point of view. Ian - Russ's dearly departed boyfriend - is also a major player in the book, and one of my favorite aspects of the novel. I'm partial to stories with ghosts, especially when there's a tragic romantic story that continues on after death. There's loss on both sides, with Asher grieving his sister and being mostly neglected by his parents. I liked how Russ and Asher's stories overlap and intertwine. As the plot reached the climax I was really wondering how things would be resolved - there were a lot of things up in the air - and was pretty pleased by the ending. Overall, an atmospheric, slightly spooky read that's full of longing, loneliness, and bittersweet feels.

No one rests in peace here...

Welcome to St. Hilaire, a town where the dead never rests. In a town full of mediums, ghosts are called upon on a daily basis. Mediumship has become the main source of income for the town, pitting the residents against each other as they compete for business. Russ longs to be a good medium, and wants to make a good living while truly helping people. The is run by The Guild, a corrupt organization that trains young mediums and places special focus on the most promising students. Willow is one of the most powerful students among them, but she's tires of being a medium and wants to purge St. Hilaire of all ghosts, even if it leaves her town in financial ruin. Asher is grieving his sister's death, and is devastated when he and his parents have no luck with a medium in St. Hilaire. His parents are furious and ask Asher to help get dirt on the town, so he strikes up a friendship with Russ. When Asher begins to develop feelings for Russ, he's no longer sure he wants to go through with his parents' plan to take St. Hilaire down. As Russ, Willow, and Asher's intentions for the town intertwine into one big flurry of high emotions and severed bonds, could this be the end of the town after all?
This ghost story was very interesting and grabbed my attention right away. There were a lot of shady things happening in St. Hilaire and I was living for the drama. I couldn't wait to find out how everything would turn out at the end. I listened to the audiobook as well, and I really enjoyed the different narrators and I felt they portrayed their respective characters perfectly. I honestly shipped Russ and Asher despite the way their friendship started. I would recommend this YA novel to anyone who loves dramatic fiction with a touch of romance!

Another great book by Helene Dunbar. I've been looking forward to this one and it didn't disappoint. A town where every family must have at least once medium. Quite a few twists and turns... answers some questions. I know it's not a sequel but I would recommend reading Prelude For Lost Souls first for a fuller experience.

Wonderfully written, loved the main characters.

5 stars and a heavy recommendation for The Promise of Lost Things. Thank you to the Publisher for providing a widget via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The town of St. Hilaire has a strict policy about its residents, at least one family member must possess the abilities of a medium. Russ Griffin is a senior in high school and essentially interning at the town guild, a job that has been made harder by the ghost of his former fling lingering around. When a TV series claiming to bust open fraudulent hauntings/mediums how will Russ help the town handle the threats these newcomers pose to him home, or will he find corruption runs even deeper than original thought?

This story has three main characters, all three of which play a massive role in the events that unfold throughout the novel. Willow, a strong headed powerful medium, has different ideas of what St. Hilaire should be and how spirits should be handled. She is someone who keeps you guessing to what lengths she is truly willing to go in order to see her ideas come to light. Asher, the son of the hosts of the TV series Ghost Killers, has been tasked to find an in for the show in St. Hilaire. This poor kid has a lot of responsibility thrust upon him by his grieving parents, it's almost criminal how his parents treat him. Russ himself is skating down a dangerous path of possible addiction which was a nice change of pace for a main. Often in novels we see close friends or relatives dealing with addiction, but to feel it through the main and his struggle with what he felt was right makes him super relatable.

5 stars for this reading(see what I did there?!). Recommended for ages 13+ as some mature themes are present, but nothing graphic or inappropriate. Pick this one up if you love a good ghost story, medium story, if you're a fan of Ghost Adventures, or if you're in the mood for a quick read that will keep you turning pages.

The Promise of Lost Things is an intriguing story with many twists and turns told from multiple storylines all converging at the end. I look forward to reading more from this author soon!

I've been so looking forward to this book, ever since reading Prelude for Lost Souls in 2020- that was one of my gems of the year.
While some things carry over/continue from Prelude for Lost Souls, The Promise of Lost Things could stand on its own- although I'm not sure why you wouldn't want to read Prelude for Lost Souls first- I think it would add even more meaning to this story.

This was a little more twisty-turny than I expected, with multiple storylines all kind of converging at the end.
Russ was such an endearing character, I just wanted to give him hugs and tell him things would be okay. I felt like he had such a weight on his shoulders for one so young and it made my heart hurt for him. He really seemed to love St. Hilaire, wanting what was best for it while trying to figure out just what that was, with the help of Ian Mackenzie, the golden boy who died too soon.

I liked that we finally got the answer to what exactly happened to Ian, and I have to say that was quite surprising. There were a few surprises to this book, that kept me on the edge of my seat for most of it.
I did end up shedding a few tears, which I guess isn't that surprising for me!

While The Promise of Lost Things seems to have wrapped up the story for St. Hilaire, I can always hope for more!

I had no idea that this was part of a series. Books like that are hard for me to get into. I was a little lost during this one. I'm going to look for the 1st book and then give this one another shot.

Returning to St. Hilaire for this thrilling sequel to Prelude for Lost Souls, readers can finally discover what really happened to Ian Mackenzie, the depths to which The Guild will sink for money, and -- my personal favorite -- more about the life of Russ Griffin. In this storyline we are also introduced to Archer Mullens and, despite his flaws, is truly a lovable character.

Helene Dunbar has created such an enchanting universe and characters you both hate to love and love to hate. I was so enamored with The Promise of Lost Things that it only took me 2 days to complete. Once again, if you enjoy books of a mystical, quasi-magical nature you'll love the world created here.

It's a little mature for my middle school students, but I'd highly recommend it to more advanced learners and all adult lovers of queer, YA, or fantasy novels.

I am always excited to see another Helene Dunbar release, and I'm even more excited when I can get my hands on an ARC. Her stories are always full of heart and emotion and leave me feeling like I've taken a journey.

This one is missing a little of that spark. I'm not sure if it's the supernatural elements (which I wasn't expecting but which I grew to like more and more as the story went on) or the multiple perspectives (I feel like Willow's nefarious plans would have had more impact if we hadn't learned about them along the way). I also didn't particularly feel the spark between Asher and Russ and felt like their scenes together dragged the story down--though that might be how much I adored Ian.

While I was satisfied wit how this one wrapped up, I also felt the ending was rushed--particularly considering there was so much build up to the confrontation with the Ghost Killers crew and then the whole thing lasted only a few paragraphs. I think I just needed a little more of everything: more Ian, more explanation/background regarding the Guild and St. Hilaire, and more excitement overall.

I read this ARC via Netgalley.

Russ has the ability to see ghosts, but he lives in St. Hilaire, a town where almost everyone has this ability. The closed-knit town has a long history and complicated governance, and he's being trained by recent graduate Willow as head of the student psychic council. Russ also has the unique ability to see Ian, a rising star among St. Hilaire's mediums who died recently... mostly because Ian and Russ had a relationship. When a pair of ghost hunters arrives and wants to discredit the town, Russ finds himself in the middle between feelings for the son of the ghost hunting team, Asher, Willow's drive for power, both wanting to protect the town and change its archaic ways, and his feelings for Ian.

Last year I read and absolutely loved [book:We Are Lost and Found|43298077]. I keep meaning to read the author's other books, so when I saw this on Netgalley I snapped it up. While I didn't love the writing as much as I did in <i>We Are Lost and Found</i>, there were some lovely moments and I loved Russ's relationships with both Ian and Asher. The idea of a town of psychic mediums was really intriguing and I would have loved a bit more worldbuilding around that as much of the story is focused on the relationships. Willow's point of view didn't do much for me, especially since her voice seemed to disappear at the end when I would have expected more fight from her at the climax. Honestly, there was a lot going on in this story and I also would have liked the ghosthunter angle to be played up a bit more as well, with some closure around Mari, but overall I enjoyed it.

Okay I really don't like when authors and / or NetGalley don't tell you that a book is a part of a series or companion novel. Despite the mention of Saint Hilaire, I did not make the connection to Prelude for Lost Souls based on the description alone (I read it on here when it came out). I was immediately drawn to the premise of that one, as to the premise of this one, but found the execution not quite what I expected and not as satisfying as I'd hoped - which is ultimately where The Promise of Lost Things netted out for me as well.

When I started this one things felt familiar in a way that I couldn't put my finger on until I looked up the author and realized this is a companion novel to Prelude, at which point I immediately recognized the familiarity - and groaned. Challenges I felt with the earlier novel were, for me, repeated here. I couldn't connect to the characters. The premise felt forced, as did the plot direction and resolution. This is just not a world for me...

There is nothing inherently wrong or that I can put my finger on as being the problem - for some reason this universe just doesn't resonate with me.

I have mixed feelings about this book...

The good things are : I love the vibes! Haunted town, haunted boy and a new mysterious guy in town, plus curious girl. Each three has their own agenda. Four, if you included the (ex)boyfriend ghost. I enjoyed these characters and their personalities. My fav is Asher! I just love him, such poor soul. The aesthetic of dark, mysterious, eerie, haunted town is spot on.

The bad things are : The story started of rather strongly. First few chapters was great, but then things are somewhat patchy. I am the type of reader who enjoys a lot of POVs, but sometimes several POV didn't work out, like in this case. It was confusing at times, and I think it's one of the reason this book somewhat fails to deliver it's beautiful original idea perfectly. Such shame!

Overall, it was a decent read. Such great aesthetic and promising start, but the middle part just didn't cut it for me.

A ghost story, but more in suspense than horror. Willow wants change and to take over the town of St. Hilaire in order to have mediums rise up and be used more than for commercial use. Asher wants answers and to fetch the truth, but might be falling for the boy who sees ghosts. Russ wants to disband the Guild and is haunted by his friend who might actually be his ghostly boyfriend.