"Ghost Lover" is a collection of short stories from Lisa Taddeo, focusing on modern women and different aspects of life and relationships. Overall, it's a solid collection, but none really stand out upon reflection. An enjoyable read nonetheless.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for sharing this advance copy with me in exchange for my honest review.
3.5/5

I am not a ~stories~ person whatsoever. I always find that they feel emptier and just don’t grip me the way novels do… but this collection had me from the jump!

Lisa Taddeo shows that she’s a brilliant writer once again and manages to craft short stories in a way that leaves me wanting more, but satisfies me nonetheless?

Adding Lisa Taddeo to my list of “immediately yes” authors.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Avid Reader Press for Thai ARC!

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Three women and a dating service. I just couldn’t connect with the premise and just was difficult and awkward to read at times. Disappointing when comparing to the last book by this amazing author. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was given to my by netgalley. This is an honest review that is 100% honest and my own opinion

Pleas check trigger warnings

Ghost lover is a collection of short stories that capture fearless and ferocious women getting the desire they want and need. This book contains 9 different stories that show different aspects of relationship life some not so sunshine and roses. These include: fever of obsession, the blindness of love and the madness that comes with grief.

I really enjoyed each of these stories. They were complete in themselves and not just ending in cliff hangers. Taddeo has captured how people may feel when they obsess with their crushes or sexual partners. Each story shows how gut wrenching a relationship can be. But it has a glimmer of hope and deserving desire to shine through.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this digital ARC!!!

First impressions matter; I was intrigued by the cover, the concept, the fast paced, blunt prose. However, third and fourth impressions are sometimes the ones you should pay attention to. The more I read of this book, the more confused I felt. Confused and kinda uncomfortable.

The good parts of this book: the writing was brilliant. I highlighted so many great, powerful things that resonated with me. I love a good one liner and this book was full of them.

The not so great parts: there were a few too many mentions of bodily fluids for no reason. There were some heavy topics that kept coming up that were just casually tossed into the mix. The story would then, pick back up and continue on, business as usual. Nearly every story had an ending that left me with more questions than answers and a weird feeling in my stomach. I kept asking myself "what was the point of that story?" It all felt very jarring, disjointed and chaotic for no reason.

The writing was my favorite part, hands down; I would read more of her things because of the writing style alone. I also could be just not getting it with this one. That was another thought I kept having "I feel like this book is trying to tell me something, but I am not able to receive it."

Ultimately, I wanted to like this book but this book did not like me. That feels right.

Ghost Lover showcases nine razor-sharp stories that perfectly encapsulates the complexities and realities of a woman’s mind. With desire, obsession, trauma and the desire to be desired as recurring themes, each story presents a woman, basking in damage and vanity—as real and raw as could get. This collection does not shy away from the dirty, vile and disturbing truths.

Dark, shockingly honest with a hint of swank—Taddeo fans are sure to recognize her signature spunk. In many ways similar to her novel Animal, she is unafraid to dissect the female gaze and all the unhinged ways a female mind could operate: the pressure to become and remain beautiful no matter the age and the bitter envy towards the young; losing yourself and going to great lengths for a man’s sake; and the pain you desperately cope with when you lose someone you love.

This short story is collection is brazen, electrifying and unapologetic. It is for the broken, messed up, liberal, sexually awakened, beautiful women; the misfits, cougars, secret lovers and all the taboos; and to those who are hoping to love and be loved, despite all the cracks.

Unfortunately, this wasn't for me. I thought the premise was interesting - I had never read anything by Lisa Taddeo before but had heard great things about her writing. I don't think she's a bad writer; her writing style just didn't work for me. I also thought the stories and the characters were, overall, superficial. Maybe it's a criticism of LA and celebrity culture in that city? Maybe. I'm disappointed that I didn't like this book, but again, I think it's mostly because I didn't like the way Taddeo writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC.

Lisa Taddeo has officially become one of my favorite authors. I read Animal earlier this year and not only is it my favorite of the year so far - it is definitely one of my all time favorite books. It is hard to describe Taddeo's writing. There is something about it that feels special; as soon as you start one of her stories you will be overcome with this feeling that these words are important. These topics are heavy but she writes in a way that feels empowering to the reader.

I am not typically a fan of short stories but this collection made me want to read more. It takes incredible talent to make the reader care about the characters, develop a plot and a conflict, and create emotion all in a matter of a few pages - and Lisa Taddeo has that talent.

The stories in Ghost Lover carry the same themes as Animal did; women's pain and empowerment and the various ways in which men try to take that power from them. This is a powerful collection that I recommend to all.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for the advanced copy!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Any time I see anything new from Taddeo I just have to have it! Although I didn't love every story in this book, I did enjoy them all in their own way. I really enjoyed the format of this book and the flow of it made it quick to read.

i think lovers of animal will love ghost lover. all the stories had that trademark lisa taddeo feeling, i could almost feel the sun of california on me while reading. every story was engrossing and entertaining with a twist of grotesque. that being said, i did find a lot of the stories quite similar, but if you love lisa taddeo, like i do, it’s not a problem because she’s very good at her style and i always want more. not sure how i feel about a white woman writing some of the lines. aside from that, i really liked this short story collection and am so thankful to avid reader press for the arc!!!

If you’ve read any of Lisa Taddeo’s books before you will know that her writing is like not other. Her work is brutal, dark, and confronting– and say what you want about this, but the lady can write. Like her other novels, we get that raw, crude, slap-in-your-face, don’t know whether to love it or hate it style of writing which I think it shines best within this short story format. Each story has a level of depth and intensity that draws you in and leaves you wanting more. And while each narrative stands perfectly well on its own, the themes across them tie together beautifully. It’s the kind of book I hope to re-read as I’ve probably missed a lot of subtleties within each story. Overall, a worthwhile read.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Avid Reader Press and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I look forward to reading a title that keeps me engaged, check.

In this collection I enjoyed each one.

Another great book by Lisa Taddeo. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. My favorite shorty story in this was FORTY TWO.

Lisa Taddeo as always writes unique characters stories.I found the collection very interesting at times really explicit but always engrossing.#netgalley #avidpress

Animal was one of my favorite books of 2021 and my excitement I had for a new Lisa Taddeo release was not disappointed. This quickly became one of my favorite reads of all-time. I'm not a big fan of short stories and essays for full length books, but this book might have changed that. Every single story had me hooked and ended right when you wanted to read more. Lisa is such a talented writer in that everything is so descriptive yet so quick to read and doesn't feel like it drags. I will recommend this book more than any other book in 2022. Incredible read. I will be picking this up when it gets released so I can re-read it and annotate it. 10/10.

Lisa Taddeo has proved again that she is a wonderful writer. Each story in this collection held it's own distinction, but the stories also carried similar themes. I just love complicated women, and I love when writers don't shy away from exploring raw and varied emotions- because we have them! Ghost Lover is truly a testament to how versatile a storyteller I think Taddeo is.

I did find myself at times feeling like I was just about to hit the climax of a story as it dropped off. Sometimes I loved that the stories felt like snapshots of entire lifetimes, and sometimes I wanted the story to continue, wanted the story to reach a natural ending instead of being whisked away from it. That's the thing, though, isn't it? Life doesn't reach a natural closure- it is constantly happening to us in segments. Maybe that's the feeling this book was trying to invoke.

I felt like this was a worthwhile read, a really great one to get the wheels turning in your head.

*This review along with a photo will be published to Instagram closer to publication under the handle @literary.erica. It has already been published to Goodreads.

I wasn't a fan. As other reviewers have already pointed out, these stories felt very clunky and often superficial. I felt myself liking them at times, but my mood for the majority of the book was repulsed until I finally just put it down. Super unfortunate that I didn't like these, but I hope others will vibe with them more than I!

I hate to say it, but this was probably the worst short story collections I've ever read. I don't even what this was?? A lot of the stories felt pointless and superficial. This is my first time reading anything from Lisa Taddeo, but I didn't really enjoy her writing style. I also didn't like how some of the stories were in 2nd person narrative. It was distracting and awkward. I LOVE reading short stories, but this one left me feeling frustrated and underwhelmed. I felt like the female characters were written in an unrealistic way. I was also offended by the way she describes sexual assault. Very off-putting. The only positive I can say is well...the cover art is cute.

Thank you, Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for the digital ARC.

This was an incredible book of stories by an author that is just immaculate as a writer. The level of expression and detail was incredible. It is very rare that I find this level of depth in short story form, but I immediately wanted more to read from this author. The stories fit well together and built a tapestry of sadness, desire, and pursuance. They are not based on pleasantness,, but that undying itch that many people strive to scratch. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Ghost Lover is a short story collection that has nine stories, each detailing a different woman's (or women's) experience. This collection tackles grief, self-worth, male interactions, and many other topics. The stories are emotional and gut wrenching at times, but other have a sprinkle of hope or some form of positivity in them.
My favorite stories were the ones that were about female friendship. I found them moving in their depictions of the ups and downs friends may have. I also appreciated the stories of more mature women. Even though I am in my early twenties I found these stories to be incredibly moving.
My least favorite story was the first one, but it was still a good story. I just felt like it needed a bit of a "less is more" approach. However, if you feel the same way please do not let that stop you from this read!
4/5 stars!