The cover is what first caught my eye and then the synopsis had me sold and let me tell ya, this book did not disappoint.

> YA Paranormal
>> Sapphic
> Best Friend
>> Nice Ghosts
> Not Nice Ghosts
>> Mystery
> Halloween Town
>> Mental Health REP

This sounded too good not to request from NetGalley and I was not wrong. The story was fantastic, which makes me excited for the author since this a debut book. The pacing was excellent and I found myself being sucked into this mystery with Olive and her friends. There is great dialogue on depression and the expectation we put on ourselves from others around us.

And I knew Vanessa was strange……

This is such a charming book that had be hooked from the first chapter.

It's mix of dark themes, coming of age and hopeful message was everything I love in a book. It was comforting and so wonderfully written I was easily transported to the quirky little town and in the midst of all the adventure, supernatural spookiness and love.

Agree with the review below that you should read this if you're a fan of the Sabrina Netflix reboot. Will be a perfect halloween read and I can't wait to re-read it in October!

Thank you to NetGalley, North Star Editions, and Flux for providing me with an ARC copy.

I would put Here Lies Olive in the oxymoronic category of cozy horror. This was a cute queer YA book about ghosts, asylums, brutal attacks, and high school romance and friendship. I enjoyed this book a lot; I finished it in one day. This book would be a great intro to paranormal / ghost stories without being scary for young teenagers, although it can definitely still be enjoyed by adult readers. The mystery is captivating, with enough of a twist to keep it exciting.

My only critique is the reason for Olive's obsession with death. She has an allergic reaction, and experiences "Nothing" for five minutes, which begins this quest to find out the age old question of what really happens after we die. Personally, I think this dramatic reaction to an allergic reaction is a little silly, although she is a young teenagers so it's not absolutely crazy. I think it would have made more sense for her to experience something more dramatic to elicit such a severe reaction.

This book is set to be published October 2023: perfect for a cozy Halloween read!

Thank you to NetGally and the Publisher for the ARC.

Hooked from the first sentence!
This is such a cute book with relatable characters and the environment is phenomenal.
Enjoyed the towns dark history, the coming to terms with "the after" and the friendships that were built along the way.
Slow burn romance, platonic soulmates, and an ending that fits just right.
If I could I would live in New Haven I would have packed my bags a long time ago!

Big thanks to NetGalley for letting me read and review this ARC!

Okay, so, before I start, I wanna say that my opinion is based on the first ten chapters. There might be more to this story that would possibly make this book rank higher for me, but I can't force myself to continue reading something I don't enjoy.
I will mention a couple of plot points in this review, but I will try to keep it at a bare minimum, and with very few clues.

First of all - unique concept. I love the fact that this book will be published right before Halloween, because this is just the right mood for that!

Yet, there are quite a few downsides to this story.
I sometimes didn't get Olive's obsession with death. I know, I know - "Why can't you see it? She explains it every two pages!". Yes, exactly! Olive is obsessed about something she witnessed, and therefore decided to abandon the people she loves to close herself off. I get it. Still, was it a good enough reason? I have multiple times tried to place myself in her shoes, and, most times, her statements do match up, logically speaking. I would also want to distance myself for a while, but it still feels wrong whenever I read about it in this book. If they were such good friends, how could she just abandon him like that, out of nowhere? And then she describes, on every page they interact, how familiar it feels to hang with him again. It is so repeated at this point, that it is predictable.
Speaking of repetitive points, there's this one particular character that drives me insane. Every time she is mentioned, every time her actions get described, she is either touching, twisting, fiddling, or fidgeting with the ribbon in her hair. Yep. That is her only personality trait other than being blonde and beautiful.

Ten chapters into this book, and I still don't know who the actual love interest is. I'll leave this point at that.

Putting all of this aside, what turned me off the most is the writing. It is lyrical and highly poetic. That is most often a positive thing, but, in this case, it seemed like the author wanted to flex how many different synonyms they know for a particular word. Like they spend hours searching the web for the longest word possible. To make the reading experience more fluid and immersive, I would suggest writing in a way that makes it easy for the reader to follow along, without stopping for another Google search.
Not gonna lie, a few of the quotes had me thinking, sometimes chuckling, but there weren't many.

Hope this was informative <3

Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers North Star Editions and Flux for this E-ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

The story revolves around Olive, who had a near-death experience two years ago. Since then she started to isolate herself and asking what comes after death. Is there just the Nothing? Just blackness we all float in? She decides to summon a ghost. A wild journey starts.

I really enjoyed the story and read through it within two days. The book involves a few heavy themes like loss of a loved one, grief and so on. But I think it's absolutely necessary that the younger generation also learns about the negative parts in life like death, griefing and loss.
The writing style is amazing and very easy to get into, which is always a good thing for me. The characters were loveable and the queer haters-to-lover trope got perfectly adapted for this story. The only issue I had was the kind of predictable antagonist in this set of characters. Unfortunately, I can't get into too much detail to avoid spoilers, but I wish it would have been less predictable, because the plot twist was no plot twist at all in the end.

Overall, a solid and very enjoyable debut by Kate Anderson!

I enjoyed reading this book! I was happy to be a part of this spooky but cozy goth town. I’m not too sure if i enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope because it felt a little abrupt, but i still enjoyed the overall plot and i LOVE a queer coupling. If you’re looking for a cozy ghost story, this book is for you!

Though I am only ranking this book three stars, I did enjoy this read (though it started off really slow).

This book followed Olive, who had a health scare and ended up being dead for five minutes. After her brush with what she called The Nothing, she pulls away from everyone. Everyone, but a dear friend Ms H, an elder woman whom she had a strong relationship with. When she passes, Olive is afraid for what The Nothing means for Ms H. She’s all alone? Afraid? In the dark? Olive is determined to find out what happens after you die, even if she has to summon the spirit herself!

I think that’s about all I can say without getting into spoiling the plot or ending. Overall, this was an interesting read and really like diving into something different and paranormal.

Between the title of the first chapter and the first sentence of the book, I was immediately engaged.

Dark, gothy ambiance and classic ghost story vibes, but with modern and diverse characters that bring a refreshing depth to the story. Very clever exploration of what comes after we die—and how to appreciate life while we have it

I ended up really enjoying Here Lies Olive by Kate Anderson.
I finished this one quickly as once I hot into the story I couldn't put it down and I really liked the main characters, Olive and Jay!
I definitely recommend this book especially if you are looking for a cozy horror read that's perfect for Halloween!

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

<i>I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Struggling with grief, Olive attempts to summon a spirit to answer her questions about death, only to meet Jay, a ghost trapped in the woods behind the poorhouse where he died. While Olive agrees to help Jay find rest, someone or something starts targeting Olive’s classmates, and the longer Jay lingers, the more serious the attacks become.

A solid debut. While I really warmed to Jay and felt a strong sense of atmosphere and dread of the unknown, I was hoping for something darker in tone, especially considering the themes explored in Jay's death and the treatment of the patients in the sanitorium. In my opinion, choosing to tonally lean in to the age bracket rather than the subject matter left, for me, a lack of emotional depth, which meant my personal enjoyment of the book was somewhat limited. Ultimately, 'cosy horror' doesn't really work for me as a blend.

I loved this book so much. Here lately I am enjoying middle grade novels much more than adult. One thing is I love magical realism and I love supernatural. The adult magical realism novels I have read of late, just don't quite hit the mark.
This novel is indeed, magical. A novel about a young lady who is afraid of what happens to us after we die. Who isn't? I could relate to her so very much. There are ghosts, and the town is spooky. This is just the perfect book for me. Maybe I just need to stick with middle grade, even though I'm a 48 yr old woman. 😂

Accidentally summoning ghosts, Young Reapers, paranormal-adjacent world, sign me up!

I really enjoyed this cozy YA horror from Anderson. Olive was a great, young protagonist who really conveyed the uncertainties and desperation of today's teenagers, coupled with a great coming-of-age arc. White Haven was really interesting as a setting, and I wouldn't mind more stories set in that world, because I can imagine there's a lot there! I loved the relationships and the mystery and the slow trickle of darkness in the book. I think anyone who likes paranormal stories, ghost stories, a touch of wonder and a touch of horror will enjoy this book!

Thank you to the publishers – Flux and North Star Editing – for giving me access to this book as an E-ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This review will be published on my Goodreads-account on May 4th, 2023.

This was a quick little read that packed some suspense and light horror elements. Our main character Olive lives in, what the blurb calls, the “dark tourism capital of the United Stated”. Most everything in her hometown seems to be centred around death and the macabre. It was once the home of a large sanatorium for the sick and poor where the patients were treated extremely poorly. This dark history has a big part of the overall story.

This is part a ghost story and a teenage drama. It mixes quite well.

"I say this like I know, like I actually do stuff with other people, like I won't be sitting alone in my room lighting candles and muttering made-up spells to summon the dead" - I mean, girl, SAME 🧙‍♀️
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This was such a sweet YA horror book that deals with themes of death/friendship/found family/coming of age with some paranormal fun sprinkled on top, the character of Olive is so relatable and likeable and I was rooting for her from the start, she is angsty but its not overdone. The writing was engaging and witty, I loved the setting of White Haven and how spooky it was, if you like feisty female leads and books that might make you a lil sad (in a good way) you will 100% appreciate Olive and her journey, plus how gorgeous is the cover! Releasing 24th october (perfect for a halloween read) thanks to the author, netgalley and fluxbooks for the eARC!