Here Lies Olive is everything my dark and spooky inner child could ask for.

I can't be the only one thinking about the old story of the girl with the ribbon around her neck keeping her head on whenever Vanessa touches her ribbon? Olive dreams it of her own head.

"We're all bones."

Olive's fear of mortality and need to know if there's an afterlife encompasses the story. The way the author takes the story evolves in ways I was not expecting.

There's ghosts, graveyards and a haunted asylum. The way the author describes everything is just beautiful and it reminds me of a Tim Burton movie! Can he make this into one? I'm just putting it out there.

The ending was a huge surprise and I absolutely loved it!


Thank you for the ARC of Here Lies Olive. I loved it!


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I really enjoyed this book. I am always looking for more romance that I can recommend to teens who don't want to see the intimate scenes explicitly. This book was also a really tasteful story about a lesbian without a "coming out" storyline or some type of trauma. She just existed as a queer girl and developed a crush on a girl. I absolutely loved the heck out of this book!

I am always up for a ghost story. Throw in LGBTQIAP= rep and its a prefect recipe for imaginative yet all too real drama. Dash of horror never hurts either. Anderson manages to hit every note with this story.

Thank you to North Star Editions, Flux, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and North Star Editions for giving me early access to this book.

Wow! This is how YA should be wrote more often! This story was incredible and the main character Olive was very relatable to teens and young adults dealing with grief. Death isn’t something we talk a lot about even as adults and I feel like this story really captures a lot of the fears and emotions that come along with the unknown that is death. This was tackled in a beautiful and fun way, the spooky elements helped keep it fun and more lighthearted making it a more accessible way to talk about the hard stuff.

The pacing felt pretty close to perfect didn’t really lag but also didn’t speed past the interesting parts. And though the ending wasn’t a huge surprise it still managed to be enjoyable and kept my interest throughout.

I did feel like there was a tiny bit of not like other girl vibes, but it wasn’t super bad and not as outright as most YA.

I think even if you’re not a fan of YA this can be an interesting read especially if you have experienced any type of grief, then it feels really relatable. About a 4.75 which I am rounding up to a 5.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were well thought out and the description of the town of White Haven, NM made me wish I lived there. Any town that embraces its spooky side is a good place for me. The main character olive is still reeling from a tragedy that occurred after a personal brush with death. The way she has isolated herself and lost her sense of identity as an after effect of this makes the reader feel for her and at times made me wish I could reach into the book and shake her and make her see that she mattered to those around her every time she couldn't see it for herself. I always enjoy when the "supporting" characters are well thought out and given a storyline of their own versus just being essential to only propelling the main characters story forward. Davis, Jay, Maren and Vanessa all had their own journeys and storyline that were nicely resolved. They were some interesting twists. I honestly thought I had the eventual ending figured out but then the story twisted again, leaving me thinking "how did I not see that coming".

3.5

For the most part, I really enjoyed this. It was fun, a little scary, and a little wholesome too. I loved getting to know the characters and their relationships with each other, the fast paced plot and the atmospheric writing.

However, I did spend some of the book confused with what’s going on (which could have been a me problem, really), and it felt like it lacked something, but I couldn’t say what. I think it just needed a bit more of an edge, maybe?

Overall, this was an amazing debut and I can’t wait to read more from this author and see how they improve. She is clearly super talented. This was a lovely paranormal romance and I had a lot of fun, it made me think a lot about things, especially our relationship with death.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this cover but let me tell you, it’s true when they say not to judge a book by it.

This book was so much more than I thought it was going to be, I went in thinking it would a somewhat low stakes, playful ghost story but it was so heartfelt and gripping. And much more scary than I thought. This was one of those books where I had to stop my eyes from dashing ahead to get the answers because between the characters, the actual story and the tropes that made it all the more exciting, I just kept burning through page after page.

Definitely getting a re-visit during Halloween!
Thank you so much to NetGalley for an giving me and arc in exchange for an honest review.

For transparency, I received a copy of Here Lies Olive from NetGalley in return for an honest review…so here we go.

Olive is a teenager who’s gone through something traumatic that has coloured the way she experiences life and how she interacts with those around her. I say “coloured” but I mean she’s gone goth (which is a trope I’m kinda over. Got trauma, go goth) and started pushing everyone away.

She lives in a town after my own heart, the dark tourism capital of America with it’s home for orphan ghosts and it’s open sky pyre. It is, of course, Halloween.

Putting aside the cliche bits, I enjoyed this book. I’m not usually a fan of first person narration, but Olive made it work.

There was one character I would have liked to see fleshed out a bit more, but without a bad guy monologue I’m not sure how that could be done (see, this is why I’m not an author).

So, if you’re looking for a supernatural young adult story with a bit of a sweet LBGTQIA+ romance thrown in, give Here Lies Olive a try.

ARC provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars. This was a fun one! I predicted most of the plot twist pretty early on, but that isn’t an entirely bad thing. I liked the main friendship in this-aka Davis and Olive. They were really cute and I liked watching them as they grew back the bond they’d lost. Maren was a good character, I just wish her and Olive‘s relationship had progressed more. What I mean by that is, they kinda went from I hate you—to oh I kinda like you—to oh shit I’m in love with you. I feel like their friendship period didn’t have enough progression, so when she whipped out the “I love her” it felt off. I keep saying this lately, but I wish we had more time with them. I hate to see in a standalone, that the main ship only gets together righhhht at the end. I want time for closure before their story is over. I want to see them together. Give me moreeee👹👹👹👹.

While this book was definitely moderate on the cringe scale, it was enjoyable to read and the plot was easy to follow. I liked the characters (other than Vanessa 🙄), and the mystery was intriguing. I think Maren was my favorite, and I wish we saw just a little bit more of her character/backstory. This would’ve been really cool as a dual/triple pov story as well!

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

3.5- Essentially a 4-star for me :)

This was an enjoyable YA horror that's perfect if you're in the mood for a great spooky book.
If you like: Found Family, Mental Health REP, Nice ghosts and coming-of-age stories this book may just be for you.

This story focuses on our MC Olive who has just spent the last two years in a chasm of depression after a couple of brushes with death. She becomes trapped in an obsession with death, what happens after we die? Is it nothing? Why bother living for nothing?

So our dear Olive does the only thing that makes any sense, She goes to an old asylum and summons a ghost! With her group of misfit friends a mysterious adventure unravels.

What I Enjoyed:
- Cute Sapphis Relationship (Slow burn)
- Platonic love (Say I love you to your homies or it's not real /j)
- Relationships rekindled
- The atmosphere of White Haven was so stupidly fun

My biggest critiques for this book were:
- Jay sort of fell off after one or two big conversations with Olive
- A lot of repetition of details
- It was pretty apparent who the antagonist was; there was no real subtly around their character

Here Lies Olive was absolutely amazing! Anderson wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.

*Actual rating is 4.25 stars*

Here Lies Olive is Wednesday meets Scooby Doo, full of ghost and darkness - but with fun vibes and great characters. Set in the dark tourism capital of the United States, the main character Olive has grown up surrounded by death and darkness. But the paranormal is just a thing for tourists, or it is until she accidentally summons a spirit and the whole town is in danger from an evil entity. Now it’s up to Olive and her group of maybe-friends to stop it before someone dies.

Don’t you hate it when you accidentally summon a ghost that wreaks havoc on your goth town? I would. This book has an overall light tone to it, despite being set in a place celebrating death and darkness, and tackling death and dark past in the story. I’m not a fan of horror books, but there have been exceptions and Here Lies Olive is another one. It’s spooky, and at times really scary (so happy I read it in broad daylight in the summer), but that didn’t stop me from becoming surprisingly engaged in the story and the characters. This is probably thanks to the mix of scooby-esque gang of Olive and her friends, and the writing itself.

I don’t want to accidentally spoil this book so rather say less than more. But if you like horror that’s not too spooky, and features a fun group of characters (with some LGBTQA+ representation), then you need to check out Here Lies Olive!

DNF @ Chapter 14.

I was immediately pulled in by the premise and cover on this book. Young teen grappling with fear of the afterlife is something I can relate to on a deep level, having been there. I love the idea of helping a lost ghost find his grave to move on and the unknown of this entity attacking Olive's classmates. The queer rep? Amazing. Mental health rep? Awesome.

Despite those things, I felt like I was forcing myself to read this one. I found the characters kind of plain, if not vaguely annoying. The plot was kind of boring and I found some of the discussions felt very repetitive. It definitely feels more middle grade than YA, which made it slightly out of touch for me.

I really was hopeful for this one, it just wasn't for me. I won't be reviewing elsewhere.

Loved this book so much. The characters were amazing, the storyline was fast paced and kept me interested throughout due to different twists and turns. The ending was insain I never saw the plot twist, and the happy ending really made it mind blowing! Such a fantastic book by a great author!

If I read this as a young teen, I can see it becoming my entire personality. HERE LIES OLIVE tells the story of Olive, also known (to her chagrin) as Lilly, who has recently gone through a near-death experience. She has a lot of residual trauma and a lasting fear of death. Unfortunately for her, she lives in White Haven, a hot bed of dark tourism, so she is surrounded by death. As she tries to learn what happens after death, ghosts are unleashed and terrible things start to happen. Olive has to face her fears and embrace her relationships to save the day.

This book was a delight! The characters that surround Olive are true to life and I wanted to hang out in White Haven, snacking on Poppy’s green chile fries. The themes are incredibly relatable- who hasn’t wondered what happens after we die?

I would love to read more books set in White Haven - it’s a setting ripe for a book series!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

I had a really tough time getting into this book. The premise sounded interesting, but overall I just don't think it was executed well. I think ultimately it would be better suited as a middle grade book (with the removal of some more YA moments) and would appeal more to that audience. Olive's mental health struggles with death were done well, as were her relationships with the other characters. As much of a horror book as this set out to be however, the supernatural aspects and ghosts represented fell flat.

I haven’t been a big fan of YA in a while, but this was a winner! Didn’t feel too juvenile or slang-y or trying too hard… Of course there’s some of that stuff, but it’s not obnoxious. I loved these characters. They were sweet and fun and had what felt like realistic issues without being so overcome by drama that you can’t keep up, like many YA books tend to do. This story hit home for me bc I’m also struggling with thinking there is Nothing after you die, so even as an adult I related to Olive. I also love paranormal/ghost/horror books so this book was right up my alley. At times it felt like I was reading something meant to be a movie rather than a book, but I found it worked for this book since it’s YA and has all the spooky elements that require strong imagery so the reader can visualize and understand what’s happening. I loved it, and I’d definitely hand it to my daughter when she’s older (if she turns out to have similar tastes in books as me).

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for approving me to read this ARC.

Let me preface this by saying that I normally don’t like paranormal books, but the cover and synopsis intrigued me. I’m giving it 3.5 stars but I enjoyed it and I think someone who likes ghost stories would really like this.

The writing in this book is flowery and poetic-the author has obvious talent and I liked a lot of her expressions and turns of phrases. However, in the scenes with paranormal activity I couldn’t understand what was going on half the time, the writing was confusing and I couldn’t visualize what was happening.

The characters were my favourite part of this; I love Olive and Maren, they are adorable. I also loved Olive’s relationship with Davis, but when it came to Jay she only really had one solid conversation with him and I felt the author could have expanded further on their relationship, there was more potential there.

The ending was really sweet, I enjoyed the way it all ended happily but not too perfectly wrapped up.

Overall, a solid read, I enjoyed it! Perfect for Halloween reading. Would recommend to those who like spooky stories.

A gripping and atmospheric book--a page turner to keep you up at night. The characters are relatable and the setting in a death-obsessed western town is unique and charming. Olive and her friends have enough trouble just being teens, and then you have ghosts showing up...

Thank you to NetGalley, North Star Editions, & Flux for the ARC!

3.5 ⭐️

This book gave me spooky fall vibes which I love. It is going to be released during the perfect time of the year for a story like this!

Here Lies Olive had a strong start and many laugh out loud moments. I found myself chuckling while I was reading. It did seem to drag on during the middle of it, and at times I had a hard time staying engaged with the story.

Many details were repeated - distractingly so. I didn’t think details needed to be mentioned several times, i.e. Vanessa touching her ribbon repeatedly, Olive feeling normal around Davis again, Olive’s obsession with death. Some parts were also pretty predictable.

I still enjoyed the story and the spooky town it took place in. I related to Olive and her fear of death, fear of the unknown, and fear of being alone. I think it ended perfectly as well. Overall, a solid debut!