Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

could be an interesting series.

I have ZERO expectations when I downloaded this book YEARS! Somehow, I don't even know why I downloaded this since I'm not even a fan of paranormal stuff in books. lmao.

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl follows Sunshine who moves to a new house and upon moving, she feels odd, cold, and hears things in their house. She's quite positive that their house is hunted but her mother just can't seem to see, feel, or remember anything odd happening. She meets Nolan who believes her ghost story and together, they discover more things not only about the ghost in her house but also why Sunshine can see and feel these ghosts.

Now, this books is absolutely not for me.

In general, this really felt very flat and boring, for me. Sunshine is a not-like-other-girls type of main character but that also is part of her characteristic as some kind of ghost hunter or luiseach as they call it. I didn't like Sunshine at all but it's definitely more of a me thing. How Sunshine took the entire hunted house and evil ghost kind of news in her new home definitely felt like a natural reaction to things. Although it did frustrated me lots of times because it did take more than half of the book to really get things going. There was a lot of build up / world building (?) regarding what's going on in Sunshine's house and the natures of luiseaches.

Another part of the book that feels like took a massive amount of part of it is the romance. There isn't like some actual, actual progression to it but you know it's there. You know it's there because you absolutely cannot miss it because it's like every chapter Sunshine talks about feeling nervous around Nolan, and how she kind of hesitate at saying what she and Nolan are (which.... uhhh.. Friends?). I'm sure there's a lot more times where I rolled my eyes while reading this because of this thing between the two of them. Nolan is a nice guy but younger me would also not be into him in terms of book boys just because he's just that, a nice guy who absolutely admires his grandfather.

However, I have to admit that Sunshine's narration kind of make things a bit better despite my frustrations on how slow the story is, and how much she talks about Nolan, and how much she talks about being "weird" and not being into what other teenagers her age are into. Aside from, as I said, her reaction towards everything did feel natural which I really like, I also like how she points out things to save you the eyerolling (the fact that she had to emphasize googling luiseach surprisingly works kind of made me laugh).
OVERALL, The Haunting of Sunshine Girl could be an interesting series. It's could be good depending on how it's written and where the story actually goes. But with what I've seen in here, I'd say it could be a typical battle of good and evil and ultimately saving the world and getting the boy (just like every other book, I guess). There's nothing exactly new in here. While it did feel really slow, it could still be enjoyable for a few people who likes characters that are very vocal about all their thoughts and very open about everything (there could be a massive amount of repetition, tbh). But for me, I won't be continuing with the series just because I think it's not worth it (and I wasn't a fan of the main character).

Intriguingly creative, this YA Paranormal Suspense Thriller presents Sunshine, a sixteen-year-old who unexpectedly moves from Austin, Texas to almost-rural rainy Western Washington State. She thinks it's due to her beloved mother's new job as neo-natal head nurse. But suddenly their closeness is gone, the new house is haunted, and her mother's memory for anything Paranormal is missing. Sunshine makes friends with fellow student Nolan, who like his recently deceased grandfather, is a Paranormal believer, and sets out to explore and to discover truth.

I'm sorry but the book did not really work for me. I DNF'ed it. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the many characters in the book and I found myself putting down the book a lot because it was never really catching my attention.

I loved this entire series. The Haunting of Sunshine Girl is a unique spin on the paranormal, like none I have seen in any other books/series to date. The characters were interesting and engaging and it kept me reading until the very end.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Based on the wildly popular YouTube channel, The Haunting of Sunshine Girl has been described as Gilmore Girls meets Paranormal Activity for the new media age.” YA fans new and old will learn the secrets behind Sunshine, the adorkable girl living in a haunted house - a story that is much bigger, and runs much deeper, than even the most devoted viewer can imagine.

Let's be clear - I am leaving this as a two-star review as I don't really like to leave 1-star.

Uggghhhh, what a massive disappointment this turned out to be. I should have known better - a YouTube success being turned into a book. That should have been the warning...but I wanted it to be good, really good. Who can hate a haunted house novel...?

What went wrong? Sunshine herself. Sure, she is supposed to be "adorkable" (who came up with that word?) but there are limits. She was intolerable. Every single spare moment, she reminds the reader just how "special" she is - whether it is her "different" eyes ("I’ve literally never seen anyone with eyes that look like mine.") to the way she dresses ("I don’t dress like a crazy person or anything like that; I just don’t dress like most of the other kids I know either.") There is always something to point out just how dorky and adorable she seems to think she is.

Adding to that, of course, is the dialogue. Apart from the two examples above, there are multitudes of horrendous exchanges that made me cringe. Here is but one:

"You ok?"
"Just klutzy," I nod, rubbing my knee. Later I'll discover a big purple bruise blossoming beneath my clothes. "I could trip over my own two feet," I add.

I mean, really? Just stop already...

Add to that the complete and utter lack of horror...or suspense...or thrills...or anything resembling "scary", and then you have a book that seems to only have been published because the author has a huge following on YouTube. It certainly wasn't because she can write!


Paul
ARH

Here's a haunted house narrative for the ages--one which offers a fresh take on the subgenre, as well as a sparkling heroine to love and admire. Sunshine Griffith is exactly the sort of sixteen year old with whom I am happy to spend an afternoon or two, whether rainy or otherwise, although a rainy afternoon makes for the perfect complement to this powerfully atmospheric coming-of-age novel. It's haunting, it's sophisticated, and it is written in a compulsively readable style which has already proven popular with our library's teen readers. There's plenty of light to leaven the dark here, but don't be fooled--this is a book that's unafraid to go after subjects of great importance, rich with grief and gravitas. How does a person grow up? How does she come to love herself? More than any specific plot detail, the asking and answering of these questions makes for the true pleasure of reading "The Haunting of Sunshine Girl."

MY THOUGHTS
I went into this book not having high expectations because I tried watching some of the you-tube videos that it is based off of, and couldn't really enjoy them. I still wanted to give it a try because I enjoy books about ghosts and other unnatural beings. Once I started it, I became a bit fascinated with it, and I learned that it was a bit more then your average ghost story.

If you're looking for a mature YA read from this book it's not going to happen. This one leans more to the younger audience.

SETTING
Sunshine is originally from Texas but her mother and her move up north for a better job. It's a constant murkiness and darkness with rain. It fits well with the story, and the creepiness that Sunshine is always talking about. I love rain, but there comes that point where it's just too much. When Sunshine and her mom move into this house it seems instant that Sunshine knows something is off with the it. Through out the story the episodes that the house experience seem to grow , and before to long Sunshine learns just what makes this house tick.

CHARACTERS
Sunshine is the main MC in the book, and starting off I really wasn't a fan of hers. She seemed younger than she was, and at I can over look that sometimes. I will say that as the story went on she grew on me, and I loved learning about her, and what she was.
Nolan was the boy who Sunshine met in her art class that gave a new girl a chance. I adored Nolan because his spirit and attitude towards Sunshine was awesome. When no one else believed in her he was there. He stood by her side when things got rocky. He never strayed to far.
We also get to meet Victoria the art teacher that Sunshine has, and from the second she walks in that door to the art room we know Victoria isn't all she seems to be.

END
I had a good feeling that the stranger was going to be the person who it was, but I wasn't expecting some of the other characters to be who they were. It definitely has a few twists in it. I'm curious to see how book two will turn out.

DOWNFALL
The only downfall I had was like I said above it's more for a younger audience.