The idea of this book is a good one, but I couldn't follow.
Between the things that you don't know why happened and the twists... it was too much for me.
I hope the author keeps exploring this idea, though.

I wanted to enjoy this book more then I did, maybe it was a little too laid back and lighthearted. Mainly I just believe I expected a much different story that was more gripping in excitement. With this story I found every time I put it down for the day I was pretty much forgetting to pick it up. It is a cute story but deff not what your expecting by the books summary, at least for me. This is more for a casual read for something to do to kill time and your just relaxing.

Jonathan Carroll's prose is beautiful as always, but this one did not fully land for me. The vivid descriptions were a highlight. Not my favorite, but worth reading. 2.5

DNF at 22%

The writing style is good. A storyteller similar to a long King novel, but missing some character development. By this point in the book, I was not connected to any of the characters and ultimately did not know what was going on. The plot had yet to establish itself as even a beginning.

The audiobook narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner was easily understood at faster speeds and had a pleasant tone for the story.

Thank you NetGalley, Brilliance Audio, and author Jonathan Carroll for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book immediately grabbed my attention with its inventive premise—a man survives a fatal accident, and the ghost sent to escort him to the afterlife instead falls in love with his girlfriend. How weird and whacky! Who WOULDN'T want to read that?!

The description promised a blend of magical realism, philosophical musings, and quirky romance, making it sound like a truly unique read.

And while it certainly delivers on originality, the book ultimately fell a bit flat to me. Carroll reimagines the rules of the afterlife, weaving in talking dogs, gourmet-cooking ghosts, and the idea that humans can reclaim their fate from the gods. The narrative is filled with imaginative flourishes and moments of genuine emotional insight, especially in its exploration of love, loss, and free will.

However, despite the strong concept and flashes of brilliance, the story often felt chaotic and unfocused, with a plot that wandered through surreal territory without always providing enough grounding or payoff. While Carroll’s writing is undeniably creative and at times beautifully evocative, the execution didn’t quite live up to the promise of the premise. The characters, though intriguing, sometimes felt more like vehicles for ideas than fully realized people, making it difficult to stay emotionally invested as the story grew more abstract.

In summary, *The Ghost in Love* is an imaginative and unusual novel that will appeal to fans of literary fantasy and magical realism, but for me, the execution didn’t quite match the book’s intriguing setup. It’s a solid, interesting read, but not the unforgettable experience I’d hoped for.

I honestly just couldn’t get into this, and I didn’t really enjoy it unfortunately. Thank you for the arc, and I hope someone else enjoys this!

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.

This is my first book by the author, and overall I enjoyed the book. I had trouble following some of the details at the beginning, but I did find myself relating to some memories encouraged by the story line. The last part of the book was a bit difficult to swallow, reminded me of the teen shows from the 1980's & 90's meant to teach us life lessons. Not sure if the author usually tries for statements on the population or if it's for this book. It just felt off.

I would try other books by this author, as they are well rated. This could be an 'off' book. Ideas of the afterlife, the emotions was clever and interesting, which makes me think this just might not be the book for me.

3 stars. Recommend to fans of the author, at least. Or emotional readers.

This was fascinating and different than anything I've read before. I really appreciated the details in the normally mundane and overlooked moments.

This story starts out as a fairly calm, tragic love story a young couple have everything going for them; madly in love until the boyfriend hits his head on the curb. He should’ve died, but through some glitch, he lives on -attached to a ghost . A ghost his girlfriend can’t see. They eventually break up because he is weird, and both miss each other terribly. Pretty standard stuff. Then buckle your seatbelts because at the 17% mark, we meet Danielle and take a ever weirder spiral. Get ready for an Alice in Wonderland trippy -“what the heck is going on here ride”? We have talking animals a scene from our town, Stephen King like weirdness- a child crawling on the ceiling (minimal horror), the angel of Death eating a deli sandwich.

This story has so much to offer, but I felt whiplash from the ever weirder situations mixed with philosophical discussion on the meaning of life. I wasn’t able to come to care about the characters- they were just vehicles to prove a point. For me it was just too much.
Some concepts quickly covered then dropped include ;
* Getting comfortable with the parts of yourself that you don’t like and that are dragging you down.
* Learning to live with the fears that everyone has in their life - accept them, welcome them.
* Small beautiful, perfect moments in our life. So many of them get forgotten as we move on/ we grow up and we have new experiences, new joys. In this book. The characters get to revisit them and made me think about which ones would be mine.
I listened to the audio version and the voice actor was excellent .

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[A big thank you to Brilliance Publishing for providing me with an ARC of the audiobook on NetGalley!]

This story handles a lot of unique ideas concerning the human experience and Ben Gould's strange case of non-death. I would personally classify this as Contemporary Speculative Fiction, rather than Sci-fi or Fantasy. The audio narration as amazingly done, and well-suited to all the strange events that the characters encounter!

Though I do prefer the new synopsis over the old one, I still think both the synopsis and title don't quite capture the essence of what this book is about. Ben Gould is ultimately the main character of the story, even if we don't really get his perspective in the beginning, and meanwhile 'the ghost' is a relatively minor character in the grand scheme of things. I can understand the argument that, perhaps, the ghost referred to by the title is actually Ben. But since Ben is never called a ghost in the book, it's not really a strong association.

However, I still found this story to be thought-provoking! It touches on many complicated themes and presents them in a way that's fresh and interesting, yet still undeniably recognisable.

I stumbled upon this story more out of curiosity than anything else, without really knowing what to expect. Jonathan Carroll’s writing has a very particular way of pulling us into worlds where the most unlikely things happen almost naturally. In the audiobook, the experience felt even more immersive — the narration really captured the strangeness and delicacy of the story.

The book touches on life, death, love, and the connections that somehow continue even when everything seems to have ended. It’s not a story with clear explanations or a tightly closed plot; it’s more like a journey through emotions, encounters, and moments that feel suspended in time. At times, I felt it was more about sensations than actual events.

I especially liked the way the characters are drawn — not as heroes or villains, but as people full of contradictions, desires, and fears. There were parts where I got a little lost, maybe because the story spreads out in many directions, but in the end, that also felt like part of the experience.

It’s not a book for those looking for clear answers. It’s for those who like to be left thinking about what they have read (or listened to) for a while afterwards. And, for me, it was well worth it.

People who are “supposed to” die but don’t seem to be the heart of this mind-bending novel. It’s also a story about relationships: with others and with ourselves. My favorite part was how the characters come face-to-face not only with earlier versions of themselves, but the “ugly” people we often see ourselves as being and the “beautiful” people we are when seen through the eyes of those who love us. There is also a ghost and a talking dog. Not my favorite of the three Carroll’s I’ve listened to, but still an entertaining albeit confusing romp. 3.4 rounded down.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @BrillianceAudio, and #NetGalley for access to the newly produced audiobook of #TheGhostinLove for review purposes. The book and audiobook are now available.

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review

Unfortunately, this was another DNF for me. This time at 53%

What started as a charming and bizarre story steadily became equally more difficult to follow and less engaging, so I'm cutting it off there.

The audiobook narration is absolutely spectacular and did a lot to keep me going as long as I did. I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review

Unfortunately, this was another DNF for me. This time at 53%

What started as a charming and bizarre story steadily became equally more difficult to follow and less engaging, so I'm cutting it off there.

The audiobook narration is absolutely spectacular and did a lot to keep me going as long as I did.