The House at the End of the Street

There are just a handful of books that I read over the course of a year where I find myself so completely engrossed in the story that I both dread turning the page, as it's bringing me one step closer to finishing, and at the same time cannot seem to put it down. This is one of those books for me. I wanted to just live in the words on the page. The characters, the situation, everything just melded together and worked so perfectly in a simple story about love, death, and lost souls. There were still things I wished had been better explained, namely the "rules" around Natalie's ghostiness; at one point there's a mention of an electrical storm but it's just as quickly glossed over and brushed aside. It's a minor quibble in an otherwise delicious novel. Very highly recommended, especially during a rainy day.

Who is a ghost if your life has been empty? Caitlin buys the "haunted" house of her childhood and believes in a ghost. Does the ghost believe in Caitlin? An engaging story of learning to love across barriers.

Ghosts, I have never encountered one. I am not sure I really want to. I have quite the chicken heart and having a ghostly encounter, to be honest, gives me the heebie jeebies. With this being said I would usually pass on a ghost story, but the fact that it was written by Stephanie Kusiak made me override this immediately. Her book Loved and Lost is one of my all-time favorites, and therefore her books are on my automatic read list.

Caitlin Cassidy is a newly divorced author that has decided to lick her wounds the only way she knows how, she heads home. Packing up and leaving Los Angeles was harder than she ever imagined it would be. Her marriage is over. A life she was 100% committed t, but could not make work. In her devastation she decides to buy an old abandoned home and restore it to its former glory. The thing about the home is there is a ghost that lives there. Caitlin knows this because the ghost saved her life when she was a little girl, and that moment has stayed with her forever.

Natalie Hargrove is the ghost that remains in Caitlin’s house. Once an accomplished painter, Natalie had it all. A great family, a beautiful lover, amazing friends, but she lived in a time where she couldn’t be open and honest about who she was and who she loved. Upon telling the truth to her loved ones it all came crashing down. Natalie turned to the bottle in her despair and she fell to her death falling down her grand staircase. Natalie should have never met Caitlyn but she did, and now they are roommates.

I will tell you this book made me cry. I am not really much of a crier, I try to repress those feelings most of the time, but this book brought out the waterworks. While this book is on the short side, it does not lack for emotion. There are times parts of the story are rushed or glossed over, but what you do have is simple and beautiful. The interactions between Natalie and Caitlin are power packed, and with heavy emotion. The two women and their journey was incredible, not like any other story I had read before. I was enthralled, completely captivated by Natalie and Caitlin. This is an amazing story of lost souls and love. Stephanie Kusiak does not disappoint with this one!

I was incredibly excited to begin reading this for a number of reasons – first, I’m super invested in stories about women, especially when there are LGBT+ characters involved. Second, I love a good ghost story! That usually tends to take the form of a vengeful ghost seeking to inflict pain and torture on others, which is good and well, I enjoy those, but it’s fantastic to come across the rarer type featuring a benevolent ghost! And third, I’ve been craving a palate cleanser after a solid block of horror novels, so a romance was just what the doctor prescribed!:)

And this romance was perfectly suited to my tastes like it was written to order. My common nitpick about the romance genre is the dreaded ‘insta-love’ or more accurately, ‘insta-lust’; the main characters meet and instantly their breath catches, their eyes linger and their loins tingle signifying they have met THE ONE. It seems to be less about romance and more a hormonal reaction. But obviously with Natalie being a ghost, that was somewhat of a hindrance to the chances of anything physical happening!

What we got instead was an incredibly sweet, slow-burn romance. Caitlin owes her life to Natalie who saved her from a plunging chandelier in her childhood, and when she returns to Natalie’s house, she’s determined to repay her by restoring the place to its former glory. I loved watching Natalie move from helpless rage and despair to the shocked realization that Caitlin was honoring her and cared so deeply that she undertook this massive project to make her happy. She finally re-establishes contact with Caitlin and their bond grows and deepens from that point on.

What I found intriguing were the rules regarding ghosts – the author created some unusual laws governing Natalie’s existence! I haven’t come across anything similar in the past, and I thought it was fascinating and original the way Natalie interacted with light and how it strengthened her and gave her corporeal form. This was quite helpful in the progression of her friendship with Caitlin! 😉

There isn’t much action and the cast of characters is pretty limited. In fact, aside from a couple of side characters who wander in from time-to-time, the entire plot is consumed with the interactions between Natalie and Caitlin, but that wasn’t to its detriment. I would’ve thought it would become claustrophobic with that narrow focus on just two characters, and yet I didn’t find that to be the case at all. It was very appropriate in a way because for Natalie, being a ghost capable of only limited movement, Caitlin was her entire world.

And for Caitlin, who moved back home after a relationship ended badly and she left everything and everyone behind to start fresh, making a home with Natalie was her sole focus to help her heal from the past hurt. They had a very intense co-dependent relationship and there wasn’t really room for anyone else. I was completely engrossed by the subtle shifts in their dynamic and watching their growing closeness with bated breath, waiting for that moment where they would hit the point of no return and surpass friendship.

It was a ridiculously long wait, I have to say, as for most of the book, they were either obliviously in love or fruitlessly pining after each other. My one criticism is that I wish that they had realized their feelings and confessed them to each other earlier in the book – don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a lengthy, drawn-out courtship and the anticipation of its consummation, but we didn’t have very long with Natalie and Caitlin together as a couple, and I would’ve enjoyed seeing more of that dynamic. But it’s so rare for me to find a book that focuses on building a good solid friendship between the main characters and taking the time to sow the seeds of romance and nurture it slowly that I can’t fault this one too much.

The House At The End Of The Street is a very gently sentimental story, and I greatly enjoyed learning more about the main two women and seeing them come to care for each other, first in friendship, then very much later as lovers. I’d recommend it to readers who like a sweet, simple romance and aren’t looking for melodrama or fast-paced action. It’s a wonderfully dreamy read to while away the afternoon. ❤

Posted at my blog: https://dreamingofcats.wordpress.com/2016/06/24/the-house-at-the-end-of-the-street/

I have never been one for ghost stories and am not quite sure why I picked this book. But I am happy that I really did enjoy this story and the characters. I would definitely read other books by this author.

This is not your typical romance book. It had a supernatural element that I found so incredibly heart breaking but intriguing. I really liked the small synopsis and decided to give this book a try. It really did not disappoint. The only thing I can think to complain about was that the book felt really short, I wish it were just a tad bit longer.

I really fell in love with the characters and felt the pain that they were going through. At times it really resonated with how I felt after my break up, which made me connect with the book in a great way. What I also liked about the book was that you can’t really tell that the main character is gay until a couple chapters in. You connect with her as a person and what she’s going through rather than just with her identity.

This story is about a woman, Caitlin who falls in love with a ghost named Natalie. Their lives crossed once, briefly when Caitlin was 12 and Natalie saves her from being crushed by a chandelier. Now later in life, fresh from a divorce and leaving LA to recover she buys the house where she was saved in hopes of seeing her ghost savior again. Caitlin and Natalie eventually meet again and connect in their loneliness and pain. They essentially bring each other back to life … well, metaphorically anyway.

Overall : Great quick read, will definitely tug at those heartstrings.

Natalie Hargrove is a brilliant painter who lives in the house at the end of the street. After a disaster of a day, she falls down the stairs and dies. Normally that would be the end of it, but Natalie’s ghost remains in the house long after her death. Haunting the house, the only intruders are adventurous kids from the local town, whose visits are very brief.

One such kid is Caitlin Cassidy, a twelve year old trying to proof how tough she is to get the school bullies off her back. When the bullies unwittingly bring down the chandelier, Caitlin is only saved by the quick intervention by the ghost of Natalie. So begins Caitlin’s fascination with the ghost and the house at the end of the street.

Twenty years later, as a successful author in her own right, Caitlin buys the property and moves in. The ghost of Natalie is still around, and so begins the romance.

This was an unexpectedly sweet book. The main character, Caitlin, is well written and has a strength of purpose which is refreshing. However, that strength is tempered by an obvious respect for the ghost with whom she shares the house. Natalie remains a bit of an enigma, largely for storytelling purposes, but she also isn’t as well written and it’s harder to get to know her, as the other half of the romantic story.

Kusiak creates a logical way for it all to happen, and gives us the possibility that Natalie can have physical form, and even the possibility that she can stay for a while. It is a clever way of giving the romantics among us hope, and yet never quite letting that solidify into certainty. I liked the paranormal aspects of it, and there was logic in the way that developed, which worked really effectively.

There was a lot of romance in the book, and it was a slow boil as the characters gradually learned to trust one another. There was no sex to speak of, and even the implied relationship gave me the impression that the author didn’t really know how to write about physical attraction. Despite that, I really enjoyed this book.

It was a very sweet romance. I recommend this book for a quiet afternoon in a comfy chair.

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I chose to read this book for a couple of reasons. I enjoyed Kusiak's Loved and Lost and was interested in reading an original work without the fan fiction origins. I was also drawn in by the premise of the novel, that a relationship could develop between a woman and the ghost of one trapped in the house for the past forty years. Paranormal is not a favorite genre of mine so my lack of understanding the suspension of disbelief aspect may have jaded my view of this novel.

Caitlin, reeling from a difficult divorce buys the house she hopes is still occupied by its former owner, the very dead Natalie. Natalie or rather the ghost of Natalie has been wandering around her now derelict home since her untimely death. She is one sad, angry and lonely ghost.

The relationship between these two and the method used to allow their interaction was both interesting and mind bending. I was able (for the most part) to suspend belief and accept a lot of the rules of ghost/mortal interaction thanks to Kusiak and her way with words. Her writing is well suited to the dreamy surrealistic settings in this novel.

Caitlin, explaining why she would leave LA and buy Natalie’s house;
I was willing to give up all my friends, everything I knew as a little kid, for the rumor of you. Loc. 1717

Other quotable quotes include;
Love was an incessant instigator of bravery. Loc. 2136

Because that was how life was. It was unfair in its swiftness, but beautiful in its moments. Cruel in its keeping of second chances, and yet perfection in its small, magnificent repetitions. Loc. 2662

For the most part, I enjoyed this novel. The first half of the novel features Caitlin and her story with Natalie lurking about the edges observing the changes taking place in her home. As the story progresses, Natalie’s life is explored and she becomes more real to the reader. Her back-story is mentioned but I missed the reason why she was trapped in this dimension while others were allowed to move on after death. Hurt by love, hides in her studio didn’t seem to be a good enough reason for her exile. The focus on Natalie in the second half comes at the expense of character growth for Caitlin. Instead of supporting the woman (ghost) of her dreams and letting her move on when the opportunity arises, Caitlin struggles to come to terms with this inevitability. It was interesting watching this shift in perspective.

I may have struggled with some of the paranormal rules of engagement but did get caught up in this unusual romance.

3.5 Stars

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley

Superbly wrought novel that raises the painful history of lives and loves that occurred in secret and the enduring effects that the occupants of a space can have on it. Natalie and Caitlin enraptured me. It was a gift of a book that I have now read twice.

This was a love story like no other. I was expecting something a little more dark and twisty, which is one reason I didn't rate it higher. I appreciated the plot and characters and grew to like both, Caitlin and Natalie, quite a bit although at times they seemed shallow and not as fleshed out as I wanted them to be. It was an enjoyable enough read but I'm not sure I would re read it at any point in the future. Interested in reading Kusiak's other novel and seeing if continuing on with this author's works would be up my alley.

The House at the End of the Street is a quite unique story with a surprisingly sweet romance taking into account that one part of the romantic pair has been dead for forty-seven years. Stephanie Kusiak reveals all parts of this strange pairing very slowly, but at the same time very successfully.
This is a character-driven romance with well cut proportions of secrecy, drama, passion, angst, love, life, death, art... and more. In addition to the unique story, the author's choice of words is unique in places too, and in my eyes, that contributes to the singularity/uniqueness of the narrative.
I really like it all together and I recommend it to those who are open to a somewhat different romance.
4.5 stars
*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

The title and description of this book really entrigued me. I was so thrilled that I was given permission to read this book. It's honestly unlike any book I've ever read. The characters (one human, one ghost) are both strong women in their lives own right. There really are just those two characters in the book with one or two extras that add to the storyline. The plot is farfetched but that's the whole point of reading sometimes....to escaped. The book made me smile and honestly cry. It struck something so deep inside me. Step out of tour center comfort zone and read this book. It's well worth it.