Official Review: The Ghost and the Grimoire by Laura Hawks

Thimble · Post by **Thimble** » 15 Feb 2017, 01:07

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Ghost and the Grimoire" by Laura Hawks.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Old prejudices die hard, especially when you’re dead.

The Ghost and the Grimoire is a romance written by Laura Hawks. With a Confederate ghost as a main character, it features both historical and supernatural content. While I enjoyed reading this book, for several reasons I cannot recommend it to anyone.

The plot has a great premise, but is unfortunately not executed well. Elliot Stone is a tormented ghost haunting a house in the former Confederacy of the United States. He only approves of peace, quiet, and southerners. Daniella Yankovich is a stubborn northerner who has inherited this house at a convenient time in her life. She has her own demons to run from and is determined to stay, ghost or no ghost. Let the romance commence!

Both lead characters have realistic and well-conceived backstories. Elliot’s history is narrated in diary format and the entries are well-written. I found it quite interesting to see the Civil War from a Confederate soldier’s point of view. Sadly, Dany’s history isn’t explained as thoroughly. It’s told to us in standard narrative for the most part and isn’t integrated into dialogue between the characters. The romance, the foundation of this book, suffers from the same problem as Dany’s backstory. After the initial antagonism that is traditional for many romance novels, we’re told that the romance develops, but it’s not shown through action or dialogue. This leads to a very weak third act.

This brings me to the genre integration issue. This book is a romance with an emphasis on historical and supernatural fiction. While I found the historical diary entries to be tied well to the modern narrative, the switch from modern/historical writing to supernatural is very jarring.

If you are still interested, there are a few things to consider before choosing to read this book. Because of the different time periods, there are multiple racial and gendered derogatory words. There is violence, death, sexual assault, and semi-graphic descriptions of torture.

I rate this book a 2 out of 4. Because of the issues listed, The Ghost and the Grimoire is a quick read at 405 pages. I finished it in less than a day and I did enjoy it while I was reading it. I feel like this story would be better served as a trilogy of novellas. The romance, backstories, and Native American supernatural story elements could all be fleshed out much more.

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The Ghost and the Grimoire
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 18 May 2017, 10:54

Interesting review. I can't quite make heads or tails of this story. It almost seems like the author wasn't quite sure what type of book she wanted to write, so she tried to write several at one time. Apparently, she didn't do a good job of it at all. I think I'll avoid this one, but thanks for the review.

Jaime Lync · Post by **Jaime Lync** » 18 May 2017, 14:29

Great review. I actually find 405 pages to be rather lengthy when the book isn't rewarding. I hope your next book is better executed by the author.

vincedion2003 · Post by **vincedion2003** » 18 May 2017, 14:43

Thimble's review, I dare say, put the book in proper perspective especially for those of us who have not had the privilege of reading the book. However, in as much as platform like this give us the space to ventilate our intellect, discretion has not, and will not cease to be the better part of valour.
Thimble did a good job of giving an insight to the book for those who intend to read, but I think his not recommending the book to others will end of the joker in the part, as some will desire to get the book at all cost to discover for themselves why Thimble feels the way he feels about the book.

christinac_2585 · Post by **christinac_2585** » 20 May 2017, 10:22

Thank you for your honest review. I do not think I will try to read this one. I agree with @kandscreely about the author possibly writing several stories at one time. With the jarring transfer of historical fiction to supernatural makes me not want to read this as well as other things.

Spirit Wandering · Post by **Spirit Wandering** » 23 May 2017, 20:35

Well its unfortunate that the book did not turn out well as I like romance novels with a supernatural element. Thanks for the review.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 11 Jun 2017, 06:45

That was a very honest review. The premise sounds very interesting and quite intriguing, with the ghost and all. Too bad, though, about the total execution of the book, which I gather is not as enjoyable as it should be. Great job on the review.

Thimble · Post by **Thimble** » 12 Jun 2017, 23:00

kimmyschemy06 wrote:That was a very honest review. The premise sounds very interesting and quite intriguing, with the ghost and all. Too bad, though, about the total execution of the book, which I gather is not as enjoyable as it should be. Great job on the review.

Thanks! I try to be honest

. The first two-thirds was actually a very nice read. However, it's very difficult to end a story properly for most writers.