Invisible Ghosts Review: When Your Love Interest is Allergic to Your Brother

Rose Asher believes in ghosts. She should, since she has one for a best friend: Logan, her annoying, Netflix-addicted brother, who is forever stuck at fifteen. But Rose is growing up, and when an old friend moves back to Laguna Canyon and appears in her drama class, things get complicated.

Jamie Aldridge is charming, confident, and a painful reminder of the life Rose has been missing out on since her brother's death. She watches as Jamie easily rejoins their former friends--a group of magnificently silly theater nerds--while avoiding her so intensely that it must be deliberate.

Yet when the two of them unexpectedly cross paths, Rose learns that Jamie has a secret of his own, one that changes everything. Rose finds herself drawn back into her old life--and to Jamie. But she quickly starts to suspect that he isn't telling her the whole truth.

All Rose knows is that it's becoming harder to choose between the boy who makes her feel alive and the brother she isn't ready to lose.

It’s been too long since Robyn Schneider has released a book and I am so glad to have a new one in my hands! I absolutely loved The Beginning of Everything (Severed Heads, Broken Hearts) and Extraordinary Means so I am insanely happy that she has a new release.

Invisible Ghosts follows Rose, a high schooler and drama geek, who has forced herself into a shell since the death of her older brother several years ago. She perceives his death to be her fault and has withdrawn from her previous group of friends and has given up auditioning for theatre roles, opting instead to work on costumes behind the scenes. What people don’t know is that her brother’s ghost remains and Rose spends most of her time hanging out with him after school. When her former neighbour, Jamie, moves back to the area and forces Rose out of her shell by getting her to realise that there’s life outside of her home, she has to make a choice between doing the things she wants and doing what her ghostly brother wants.

For me, this novel wasn’t as good as Extraordinary Means but I still highly enjoyed it. It had an interesting and unique plot, and I really enjoyed the role of the ghosts in this novel. I’m usually not really one for ghostly stories because anything paranormal tends to make me really scared, paranoid and unable to sleep at night. However, Invisible Ghosts was really nothing to be scared of and I enjoyed thoroughly the role that Rose’s brother, Logan, played. I really enjoyed how the story progressed and developed and thought it was an interesting coming of age story.

I really loved the themes that the book explored. Robyn Schneider did a wonderful job of executing a story about moving on from grief, and putting things behind you in order to reach your dreams. I also loved all the high school aspects of the book and how difficult it can be to fit in and be yourself when you’re dealing with something that consumes your every thought.

And I realized that I didn’t have to be enough to fill both of our chairs. I just had to be me. And that was all anyone had ever asked for.

I liked the characters in Invisible Ghosts quite a bit. Rose was an easy character to connect with and it was easy to relate with her inner turmoil about leaving her brother behind while she was pursuing her own interests and social life. Jamie was also an easy character to connect with and I enjoyed him a lot as a love interest. The romance between Jamie and Rose had me really rooting for them, even through all of their problems and Logan’s sabotaging of their relationship. I also thoroughly enjoyed how they connected over a special gift that they both had and the way that it made them seem even more destined for each other.

My only real criticism about the novel is that it was largely unexplained how Rose and some others in the book could see ghosts. It wasn’t just Logan who Rose could see, so I found myself wondering why she could see others, especially if she had no connection to them. I would have liked for a little bit more explanation, but all in all, I thought it was a wonderful read and I’m so happy to have another Robyn Schneider book.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Thank you to HarperCollins for providing a review copy of the book.

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Jenna

Co-Blogger at Happy Indulgence Books

Jenna is an Aussie blogger and reader who loves to indulge in great books and great food. She is a doctor (of philosophy) and can usually be found fangirling about something, devouring delicious food, or taking a nap. You can find her on Twitter @readwithjenna and on Instagram @readingwithjenna.

Latest posts by Jenna (see all)

• Love on the Brain Review: Deja Vu? - September 1, 2022
• The No-Show Review: Definitely Not What It Seems - July 28, 2022
• Something Wilder Review: A Wild, Adventure-Filled Story - June 30, 2022