City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I've loved everything I've read by Victoria (V.E.) Schwab thus far. So when I saw she was releasing a creepy middle grade novel, I knew I had to pick it up (even though middle grade normally isn't my thing). Unfortunately, City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab didn't quite live up to my (perhaps too high) expectations.

This story follows Cassidy, who travels with her parents to Edinburgh while they film the first episode of their ghost hunting TV show-The Inspectres. Her parents are obsessed with ghosts, but Cassidy can actually see them. In fact, her best friend is a ghost named Jacob who saved her life when she almost drowned. When Cassidy encounters more ghosts in Edinburgh than she knows what to do with, she meets Lara, another girl with the same gift who helps to enlighten Cassidy on her purpose.

While I chose to get the UK paperback edition (because the cover is just so gorgeous), I'm disappointed that both covers lead the reader to believe that the cat (affectionately named Grim) is a major player in the story. Spoiler alert: he isn't. 

The story itself felt very one dimensional to me. I should have been on the edge of my seat during certain parts of the plot, but I just wasn't. As a fan of any creepy read, I'm normally completely enveloped in these types of stories. I liked the characters enough, but overall something just felt missing. I also would have loved to know more about Lara. Granted, this is a middle grade read, so I might be looking for a depth that just doesn't exist in books for a younger age group. It also took me a lot longer to read than I anticipated.

The story was cute and overall I enjoyed the time I spent with it, but I wouldn't pick it up again, it didn't really stick with me, and I was definitely left wanting more. I think this is supposed to be a duology, and I did like it enough to still check out the second book when it comes out. Hopefully that one will have a little more of what I was looking for!

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars