V.E. Schwab

From #1 NYT bestselling author Victoria Schwab comes a sweeping, spooky, evocative adventure, perfect for fans of "Stranger Things" and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

City of Ghosts

Alesha Clifford

“hullo, hullo,” says a low voice behind me.

A ghost five is like a high five for friends who can’t really touch. It’s basically just me putting out my hand and him pretending to hit it, both of us murmuring a soft “smack” sound on contact.

There was an accident. A bike. A frozen river. Long story short, he saved my life.

 and clears husband throat “I prefer the phrase ‘corporeally challenged’ “

Danika Walker

Ian Brakspear

Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn't like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead . . . and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost. So things are already pretty strange. But they're about to get much stranger. When Cass's parents start hosting a TV show about the world's most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Here, graveyards, castles, and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. And when Cass meets a girl who shares her "gift," she realizes how much she still has to learn about the Veil -- and herself. And she'll have to learn fast. The city of ghosts is more dangerous than she ever imagined. NYT bestselling author Victoria Schwab delivers a thrillingly spooky and action-packed tale of hauntings, history, mystery, and the bond between friends (even if that friend is a ghost . . .).

anna

4.5
it took me longer than usual to read this book because of exams but DAMN I loved it. I mean Edinburgh and ghosts are the perfect combination. Loved the story, the characters, the nerdy references (harry potter and marvel), and victoria's writing style is just beautiful.

Ever since her near-fatal drowning, Cassidy has been able to pull back the "Veil" that separates the living from the dead and see ghosts, not that she wants to, and she was really looking forward to a ghost-free summer at the beach; however her parents are going to start filming a TV series about the world's most haunted places, starting with Edinburgh with its graveyards, castles, and restless phantoms--and Cass and her personal ghost companion, Jacob, are about to find out that a city of old ghosts can be a very dangerous place indeed.

People think that ghosts only come out at night, or on Halloween, when the world is dark and the walls are thin. But the truth is, ghosts are everywhere. In the bread aisle at your grocery store, in the middle of you grandmother's garden, in the front seat on your bus. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.”
--
Oh, to be in Edinburgh at this time of year, with the chill descending upon the cobblestones of the street, mist curling over the rooftops of its row houses, a feeling of the supernatural and history hanging in the air.

If you are looking to get into the spooky mood, don't miss out on this wonderful MG story that pulls the veil between the living and the dead apart for an exciting glimpse. Just don't forget rule of friendship number 9. Ghost-watching is a 2 person sport.

Geoffrey Froggatt

As a big fan of Victoria Schwab, I knew I wanted to read her trilogy about a girl who can see ghosts. Ever since she drowned, Cassidy Blake can see dead people. She can pull back The Veil that separates the worlds of the living and the dead. Her best friend Jacob, is a ghost himself. When her ghost-hunting parents head to Edinburgh, Scotland for their new television show, Cassidy and Jacob are transplanted as well. When Cass meets a girl who shares her gift, she realizes how much she still has to learn about The Veil, and herself. The city of ghosts is more dangerous than she ever imagined. Content warning for discussions about death. The writing is easily accessible for a middle grade audience but the story is very much for all ages who enjoy stories with tropes like this, as long as you come into the story knowing the tone and the intended audience is younger kids. The characters were cute and charming. I appreciated the platonic friendship between Cassidy and Jacob. I would have loved reading this when I was younger. I highly recommend this book for younger kids who want to get into reading and love spooky storytelling tropes.

Melissa Palmer

Book #93 Read in 2018
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Cassidy almost drowned as a child. Since then, she can see ghosts, including her "best friend" who is a ghost--Jacob. But is there a higher purpose to her ability? When Cass and her parents head to Scotland, there are a lot of adventures and action. This book would be ideal for middle school readers but high school readers and adult readers would enjoy it too. I received this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.

Kelsey Munson

I am 27 years old. I am not the target audience for City of Ghosts. 
Keeping that in mind, I read this book through a middle grade lens and hoped for the best..

That being said, I loved it. 

This is about a young girl named Cassidy Blake who is best friends with a ghost named Jacob. Cassidy's parents happen to be ghost hunters (who funnily enough cannot see Jacob, and don't really believe him to be real). This book follows the Blake family as they travel to Scotland to film their 'ghost-hunters' tv show. Shocking surprise; ghosts aren't always as friendly as Cassidy's BFF Jacob and paranormal chaos ensues. 

Listen, one of my favorite TV shows from when I was a kid was a cartoon called Danny Phantom, and this gave me strong nostalgic vibes from that series. Middle school me would have adored City of Ghosts. It would have been my jam. 

Is this book flawless? No. But it sure was a fun and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Patricia Nelson

I was looking for a good spooky book for October and heard about the second book in this series being published so I grabbed this one from the library. I loved it! The characters and the premise of the story are well thought out and I loved feeling like I was visiting Scotland through the story. If you are looking for a spooky, suspenseful story with an interesting twist, this is a great choice!

Krystyna 

I really enjoyed this story. I read it in 2 sittings, which wasn't difficult because it goes by super quick. I loved the cover, the premise, and the writing. It's Victoria Schwab so the writing is going to be good, ya know? This was a darker style for middle grade and it is perfect to pick up around Halloween. 

While I did enjoy the premise, I was kind of expecting more out of it. From the looks of the cover and they synopsis, I expected her to go on these ghostly adventures with her cat, Grim. But, the reader rarely sees Grim in the story. I wish Grim was more prevalent, hopefully in the rest of the books (fingers crossed). I also enjoyed the friendship between Cassidy and Jacob. 

The concept of this book was really interesting. The writing was great and there were a couple of lines that I tabbed in my book. It's Victoria Schwab so obviously I'm going to tab quotes. The only part of the writing that seemed to throw me out of the story at times was the over-the-top Harry Potter references. I grew up with Harry Potter and loved it but the excessive references was a bit much, and I found it to be somewhat distracting because it would kind of pull me from the story. 

With all of that being said, I really did enjoy this book. It was a great introduction to the series. I will definitely be continuing on with the rest of the books, especially after the ending to this one. I need answers and new adventures.

Ayesha W

I really loved this book, especially the last few chapters! I wish it was a little bit longer, but I guess the books we like would never be long enough!

Actual rating: close to a 4.5! 

I loved the heck out of this book! I read it in 2 sittings (2 because I didn’t wanna finish it bc I was loving it tbh) and it was just incredible! 

I haven’t really had too much luck with Victoria Schwab before, I liked the first ADSOM book but that’s it really, so I didn’t really have too many expectations going into this. 

I did thoroughly enjoy this book! I loved the plot, the premise, the setting (!! ♥.♥) everything!! I really can’t wait for a 2nd book hopefully! I’m pretty sure this helped slow my reading slump and I think I’m excited to dive into another book now, this was such an easy read I think it’s kickstarted me back into reading!

Jamieson

This is a cute middle grade, I loved the friendship between Cassidy and her ghost best friend Jacob. Middle grades tend not to be my favourite (they're not meant for me and I 100% get that) but I think I would have liked this a lot as a kid? Review to come

Jasmine

3 Stars
I had an overall good time reading City of Ghosts. This is, for the most part this was a fun, and haunted middle-grade adventure. Victoria's writing is still amazing as always. I especially like the way she is able to add such an atmospheric feel to everything, that is the best part of all her book imo. This book started out stronger for me when it was laying out the initial premise, and then faltered as it got closer to the end. Actually once a lot of the mystery was gone and everything started to speed up, that's when I started losing interest. I did love some of her side characters, like Grim, though he didn't do much but I still enjoyed his presence none the less. I was hoping because he is on the front cover (like this cover btw) that maybe he would have a bit more of an importance to this story, but yeah that wasn't the case. Oh well, maybe in book 2, though I'm not sure I will be continuing on with this series because did leave me with a very meh feeling near the end. Highlights overall: Slightly creepy vibes, ghosts, Grim the cat, and Scottland! (might have not picked it up it up if I knew it was middle grade but hey it's Victoria Schwab!)

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Schwab comes a sweeping, spooky, evocative adventure, perfect for fans of Stranger Things. Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn't like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead . . . and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost. So things are already pretty strange. But they're about to get much stranger. When Cass's parents start hosting a TV show about the world's most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Here, graveyards, castles, and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. And when Cass meets a girl who shares her "gift," she realizes how much she still has to learn about the Veil -- and herself. And she'll have to learn fast. The city of ghosts is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

Stef

I really looked forward this book since beginning this year. And one of my first read from Schwab and I really like this one. The description of place made me curious about scoutland and want to more explore the city. Can wait for next adventure of Cassidy and Jacob. 😉

The plot was good and the ideas were great but it was unmotivating to read after a while.

Ryan LaFerney

Well, City of Ghosts, the first entry in the Cassidy Blake series by Victoria Schwab, was absolutely delightful. This paranormal adventure is a wonderful middle-grade ghost story. Schwab's command of language is exciting, varied and fun making this a great adventure for all ages.

Twelve-year-old Cassidy Blake is an unusual girl. She is a book nerd and kind of an outsider. She nearly drowned when she was younger, only to be rescued at the last minute by a boy her age named Jacob. Only Jacob isn’t a typical boy: He’s a ghost, and Cassidy’s near-death experience has given her the ability to cross the Veil and enter a world where she can see and speak to the dead. When Cassidy’s parents, a team of historical and supernatural researchers (who aren't the best at what they do), take a summer job in Edinburgh, Scotland, Cassidy and Jacob tag along. But Edinburgh is a city full of creepy graveyards, haunted castles and the Raven—a malicious ghost who lures children to their deaths.

Cassidy cannot ignore the pull of the Veil or the Raven, and when she meets another girl, Lara Chowdhury, a British-Indian girl who shares Cass’ ability Cassidy discovers that she’s supposed to send the ghosts away. But what does that mean for Jacob? And when the Raven comes after Cassidy, will she have the strength to fight back, or will she become a spirit herself?

I found this book to be riveting and lots of fun, and just the right amount of spooky for a middle grade read. It might not be the classic that Gaiman's The Graveyard Book was but this book has similar vibes. If you enjoy Gaiman's works, you'll enjoy City of Ghosts. Give it a try.

Plus any book that takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland gets props from me. That city is magical!

Izza

3 stars | Okay, so this book isn't bad, but I'm kinda disappointed :/ I know it's middle grade fiction but I expected SO much more from V.E. Schwab. The writing is beautiful, but I felt like the plot lacked depth.

Kelsey Joëlle

I don't know why I didnt put this as read, but okay.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. It was so incredibly good and I was so so excited when I found out that there would be a second book. 

The story was so interesting with a lot of historical elements. Also, ghost stories? Yes please.

Connor 

haunting in the best of ways--a quick read, a good read, and a ghostly one, too.

sophia n

this was a cute read, cass and jacob's friendship was fun, and the writing was nice - not pandering at all, which is my biggest pet peeve with middle grade. def going to pick up book 2, mostly because i really want to know more about jacob. i could've rated this higher, but i’m taking a whole star off for all the hp references. they were so annoying and overt, like. we get it. but edinburgh is famous for other things too and i just think we all collectively need to let go of hp and move tf on ok thanks for coming to my ted talk

Ashley Wendt

I loved this story. It was engaging. I adore Cassidy.

Catarina Freitas

This was a very pleasant surprise considering I’ve never been that much into ghosts or anything about them. Apparently that’s changing cause I loved this story and this book ( Victoria Schwab has that effect over me )

** spoiler alert **
           Schwab has not disappointed me yet! This book was super entertaining. Spooky but not to the point you can't sleep at night. (it's middle grade, I survived haha). I love Victoria Schwab's writing, it flows beautifully. She doesnt overwhelm you with information but doesn't leave you in the dark either. Things go at a perfect pace. 

The characters: OMG I loved the dynamic between Cassidy and Jacob! It reminded me a lot of Sabrina and Salem lol, I know I know " salem is a cat, Jacob is a ghost" so? lol They're there for each other and that's amazing. This story has great lessons on bravery and friendship. My daughter loved it!

Nicole Dykeman

Megan Lowe

Holy shit! This is the sweetest book I’ve ever read! It is so Victoria and I love it! I can picture her writing this, her thinking this, her putting together the story.
I love Cassidy and Jacob. I love the adventure they went on and the friendship they have.
This might be a middle grade book, but I truly feel as if all ages will thoroughly enjoy it, I know I did!

Dee B. 

I already want more! More Jacob, more Cassidy, even more Lara (even though in the beginning I didn't trust her). (view spoiler)[I need to know Jacob's story and his true motives. I really hope Cassidy doesn't end up getting hurt by his friendship (hide spoiler)]

It's clear that I love anything that Ms. Schwab writes and I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a wild ride that doesn't intimidate. It's unassuming and offers entertainment, plain and simple.

City of Ghosts

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