Name: City of Ghosts
Rating: 3.933333333333333 (465 reviews)
ISBN: 9781338111033

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

this was slightly too 2010 core for me, and definitely catered for a younger audience. the premise was cool but there were too many harry potter references and hearing an american try and do many scottish accents was awful

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.

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.

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 . . .).

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

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.

Alesha Clifford

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!

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.

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!

City of Ghosts

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