B. L. Brunnemer

Hi, I'm Alexis Delaney. I'm your average 17-year-old girl. Except I can see the dead. And talk to the dead. And push them away and, well, help them move on. So..okay, I'm not your average 17-year-old girl. For years I've been struggling to survive the souls still roaming around. The shitheads always seem to find me. Moving from town to town every few months never helped either. More dead just always find me. But things are changing for me now. I'm moving in with my uncle Rory and cousin Tara. I'm finally going to be able to do normal teenage stuff I've been missing out on. Right? Well, if this one bitch of a ghost could leave me alone on campus that would be great. Especially since I haven't told my new friends about my abilities. Can you believe this? Five good looking guys practically adopt me on my first day of school, and I still think they're a bit nuts for it. Now if I can only just keep my life with the dead from mixing with my normal life, everything would be great. Yeah...I don't see that happening either. But I'm going to give it a shot. Who knows? It might work.

Trying to Live with the Dead

Megan Williams

5 "Wish I Could Live With the Dead" Stars


So I came across this book on a FB group and I have to say that I am SO glad that I did! The title definitely through me off at first because I was like "trying to live with the dead? WTF does that mean? Is this chick actually living with the dead?". My worst fear was that this was a book about a girl living that graveyard life and how she lived with all of the spirits of the dead... super creepy and not really me style.

But no, I was wrong. This book is actually about a girl who's lived a pretty tough life and has a little extra quirk that makes her life that much harder. Yah she can see dead people. And talk to them. And help them move on. Now I have read books about girls seeing dead people before... believe it or not but it's actually a common theme in the book world and many an author has put a spin on it to make it uniquely creepy so I was very interested to see what B.L. Brunnemer would do with this novel. 

Let's say I was pleasantly surprised!

I absolutely adore this book! The characters are unique and interesting, there's enough drama to keep me entertained but it's not off-putting, and I really like where the story is heading and where it might go in the next book. So let's break this down a little so you the reader can understand why this book should be your next read. 

First, the characters. The main character is Alexis Delaney, and she kicks some major butt. I've mentioned this so many times in my favorite reads: but I like a main character that can kick butt and take names. Alexis is definitely the character who exemplifies what it means to be an awesome and strong female lead. She is in high school and has to deal with all those boys jumped up on hormones and catty girls jumped up on boys... and basically the high school characters are a mess and Alexis has to constantly deal with the petty bulls*t while also figuring out the whole "living with the dead" aspect of her life. But man does she get things done! I also really enjoyed the fact that Alexis isn't gaga over any of the boys at her school and doesn't make a fool of herself trying to catch a guy's attention... who would've thunk?

And not only is Alexis super chill, so are all the other characters introduced into this book that become close friends with Alexis. This book is definitely tending towards RH because Alexis is the only female in a group of guys who are all fabulous and good looking (according to B.L. Brunnemer at least). I really, really loved how the guys and Alexis interacted because it was so dang funny and interesting and fierce that I couldn't help but get caught up in the amazingness that is this novel!

Not to even mention the really cool aspects of this book like ghosts hanging around town after being killed and all of the craziness that comes with that! 

Basically, if you are into contemporary fiction with a wicked twist... this is the book you need to be reading right this second. So put down that novel that a million of other people have read and argued over and have already probably ruined for you, and pick up this gem of a book that may be not as well known but definitely 100x better!

"Hi, I’m Alexis Delaney. I’m your average 17-year-old girl. Except I can see the dead. And talk to the dead. And push them away and, well, help them move on. So..okay, I’m not your average 17-year-old girl. For years I’ve been struggling to survive the souls still roaming around. The shitheads always seem to find me. Moving from town to town every few months never helped either. More dead just always find me. But things are changing for me now. I’m moving in with my uncle Rory and cousin Tara. I’m finally going to be able to do normal teenage stuff I’ve been missing out on. Right? Well, if this one bitch of a ghost could leave me alone on campus that would be great. Especially since I haven’t told my new friends about my abilities. Can you believe this? Five good looking guys practically adopt me on my first day of school, and I still think they’re a bit nuts for it. Now if I can only just keep my life with the dead from mixing with my normal life, everything would be great. Yeah...I don’t see that happening either. But I’m going to give it a shot. Who knows? It might work." --

Trying to Live with the Dead

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