Welcome to Litsy!

I didn‘t have a book by this author, and after doing some research I picked this one for #authoramonth in October (I plan ahead). @Soubhiville

Home alone while William is at drill 🇺🇸 so I decided to start organizing and wrapping Christmas presents for my book friends!

Check out your email #LitsyLove family!!

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Great Ghost Story! This book has it all, a raging ghost, strong female lead, a good plot, a bit of romance, and a who-done it! I highly recommend this for the spooky season! 5 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Thank you @Nessavamusic for this spooky #AHRS #AllHallowsReadSwap package! I‘m exciting fur the tagged book and the one you recommended sound great! I dove right into the Halloween mix and I am addicted to fun socks.

Really enjoyed this one! It is different than her other books I‘ve read, but it was still very good. Also my pick for “haunted”. #ominousoctober @egg @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks #scarathlon #teamslaughter @Clwojick

Beautiful day today, and I went outside to read while drinking my apple crisp macchiato! 🍎☕️🎃📖🍂 Two more bucket list items crossed off my list!😄 #fallbucketlist #scarathlon #teamslaughter @Clwojick

Its 1922 and a young woman named Sarah Piper gets hired as an assistant to a ghost hunter investigating a haunting in an English village. The ghost named...yup...Maddy Clare committed suicide in real life & now is hell bent on vengeance. Its up to Sarah and the ghost hunting team to solve the mystery.

Not my favorite of St. James's books as the mystery wasn't that hard to figure out and the romantic interludes were too many and felt like filler.

Every Simone book I read I try to find clues 💀👻🕵🏻
Never works 🙃

Later post CLUE #SCARATHON #TEAMSLAUGHTER

The *perfect* ghost story… even some steamy scenes to boot. Loved this one!

50/22 Yesterday in our very non autumnal October weather I finished my first book of #scarathlon #teammonstermash. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for a little while and I‘m so glad I got round to finally reading it (and making my book club read it too). I rarely read books set around the world wars, but it really added to the Depth of the characters. I found it a quick and compelling read and it did make me blush a few times too!

I completely adore Simon St. James! She‘s never disappointed me and I plan to read her entire catalog. This ghost story was properly spooky though simpler than some of her later mysteries. I have 2 more by her on my list this month.

Listening to this spooky audiobook at night. #Scarathlon2022 #BucketList #TeamMonsterMash @StayCurious

Had a coupon for B&N and decided to treat myself for not buying a book last month outside of BOTM. I‘m excited about these! 😍

It was a dark and stormy night… so I stayed in with my book, super thick socks and cod & chorizo jambalaya. It has been Ill kid / birthday kid central here since the beginning of Oct so I‘ve been a bit quiet on Litsy. But fear not #teammonstermash I‘ve been quietly working behind the scenes stacking up points on reading and podcasts. Currently reading this as my first #scarathlon book which also works for todays #scarathlondailyprompts #ghost 👻

Kept my interest enough to know what happened but was also a little dull. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

With this being my first St. James book, I wasn‘t too impressed. Nothing really stood out to me or had a “wow” factor. I don‘t recall ever reading any ghost stories, so maybe I‘m being a little too over critical. 🤷‍♂️

3⭐️
8/5/22

Book 81

I listened to The Haunting of Maddy Clare, a ghost story/mystery featuring World War I vets turned ghost hunters. I love books about hauntings! Even as a child they were some of my favorites. This novel is more focused on the mystery of the ghost, Maddy, as well as the ghost hunters themselves. Though it was well-done, it could have been more engaging with more likable, dynamic characters. 3.5 stars

1. I do.
2. To me, a “moody” book is one that has a vibe, a mood. I tend to like a darker mood or the mood of a specific time. I tagged a favorite “moody” author.
#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

Tagging all who want to play.

Spooooooooky - perfect time of year for ghost stories! This plus Inquiry have so many parallels but to be honest, I‘m glad she branched out to other types of stories. I‘ve read four books of hers now, she‘s fantastic! ⭐️ 👻 🎃

Got my booster shot two days ago and it KNOCKED ME OUT. Waaaay more than the second dose. So, I‘ll spend most of today sitting in the backyard listening to this 😀

Today's #LittensDressedInBlood prompt is #Ghostbusters and this was the first book that came to mind.

Sarah takes a job helping ghost hunter Alistair remove the spirit of servant girl Maddy Clare from the barn where she committed suicide. Simone St James does creepy very well.

@MidnightBookGirl

Although this debut isn't perfect, it delivered a really good ghost story. Our ghost is 19 year old Maddy Clare and she is haunting the barn on the property where this young servant girl found some refuge in her final years. Alistair is gaining notoriety as a ghost hunter and needs someone to assist him on the Maddy Clare job. Enter our heroine, Sarah Piper, a lonely gal trying to make a life for herself in post-WWI England. She takes the job⬇️

Just finished the audiobook version of this book. I bought the physical book to read as part of the May #SundayBuddyRead, but alas, I couldn‘t keep up. I enjoyed the audiobook though. It was well-done, in my opinion. The characters voices fit them well. Kind of a sad story, but then these stories often are. #100YEARS100BOOKS #75 #BookSpinBingo #25 #BFC21 #TALESandTAILSforADULTS #2 #BUZZWORDATHON #AUDIOJUNE #2

3.75 ⭐️
This was a different kind of historical fiction read for me, but I would revisit paranormal/fantasy historical fiction in the future. The plot was very interesting and the mystery was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end. The romance subplot was bizarre, awkward and disturbing. I think that the book would have been better without it. I wouldn't really recommend this, but I'd consider one of her later works for sure!

I don‘t have a lot to say about this one. While I enjoyed the #SundayBuddyRead discussions, I didn‘t love this book. It was just okay, and I think that Simone St. James‘s later books are better. If the ending has been more satisfying, I might have more positive feelings about the book. Also I listened to the audiobook, and while the narrator was mostly good, I could not stand the voice she put on for Matthew. It was so grating.

A solid debut from St. James. It wasn‘t my favorite from her but I wasn‘t disappointed. A solid creepy factory and a super scary ghost! Some awkward romance, but the story is very good, even if somewhat predictable, and wraps up quite nicely. Read for #sundaybuddyread

My third St. James book-not my favorite but as it‘s her first book, I found it to be a solid debut & enjoyably creepy read. I definitely liked the ghost story & mystery more than the (at times problematic) romantic aspects, St. James has a gift for setting & atmosphere & making the paranormal believable & spooky. The main characters were mostly likable & although the mystery wasn‘t hard to figure out, there‘s enough twists to make it interesting.

#SUNDAYBUDDYREAD

Tomorrow !!!! We get to talk about the ending!!!!

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I really enjoyed The Haunting of Maddy Clare even though I was hoping that the ending would have a few more surprises. I'm looking forward to discussing it with my #SundayBuddyRead gals 💕
Here @Chrissyreadit are the crystals (rose quartz, clear quartz, ruby zoisite, and tiger eye) in the fabulous smelling candle you sent me. Thanks again 🧡

A great creepy, ghost story with mostly likable characters and an intriguing plot. Definitely had to read this one only during the day and had to take breaks during the super creepy parts. Enjoyed reading with my #sundaybuddyread group. Not sure I would have gotten through it on my own. I do want to try some other titles by this author now though. This is the author‘s first book.

I only listened to the #audiobook for the last quarter of this but I wouldn't recommend it. The book itself is fun. Great first effort by the author.

#SundayBuddyRead with @TheBookHippie final discussion on Sunday. Until then 🤐🤐🤐

#BookSpinBingo square 4
@TheAromaofBooks

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Another great Simone St James read! This was her first novel and I think the creepy elements of this story were spot on. I loved the ghost story and the cast of characters. The romance was the only thing I did not like in this book. Matthew was way too abusive for my taste. But overall I really enjoyed this book! I also loved reading with #sundaybuddyread as always! This was my #bookspinbingo No. 25 pick.

Thanks to the #SundayBuddyRead, I read this one from Simone St James. This is the first of her historical fiction books I‘ve read, and the ghost story component is quite good. The romance component, not so much, with lots of unaddressed consent issues. I look forward to our final discussion!

#SUNDAYBUDDYREAD

The questions are ready for Sunday 🤫🤐🖤✔️

Shhhhh until then -remember many of us read on Saturday so no spoilers please ❌

Not my favorite of Simone St. James' books, but pretty good, especially considering it was her first novel. Alistair Gellis writes books about ghosts, and hires Sarah when his usual assistant Matthew is unavailable. They're trying to make contact with the ghost of Maddy Clare, who is haunting Mrs. Clare's barn.
#SundayBuddyRead @TheBookHippie

#SUNDAYBUDDYREAD

We finish this up this week! 🤐🤫

We visit Simone St James again in AUGUST
With her Silence for the dead 💀

Not my favorite of her books, but definitely still worth the read. Atmospheric and a little Gothic feeling, this one takes place between the world wars. Sarah is hired as an assistant to a ghost hunter. She doesnt know it, but apparently she's very sensitive to ghosts. At least to Maddy, the ghost that haunts the Clare's barn. But what happened to Maddy during her life that makes her haunt in almost a malevolent way? Characters here weren't the...

#readathon
Joining in just for fun @Andrew65 . Work crazy busy this time of year- many evening graduation activities.
For Saturday to 8pm this evening, I have read 194 pages from these 3 books combined. Not sure if I will read more tonight.
Busy day today-wonderful visit and hike with close friend whom I have not seen due to Covid since March 2020. 💜❤️🎉

Of course I had to finish this one today!

St James has become a favorite author of mine - using mystery and suspense with ghostly encounters, she has crafted a spellbinding and page turning narrative. Maddy Clare haunts a barn. The reader knows this at the start of the narrative. But, the reasons behind it are worth a read!

Thanks, @TheBookHippie for a fun #SundayBuddyRead !