Halloween Mini Review – City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab (Spoiler-Free)

Hiya everyone! Hope you’re all doing great 😊

I’m so sorry to have been a bit quiet but I was basically on holiday and visiting my parents and going around with no actual internet access to speak of. I also didn’t have my laptop so blogging and replying to all your lovely comments was a daunting task…

Anyway, you’re here for my review! So let’s get to it 🦇

Cassidy Blake is a special girl. She can walk into the Veil, the world of spirits left behind to roam the Earth, just as easily as she navigates the living world. But when her paranormal author parents are invited to film a ghost documentary in Scotland, she realises just how terrifying and dangerous her gift can be.

I absolutely adored Jacob and Cass’s friendship. They were always so in sync and they could tell what the other was thinking or feeling in a snap (regardless of mind reading abilities).

He was also a kind of comic relief and I loved each and every one of his interjections. Basically, Jacob cracked me up and made the narrative so much lighter, even when things got pretty serious.

Cassidy’s parents were the best parents. They allowed her her freedom, which could sometimes put her in dangerous situations, but taught her to be responsible and mindful of her decisions. They were overall very present and close to her, and their relationship was just the sweetest.

The Harry Potter references made me so happy! I also loved that Cass was in the same house as me ❤

It was so easy to get immersed in the story and to have fun. Schwab is a phenomenal storyteller and it feels as though we are being told a story rather than reading it. It was like I was right there with the characters, seeing them as clearly as day. I don’t know how she does it, but the truth is she never disappoints.

If you’ve never been to Edinburgh before, well, you won’t have to make too big an effort to imagine it while reading this book. Schwab describes things as vividly as a photograph, and makes everything ten times more interesting if that’s even possible! You also get to learn a lot about Scotland’s history, which was so very cool.

I didn’t see any of the plot twists coming, which made for an awesome adventure. The writing was also very atmospheric and eery – the perfect amount of suspense mixed in with good-natured humour and interesting facts and urban legends.

Not everything was great though…

This is probably a bit too mature to be marketed as Middle Grade, in my opinion. Even though it involves children/teenagers and nothing remotely gory happens, it still deals a lot with death and creepy topics that I would personally not expose a child to. The fact that children are the protagonists in this actually made it scarier.

I also felt like it could have been a bit more complex. I understand that, again, this is marketed as MG but if you assume children are okay with death and the like you can also assume they are smart enough to step it up on the plot layers.

Behold, the Hallowmeter!

I had a lot of fun with City of Ghosts and it managed to both warm and chill my heart in all the right moments. If you’re wondering whether the hype is real – it is. Schwab did it again and I couldn’t be happier to have picked this up!

This is another great Halloween read: short, sweet and such a fun adventure. There’s a hauntingly epic scenery, creepy and sometimes nice ghosts, ancient history, brave kids and lovely friendships/family dynamics.

Bottom line: do read City of Ghosts this October, you won’t regret it!

~ Check out more Halloween Mini Reviews! ~

Have you read anything by Schwab before?

Do you like when books include history and/or urban legends?

Have you ever read a book that was maybe a bit too mature for its targeted audience?

Let me know in the comments below! 😊

Thank you so much for reading!