Twelve Days And Twelve Books Of Christmas - Day 12

It took me a while to decide how best to deal with my stand out book from December as there is still over a week left and maybe my stand out book would be read during this next week, also I'm currently part way trough a couple of books so maybe my stand out book could be one of those. So what I've decided to do is to show case my stand out book from last December and that's what I'll do each year. I think this makes it as fair as I can make it. 

Before I get into it though I just want to say thank you to everyone who has joined me through my Twelve Days And Twelve Books Of Christmas, it has been a lot of fun for me and it has made me remember so many good books, not just the ones that I have mentioned. It's been a lot of work and the word twelve no longer means anything as I've typed it out that many times, but it's been worth it! I really hope you have all enjoyed this as much as me. 

Day 12 - December Book - Ghost Light by LeeAnne Hansen

Fiona Corrigan and her troupe of actors are mysteriously summoned to a remote Scottish Highlands village in the dead of winter. Fiona is all too happy to be stranded with Patrick, her brooding co-star in this strange village, until his caddish brother enters the picture and complicates everything. Set in the 1920’s, this chilling romance is entangled with twisted family secrets, murder and one, very persistent ghost.

My Thoughts

Even though I read this book almost exactly twelve months ago I can still remember the story and the characters clearly. I absolutely and utterly fell in love with this book and I have mentioned it more than once throughout the past year. 

Ghost Light had me hooked from the opening which was a scene from a play as it was so well written and I wanted to find out what it was foreshadowing in the book. I continued to enjoy the scenes throughout the book and how they echoed the main story, also I got a bonus story within a story. Who wouldn't like that! 

I can still feel the atmosphere that LeeAnne created even now as it was just so well done and so intense. The small sleepy village in the middle of nowhere and the cold - I remember wrapping myself in my blanket while reading this I was so involved. 

If you want to read my full quite rambling review of Ghost Light, you'll find it here. 

About The Author

I was lucky enough to interview LeeAnne back in July so for more information about her, please check out my blog post here. 

LeeAnne Hansen was born in Paris, grew up in Oklahoma and now lives in sunny southern California with her husband and cats. She enjoys writing, acting and playing bass guitar. She can be seen gracing the stage in various theatres or even directing. She is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City and has studied art and astronomy. She also thoroughly enjoys long walks on the beach.

If you've missed any of the days and would like to take a look, I've linked them all down below 

Day 1 - Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Day 2 - Sinking by Sarah Armstrong-Garner

Day 3 - Attack On Titan: Volume 1 by Hajime Isayama

Day 4 - The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen

Day 5 - Whispers Of Bedlam Asylum by Mark C. King

Day 6 - Deadly Harvest by Michael Stanley

Day 7 - A Single Drop Of Perfect & Other Stories by Jessikah Hope-Stenson

Day 8 - Beetlebrow by Ben Parker

Day 9 - The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Day 10 - They Move Below by Karl Drinkwater

Day 11 - For The Love Of Shakespeare by Beth Miller

Ghost Light - LeeAnne Hansen

When I finished Yonder by LeeAnne Hansen, I definitely wanted to read more of her work and am excited for her next novel, so I was incredibly lucky in that LeeAnne sent me an e-book copy of her debut novel Ghost Light in exchange for an honest review.

Ghost Light starts off with a scene from a play and it really sets the tone for the rest of the book. I really felt it sucked you in and made you want to find out more about what the scene was foreshadowing. I also thought the scenes throughout the book really added to the atmosphere and mirrored the goings on in "real life", it was a story within a story.

The plot follows Fiona and a troupe of  stage actors,writers, directors in the 1920's and what happens when they receive a summons to an extremely remote village in Scotland. I really don't want to give away too much about the story as everyone needs to go out and read this book so you can find out yourself what happens.

Ghost Light has to be one of my absolute top books that I read in 2015, I've been thinking about it for days after I finished it as the story has really stuck with me. It is beautifully written and the haunting is subtle but poignant and with purpose. I did guess who the ghost was quite early on, but this took away absolutely nothing from the goings on and I did not know what was going to happen.

There is a love triangle which is done incredibly well as I was really routing against one of the leading men in Fiona's life, but by the end I was hoping against hope that she chose him. This surprised me as I normally choose who I like and then I stick with them through thick and thin, so to have my mind changed was a nice touch.

The atmosphere is thick throughout and you really feel that you are there in both time and space and I needed my blanket to curl up under it while reading it. I can honestly say I loved this book (I may have already said this more than once!) and I stayed up extra late on Christmas day just to finish it as I needed to find out how it ended.

Hopefully you can see the review through my gushing and that it makes you want to pick up Ghost Light so that you can let me know what you think.

I started reading this book on the 22nd of December 2015 and finished it on the 26th of December 2015.
I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads.