Ghost of Nostalgia is set in a France-inspired realm where humans are under constant threat from creatures called "Phases". A Phase is a phantom-like being that feeds off of human emotions. As a result, humans are forced to live under protective dome-like barriers, needing special technology to power it (a "Solenoid"). Gavril is a young woman from a town called Nostalgie; the town's Solenoid is losing power. In order to obtain a new one, Gavril is forced to go into an arranged marriage with Cyril, the son of Envie's mayor. Gavril's father was a Resonataur, a powerful human capable of battling Phases; her bloodline is a commodity. Her sense of duty for her town gives her a determination to see it through despite the abuses she will no doubt endure. But in the meantime, she meets a Phase who is different from all the others. Her name is Morrow, and they form a sort of friendship which impacts all of Gavril's plans. Accused of colluding with Phases, Gavril is sent away to plead her case to the Sovereign of their nation, accompanied by an intriguing Resonataur Commandant and his crew.

Unfortunately I could not finish this book and decided to DNF after the 50% mark. I did skim to the ending, and reading that validated my decision to DNF.

There was enough about this book to like to make it to the halfway point:
- The world was unique and the worldbuilding had a lot of potential, just wish it was fleshed out, detailed, more.
- It has elements of post-apocalyptic/dystopian science-fiction / fantasy, and as such doesn't shy away from themes suitable to those kinds of books. The book had some promising plot ideas early on!
- There is an interesting mystery (what happened to Gavril's Resonateur father, who disappeared 17 years ago) and while there is an answer eventually, I do wish it hadn't faded away into the background.

But ultimately what made me DNF this:
- The lead characters are underdeveloped, inconsistent and incompatible. As such, so are their interactions. This hits the main 2 relationships the hardest: the friendship between Gavril and Morrow, and the relationship between Gavril and the MMC, Serein.
- Gavril and Morrow spend too little time together (and don't actually get to know each other) for it to be believable that Gavril immediately breaks through years and years of conditioning in favor of Morrow. This friendship drives the decisions Gavril makes – drives the plot – and it's just not working. We barely get any information on who Morrow is.
- The book is genred as general fiction, sci-fi and romance/romantasy. It is definitely not a romance. Serein and Gavril have fundamentally different core values. I'm talking red lines. Gavril subsequently falling in love with Serein in spite of these differences is not believable, nor is it sustainable.

Which brings me back to the importance of using correct genres to describe a book: Ghost of Nostalgia is a bit of a blend between post-apocalyptic and dystopian fantasy/sci-fi. Anything BUT romance. An unsustainable relationship is not in line with what the romance genre promises its readers. My experience was the polar opposite of what I expected.

What it comes down to: had I known I'd be reading something post-apocalyptic/dystopian-esque rather than sci-fi romance, would I have finished it? Yes. The book wasn't boring by any stretch. I would have known to expect themes befitting a very bleak world.
But unfortunately I would still have given it a low rating. It still needs more worldbuilding, more fleshing out of characters and a more convincing plot.

3.5 stars.

This was an ok read, but not a great one. Unfortunately, I did not finish the book as I just was not feeling it, particularly as it was a bit melodramatic on more than one occasion. While the story was interesting, I found the writing to be a bit odd. I also wasn't a fan of the way that some of the characters were presented. I may try to return to this story later, but for now, it is not for me.

So this was a dnf for me. Everyone was just over the top villainous. The writing was odd, the mother was wrote at the beginning as clever but the way she was followed up was as deluded and mean. The “best friend” was terrible, the mayor, the extras everyone was just overly mean and despicable. It was just too much, too dramatic. I tried to keep going but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get better.
I really liked the concept of this book, maybe with some rewrites it could shine.

Thank you for the arc.