Give up the Ghost

First of all, I love this cover so much. I don’t know why, I find it simultaneously endearing and hilarious.

Kerry is a smart babe, Paul is a geeky babe, and they are best friends, working on the paranormal investigation show, Phantoms. Paul has been in love with Kerry since laying his dreamy bespectacled eyes on her years ago. Too bad she has no idea, or that fraternization amongst the crew is strictly forbidden and cause for termination.

Things take a turn when Kerry starts seeing her creepy doppelganger and realizes that it might be a sign of her impending death. Paul, beside himself with worry for her, finds it harder and harder to not cross the line of their friendship.

But the show must go on! So, they pack up and head out, to a literal ghost town, for the current investigation. Alarming mishaps are piling up and Kerry’s doppelganger won’t go away, which means she is still in danger, and the crew by proxy.

I LOVED THIS! Paul is bae!

I loved the relationship both, platonic and romantic, between Paul and Kerry. I usually get annoyed with the whole “friend zone” bologna, but this was handled in a way where Paul wasn’t a creeper waiting in the wings to get into Kerry’s pants. He valued and cared for her as a person.

Kerry was great. She was smart and a little oblivious, I really enjoyed seeing her growth throughout the story.

All of the surrounding cast and story were fabulous. The crew is so wonderful and supportive of each other and well developed. The story of the haunting and ghost town were compelling. I was living for all of the behind-the-scenes drama with the show.

Overall the only negative was that Kerry took too long to realize that Paul was her soul mate and didn’t ride the YOLO train straight to his bed. I mean, girl. ::side-eye::

This and the first book in the series are out now, can’t wait for the third installment!
Check them Out!

A big thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first Kelly Moran book I've read and it won't be the last. It's a perfect paranormal romance to escape into and read it in a day.

I loved the ghost hunting premise but it is the connection Kerry and Paul have that kept being reading. The chemistry sizzled and the depth of friendship showed. A great example of friend to lovers storyline and kept hooked on what would keep them apart the doppelganger ghost, other angry spirits or career.

This is the second in the series so now need to read the first and next.

This series by Kelly Moran is seriously creepy. I am not usually one to read horror (even Romantic horror) - but a good ghost story is hard to resist - and this is definitely a good one. Paul and Kerry have become best friends while working on the show Phantoms. For Paul, however, the feelings have been much more than friendship. But their contracts specify no romantic relationships and Paul doesn't want to take the chance that Kerry will push him away if he tells Kerry about how he feels.

When Kerry sees a truly terrifying doppelganger - things start to change quickly between the two of them. Kerry has a difficult relationship with her family and has closed herself off to romantic feelings and future committed relationships. But seeing the potential for her life to be cut short - her heart opens up a bit to consider the possibilities.

This book does a great job of balancing the spooky and the romantic elements. I can't wait to read the next book in the series - as it promises to amp up the scare factor and the romantic relationship is one I am very interested in!

Overall - I definitely recommend - and highly recommend reading with the lights on.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

Paul and Kerry are so cute together. It's a very typical friends to lovers story, but with ghosts, mystery, and danger. I really enjoyed this addition to the series and look forward to the next.

Give Up the Ghost is the second book in Kelly Moran’s Phantoms series, and it checked all the boxes: Spookiness, Friendship, and Love! I enjoyed the dynamic of the Phantoms crew in the first book, and it was great seeing more of their interactions in book two. Paul and Kerry’s romance was an emotion filled adventure with their friends chiming in with all the right advice. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

I didn't read the previous book but I throughly enjoyed this one that can be read as a stand alone.
The characters are interesting and relatable, the world building is interesting, and the plot kept me hooked.
I want to read other books by this author.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I am enjoying this series and these characters. This book focuses on Kerry and Paul. Paul has had feelings for Kerry for years but never wanted to say anything because they are best friends and he didn't want to ruin that. Unfortunately Kerry sees her doppelganger which only can mean that bad things are coming. The crew gets sent to a haunted ghost town in Arizona. Kerry and Paul cannot get together because of their contracts for the TV show so all sorts of problems occur.

This was such a great read... I'm not usually able to read something in one sitting, but I was with this book, so that was just great!

I can't wait to read what's next from the author And my wallet is ready for whenever another one of her excellent books is published!!!

I started reading this immediately after reading the first book, which I really enjoyed. With Ava and Jackson's story, I had wanted a bit more of THEM.

Paul and Kerry's story? A fantastic amount of them. :)

These two have been best friends since they started filming six years prior, though he has been into her the entire time, holding back. After she's traumatized by her very own haunting and turns to him for help, he decides he can't anymore. That same haunting stirred up some feelings in her, which emboldens Paul.

I loved that Paul is more bookish, and not at all an alpha. Just my type! He's sweet, clever, and supportive.

Kerry didn't necessarily come off as much of a former Southern belle to me, but she was definitely caring and had a sense of humor.

The two together definitely had some great chemistry.

The paranormal aspect of this was fun. Set in an old western town that time forgot, they discover some interesting ghosts and the filming runs into several problems as accidents keep occuring. Kerry's doppleganger added some interesting drama, as well, though I didn't have an aha moment at the end like I would have assumed was coming.

Overall, I am loving this series! The ghost stories and all of the characters are really great!!

"Give up the Ghost" had me from the very beginning when I read the description of the story on Netgalley. If you love paranormal investigation tv shows and romance, this book will give you a good time. The story, without giving too much away, focuses on Kerry and Paul. They are two best friends who have been working on their paranormal tv show for 6 years. They also have a crew that is a tight knight of a family and a brand new crew member named Cain who is adjusting to their group. There are some secret unrequited love tropes in this story, coupled with well described paranormal investigations. The setting is mostly in a deserted ghost town in Black Canyon, Arizona. Kerry is haunted by a doppleganger, or vision of herself. The vision or ghost shows herself throughout the story as a premonition for events. Tragedy occurs for both Paul and Kerry, and the circumstances bring them closer together. Those events include near death experiences related to sinkholes, aggressive ghosts, and anaphylaxis.

Things I really enjoyed about this book:
1) So many romance tropes, I'll list them at the bottom so that readers can stop before getting spoilers.
2) I loved how respectful Paul's character is to Kerry. Despite his feelings, he really is a good friend.
3) I loved Kerry's character. She's strong but also soft when she needs to be.
4) Paranormal fiction is my jam. My favorite show is Ghost Adventures, so reading this story was a blast.
5) Loved that there was an excerpt for Book 3 included- "The Ghost of You",
6) I have never read a storyline that included a doppleganger haunting legend. That was incredibly refreshing to read.
7) There was a glossary of terms at the beginning of the book for people who are unfamiliar with paranormal investigating.

***DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS***

Book Criticism:
I gave the story 4 stars as I would have liked to read an epilogue for Kerry and Paul. I felt like the story ended a little abruptly. It had a lot of momentum, and It would have been nice to know what their life was like after all the drama had concluded.

Here is a treasure trove list of tropes that I found while reading this book (do not continue if you want to avoid spoilers!):
Secret Love, Friends to lovers, Forbidden love, Workplace Romance, Beta male turned Alpha, Fake Engagement, Damsel in Distress, Dude in Distress, Soul Mates, Curse/Haunting, Belated love, Unrequited love, Sworn Off Relationships, Epiphany, Oblivious to love, Not good enough, Rejected by parents, Wants different things

Conclusion: I can't wait to read and review the third book. I'll definitely be checking out other titles by Kelly Moran.

Ohmygosh this was such an amazing book
it had paranormal/ghosts (ghost hunting) to friends to lovers
great characters, they all had their own personalities that the author represented perfectly
I love how it had great team (aka friends) a haunting and romance all rolled up in one great story
loved that added part with the boppler....
this author wrote it sooo well I couldn't put this book down til I finished it
cant wait to read more books from this author

Thanks to the publisher/author and NetGalley for allowing me to get an ARC of this book, read and review it honestly and voluntarily.

Give Up The Ghost is a friends to lovers ghost hunting romance set in a haunted ghost town while trying to outmaneuver an omen of death. It’s the second book in the Phantoms series but can easily be read alone.

In the previous book of the series, Ghost of a Promise, the team of the hit tv show Phantoms lost lead investigator Jackson after he fell in love and decided to settle down with the owner of the haunted bed & breakfast they were investigating. In Give Up The Ghost the rest of the cast goes on their first ghost hunt without him.

Kerry and Paul have been attached at the hip since they first met as cast members six years ago. For Paul, it was love at first sight. For Kerry, it was the beginning of a beautiful (platonic) friendship.

Moran does such a wonderful job with adding depth to her characters, but I was particular impressed with Kerry. Kerry is beautiful and she knows it, and she’s annoyed by how it causes people to treat her. She was the weird kid growing up, playing with invisible spirits that nobody else could see, but then she hit puberty and suddenly everybody wanted in her pants.

One of the reasons Kelly liked Paul so much was because he always saw past her pretty face and treated her like a real person with a brain. It’s also one of the reasons she’s so betrayed when she first finds out he’s been hiding an attraction to her. For all that she’s supposed to be an empath, Kerry has a Paul-shaped hole in her gift, having no idea of his feelings until he literally spells them out for her and it causes her to second guess his motives.

When Kerry starts being haunted by her doppelganger – a dead-eyed, blank faced ghostly lookalike bringing a silent premonition of danger and death – it jumpstarts both their hearts and libidos with the fear of how quickly they could lose each other.

As the ghostly warning follows Kerry and the rest of the Phantoms crew to an investigation of a ghost town in the middle of the Arizona desert that proves to be much more dangerous then expected, the heightened emotions act like a magnet. The two can’t stay away from each other, even though they know all the reasons why they should – like ruining their friendship or getting fired due to the no romance clause in their contracts.

For two people trying to keep their secret relationship under wraps, Kerry and Paul have a lot of steamy moments in the hotel suite they share with the rest of their castmates, with only a wall and a door to separate them. But they’re in love and scared they’re going to be separated any moment by either death or network executives, so allowances can be made for reckless decision making.

In the previous book, I was equally as invested in the ghost investigation as the unfolding romance, but in Give Up The Ghost I was much more engrossed in what was happening with Kerry and Paul.

It’s not that the investigation wasn’t interesting, it’s just that as Kerry was going through the 5 stages of grief over her own perceived soon-to-be death, I was going through my own emotional rollercoaster as obstacles kept the leads going back and forth on their relationship – at one point I may have even have called their producer Elise a bitch out loud (sorry Elise).

Overall, I very much enjoyed every minute (even the frustrating ones) of watching Kerry and Paul navigate a premonition of death, a ghost hunt in an isolated ghost town where one thing after another goes wrong, and disapproving producers to get the happy ending they deserved. The next book in the Phantoms series stars Sammy, the headstrong spitfire of the crew, and Cain, the new investigator that rubs her the wrong way – can’t wait to see the sparks fly!