Coco.V's Reviews > Ghosted

"We have to be our own heroes. No guy in a costume is coming to save us. We have to save ourselves."

I highly enjoyed this book and I was literally sucked right into the story. I found it wonderfully written and perfectly executed. Ghosted is about Kennedy Garfield and Jonathan Cunningham, and their train wreck of a love story. J.M. Darhower delivered a moving, emotionally charged and meaningful story and I’m in awe of her ability to make everything relevant. Nothing is forced or cliché in this book. I particularly liked how the entire story unfold with flashbacks into their past that show exactly what these two shared together and how they get put through the ringer when Jonathan turns to drugs and alcohol in the intoxicating mist of Hollywood lifestyle and fame. Addictions that ultimately broke them and forcing a pregnant and heartbroken Kennedy to let him go to protect her sweet little girl, Madison.

It’s been years since they parted ways, and suddenly, Jonathan is back in her life, disrupting everything. He is now a recovering addict looking for a second chance with the woman he never stopped loving, and most importantly with the daughter he’s never known. With so much more at stake, Kennedy is beyond skeptical and this time, though, she’s determined not to lose her heart even if she still craves him, despite the attraction between them that is still there, steamingly beautiful. But Jonathan will have to prove he's not the man he used to be, if he wants to win Kennedy back and keep his family for good.

“I’m sorry for the way I hurt you. Sorry for everything I did that led us to this point. And I get it, you know, if you hate me. Wouldn’t blame you at all. But I just need to tell you… I need you to know… that even when I was completely fucked up, I never once stopped loving you.”

I loved this story so much that I couldn't put it down even for one minute and then, there were parts of it that made me grit my teeth together so hard. Jonathan’s made some stellar bad decisions in his life, but, once you get to know him, you understand better some of his hang-ups. At first I wasn’t swooning over him and I seriously hated him for what he did to Kennedy and how badly he emotionally hurt her when she gave up everything for him. Then, I was rooting for him from the moment he got his act together, fighting to get a chance to prove he changed into a better man. I liked both Kennedy and Jonathan and could appreciate where each was coming from. These two characters were well developed, likable and incredibly real. The chemistry between them was sexy and so emotional. It was a slow burn but needed to be in my opinion to the let past be told and the present to unfold naturally. And Maddie, I simply adored her! She was truly all bows and sunshine. Kennedy’s father was a wonderful character too.

Every page of this outstanding book brought me closer to Kennedy and Jonathan, their pasts, and their presents, and through it all my heart was in it all right along with them because of JMD’s exceptional writing and storytelling. My actual rating is 4.5 Stars. I know this rounds up to a 5, but something prevented me from doing so. Mostly because it was difficult for me to overcome the fact that Jonathan choose the glitz and the glamor, the life of the rich and famous over his family and that it took him so many years to fight his demons and to build a relationship with his daughter.

Overall, this was a fantastic second-chance story which I am always a sucker for. And Ghosted might be one of the best second-chance romances I've read. A heartwarming story that deserves to be experienced. If you are looking for an emotionally charged book that spoke volumes of love, hope, redemption, and healing then I would highly recommend you to read it.


Some of My favorite quotes :

"You’re the caterpillar that went into the cocoon and emerged a glorious butterfly, but I’m the reminder that butterflies don’t stick around long, a few weeks at most before they’re gone."

“He was the dreamer. The doer. The believer. When he wasn’t high, when he wasn’t drunk, when he wasn’t so utterly screwed up, I saw something in him, something I see when I look at Maddie. The two of them, they have the same soul, they live with the same heart. And that scares the daylights out of me.”

“Worse is loving someone who disappears and never knowing if they’ll come back. Because how do you move on if you’re not even sure they’re gone? The answer is—you don’t. When you spend most of your life chasing ghosts, eventually, you become one.”