Stacia in Progress

I would not be ashamed. I needed answers.You said it, sister. I need answers too.2.5 stars. I didn't hate this book. I just ended up more confused at the end than when I started. How does this happen?Good Cop : This story has the potential to be interesting because it starts off (no spoiler here, this happens within the first couple of pages) with the girl's best friend dying in a car accident and following her home, only to haunt her house as a ghost that her family can see and converse with. It's like Casper the Friendly Ghost, except with a hot guy instead. Score!!! Bad Cop : Why is it never mentioned that the guy had any issues actually ADJUSTING to being stuck in someone's house as a ghost? Wouldn't most people be somewhat frustrated by this turn of events? All I saw was Frankie lounging around, ready at a moment's notice to comfort Ever when her nightmares would crop up. He was always coiffed with a glint in his eye, ready to be there for his "doll."Good Cop : Even though this chick was named Ever, at least she wasn't a complete snooze like the chick named Ever from the book Evermore.Bad Cop : The chick was named Ever. *puke*Good Cop : Lana Del Ray was mentioned.Bad Cop : I was drowning in all of rockabilly and hipster details about these characters. I felt like I was forced into buying that every character was supposed to be unique and super-fascinating. Good Cop : The vampires going to vampire school reference made me think someone might be a Richelle Mead fan.Bad Cop : The "poking fun at Twilight scene" has been done to death. We get it - sparkly, stalking vamps are 'teh suck.' Good Cop : Speaking of Vampire Academy, I was intrigued by the huge age gap between Ever (17) and Toby (22). It (for a second) reminded me of Rose and Dimitri.Bad Cop : ...and there's a reason why age gaps don't always work for teenagers (unless you are awesome like Rose and Dimitri). Ever acted like a clueless child half of the time. She had no business dating anyone that old.Good Cop :The love triangle was balanced. I believe that Ever was honestly torn between both guys for good reason.Bad Cop : ...and then the love triangle was unbalanced. WTF?!? at the last few chapters.Good Cop :The start of the book was gut-wrenching and had me absorbed. The ending got completely crazy.Bad Cop : The middle of the book was a lot of blushing, running away, and make-out sessions with not much else going on.Good Cop : The ghostie got some good news.Bad Cop : The ghostie still had no real reaction to this news. SERIOUSLY, KID. When bad stuff happens, you don't react. When good stuff happens, you don't react. Is there nothing on your radar other than 'cute girl in front of you?'Good Cop : I have a lot of questions that need to be answered now, so I'm going to have to read book 2.Bad Cop : I have WAY too many questions that need to be answered now. I was told who everyone was and what they did, but I have no clue how any of it actually HAPPENED.Final thoughts : A weak first book that bordered on sappy in parts...yet, I do like the general idea for the world and where the plot is going to go. Both of the guys were somewhat likable, although I felt Toby to be more 'fleshed out' (HAHA...see what I did there? He's the human love interest.) as a character than his ghostly competitor. I think the series has promise if the next book focuses on more action and starts cluing us in on how this world is built. The lack of detail will hopefully be compensated for in the future. I'll give book 2 a shot. If it gets better, then we might have a promising thing going on. If the story doesn't improve, then I might part ways with the series.This book was provided from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.