Ghosted

Great second chance romance that tackles real issues with great humor, especially from 5 year old Madison! This is my first J.M. Darhower book and I was very pleased and plan to read more of her work!

I don't normally leave reviews, but with this one I had to. This book is everything! It gave me all the feels in all the best ways. I was happy it wasn't a story of no questions asked, instant forgiveness. The h made the H work toward for forgiveness and it was amazing. And Maddie stole the show! Awesome book! Must read!

The writing was superb but the storyline left me feeling frustration towards the female lead. I loved the way the book fluctuated between the past and present to give insight into their relationship. I think my main issue with this story was that the male lead didn't do enough to show he had changed his ways.

I don't normally leave reviews, but with this one I had to. This book is everything! It gave me all the feels in all the best ways. I was happy it wasn't a story of no questions asked, instant forgiveness. The h made the H work toward for forgiveness and it was amazing. And Maddie stole the show! Awesome book! Must read!

Loved! If you’ve ever been in a relationship with an addict you will totally feel the realness of this story. I found it beautiful and although unrealistic in a lot of parts, it was romantic and worth the $4.

It doesn't matter what she writes, it's guaranteed to be a great story. This is probably going to be one of my favorite stories that will be read over and over. It has love, lost, family, dramas, lots of mistakes and learning-or not learning, and you really can't help but root for Johnny. Maddie gives you some great laugh-out-loud dialogues and you can't help but love Johnny and Kennedy together. The story is about chasing dreams and love. My favorite thing about this story is how they fall in love with each other.

Damn! What a good book! Fantastic writing, amazing characters, told in dual POV. Even the flashback scenes were done perfectly. The connection, live, and struggle between the characters hooked me right away.

6 Superhero – Single Mama – Second Chances – AWESOME – Stars

I started writing my review about five times. I keep on going back and deleting, adding and deleting again. Sometimes you read a book that is so good it just leaves you speechless.

I’m speechless. I absolutely loved Ghosted. I LOVED IT. When I started the book I knew within the first page that I was going to devoured this novel like a popsicle on a hot summer day. Ghosted is a long book, but honestly I could have read hundreds of pages more of it. I savored each and every word to the final one.

Ghosted is a second chance novel about love. Yes, this book is 100% about love and what people endure because of love. There’s a Hollywood Hero, a single mother and an adorable little girl. It’s about mistakes, redemption and life too.

The thing I loved so much about this book was the way it was written. I loved the flow of the writing. I felt like J.M. Darhower was telling me a story. I felt like I was a part of that story and as I was reading I felt like everything around me, my bed, my pillows, heck even my kids disappeared and all I could focus on was Kennedy and Jonathan. I was enamored by their story because lets face it, it’s an epic love story.

The book goes back in forth between the past and present, but it’s not in the typical way. You will just have to read to find out. I don’t usually like flashbacks but with this book I couldn’t get enough of it. I wanted to see how they fell in love and well, basically what happened.

Kennedy is a strong, independent and resilient woman. I wanted to be her. She does everything for her daughter, even it means working at a grocery store. Kennedy is a character anyone can fall in love with and you just want to give the girl a hug. She’s single and lonely and she has a crazy past. A past that involves Jonathan.

What can I say about Jonathan? I wanted to hate him, I wanted to love him, I wanted him to not break my heart. He made me feel an array of emotions and throughout the entire book and I was on the edge of my seat because of him. If I could describe Jonathan in one word it would be redemption. Because of past mistakes Jonathan is back and he’s trying to make his wrongs right.

Ghosted is so much more than a story about a single mom and a baby daddy coming back. There’s so much that goes on in this book and it’s never typical, never generic and I never knew what’s going to happen. I LOVED that. I read a lot of Hollywood romance books and this did not remind me of any of them. Ghosted is in it’s own category.

I can’t stress enough how epic, wonderful, fabulous and beautiful this story is. I love EVERY single word written. I wouldn’t have changed anything in this book. If anything I wished there was another book because I could read Kennedy and Jonathan’s story forever.

Thank you J.M. Darhower for writing this beautiful work of art because that is what this book is truly is. It’s art and you made me a very happy reader.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Type: Standalone 
POV: First Person – Dual

Kennedy Garfield fell madly in love with her boyfriend while in high school; she was blinded with love that she made his dreams her priority.  She basically left everything behind to be with him and gave him everything.  In trying to find their dreams; she lost herself in the process.  With a shattered broken heart and a child to care for she leaves her boyfriend behind to start fresh.

Johnny Cunning grew up with a privileged family.  He was one of those boys I envy sometimes that they never had to study and would get straight A's just for showing up.  He was smart and he was good at acting.  One crazy night he was fed up with his life and the way his father treated him; he decided to run away and go search for his dreams.  Once in Hollywood life wasn't easy as he thought it would; he almost gave up every day but every time he had the love of his life helping him, supporting him in every step of the way.  Johnny made so many mistakes when young though he let fame and addiction destroyed the life he really wanted.  He is now finally after so many years trying to repair his life and now he is back to fight for what he really think is important to him.

"I don’t deserve her time, not in the least, but I’m so desperate for some part of this woman back that I’ll steal every second that I can get."

I felt so much while reading this book. My emotions were all over the place.  I found myself hating Johnny but at the same time loving him.  I hurt for him but mostly I hurt for Kennedy so damn much it hurts.  She was such a strong character that gave up her dreams to raise a beautiful child.  When mothers put their kids before anything else they really hold a big respect in my eyes. The child, Maddie; was super cute and adorable. I freaking feel in love with that kid since the beginning; she was so funny with her innocence.

This story is about second chance romance; we get to see both the hero and heroine's point of view and I love how the author took us back to the past where everything started.  We get a deeper story balanced it with so many funny moments along with some sad times.  I think the chapters of the past were perfectly written I had some tears while reading them.  I enjoyed this story from beginning to end; I thought it was super cool that Johnny was able to play a super hero lead actor in the movie he was making and how Maddie feel in love with the hero and the silly things she would say had me cracking up.  Ghosted is the journey of a family who struggled to be happy and have their heart put back together again.  Readers who enjoy second change romance will find this book appealing.

A copy was kindly gifted to me, thank you so much.

This story owned my heart it weaves a story between past and future telling a story that breaks, builds you up and heals you. That love might lead off the beaten path but it will lead them right where they belong.

What can I say but this story had my heart and emotions all over the place. The story centers around Kennedy and Johnny going back and forth between POV while showing glimpses to the past. Kennedy believes in others willing to bet and do what she can to help the one she loves dreams succeed. After a heartbreak and feeling left behind she finds in hard to trust and believe in others. Especially having a daughter, Madison, she has to play it safe. By the way Madison is one of the darn cutest kids that I've seen written. Johnny after falling down a dark and painful path is finding it hard to get on the right track and be worthy of a second chance with the people that linger within his heart Kennedy and Madison.

The writing of this flows brilliant giving you all sides of this love story. Honestly I felt I couldn't pick who was right or wrong. It shows the mistakes they made but it also shows what lead them to that path. You take a journey through falling in love, the trials of love, the power of love, falling out of love, and the consequences and mending afterwards. It's excellent at showing that love is not a linear line and that's why I fell in love with it.

Bonus though I was completely helpless with those Hamilton reference and left me satisfied.

But seriously this story will take you on an unexpected journey taking your heart with it and leaving you elated.

- Received an ARC for an honest review
~ Two Darlin Dolls and a Book Review

Decided to dip my toe in the Kindle Unlimited world.  Never had the need for it, or at least I didn't think so.  But I'm pleasantly surprised by the books offered.

Ghosted by J.M. Darhower is that warm blanket on a cold night.  I'm a sucker for romances that focus on forgiveness and redemption. Add in a bit of Hollywood charm, an incredibly adorable little girl named Maddie, and you have an amazing recipe for success.

Simply put, I couldn't stop reading.  I finished in one sitting with a little nap in between my frantic pace.  The characters in this story are so incredibly real, passionate, funny, and flawed.  When I read a story I always look for some connection, something to make me feel like I'm a part of the story.  It's often a character, or a maybe even a setting that I can somehow relate to.  Those connections are what helps you become emotionally tied to a story.  Ghosted was written so beautifully, so eloquently, that I felt connected to the entire story, the entire time.  I've never been to Hollywood.  I have no knowledge of that life.  But this story wasn't so much about that as it was about relationships.

Jonathon and Kennedy's relationship squeezes your heart until it's painful.  Telling the story in past and present wasn't the genius part of this story.  Telling the past part of this story as Kennedy writing a story using Jonathon's voice was absolutely brilliant.  Sounds a little confusing and it is at first, however the magic it creates in defining who these characters are and why they are, it's gold.

Precocious Maddie stole the show for me.  The minute she walked onto those pages, I knew she was going to be the glue in this story.  Once you become a parent your life immediately changes.  Children completely change the way you view the world.  We become hyper focused on their happiness, their well being, and we guard their hearts for them as much as we can.  But children are incredibly resilient, innately happy, and see the world innocently.  Parents will do anything for their children.  The love, the bond, is that strong.  And that comes through in spades with both Jonathon and Kennedy.

I can't say enough about this story.  I hope you take a chance on Ghosted.  J.M. Darhower is an engaging author, she's able to bring something truly special to her stories that make them unique.

Ghosted. The title is misleading, it’s not the about the slang term it’s named after, but rather something else. I really, really liked this book. It contains events that are identifiable, scenarios that are believable, issues to be worked through, forgiveness and a love that deserves a second chance.

This books starts off with a flash back. These happen very often in the book and are written from the h point of view (Kennedy). It interlinks the past with the present in a way that is kind of unusual. She writes her experiences as if she’s narrating a story. By the time I got to the last entry, I could in a sense relate to Kennedy and the onion ninjas came out to play. As the book goes on, it tells the story of love, loss and the decisions that were made that lead to place where they need to learn about what becoming adults and family is.

While there are some things in the story, like Johnathan being a celeb, which I couldn’t relate to, I could relate to Kennedy. I did read a review that labeled her as weak, but I would beg to differ. She’s not weak, she’s cautious about letting her daughter enter a situation like the one she ran from. She’s also guarded and scared of her feelings for Johnathan. All of these things are normal for someone who’s been burned and is a single mother on top of it. The way she tried to overcome these and get past her fears was actually something that was very well written. At no time did I think she was weak, I think she was human. Anyone who’s been in a similar situation will understand and empathize where she is coming from. It’s easy to put yourself in her shoes if you’ve ever had to compete with someone or something so big you knew you wouldn’t win. In doing so you lose your self-confidence, the sense of your purpose and become insecure, but when there’s a child involved, pick yourself up to make the hard decisions.

Johnathan is human. He’s made mistakes, big ones. It took some time for him to realize that he was messing up his life. Was he a jerk? Yes. Did he have to hit his own rock bottom and try to climb up? Yes. Was he weak letting his life get that way with poor decisions? In my opinion, very much so. Did have to prove himself, working on the rift that separated him and his young daughter? Yes again. The fact that he made the effort, he saw the error of his ways and wanted to fix them is a wonderful part of the story. He’s human and fallible. He has things to prove and demons to slay. Things that he needs to learn to see from Kennedy’s stand point more than his own.

This is a romance novel, but at the same time much more. There are parts where the little girl will make you cry, the diary will make you cry, the love will make you smile, the road to healing will make you cheer and there times when your heart will break. This story is one I remember from beginning to finish and I actually read it several months ago. It is one I would re-read as well. I won’t say it’s full of angst and over the top drama or action (some parts did drag a tad), but it’s enough to keep the story going. The situations are reasonable, not far-fetched. I recommended this book several times over. No grammatical errors that made me growl.

No distracting misspelled words as well. The book was very well thought out and put together. The heat was good, but didn’t take over the book as a focal point.

*** 4.5 STARS***

There are probably a million reasons second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, but the biggest is because of books like Ghosted. This book gave me ALL THE FEELS. It's one of the best second chance stories I've ever read and I know my words won't be able to do it justice, but I'm going to try. This was a read-in-a-day-because-you-can't-think-of-putting-it-down type of book. I love those.
I just couldn't get enough of Jonathan and Kennedy and their story — in the present or past, in Kennedy's notebook. Those little flashes backwards, told through Kennedy's writing, were perfection and a great addition to the book. Their past wasn't always pretty, so that made for some serious angst and emotion as they were face-to-face again. But don't get me wrong, it wasn't an overly heavy book. There were plenty of lighter moments, lots of smiles and a few giggles and some serious steam, as well. A lot of those moments included Madison, Jonathan and Kennedy's daughter and the cutest, most charming book kid I think I've ever read. Oh man, did I get all heart-melty with some of her scenes with Jonathan.

Basically, you just need to add Ghosted to your TBR immediately. It'd been on mine since I saw other bloggers raving over it late last year and I'm only sorry I didn't get to it sooner. It was a gorgeous book. It was my first J.M. Darhower book, but I can guarantee you it won't be my last. In addition to loving the characters and story, I loved her writing style. I can't wait to tackle her backlist. 

"love doesn’t know titles"

WOW! I loved this book. This book was around 450 pages and I am typically a reader who can only handle a 300 page or less book because I get bored and just want the story to end so I can move on to the next couple. I didn't feel this way at all with Ghosted. I didn't want this book to end!

Ghosted is a second chance love story between Kennedy Garfield and Jonathan Cunningham. Kennedy and Jonathan fall in love in high school. They both move to California to pursue Jonathan's acting career.

"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."

Kennedy supports Jonathan 100% but their relationship becomes very strained because of all the demons that Jonathan is facing. Kennedy also becomes pregnant and knows she needs to do what is best for their daughter. As much as she loves Jonathan, she knows she needs to leave him and create a stable life for her daughter.

This emotional story is about the ups and downs of Hollywood fame and the strain it puts on a relationship. Ghosted also shows us that both Jonathan and Kennedy never lost their love for each other. The author tells the story in both present and past tense. I loved how the past was told. My favorite part was toward the end of each 'past' section when it started with "And you don't know this, but that girl?..." My eyes always got watery. You could just feel the love Kennedy had for Jonathan.

Maddie, their daughter, is such a cute and lovable character in the story. I wanted her to draw me a picture so I could hang it on my wall just like her grandpa. I liked that Jonathan was the main character in a show that was created from a comic book. I thought this brought some uniqueness to the Hollywood actor side of the story.

This is my first book from J.M. Darhower and what a phenomenal story!

I was skeptical about whether or not I would like this story. This is a new-to-me author, and I tend to stay away from super hyped books. But this book deserves all the hype. It's a bit longer than your average romance book, but I came to love the story. It's character-driven, and I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I love the split past/present chapters. I've read this formatting in a few books now, and I really like it in contemporary novels. It never fails to be a sucker punch in the feels. Which is exactly what Ghosted is. Ghosted is told in split present-day first-person alternating chapters between the two lead characters - Kennedy and Jonathan - and second-person chapters detailing their past. These second-person chapters were slow-going at first, where I was wondering what exactly was happening, but I got super into them once I realized where the story was going.

This is a second-chance romance between Kennedy Garfield and Jonathan Cunningham. Kennedy transferred to a prep school and met the wild son to the Speaker of the House. Jonathan longed to be an actor, but his father wanted him to follow in his footsteps. Jonathan was every bit the bad boy teenager when he was in school. And then he fell in love with Kennedy. Their love was a grand one, full of young hope and young, optimistic dreams.

Some years later, the start of the present-day part of the book, we meet Kennedy, a woman making a living as a supermarket manager, and a single mother to a five-year-old little girl named Madeline, or Maddie for short. Jonathan is the Hollywood star, reinvented as Johnny Cunning, and the star of a superhero franchise based off a comic series named Breezeo. But most of the time Kennedy knew him as Johnny Cunning, he was drunk. Or high. And after a recent incident that left him injured, he's back home in Bennett Landing sober, and wanting a chance to reconnect with Kennedy and the daughter he's never known.

This is a slow-burn. If you can call a second-chance romance a slow-burn. The chemistry and the love between Kennedy and Jonathan never really disappeared. But the lies, the alcohol, the drugs? That fractured them. Love can't be enough when one was sacrificing everything to keep them together, and the other was doing everything to break them apart. The story is gradual. Kennedy isn't where she wants to be in life, and she knows it's not what her parents ever envisioned for her.

Kennedy has Maddie and will do anything for this kid. Her mother has passed away, but her father's still around to take care of Maddie when Kennedy goes to work. And there's Jonathan's older sister who loves watching her niece, but the past five years have only ever really been Kennedy and Maddie until Jonathan waltzes into town and decides he wants to be a father again.

I do like that we get alternating perspectives from Kennedy and Jonathan. We get to see the differences between the Jonathan now, and the one that Kennedy had to leave behind. This story is heartbreaking, because I think that it feels real. The celebrity aspect doesn't necessary feel blown out-of-proportion or makes Jonathan any less relatable, human, but it shows what he's given up to get to where he is today. Is he happy? Well...it's his job, and he's living it.

I love Maddie. She's absolutely adorable and I loved reading her interactions with Kennedy and Jonathan. Other secondary characters who were hilarious are the innkeeper, Mrs. McKleski, and Jonathan's foul-mouthed sponsor, Jack. This book is incredible, with a wide cast of characters, and the story so well-written that I couldn't put it down! I'm looking forward to seeing what else the author publishes next!

"Never make someone else the main character in your own story.”

EVERYTHING. This book was EVERYTHING. All of the things. Of the angsty, second chance romance feels variety.

You know when you see a book on your feed and find yourself wondering if it's really worth all of the hype? I can tell you with total conviction, that this book is. It's a huge step away from Darhower's other books, pure contemporary, and downright magical.

"He’s an actor. His talent comes natural. He’s never had to work very hard at it. He can switch moods in a moment, change scenes in an instant, flip the script without anybody even realizing it’s happening. It’s hard to tell if he’s just playing a character or if you can trust that he means things."

So what is it about this story that enraptured me so completely? Aside from the multi-layered characters that are full of depth and you can't help but fall for immediately, it was the writing. The way that this second chance romance unravels and the way the author gives the reader the POV from the past? Pure literary magic.

"You don’t know this, but that girl? As she stands there, staring at you, seeing the light in your eyes and feeling so much love in her heart, she would’ve done anything you asked. Anything. She would’ve climbed any mountain and dug any hole. She would’ve lied, cheated, and stolen. That girl would’ve promised you forever. As long as you love her, for as long as you care, she’s yours."

A troubled young actor, struggling with newfound sobriety and righting the wrongs of his past. A heart-broken, hardworking single mother with a spine of steel that was left in his rearview mirror as he chased his dream and got lost in a haze of alcohol and drugs. An adorable baby girl that brings the two of them a full circle. This was a powerful, incredibly realistic, and emotional story of second chances. Jonathan is not a perfect hero. He's nowhere close to it. You want to hate him for his mistakes, but as you learn the story through the eyes of the woman that loved him and get his POV in the present, you get to see a man that's determined to pay for his mistakes and make them right. He's a man that never stopped loving the girl from his past and the woman that never truly left his present. He's a man that knows that if she gives him just one more chance, though he doesn't deserve it, he won't squander it, and he'll do anything to convince her that he's worth the risk.

"To me, she was the center of the universe, the sunlight that burned so bright, but she writes herself in the shadows, secondary in her own life. Instead, she made me the hero, the center of this alternate universe she invented around her."

Once burned, twice shy. Kennedy gave up everything once for the man she loved to chase his dreams, and now six years later, she's still picking up the pieces that he left in his wake. It's impossible not to immediately love this character. There's this endearing vulnerability to go along with her spine of steel and determination to make a life for herself and her daughter that you have a tremendous amount of respect for. She struggles with trying to let go of her past and move on from the man that will always hold a piece of her heart.

"I’m playing with fire, like I don’t remember how much it hurts to get burned, but from here, where I’m standing, all I can seem to feel is the warmth."

Ghosted is perfectly paced, phenomenally written, and completely enrapturing. It was full of emotion and a beautiful romance that'll stay with me for a long, long time.