My So Called Phantom Love life by Tamsym Murray

For Review: Piccadilly.  Published 24 March 2011
From Goodreads: I knew the boy was different when I saw him walk on water…

When fourteen-year-old Skye Thackery meets Owen Wicks, it’s not exactly love at first sight. She’s getting over a broken heart and he’s – well – a ghost. But as Sky gets to know him, she can’t help wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Dating a ghost isn’t easy, and things get worse when Owen declares he’s found a way to stay with Skye forever. His plans make her uneasy – the shadowy organisation which claims to be able to help him is bad news, and it seems Nico, her ex, is involved too.

As Owen prepares to risk everything, Skye begins to wonder if she really has a future with him, or if his desire to be more than just a ghost will cost them everything.

I love this series!  They are so much fun to read.  I find myself picking them up and not putting them down until I've finished.

We catch up with Skye shortly after the events of My So Called Haunting.  When Skye and her friends have an accident on the lake and almost drown, it is a ghost that helps Skye save her best friend.  Befriending him, and finding herself very attracted to him she tries to help him sort out what is keeping him here so he can move on.  On top of that Nico seems determined to get back into Skye's life, but can she ever trust him again?

Skye is such an awesome character and I love spending time with her.  She so honest and sweet that I instantly like her and enjoy spending time with her. I also love how she interacts with Celestine and Jeremy - such a typical teenager in that respect.  And I adore Mary.  There is one scene involving her that almost made me choke it made me laugh so hard - it's the one where Skye asks her to speak English for once and ... well,  let's just say she hits the nail on the head so to speak!

I'm glad Nico's back.  I adored him in the last installment - at least until the scene in the cemetery and then I had no idea what to think of him.  Like Skye I was completely torn.  I was really glad to see him back and I really like the direction his story is taking.

I can't praise this series highly enough.  As I said they are such great fun to read and they always leave me wanting more.  I hope there are many more to come!  On a side note, can I just say that I love the new cover designs - they really capture the feel of the books.

My So-called Haunting by Tamsyn Murray

For Review: Piccadilly Press. Published 1 September 2010
From Goodreads:
How many times do I have to ask you to knock?' I yelled at Mary as she drifted through the door of my room and looked me up and down. 'Thou resemblest a strumpet,' she said, staring pointedly at my thigh-skimming skirt. Sometimes I had trouble understanding Mary’s weird babbling, but in this case I was getting her loud and clear. Suddenly, my mood was blacker than a vampire’s soul.

Skye, a fourteen-year-old psychic, is stressed out. Not only is the ghost of a sixteenth-century witch giving her fashion tips, but she’s struggling to settle into life with her aunt, and is developing a crush on the most unattainable boy in the school, Nico.

When her aunt asks for her help with a troubled teen ghost called Dontay, she's glad of the distraction. But then Nico starts paying her attention, and she's soon facing a battle to keep her love life and her psychic life separate.

As things get ever more complicated, it looks as though Dontay’s past might cost Skye her future.

I loved Tamsyn Murray's first book My So-called Afterlife. I thought it was a really enjoyable read - with great characters and fun dialogue - so I was very excited to read My So-called Haunting.

It's more of a spin off than a sequel - taking the characters Jeremy and Celestine from the first book and introducing Celestine's niece Skye, who has moved from Scotland to live with her Aunt while her mother spends time abroad. Having had the psychic ability to see ghosts for as long as she can remember Skye now needs to find a way to balance this ability with carving out a life for herself in her new home - which includes trying to capture the interest of a rather gorgeous boy called Nico and help Dontay find out the reason he is still here so he can move on.

I loved Skye straight away. She is caring, thoughtful and witty and I really enjoyed getting the story from her point of view. I love that she is psychic and can see ghosts - it is a premise I can never tire of. I also really liked her best friend Megan - she's really quirky and a good friend to Skye. And I loved Nico and thought the relationship between him and Skye was very sweet. I found the direction it took very interesting and was a bit disappointed it wasn't resolved in this book but it gives me something to look forward to in the next installment - My So-called Phantom Lovelife.

Dontay's storyline was really good and one of my favourite aspects of the story. I enjoyed watching Skye gain his trust and I love the way Murray manages to merge a serious storyline into the book and still have it feel lighthearted.

The book is a pleasure to read and in places out right hilarious. There is one scene involving a triple jump mishap that had be laughing hysterically and then giggling to myself for the rest of the day! Mary is also a great source of humour and a fabulous character. I loved how she spoke and hope to see much more of her in My So-called Phantom Lovelife.

Overall this is great fun and I'm really looking forward to more!

Guest Post: Tamsyn Murray

I'm delighted to present a guest post from Tamsyn Murray, the author of My So-called Afterlife and My So-Called Haunting.
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My So-Called Haunting is the follow up book to My So-Called Afterlife and it introduces Skye Thackery. She's fourteen years old and has been psychic all her life. In fact, she's been seeing ghosts as long as she can remember and it takes more than things that go bump in the night to faze her. But which famous ghosts are at the top of her afterlife meet-and-greet list?

1) Casper The Friendly Ghost

What's not to love about Casper? Bored of scaring people, all this ghost wants is to make friends with the living and that's something Skye can identify with. She thinks they'd have a great time hanging out together - after all, he is the friendliest ghost of all!

2) Nearly Headless Nick

OK, so he goes on a bit about joining the Headless Hunt but he knows all the secrets of Hogwarts, including that passageway into Honeydukes at Hogsmeade. Skye reckons he'd be the perfect guide to show her around and since everyone else can see him too, she wouldn't feel so weird about talking to him. Maybe he could even introduce her to Cedric Diggory?

3) Lucy Shaw
Lucy was the first ghost that her 'Uncle' Jeremy ever saw and Skye thinks he talks about her all the time, to the point where Skye is kind of glad Lucy has already passed across. Even so, she's curious about Saint Lucy and wouldn't mind meeting her, if only to see what all the fuss is about. Now there's an idea for a future book...

4) The Mackenzie Poltergeist
The MacKenzie Poltergeist is a troubled soul who haunts a vault inside Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh. Legend has it that the ghost is the spirit of a seventeenth century lawyer who tortured and killed others for their religious beliefs and was buried in the churchyard. Edinburgh is Skye's hometown and she's always wondered if she could help the poltergeist find peace. She's never quite been brave enough to venture inside, though.

5) Anne Boleyn
Henry VIII's second wife was the one he plunged his country into turmoil for. He was so consumed with desire that he invented a new religion in order to marry her. Unfortunately, she didn't give him the son he wanted so he accused her of witchcraft (amongst other things) and had her executed at the Tower of London. Needless to say, Skye would love to know if she was actually a witch. And maybe Anne could help her with her History coursework...

You can meet Skye for yourself on my website, where the first chapter of My So-Called Haunting is available to read. And you can buy it from Amazon here. Happy reading!

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Thanks Tamsyn! I love the idea of Skye meeting Lucy!

You can read my review of My So-called Afterlife here and check back tomorrow for my review of My So-called Haunting:)

My So-called Afterlife by Tamsyn Murray

From Goodreads: "I knew it was time to move on when a tramp peed on my Uggs..."

Meet Lucy Shaw. She's not your average fifteen year old - for a start, she's dead. And as if being a ghost wasn't bad enough, she's also trapped haunting the men's toilets on Carnaby Street. So when a lighting engineer called Jeremy walks in and she realises he can see and hear her, she isn't about to let him walk out of her afterlife. Not least until he's updated her on what's happening in her beloved soaps.

With Jeremy's help, Lucy escapes the toilet and is soon meeting up with other ghosts, including the perpetually enraged Hep and the snogtastic Ryan. But when Jeremy suggests Lucy track down the man who murdered her, things go down hill. Can Lucy face up to the events of that terrible night? And what will it cost her if she does?

I found this a really fun, quick read. Although it does have some dark moments it’s mostly a very light and humorous read. I really loved the characters and the ‘afterlife’ world was brilliantly created – so many small details were added to make it feel really believable. I really liked Lucy – really sassy and witty - and her relationship with Jeremy was so sweet. I really enjoyed their friendship and the way she completely takes over his life (and TV!) Her budding friendship and later ‘intervention’ with Hep was really poignant for me and definitely the part of the book that stood out for me. There is also a really sweet romance between Lucy and Ryan that I loved.

I did feel as if some things were a little too convenient or were achieved too easily. One example is Lucy's murderer and how that storyline is resolved. But, having said that, it does all add to the overall ‘feel good’ factor of the book. Although there was definitely potential for the story to be a much darker and longer read, I worry that had this been done it may have lost the quirky cuteness that really made it for me.

Overall a really enjoyable read, with great characters, and fun dialogue. I’m really looking forward to reading many more books by this author.