Title: Ghosted by Rosie Walsh
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: C+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
Seven perfect days. Then he disappeared. A love story with a secret at its heart.
When Sarah meets Eddie, they connect instantly and fall in love. To Sarah, it seems as though her life has finally begun. And it’s mutual: It’s as though Eddie has been waiting for her, too. Sarah has never been so certain of anything. So when Eddie leaves for a long-booked vacation and promises to call from the airport, she has no cause to doubt him. But he doesn’t call.
Sarah’s friends tell her to forget about him, but she can’t. She knows something’s happened–there must be an explanation.
Minutes, days, weeks go by as Sarah becomes increasingly worried. But then she discovers she’s right. There is a reason for Eddie’s disappearance, and it’s the one thing they didn’t share with each other: the truth.
Review:
Ghosted by Rosie Walsh is a contemporary novel with an intriguing premise which is socially relevant in today’s world.
Sarah Mackey and Eddie David spend a blissful week together and make plans to reunite after he returns from vacation. However, Sarah is hurt and confused when her messages and phone calls to him go unanswered. Despite the short amount of time they were together, she is convinced Eddie is “The One” and she refuses trying to reconnect with him. Her good friend Jo tries to reason with her to give up her quest, but surprisingly her other bestie Tommy Stenham agrees with Sarah that the relationship is worth trying to save. Unfortunately, Sarah quickly crosses into obsession as she absolutely refuses to stop attempting to resume contact with him.
Sarah’s seventeen year marriage has recently ended yet she is surprisingly unaffected by her divorce. A US transplant from Great Britain, her annual vacation is a bittersweet reunion with her parents. Not expecting to meet anyone, Sarah is absolutely charmed by Eddie and she is quite introspective after their relationship hits a wall. Her efforts to locate Eddie are cringe-worthy as is her compulsive checking for replies to her messages. It is a huge relief when Sarah finally realizes how completely ridiculous she has been behaving and hopefully her return home will put an end to her immature behavior.
With over half the book focusing on Sarah’s unrequited love and fanatical attempts to communicate with Eddie, Ghosted is a slow-moving, rather tedious and unrealistic read. The second part of the novel is faster paced and finally fills in much needed details about Sarah’s and Eddie’s respective pasts. There are some intriguing twists and turns but after waiting so long for any type of progress, readers might not remain invested in what the future holds for the erstwhile couple. With a couple of very clever and unanticipated plot twists, Rosie Walsh brings the novel to a heartwarming conclusion.
