This was an adorable sapphic paranormal romance. Astra has the ability to see and interact with ghosts. She meets and befriends Isla, a ghost, and they eventually fall for each other. It’s a bit predictable—you could see the dilemma a mile away, but I didn’t mind for one bit. I adored how the author handled the plot and how it turned out in the end. Highly character-driven as well, which I also loved. The pacing was somehow slow for me at the beginning, but I’d still definitely recommend this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC! :>

🍵 summary

astra, just like her mother, can see ghosts. it has always been that way, and she has never liked it, on the contrary. one day, she meets isla, who is so full of life (well, not really, but you know what i mean), so happy, so… gorgeous. when astra accepts to help isla complete her (anti-)bucket list, her life is changed forever.

tropes:
* friends to lovers
* (f) grumpy x (f) sunshine

🍓 thoughts

ok this was the cutest thing ever. the premise was really interesting, and i was not let down. it went by so quickly, and it made me feel so much. seriously, one minute i was squeeling, the other i was sobbing, and then back to giggling like a crazyperson. i honestly have zero complaint.

the romance was so. freaking. cute!! they had so much chemistry, i was rooting for them all throughout. even before either of them realized they were in love, you could see they cared about each other so much. watching astra realize just how much she loved isla was the best thing.

🍰 characters

the characters were honestly the greatest thing about this novel. there wasn’t a lot of them, but they were really well fleshed out and i loved every single one of them.

astra: ok astra was so relatable. she is very anxious, and at seventeen years old, her social life is inexistent. she has no friends, and her weekends are spent in her room. basically me 🤗 i loved watching her evolve with the story as she got closer to isla and oliver, i wanted her to get her happiness so bad. her character felt very real, and she was trying so hard to be a good daughter

isla: isla is my baby <333 she is probably the happiest ghost ever, but underneath, she is a complex character who hides the worst parts of her life from others. she is also such a plant nerd, and seeing her share fun facts about them was the cutest, partly because i do the exact same with my parents when i get obsessed with something. overall, isla was a ray of sunshine and we all need someone like her in our life. she definitely got a few giggles out of me

supporting characters: first, i want to say oliver was probably one of the best friends ever. he was so understanding with astra, and he did everything he could to support and help her, even when he didn’t really understand what was happening. also, i won’t go into spoilers, but at some points i wanted to give him a hug so bad i almost cried.

i also loved astra’s mom, we didn’t see a lot of her but she was genuinely trying to do her best for her daughter and i found it heartwarming. it kind of reminded me of my own mom, who isn’t perfect and has a lot of personal issues, but i know she does all she can to be the best mom possible, and sometimes that’s all that matters.

🫖 writing

the writing was good! nothing exceptional, but it was easy to read and it painted a pretty good picture of what was happening. i’ve seen way worst, but it wasn’t, like, stephanie garber level

Wow, what a delightful story. It was the perfect one to read today which lifted my spirits.

I want to thank NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I knew going in only that it was LGTBQIA+ friendly but had no idea it also have Neurodiverse characters as well as disability positive vibes. The author never names a diagnosis for our protagonist Astra who can see and communicate with ghosts, but she is clearly Neurodiverse as well as displays many symptoms of OCD.

I think this book can be enjoyed by many Teens and adults alike and many different individuals can identify with various aspects of it.

The book is completely predictable but I’m not mad at it for it. It was delightful to have a story that underneath reality with some serious reality of growing up different but in a safe and almost fluffy way.

There were a few pacing issues and repetitiveness but it was an easy read to do in a few hours.

I highly recommend this book for teens to read as well as young adult.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

What a book! this was so incredible, im so in love with it.
Very well written, with some of the best charactors ive read in a while. Truely heartbreaking at heartwarming all at once.
I will never forget this, thank you Netgalley!

Loved the story of this book. The plot was fenomenal! Loved the characters, the plot twists. 4 stars from me

★★★☆☆ (3 stars)

Flowers For Dead Girls gives us loveable characters facing the challenges of both life and death together. It’s all too easy to take life for granted, and this book served as a moving reminder that not everyone’s experience matches our own.

Astra is someone who sees the world a little differently, which offers a refreshing, and at times touching, perspective on navigating the world around us. Isla is stubborn, witty, and captivating, whilst side-character Oliver offers a most welcome extra layer of comfort.

The plot is somewhat predictable; however, I didn’t feel this affected my reading experience - if anything, I was happy the story went in the direction I had expected. That said, I did feel as though the first half of the book was a little too slow in pace, and found myself having to persevere until the plot picked up further into the novel.

The second half of the book is lovely. I found the strengthening of the connection between characters rewarding, and cared deeply for each of them. The ghost elements of the novel are strong and well-written. Collins gives us some delightful interactions between the living and dead, although I felt exploring some additional ghosts may have fleshed out the plot somewhat.

If you’re seeking an endearing, character-driven book with a gratifying ending, I’d recommend Flowers For Dead Girls.

Thanks a lot to Netgalley & Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

CW: Death, Ableism, Mild Homophobia

4 / 5 Stars

I can't say if the author intended to give the MC huge autistic (or neurodiverse) vibes, but by god, they did - and Astra is - and it's impossible for me to read this book any other way. It's never outright stated in text, but honestly? It might as well have been. This leads to a little bit of Internalized Ableism in some scenes - that get overcome through character development & personal growth - but that help make certain other parts - or part - of the book feel less "savior-vibe-y" & "infantilization-vibe-y". Because both people in the disscussion are disabled and struggling in their own way, turning this into "Yeah, I get it" instead of "My life is so sad, because I'm disabled and that's sad". Neurodiversity and The-Spoiler-Thing aren't the same, but the book does highlight their shared struggles and how they find companionship and understanding within and through each other.
That being said, I wish we could have gotten more insight into a certain someone's POV.
To avoid getting into heavy spoiler stuff, I won't be sayin way more on the topic. Because even though you'll probably figure it out yourself, it's still nice to go back and realise all the hints and forshadowing we had gotten about it from really early on.

Their romance is sweet and soft and beautiful and their connection feels genuine and natural. Some other characters feel a little left out at times, because the book focuses very heavily on them, but it's nothing that bothered me too much, personally. Especially since we got greatly developed and loveable main characters out of it.

Speaking of characters, this book has a great hooker, but it's mostly character driven, contemporary with magical realism/paranormal elements. So, be aware of that. It's not slow per se, because the book isn't too long either, but if you need a book to make turns left, right and left, you might walk away dissapointed.

Final Thoughts
A very pleasant read. Would reccomand.

A beautiful, touching story about not fitting in, finding your people and allowing the people who care about you to get closer to you. It's definitely a teenager/YA story though, and the simplicity of its prose doesn't try to be anything else. It's a pleasant, cozy read and it explores the main character's inner world. In fact, I found that most of the young characters are pretty well fleshed out, especially when seen through Astra's eyes. Not so much the adults, but it's a YA story so I suppose that's to be expected. Kind of like the adults in Cow and Chicken, if you're old enough to have watched those cartoons. However, you do get a good sense of Astra's mom, as seen from her point of view.
The plot felt a bit predictable at one point but I actually love what the author did with it, and it ended up being a refreshing read until the end. I wish they had explored Isla's dilemma a bit more though. The author touches on a VERY important aspect of a certain community (I'm trying to keep this review spoiler free) and it would have been interesting to have explored that in more depth. Preferably after the author had talked to several voices within that community. It lacks a certain context and further development for it to be fully considered "raising awareness", especially to young people going through that same dilemma. I think the author missed a very good opportunity to help improve the mental health of young people going through something similar.
All and all, it's definitely a book I enjoyed (even though I usually don't enjoy YA books and hadn't realised this was one when I chose it) and I'd recommend it to anyone into this genre.
A note to the editor (or whoever was meant to revise the novel): there are a lot of repetitions that should have been cut out and/or replaced. Expressions, sayings, description of actions, sentences... Maybe not everyone will notice it as much as I did, but my reading experience would have been a lot better if the writing hadn't been so repetetive. It's normal for writers to favour certain expressions and it can be difficult for them sometimes to notice they are overusing certain words/expressions. It's the job of whoever is revising (that is, a new fresh set of eyes) to point this out. I feel that a lot of times there could have been suitable alternatives, or that the same thing could have been said in a different way to avoid repetition. Probably not a big deal for most people, I don't know, but it bothered me a bit.

This is definitely a young adult supernatural/romance I would recommend to anyone who engages with the genre.

Our main character, Astra, is a very interesting young person to get into the mind of. She has strong chemistry with Isla, and I am also particularly fond of Ollie. All around, I did enjoy reading about these characters.

Without spoiling, I do think that some of the more emotional events towards the end of the book could have done with being a little longer and explored in greater depth. Whilst this book is short and never felt like it dragged, I feel like it could have dedicated some more time to certain aspects in its final third. Equally, I would have liked a little more emphasis on Isla's journey at this point in the story - of course we follow Astra, but I definitely found myself wondering more about Isla's internal plight at this stage and would have liked to see it touched on in a little more depth.

I would definitely read more of this author's work following this.

This is a very creative story about a girl with the ability to talk to ghosts. She starts talking to the ghost of a girl and then falls in love with the girl. The writing is done beautifully, but I find the idea of falling in love with a ghost a bit hard to grasp.