Author: Shirley Marr
Series: N/A
Release Date: April 1, 2012
Publisher: Black Dog Books
Pages: 272
Source: author (Thank you so much, Shirley!!)
Links: Goodreads | Fishpond
Stars: 4/5
If you had a second chance at love, would you do it all over again?
Amy has enough to deal with for one lifetime. A superstitious Chinese mother. A best friend whose mood changes as dramatically as her hair colour. A reputation for being strange. The last thing she needs is to be haunted by someone only she can see.
Logan is a ghost from the Eighties. He could be dangerous. He's certainly annoying.
He might also be Amy's dream boy.MY THOUGHTS:
(summary taken from Goodreads)
This book defines the word adorable, brings a new definition to the word contemporary, and manages to mix hilarious and heartwarming scenes with the perfect degree of effectiveness! In other words, Preloved stole my heart and I'm not demanding it back anytime soon.
Preloved revolves around Amy, your classic sidekick girl. She's in love with The Princess Bride, has an amusingly superstitious Chinese mother, and has best friend that she believes will be the heroine of a story someday. Except instead — by some fluke chance — Amy is the one who ends up with the ghost-inhabited locket. Thus beginning her hilarious journey!
I couldn't have loved Amy more than I already did if you paid me to! She was quirky, and funny, and strange, and absolutely the kind of girl I'd admire in school. When she meets Logan (the swoon-worthy ghost from the 80s from the locket ♥) her world is turned upside down. Yet she deals with it exactly how any girl would! First she questions her sanity. Then she tries to help him out, because who wouldn't try to aid the sweet albeit slightly infuriating ghost?
Shirley said, "It's more a bad romance, less of a love story." And that's so true! When the boy is a ghost and the girl isn't, you can't expect a happily ever after — although I was craving one anyways because of how attached I became to the characters. But HEA or not, the ending is bittersweet and perfect in its own way. I turned the last page with a smile with my tears.
Adorably sweet, funny, and heartwarming all the same, Preloved is a book I loved with all my heart! I loved all the characters, from Amy to her best friend to Logan and more; I loved the way it dealt with family as well as the difficulty of being friends with a diva.
This book is a contemporary read with a touch of ghostly romance. Would I recommend it? Absolutely and completely and totally, I would! :)
BUY or BORROW?: Do yourself a favour and buy this book ASAP! It will definitely bring a smile to your face, and it will give all sidekick girls hope that they'll be the main character of their own story soon as well! :)
-Mimi
Posts
This does sound like a very cute book. The bittersweet endings always make me a bit sad. They're not bad endings but they still give you enough hope to think that one day something could still happen. Although Logan being a ghost really puts a spanner in the works! How amazing is it that the side kick girl gets to shine in this one? I love side kicks come good.
ReplyDeleteWhere has Shirley been hiding? *peeks under a rock* Because I've never heard of her books before and this one sounds A-DOR-A-BLE!! I feel like you'll be the main girl and I'll be the sidekick girl like Amy if we were to have our own story, so I love that this gives hope to sidekick girls like me to be an MC! (: And let me just say that if I had to fall in love with a ghost, he would def be from the 80s like Logan because the 80s have the best music! (x
ReplyDeleteAh-freaking-dorable review, Mimi!! <333333333 I want this non-love-story on my shelf now! Fishpond ordering, here I come! (:
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Mimi! I'm sooooooo jealous you got to read Preloved, I have wanted it ever since I first heard about it :) Your review confirms that I MUST get my hands on this!!!! The plot sounds really intriguing: what on earth are you meant to do if you fall in love with a ghost?! And I'm guessing Amy is Chinese? I'm always on the lookout for books with Asian main characters, so another reason why I need to read this! <3
ReplyDeleteBeverley x
A Reading Daydreamer
Lovely review Mimi! :D I won a copy of this and it arrived yesterday. I was jumping for joy! (Seriously... I jumped!)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to read it REALLY soon because it sounds amazing and different. I think Australia is hiding a lot of great authors! ;)
Thanks for making me even more excited about this book!
I love ghost/human relationships. I think this book sounds great. I haven't heard of it before. I don't do well with bittersweet endings, but I still want to read this.
ReplyDeleteOld follower
Ohh, stole your hard? Now, that sounds like an awesome read! It makes me wish I had money for it right away, but I guess I'll have to wait! *sigh* I can't wait to read it now, so thanks for the awesome review, Mimi! :o You sure know how to make us all desperate for a book. ;)
ReplyDeleteAaaw!! Great review! I can't wait to read this one, it seems sweet and awesome!! :) And contemporary/ghosts... that sounds like it would make a killer combination!! I LOVE The Princess Bride too, so I think I'm gonna like Amy! :P Amazing review, as always Mimi!!! <3
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xx
Riya
Awww!! Excellent review Mimi! Preloved sounds incredibly sweet and great at the same time - seriously NEED to read this. I love all things quirky and strange in main characters and the ghost sounds pretty interesting too.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing Mimi - have a great week! <3<3<3
Aw. I've been wanting to read Shirley Marr's books but alas her works are really hard to come by here. :'( Still, I'm really looking forward to read Preloved. Great review, Mimi! You just made me want it more. :D
ReplyDeleteI certainly think the cover for this is adorable with the girl in her dress and rocking sneakers.
ReplyDeleteI like that this centers on a girl who thinks of herself as the sidekick but who is suddenly thrust into heroine role for her own exciting story. She's not expecting it but she has a great time once it happens.
Ahhhh! I have this on my shelf and I can't wait to read it now Mimi! I'm such a huge fan of an HEA so the fact that this ending is more bittersweet has me a touch nervous, but given the fact that one is a ghost and one is not, it's hard to imagine there could be any other type of end for them. Still, you said you were smiling through the tears at the end, so that's enough for me:) Fabulous review!
ReplyDeleteHi Mimi!! I loved reading your review..I felt that you took the essence of Preloved and used it to write this. I think I would really like Amy. I love quirky and strange heroines. Sometimes normal gets boring, you know? And a ghost love interest? Now you've really made me want this! Great review!
ReplyDeleteLovely review Mimi, I'm so glad you loved it so much, my last couple of reads I've found myself so attached to the characters too! So I'm so looking forward to feeling the same way here too! I want to start this book asap because of you're adorable review! :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you really loved this book! I'm off to add it to my wishlist! :)
ReplyDeleteAnybody know if this is available in the UK?
DeleteGosh, I feel so gushy about this book and I haven't even read it yet! I love that Amy is more like a sidekick than like an actual heroine, but that the awesome (and heartbreaking) thing happens to her nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about that ending, though, I can't think of a single positive solution for that situation.
I'm so happy you enjoyed this, Mimi! Shirley is so awesome and it makes me happy when people love her books. I hope you'll get a chance to read Fury sometime soon. It's lovely.
Wonderful review, my darling!
Aw, this sounds like a really cute read. I'm super excited that the ghost is from the 80's just because I think it's a fun decade, even though I just missed it myself. lol I'm glad the story had a nice ending, even if it was bittersweet. I don't mind things that don't have HEA, simply because I like most stories to at least be realistic.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
Hmm, never heard of this one, but I do like that title. It certainly sounds like an adorable read! Great review, Mimi!
ReplyDeleteI have never ever heard of this book before - and now I'm dying to get my hands on it!! :D It sounds ADORABLE! Like, a totally unusual contemporary romance that will sweep any reader away. I'm seriously going to read this!! :D
ReplyDeleteIncredible review, darling! :D <3
No, no, no! There has to be a way! There just has to be away for a ghost and a girl to be together. I'm not sure my heart could handle this type of bad romance, but Amy sounds amazing, and I loved the 80s, so I'll have to read it, but I'm not gonna give up hope.
ReplyDeleteAwww, the book sounds so sweet! I just added it to my TBR list. What a protagonist! I really want to meet her now. She doesn't seem like the typical heroine, but sounds like a girl who doesn't back down :)
ReplyDeleteAnd no matter what anyone says, I want them to end up together and have a happy ever after! T__T I always like my reads to end with a HEA LOL And a ghost from the 80s? My, my, I really have to read this book.
Thanks for the recommendation! And lovely review, Mimi! ♥
AWWWWW!!! I NEED THIS BOOK IN MY LIFE. Sweet, infuriating ghost boy? Smile on your face admist the tears when you finished? Sidekick turned hero of the story? DAMNIT, MIMI! As if the gorgeous cover didn't hook me in enough, not to mention the fact that SO many people rave about Shirley Marr's books.... argh, your freaking spectacular review just had to make me THAT much more bouncy-in-my-seat to read this!
ReplyDeleteI love your review and am SO adding this to my TBR!!
This one sounds so cute and hilarious Mimi. Although, it seems like there's not a HEA. Worried a little about that.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I REALLY want to read this now! It sounds like one I would love! Om adding it to my wishlist!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a sweet book. The cover is adorable.
ReplyDeleteThis looks cute. Adorable cover, too.
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, Mimi :)
heheheeee SHIRLEY MARRRRR! IT'S THE LAND OF THE SHIRLEYS! LOL
ReplyDeleteWOW. THIS SOUNDS SOOOOO AWESOME! EVERYONE's recommending Shirley Marr's books to me, and yet, I still haven't read a single book of her's :/ (i.e. Fury and Preloved!) I can't believe myself; I mean, HOW MANY AUTHORS ARE NAMED SHIRLEY, OUT THERE, HUH?!?! I SHOULD TOTALLY SUPPORT ALL AUTHORS WITH MY NAME! LOLLLL But Preloved DOES sound FANTASTIC! And Amy sounds like the PERFECT main character! Awwwwwwww...the ending sounds PERFECT! MEEEE WANTTTT! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! AMAZINGLY AWESOME REVIEW, MIMIIII! I'm SOOO GLAD you liked this so much :)
This seems like SUCH A CUTE BOOK and I really want to read it! I'm a fan of Shirley's wriitng so I'm sure this book wouldn't disappoint. Eek the thing about the HEA makes me a bit worried though because I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending of her other book. I guess we'll see! Lovely reviews as always, Mimi! x
ReplyDeleteAw! This DOES sound adorable. Even the cover is super cute.
ReplyDeleteOh, Mimi, your super sweet review makes me want to read it so much! How come you always seem to read the best books ever? This book seems LOVELY and SAD in the same time! Strange combination, but oh wow - from your review, I know that it works amazingly! AWESOME! <3
ReplyDeleteLove story that involves human and ghost always end with bittersweet ending in my opinion. :') That doesn't stop me from reading them though! We always seem to adore the same Contemporary books, Mimi, so I definitely would try to find a way to get this book! <3 :)
Darling Mimi--I knew you'd like this book! It's just as candy sweet as you are, hah. :) I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden
Darling Mimi--I knew you'd like this book! It's just as candy sweet as you are, hah. :) I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden
Aaaah, Mimi, I'm SO glad you loved this! I'm hearing such WONDERFUL things, and to see you review it with so much warmth and affection is what is finally tipping me over the edge. I am SO buying this! AMAZING review! ♥
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed this one, too, and really hope that it helps propel Shirley into the YA mainstream. :)
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