I received this book via Netgalley to give an honest review.
So not only did the title call out to me but what the book was about did as well.
When I first started reading Dinah's story my heart broke for her, to be treated like she was by her boyfriend was heartbreaking. We go back and forth between Dinah and her roommate Jeyne which I really did like. Jeyne is going for her medical degree and so one night after having a confrontation with Dinah about a party going on in the apartment she leaves, but when she comes back that is when things turn interesting. The secret they both end up sharing is one they have to keep quiet about but we all know secrets can't stay secrets for long.
What Dinah doesn't know about her roommate is that Jeyne has dealt with people like her boyfriend before and I loved how we got a bit of a backstory of Jeyne. That was something I wasn't expecting especially since she seemed a bit more mysterious as a character.
Really enjoyed the story line and how we see both characters deal with different things to growing in a way. We see Dinah and how she handles being abused, to being questioned, and possibly finding happiness. Jeyne we see handle a difficult situation, to finding love and friendship.
The only issue I had with this story was the age of the characters. Jeyne I can see being a college kid as she is going to be doctor. Dinah on the other hand is a teacher and partying late at night just don't make no sense to me. It was just something that felt off with that so I dropped the rating down.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

They say you can't go home, and that's even more true when talking about a small town. Graciela knew that when returning, but that couldn't stop her need to run and escape when her life fell apart. In many ways the paranormal mystery takes a backseat to Graciela recovering and pulling her life back together. Though I really think the ghost helped that more than hurt. Fortunately Graciela was open minded about the paranormal, so rather than the ghost bothering her, she embraces the mystery presented.

Graciela was really hurting. She'd lost her mother, her grandmother, not to mention her broken engagement when she caught the rat cheating on her. She also had to deal with her grandfather's fading health. She spent much of the first third of the book rather depressed as one would expect. Really, the list of crap this woman has had to deal with is long and very sad.

I liked Graciela. She was sassy and fun (when she finally stopped her pity party). She seemed to meet her match in the new mayor Beau, who she loved to call Mr. Mayor to irk him. I enjoyed their budding friendship and relationship. Frankly I was worried she might go after her first love in her despair. Not Quite Dead isn't just a paranormal mystery, it's a story about mending friendships, starting over-- and it really makes one realize how precious life really is.

The mystery surrounding Anne Bonny's ghost is interesting, and I liked the romps back through history. While I really enjoyed the plot, it moved a tad slowly for my taste. I found myself skimming more than I like to. It was also quite sad and a bit of a downer at times. I do not recommend reading this if you're feeling down, save it for a brighter day. The ending is quite intriguing, letting the reader know that Graciela's life will not be boring.

I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl. 

Not Quite Dead surprised me in many ways, all of them good. I connected with Graciela, Gracie, right away - she's snarky, spirited, and a loving, devoted granddaughter. She's come back to Heron Creek to take care of her grandpa, who isn't doing well health wise, and while she's nursing a broken heart with alcohol every night, I really didn't think she was over indulgent in her self pity. She handled her fiance cheating on her better than I would have handled it. 

Thinking she will get a reprieve from heartbreak and totally awkward situations for a while, Gracie couldn't be more wrong. Barely back for twenty-four hours, she comes face to face with her first love who married her childhood best friend. Yikes! I was relieved, actually, that this wasn't going to be a story where a girl runs from her cheating fiance and finds the perfect place to let her broken heal perfectly. Not Quite Dead is realistic, which I appreciated - Gracie has a lot of history in Heron Creek, and because of that, there are unpleasant situations she must deal with here, too.

The close relationship Gracie has with her grandpa warmed my heart and also brought tears with all of the little signs letting her know just how bad off he really is. I forgot several times that she only spent her summers in Heron Creek - with the love in her voice coming through loud and clear while reminiscing about spending time with her grandparents and going swimming with friends, I could tell how close her ties are to the town. 

The young and handsome mayor had me laughing out loud with his banter with Gracie. He added humor which was a nice balance with the more serious topics addressed in this story, topics like cheating, depression, alcohol use, and domestic violence. There's a touch of romance, too, and I appreciated it wasn't the focus of the story but was happy it was there. 

The mystery of whether Gracie is really seeing a ghost or if someone is trying to scare her away kept me glued to my Kindle. This book seemed so real it felt like everything in it could really happen. The voices of the characters, the way Payne paints scenes in her story, and the ease with which she draws you into the world she's created all lend the feeling of realness to Not Quite Dead. This was a great story to get lost in, and I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from here.

A new adult, paranormal romance with ghosts! And no, no one is in love with a ghost.  Graciela Harper returns to the small town of Heron Creek, South Carolina to take care of her grandfather who is not doing to well health wise.  She is also using the homecoming as a retreat after an embarrassing break-off engagement.  Gracie has to quickly come to terms with being an adult,with her grandfather's health, old friends with new dynamics and a cousin who might be in an abusive relationship, even though she would rather drown her sorrows in alcohol and not come out of her bedroom.  Meeting the town's hunky new mayor doesn't help matters; neither does the appearance of the town's rather insistent resident ghost, Anne Bonny.  It seems that Gracie is the only one who can see Anne and Anne really wants Gracie to do something for her.

This was a good mix of genres, a cute romance, a light haunting and plenty of family drama.  Gracie starts out as a pretty pitiful mess, but she has a fierce love of her family and history.  It was a little hard to connect with her in the beginning, but things picked up for me when the ghost of Anne Bonny started to appear.  I liked the tie-in's with actual history and learning more about Anne Bonny and Mary Reid, actual women pirates.  I also enjoyed going back in time for a while with Anne's journal entries.  The added mystery of what Anne wanted Gracie to find was fun, but I could see where it was going.  I am anxious to see what happens in the next book as Gracie is left with another ghostly dilemma.  Overall, a fun, light, different type of ghost story.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.  

This book is Set During Summer for Summer Bookish Bingo