Unfortunately, this wasn't for me. I don't read a lot of romance so I will admit I don't know what's good, but I do know I get sensitive to cheesy language. I already was skeptical about the premise, but when they were bantering back and forth about mice, I was out. I know I'm in the minority, though.

It was a little slow at the beginning but after 150 pages the 2 main characters start to interact more and the chemistry between them starts growing

This was such a good read. I loved it and it is another one of this author’s masterpieces that I enjoyed. She’s definitely an auto buy author for me. Loved it!

This book is a perfect fit for readers who adore whimsical, small-town Southern charm, quirky family dynamics, and a dash of the paranormal, and are looking for a heartwarming and humorous exploration of love, loss, and self-discovery.

This was a cute read with some weight to it and while I really enjoyed the author's writing style, I also learned that the paranormal plot line just isn't for me. I know many will enjoy!

This was so much fun! I didn't know if I was going to like this one but I ended up really enjoying it! The ghost aspect is fun and the writing is good.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston is a perfect fit for readers who adore whimsical, small-town Southern charm, quirky family dynamics, and a dash of the paranormal, and are looking for a heartwarming and humorous exploration of love, loss, and self-discovery.

Captures grief in a thoughtful way that I haven’t seen in a book before, especially a romance. So moving and witty.

If you're into ghosts, you might enjoy this read. It's not really my thing but I pushed through hoping for more. I did appreciate that this book was the first I read that wove in a non-binary character. I had to re-read the paragraph because I was confused about who "they" was expecting a group, but once I figure out that they referred to a non-binary character, I really appreciated it!

This was delightful! A great romance with an unexpected twist. I appreciated that I genuinely didn't know if there was going to be an HEA or how one would happen. I'm excited to read her next magical romance.

I absolutely adore everything Ashley Poston writes and this was no exception! Even though I guessed the ending's surprise early on, I was delighted with how it played out. My only complaint was that I wish it had been longer! I devoured it and then spent the next week wishing I had more to read! :-)

The Dead Romantics was tender, heartwarming, and absolutely delightful! I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book, Ashley Poston’s writing spoke to me in ways I wasn’t expecting. I adored everything about this romance! I wasn’t sure how it was going to end at first with Ben being a ghost, but I had hope of how I wanted it to end and I was so delighted when I realized that was the direction it was going in. I quite literally could not put this book down and I can’t wait to read more of her books!

Florence Day is a ghostwriter for a famous romance author, but now she doesn’t believe in romance anymore. She’s been stuck and hasn’t been able to finish her latest novel. She meets with her new editor, Benji Andor, who insists that she finish the book. Then, Florence is called home when her father dies suddenly. When she’s at her family’s funeral parlor, she opens the door to find a handsome ghost, who also happens to be Benji. Now Florence has to plan her father’s funeral, finish her novel, and figure out how to help Benji complete his unfinished business and move on. But she may find her own unexpected romance with a forbidden ghost.

This was such a great romance! I love stories with ghosts. Florence not only had the ability to see ghosts, but she was also a ghostwriter who wrote romance novels for a famous author. I loved the forbidden romance between Florence and Benji since he was a ghost and they couldn’t be together. I guessed one of the big twists involving Benji, but there was another one later that really surprised me. I will say that this story had a happy ending!

The Dead Romantics is a fun romance!

Thank you Berkley Romance for providing a digital copy of this book.

Content warnings: death, car accident, coma

This was just an adorable book to read, and it was very clever, too. I usually don't like books with ghosts in it, but this one didn't bother me at all. It really was charming. I definitely would recommend this one.

A heartfelt meditation on life, death, and romance, this book sometimes gets a bit too caught up in its own prose to really deliver a satisfying romance.

When I first read this, I gave it three starts, but I ended up knocking it down to two after our book club discussion about exactly how many scenes, plot points, and sometimes dialogue was just straight ripped from other books and movies.

The biggest problem with this book - aside from too much pop culture name-dropping and the fact that the main character is completely insufferable for at least the first 25% - is that so much of the plot has been done before, and this brings nothing new. We've seen the creative who can't create because they don't believe in love anymore, we've seen the exploited muse, we've seen that specific surprise ending (that was anything but a surprise, come on), we've even seen the whole Ghost Whisperer thing. Despite that, though, I didn't hate it. I just think she wrote the wrong book. If she had focused on Florence's relationship with her family and her grief, with dealing with her past and the town, and even sprinkled in the charming ghost bits, without the shoehorned-in romance and writer's block nonsense mucking it up, that would have been a great book. I could have even enjoyed the writer's block if there was a different reason than a fully grown adult refusing to believe love exists because her relationships didn't look like a fairy tale. There is a good story in there. We just didn't fully get it.

📖 BOOK REVIEW

🎧 THE DEAD ROMANTICS
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: contemporary romance
Did I cry: yes
Published in 2022

💭: I can’t believe i waited so long to read this! I was a little hesitant because I read THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP first & it wasn’t a love but this one blew me away! I absolutely loved the characters. I think they all were developed really well and had such distinct personalities, which played specific roles in the story. I think the entire concept of it was so unique. The plot was for sure the best part of the book. It was so clever — centering the storyline around the idea of a ghost writer doubled with the concept that romance is dead. I never really knew what was coming and was totally just along for the ride.

I love love loved the handling of loss & grief and portraying how grief looks different for everyone. The ending had me bawling it was a perfect wrap up for everyone & i loved how everyone had an ending, not just the main characters. Truly a unique, swoon-worthy romcom that I’m kicking myself for not reading sooner!

I don't know how I missed out on reviewing this books but Poston's creativity knows no bounds. What a unique story, a rarity in the romance genre, I can't wait to see what she comes out with next.

This one revolves around the death of a father and the failure of work success by the daughter who had moved away. It is always cathartic reading about an awesome Dad that has passed, especially during the holidays.
There was also a bittersweet romance between two people that couldn’t be together. But then it wrapped up so sweetly.
Loved all the friends, siblings and parents. The fathers wisdom and words throughout and their shared visions of dead people. Though hated her ex, yuck.
Loved Benji! Climb that tree girl!

This was a delightful book even though it's filled with such a sad event. Florence has always wanted to be a writer and has struggled with getting published. She is currently working as a ghost writer, but because she had a horrendous breakup she doesn't believe in love anymore. She is struggling to finish her last contracted book, but before she cam she gets a phone call that her father has died. Now she has to go back home where she hasn't been in 10 years to help her family bury her father, but is afraid because last time she was home she helped solve a murder by working with the young man's ghost. Because her and her father were able to see ghosts. When she gets home the doorbell rings and she finds the ghost of her new editor. Now she has to figure out how to help her hot new editor ghost figure out how to move on into the afterlife all while struggling to put on the strange funeral her father requested. As she slowly falls in love with her editor's ghost, she also reconnects with her family and friends that she left behind. There were a lot of good moments in this story, though the timeline felt off multiple times. Also, I figured out after the ghosts third or fourth appearance what was really happening and how it was going to end, but it was still a fun read. I was annoyed for the last moment of conflict because I just felt it was unnecessary and hated that her ex was able to get in her head one last time, but a sweet and happy ending.