Beyond excellent. I enjoyed the unique take on what a romance could be. The book didn't fear exploring how grief deepens relationships both romantic and familial. I can't wait to share this book with so many of my library's readers.

I am kind of surprised how much I liked this book. The synopsis did not do this book justice. It was well-written and made me laugh out loud so many times but also cry a lot. I've never lost a close family member like Florence did, but I felt her sorrow and frustration the entire way. I'm definitely the type of person to run away from my problems like Florence has her whole life, but unlike her I don't see ghosts (*shrugs*). I loved Benji and her family so much and Dana, we cannot forget Dana. This book showed that grieving comes in many forms and it's up to the living to remember those who have passed and all the lessons and memories they gave them.

I just basically love anything that Ashley Poston does! She’s a fantastic writer, and seeing as this is her adult debut?? I love it so much! I can’t wait to see what else Ashley has in store! The paranormal twist was definitely one of the best parts of this.

This was one of my top five romance novels of the year, hands down (maybe one of my top five of the year in any genre). The premise sounds ridiculous, but this book is so genuinely heartwarming. It's also hilarious, but gut-wrenching at the same time (CW for death of a parent). It's a love story, sure, but it's about family and what it means to come home. And it's about what happens after you die (sorta). I loved it so much I immediately started reading it again the second I finished it.

What an incredibly unique + charming love story from Ashley Poston! The writing was fun and the plot was original. I kept wondering how a story that revolved so much around death, ghosts, grief and unfinished business could possibly have a happy ending but I was quite pleased with the book's resolution. Kudos to the author for balancing all the feels with all the fun in this story to have it end on a hopeful note. I enjoyed the elements of the small town, reconnecting with family, family business and ghostwriting. The chemistry between the main love interests fell a little flat for me which was disappointing. Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for my copy.

What a great story! I felt like this book gave me a hug. yes, it was sad at time but a great exploration of grief and ended hopeful. This was definitely a sleeper hit for me, I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did. A super sweet story. 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

Wow.

That's really all I have to say about this masterpiece of a book.

This book is so heartfelt. It's full of despair and sadness, but also so much hope. Florence was a wonderful character who's emotions leapt off the page. Ben was so tender, so warm, that it is impossible for the reader to not love him the second he arrives. This book made me laugh, made me cry, and gave me hope for tomorrow, that everything would be okay.

Poston completely knocked it out of the park with this one.

Rating: 4.5

Oh my gosh, this book! I’m not sure my heart will ever recover. This book had me more stressed out than any thriller I’ve read in awhile. Majority of that has to do with the fact that I knew nothing about this book before reading it. I thought it was just going to be a small town romance about two people who worked in the book world. I read only part of the synopsis and that was months before I finally read the book.

Let me tell you, this book was FANTASTIC. I literally stayed up till midnight because I had to find out how it was going to end. I struggled with wanting to skim read to know the truth but I didn’t want to take away from enjoying the book as a whole. While I did guess the ending from really early on the author still had me stressed out because if I wasn’t right I was going to be so disappointed.

I really loved the bond Florence had with her family, especially with her father. This book made me cry multiple times which just made me love it that much more. The writing was well done and even though the pacing could get a little slow it was sometimes needed to continue setting the scene. The characters were so loveable and truly had their own personalities. I found myself wanting to get to know more about all of them. Both Ben and Florence were relatable and I loved how they treated one another. There was no insta-love instead they had swoon worthy scenes and their chemistry together was off the charts. I really really wish I could say more about this book but honestly going in blind like I did is the best move! I really really wish I could say more about this book but honestly going in blind like I did is the best move!

Thank you so much @berkleyromance for the gifted copy on #netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was an absolute DELIGHT. The synopsis alone was enough to sell me, but Ashley Poston backed it up with an incredibly well-written, heart-warming, fun story.

The Dead Romantics follows Florence, a ghostwriter for a famous romance author who happens to not believe in love...and who can also see ghosts. And because she no longer believes in romance, Florence is suffering from writer's block, much to the displeasure of her new (and incredibly handsome) editor. After the sudden death of her father, she heads back to her hometown to help her estranged family with his funeral arrangements. The story did a fantastic job balancing grief and family issues with humor and romance. Everything about it was smartly written and I was blown away by how cohesive the different elements blended together to create a really well-rounded novel.

Highly recommend this one! Especially for fans of Meg Cabot's The Mediator series or the tv show Ghosts!

Unique premise from Ashley Poston, the author of the highly successful YA series Geekerella. With a nod to the movie, Just Like Heaven, Poston deftly weaves a nearly tragic love story between grieving ghostwriter (and begrudging ghost whisperer) Florence and her spectral editor, Ben. Between romantic betrayals, the tragic death of a loved one, and the pressure to finish a long-overdue romance novel (the last in a 4 book deal made by the author Florence ghost writes for), we are left to wonder if the ghosts of the past can be exorcised to make room for a forever kind of love.

It’s so refreshing to read about a heroine who, with the help of loved ones, is able to see that her nasty betrayal and breakup is in no way her fault and a hero who is the epitome of the charming and sensitive book boyfriend. It’s a very slow burn with no steamy sex scenes, but you won’t miss them because the trajectory of their relationship is something you’ve never seen the likes of. Add in an off-beat, loving, misunderstood family of undertakers, and you have a winning ghost/love story for the ages. Highly recommend.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I spent more time than I care to admit sobbing while reading THE DEAD ROMANTICS. Like, actual out loud sobbing.

That being said, this was a right book/right time situation and your milage may vary.

Firstly, I am in a hopelessly romantic mood this week. *GASP* I know. Jess having feelings is a 5 star review all on its own, but yeah. In the beginning of the book I can 100% identify with how Florence feels about love. Because that's usually how I feel too. But this week. Idk, the universe is being weird. It's that semi-annual event where I'm like "Should I make a dating profile?" The answer is always no. But I do think about it.

Also, this book deals very heavily with death and grief and being very chill about the idea of death AND seeing ghosts. Part of me feels like a true romance reader may not enjoy this book quite as much as I did for that reason. Because the romance definitely takes a back seat to all of the death. But here's where the second half of the right book/right time comes in to play. My sister died earlier this year. And reading books with death has been kind of a no-go for me for a while.

There's not a better book to have re-introduced me to death on this level. This family who has so been surrounded by death (the MC's father was the mortuary director in their small town) who knows that it's more about celebrating the life and the memories than about shutting down and forgetting to keep living. There was so much of this book that really resonated with me and how I've been feeling and just remembering that we're not alone, ya know?

What hit me the hardest was Florence talking about how the wind blowing around her was made up of the air her father had breathed. It's just this simple line that holds so much impact. Am I still crying while writing this review? Yes. Yes I am.

The romance, ah the romance. I loved Florence and Ben. They were adorable and mismatched in all of the best ways. He legit called her a chaos gremlin and girl, I can relate! Seeing them together, fictional as they are, gave me some kind of hope. And while I hate that for me, I love a book that makes me feel.

I don't really have more coherent thoughts than this. There's a million other things I could talk about but I can't string the words together at the moment.

This book is delightful, hopeful and so endearing. You have to be a creative, imaginative and soulful person to enjoy this, but I definitely did.

I loved the messages about grief and the balance of supernatural/human. This is truly “romance isn’t dead” in a book and I loved it!

I have LOTS of quotes from it so I won’t forget it anytime soon!

"𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳."

Editor Benji Andor declares this to Florence Day, a ghostwriter who also sees ghosts, in 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗦, and if his words also describe how you feel about romance novels, this is the book for you.

Ashley Poston not only delivers a beautiful love story, she also tackles grief and heartbreak and figuring out who you are in a truly touching way. And the writing! I got lost in it. At one point, Florence explains how an ex compared her work to something light and fluffy like candy and her rebuttal writing perfectly sums up how I feel about this book as well:

"𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 - 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵."

Thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the copy to review.

Sometimes taking a new, or new to me, author really pays off and that was the case with The Dead Romantics. Poston creates interesting characters, a unique story and a rewarding ending.

Florence meets her new editor and is quite surprised to find he's totally attractive but cryptic. Does he know she ghost written the last several best sellers for the famous author she's supposedly the assistant for? Is there any way he will give her the time she needs to finish the final book on the contract? How did life get to be such a mess? One break up and she's lost her belief in love and happily ever after which is giving her a terrible case of writer's block.

I liked the unique situation Poston puts Florence in. I hate to see her struggling with love. It's tragic that her beloved father suddenly passes. It's a little Hallmark-like that she ends up back home and finds life as she knew it isn't so unbearable. She works through a lot with her mother and siblings and deals with her ability to see and talk to the dead.

The journey was interesting, the characters well-defined and sympathetic and the story was a fun, if at times depressing, read. I really enjoyed it and am glad I took the chance on it.

Thanks to the author, Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC.

I picked this up on a whim, mostly because I knew it was set in the world of publishing, and you know I'm a sucker for book world stories. Florence Day makes her living writing bestselling romance novels that are published under somebody else's name; only one person knows she's truly a ghostwriter and not that author's personal assistant as she claims. This puts her in a tricky spot when she tries to tell her handsome new editor that she—er, her boss—won't be able to meet her deadline. She doesn't tell him the true problem: after a bad breakup, she doesn't believe in love anymore, so she sure can't write about it. But before she can sit down to try and make the words come, her father dies. When she returns home for the first time in a decade she finds the family she loves (and the funeral home they run) the same as they've ever been, even though her father is gone. She <em>also</em> finds a ghost standing at the funeral home front door who looks remarkably like her editor, who seems to have died with unfinished business that's somehow connected to Florence. It sounds bonkers, but it's sweet and fun and—as far as the audiobook was concerned—compulsively listenable.

This was such a great book about a woman who is a romance ghostwriter doesn't believe in love after her breakup but also has to go back home to bury her father where she also meets a ghost. I heard great things about Poston's writing and let me say that I wasn't disappointed at all. Poston is an incredible writer that knows what to bring to her readers with creating a beautiful story and world but also bringing in a perfect touch of paranormal. There was so much meaning behind this book as the main character deals with grief, pain and love. There was also perfect amount of humor to keep everything light hearted. Honestly the whole writing was wonderfully done.

The main character in this book is Felicia who is a woman trying to find herself and see where she belongs. I can see myself in her and I feel that so can other readers. I enjoyed her story development and is one of the best ones I read so far this year. There are also many side characters in this book like Felicia's family and hottie Ben who helped Felicia with her journey. There were the ghosts of course too. The romance is a slow burn and it was a cute relationship development with bits of steamy scenes.

I ending was well done and I really loved this book. It was such a great, cute read. I do feel like I read something similar to this book so I won't say that the story is original but Poston is incredible writer with her flowing writing. I didn't have any problems with this book and totally recommend reading it. It's perfect for fans of You've Reached Sam and All This Time.

Thank you so much for the chance to review this title for our Independent Bookstore! We will definitely be hand selling this title in our store and plan to include them as a romance selection for our Fall Subscription Boxes! I really enjoyed the character development and pace of the book. I liked that it was un unlikely setting for a typical romance, so much around a funeral home and death. But, it added so much depth to the story! Really loved it! Thank you!

“I might have just been a weird girl who gave him a cactus and a book… but maybe, just maybe, I was more.”

Initially I was on the fence- a ghostwriter who can communicate with ghosts? Ehhhh… lets just say I was SKEPTICAL. However, Poston’s ability to tell Florence’s story with so much light and love- I was very quickly won over. Obviously death is discussed at large here. But Poston adjusted the lens to emphasize the importance of celebrating the lives of those we have loved and lost. I had so many tears at the end, and truly- most of them were happy.

This book was such a homerun for me. I will definitely be checking out whatever Ashley Poston writes next!

I adore Ashley Poston, but THIS book had me so excited to read it I was thrilled when I was approved to read an early copy because I didn't think I could wait for my preorder to arrive. I'm STILL swooning from reading, it's one of those books I couldn't write a review of immediately because I just wanted to cherish and reflect and I cannot wait for her to write more amazing adult titles for us!

Supernatural vibes aren't normally my jam, but I was so intrigued by the concept of this book, and Poston wrote it so well I was instantly in love with these characters and everything about them. A ghostwriter, who falls for her editor who appears to her as a ghost during a tragic, emotional time in her life? SWOON.

Who knew this could work out so perfectly?! From Florence's family being the town mortician to the way we saw her struggle with her self-confidence in her job, her place in the world, and her ability to see ghosts was so well-executed in the plotline, it seemed like she and Ben were truly meant to be and I enjoyed every minute of it.

"These last few days have been ... beautiful. It's a good ending, darling. As your editor, I have no notes."

& that author's note made me want to befriend Ashley IRL even more, to talk ghosts, anxiety, and just gush to her about how her books make me feel. Pick this one up, hold it like a hug and enjoy.

Thank you Berkley Romance + NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review, I picked up a signed copy as well and cannot wait to recommend it to anyone I can.

I loved this book so much. An author who can SEE GHOSTS? Yes. I was a little worried about reading it so soon after Book Lovers and maybe having an overload of the publishing industry, but this really held it's own. I also was a little worried about paranormal romance. My one foray into that was Layla by CoHo and that was a huge no from me, but Florence and Ben's relationship was done so well. It's not only a story of love - but grief, family, and living your life to the fullest. Poston's writing is witty at times but also so vulnerable.

I can't recommend this one enough.