Florence Day, unironically, is a ghostwriter who sees ghosts. Growing up in a family that, quite literally, is in the business of putting the dead to rest, she’s grown to live with the “talent” only her and her father possess, largely suppressing that side of herself for most of her adult life.

But Florence is haunted by other things, too. Working the past few years as a ghostwriter for a very successful romance novelist, she’s made a career out of living in the shadows. Only now there’s a problem- the scorned novelist has fallen out of love with love.

Suffering from writer’s block, Florence begs her new, no nonsense editor for yet another extension, to which he declines. Then she receives word her father, the man who taught her how to prepare for the worst in life and in death, has passed on. Now Florence finds herself returning to a home that’s been dead to her for years. With her career on life support, and the dead coming a knocking again, she’s finding it’s not only old habits that die hard. Can she find a way to bring all of it to rest- in peace?

Unbelievably, The Dead Romantics is the first book I’ve read by author, @heyashposton. In my defense, however, it is her first foray into adult fiction, not that the reader would ever know that. 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕? Spoiler alert, it’s REALLY hard. In many ways, The Dead Romantics is the antithesis to the romance genre, and yet it’s super swoony, all at the same time. As if acing the romance portion of this novel wasn’t enough, Poston also serves up a healthy dose of humor and puns that are to die for, all while thoughtfully paying respect to the dead themselves.

Ok, so I think I’ve gushed enough. All that’s left to say is if you’re a fan of around the way romances that make you feel alive, The Dead Romantics, truly, knocks ‘em dead.

Huge thanks to PRH International, and Ashley Poston for my E-ARC in exchange for the honest review.

The Dead Romantics was a sweet ghosty romance full of self-discovery, forgiveness, and heartwarming family moments. It follows the story of Florence, who works as a ghostwriter for a well-known romance author and can communicate with spirits. It's something only she and her father are capable of. She's having problems finishing her next romantic novel since she's lost faith in love. She visits her new editor, Benji, an attractive guy with whom she has a crush. He refuses to offer her a deadline extension, but none of that matters now that her father has gone. Florence will not only have to mourn her father's death, but she will also have to assist a ghost who she is startled to see Ben.

It was a sweet romantic story with paranormal aspects tossed in. I liked the characters, especially Florence and Ben, and was curious to see where their mutual connection would take them. The buildup was a little sluggish for me, and I found the main character a little stressful until she found her feet, but the climax was fantastic. I enjoyed the sharp humor and book conversation. I like Florence's learning about herself and asking for aid from others, and I felt the paranormal part was an interesting spin on a relationship. Everything in this book about loss, life, death, love, and hope got me right in the feels. This book's treatment of mourning is beautiful. The narrative has excellent depth and may make you laugh and cry simultaneously.

Poston dared to ask "what if Casper were sexy?" This is a beautiful story about returning to your hometown, grieving, and flirting with a ghost. My only complaint is it could have been sexier, but I respect Ashley's restraint and also enjoyed it as is.

I really enjoyed this sweet and unique book!

Florence is such a sympathetic character it was hard not to empathize with her: dealing with a bad breakup, family drama, and work issues. There are also some hilarious moments in this book; one of my favorites was the meet-cute with editor, Benji Andor.

I also liked this little peek inside the publishing world. As Florence puts it, it may seem romantic from the outside but on the inside it was a kind of corporate hell.

This book reminded me of a couple of romcom movies that are on many people’s top 10 list, but I don’t want to mention them because it will give away one of the plot twists.

I highly recommend you give this book a try!

I don't typically read supernatural fiction, but I'm glad I picked this up. It's an interesting mix of the main character exploring grief (both in death of a loved one and ending of a relationship) and finding a new romance. While I figured out part of the plot very early on, I still enjoyed it.

Florence is not having a good day. She ghostwrites for a famous romance author and the book is due, now. Unfortunately, she no longer believes in love or HEA endings. Her ex broke her heart, her new editor threatens legal action if the book wasn't delivered, and she receives a call that her father has died.
Florence heads to her hometown, which she left after her high school graduation and hoped never to see again. But her family's business, Days Gone Funeral Home, and her mother and siblings are still there, even if she can't believe her father won't be waiting for her. The ghosts will still be there too, those that only Florence and her father could see. She doesn't imagine seeing her father's ghost, but a knock at the door raises her hopes. She is shocked to see her new editor, Benji Andor's ghost at her door!
So in addition to her grief and guilt for not coming home and spending more time with her father, and the Six Feet Under vibes from her family, she has avoided making eye contact with any ghosts since she moved to NYC. She kissed Ben when he was alive though, and to make things a bit more complicated, could she be falling in love with a ghost?
This was such an unusual story with such quirky characters and I enjoyed every minute of it.5 ghostly glowing stars!

Oh my heart

Did you ever love a book so much you had a hard time putting your thoughts on paper ? That’s me with this book.
There is a meet cute, an untimely death, a whole bunch of bad jokes and a few love stories that will tear at your heart strings.
All the emotions are in this timeless story of how we view death and what happens after. When presented with the death of a loved one most of us will express grief and sadness and will not want to go on. But the Day family approaches death with open arms and hearts.
No matter how far you may travel, your family will welcome you back. And your parents will most likely always find your hiding spots and will be proud of you and what you have achieved.
Love. Grief. Family. Ghosts. That is what life is all about. If we just stop and listen to the wind we can hear all the voices of those who have gone before us. And maybe. Just maybe. We will see them all on the other side.

So, to make a long story short, I absolutely positively loved everything about this book. It ranks up there with another book that deals with death and grief in such a loving and compassionate way. And, I may have cried writing this review.

Thank you to Let’s Talk Books Promo and Berkley Publishing for my eARC and PRHaudio for my complimentary audiobook

Florence Day is the ghost writer for Ann Nichols, a bestselling romance novelist, although very few people know this secret. When Florence has a horrible breakup with her boyfriend, Lee Marlow, she finds herself unable to finish her last book. Instead she suddenly has a case of writer's block because she doesn't believe in love any more. It's been a year since the breakup and Florence is still in a funk. When Florence goes to ask her new editor, Benji Andor for another extension, she is surprised to find that he is young and very attractive....but he tells her no on the extension. That night Florence and her roommates go out for some drinks. When Florence unexpectantly sees her ex she rushes outside of the bar and runs into Ben where the two end up kissing. While kissing they get interrupted by her phone ringing and it ends up being her mom giving her the worst news ever....her dad has passed away. Florence leaves to get to her hometown as soon as possible. It has been ten years since Florence left and has never looked back after all what happened during her childhood and her family run funeral home. While trying to come to grips with everything that has happened, Florence runs into a ghost of the last person she would ever expect to. As Florence tries to help the ghost, he ends up also helping her and gets her to realize that love may not be dead after all.

I freaking loved this book! I loved the relationships Florence had with each person in her life. I also loved the surprise ending and I can admit I was hoping for it to happen for the last half of the story! Overall this was a well written story with fun, quirky characters that I highly recommend.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! I definitely wished that I saved this as more of a spooky season read but my life has definitely been changed after reading this. Poston's writing is absolutely addicting and Florence was a captivating narrator. Florence takes you through her own personal journey of grief, confusion, and loss. That being said, this book, despite its name, is much more than a romance. I have been drawn to stories entailing grief and grief in different lights and this book definitely hit the mark. This is my first book by Ashley Poston and seeing how her YA books have also received great reviews, I am so excited to delve into more of her work. This work of love, happiness, authenticity, growth and grief in a supernatural/paranormal setting offers a little something for everyone and is something you don't want to miss out on.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Florence Day lives in NYC with her best friend Rose. She is employed as a ghost writer for Romance novelist Ann Nichols. And she also talks to and sees ghosts. Her now ex-boyfriend, Lee Marlow, capitalized on her stories and wrote a book (basically) about her. Now she believes romance is dead and can’t seem to finish the last chapter to the newest Ann Nichols book. Looking for an extension, Florence meets with her new editor, Benji Andor, who also is very sexy and very much believes in romance. Benji denies her the extension. Then a series of unfortunate events happens after that… she runs into her ex, who is reading from his new book (the one about her) and then gets a phone call her father died.

Now Florence finds herself back home in Mairmont, SC…. It’s been 10 years. You see, kids aren’t so kind to kids who can see and talk to ghosts. She also happened to bring home a surprise guest, the ghost of Benji.

I absolutely adored this story. I loved the interaction with Florence and her family as they learn to forgive and to also heal. And how ghost Benji also happens to teach Florence how to love again. So what happens, you ask? You will want to one-click this hilarious, swoony, haunting tale.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Pub for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Having read several of Poston’s YA novels, I had pretty high hopes coming into her adult debut.

She exceeded those expectations and then some. Everything about this story latches onto your heart and mind very quickly. You immediately feel drawn into Florence’s narrative and don’t want to put the book down even for a second.

This is being marketed as a romance, but it’s so much more than that. With themes of grief and familial drama, the story has incredible depth that can simultaneously make you laugh and cry.

While reading this book, someone asked me what the book was like, and the best way I could describe it was if the Netflix TV series The Haunting of Hill House was a romantic comedy and far less terrifying.

This will definitely be on my list of favourite 2022 reads.

The Dead Romantics was basically written for me. It contains everything I love in books; friendly ghosts, family dynamics, the literary world, and romance. I always love books/movies/shows that involve the main character befriending/falling in love with a ghost. Some similar stories that fall into this would be: Just Like Heaven, Meg Cabot's Mediator series, Julie and The Phantoms, I also really appreciated the family aspect of this book. The plot revolves around the main character's father dying and her returning to her hometown for the funeral. Even though this is a sad topic, it didn't make the book overly depressing. The way the character interacted with her family (although there was mild tension) it brought lightness to an otherwise sad topic. The glimpses into the publishing industry were also very interesting and would pique the interest of book lovers.

I knew that I was going to love The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston because I loved The Mediator Series when I was younger. Ghost book boyfriends are real things okay? Okay. Also, a ghostwriter that sees ghosts? Does it get better than that? Yes, it does. Read this book.

Now that I've told you what to do, I'm here to tell you that I inhaled this book. I was stuck in a bit of a book slump and Florence, in her writing slump and grief managed to pull me out of it. Florence had me laughing and crying as she struggled with her career aspirations, her personal demons...err ghosts, and the death of her father. Returning home for the first time after ten years had to have been hard, and I appreciated that it wasn't easy for Florence to not only come home but also to reconnect with her family. It made this story that much more authentic to me. This was so much more than a romance: it is a story of growth; of loving yourself; of remembering who you are.

The Dead Romantics, as you might assume, isn't a light read. It's full of grief and it presents grief in different facets. Grief is heavy and there's a line in this book that will stay with me for years: "[Grief] was full and heavy and drowning because it wasn't the absence of everything you lost - it was the culmination of it all, your love, your happiness, your bittersweet, wound tight like a knotted ball of yarn."

This paranormal love story is poetically haunting and one that you won't want to miss out on.

CW: death of a loved one, cheating (past), gaslighting, bullying

Thank you to Berkley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Berkley for this free e-arc!

I liked this book. It had its moments where I skimmed ahead because I thought it was really wordy/descriptive in places that didn't add to the overall story, but when there was action or dialog it was good!

I didn't think Lee was used the right way as a trigger for Florence, he was physically in places he really didn't make sense to be, and that made it seem forced. I think there could have been some social media or ways to insert him that would have had a similar effect. I also guessed the twist early on, I think she foreshadowed a little too well there.

Overall, I adored Florence and Benji! Florence's family was lovely and OMG Florence's Dad was just...amazing. That was the highlight of the story was his will and all that went into it.

POSSIBLE SPOILER:I am not sure why we are teased a meeting, that disappointed me.

Overall: I am really glad I was able to read this book, I enjoyed the characters, its clear that Poston is super talented at creating characters with depth that will capture you and suck you into a story. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Humor, wit, touch of ghosts and tense family relationships - such an enjoyable read. I may possibly believe in love again.
Florence is late to meet her new editor - holding onto her congratulations gift (a cactus), she needs a minute. To not climb her new editor. Florence quickly moves past her lust as he denies her desperate request for an extension on her manuscript.
Florence ghost writes for one of the most loved romance authors - after a crap breakup with a crap boyfriend, she determines love is dead.
A phone call from home forces Florence to return - 10 years after she ran off to college, refusing to return.
Did I mention she grew up in funeral home? Gah I loved so much about this book.
Oh the family dynamics. The funeral home. The ghosts. And of course the romance - I ate the book whole. Highly recommend.

Florence Day is a ghostwriter for one of the most famous romance authors on the Bestsellers list, but what happens when you no longer believe in love ?
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Florence cannot finish her last book on deadline and when she turns to her new handsome editor for an extension and is declined she turns to a box of Mac and cheese for comfort. None of it matters when she gets a call from home that she needs to return home after her father died.
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For ten years she avoided home. Her family owns a funeral home and Florence and her dad were the only two who could communicate with ghosts. When she returns it was as if she never left.
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She finds the shock of her life when her handsome editor appears in ghostly form. I don’t want to give too much away because this one kept me surprised but it is a really beautiful story.
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Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks and @dg_reads @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston is a heartwarming book about grief, love and the ghosts (real and metaphorical) that in a way hunt us all.

There is something inherently brilliant about the concept of a ghost writer that can actually see ghost and her editor suddenly becoming a ghost, stranded on Earth until she can't deliver her latest book. And it gets even better with an adorable slow burn romance (but I totally understand Florence thinking about climbing Benji five minutes after they meet): I adored how they acted towards each other, always ready to be there for the other (with words and action) and help navigating their peculiar situations- they relationship evolved in such a soft way, and they truly have some of the corniest romantic scenes I've ever read.

While I loved this aspect, what stricken me was Florence's evolution throughout the book, how she slowly comes to realize the impact of the wall she has built to protect herself (but often ended up pushing away those she truly loved and cared about) and to understand that she was worthy so much more, both in her carrier (her experience was such a great insight into the reality of publishing, especially for what it concerns authors whose books "failed" and how this experience can be mentally challenging to handle) and in her love life.

The description of places and feelings were both done so finely, in a way that was fascinating for how alive it felt; there was something especially realistic in the discussion of how grief can deeply shape people, and that it's often a bumpy and complicated road the one to understand how to handle it. Ashley's prose is truly a threat to behold.

The Dead Romantics is a book that made me laugh out loud and cry a little bit, that I recommend to readers that are looking for a fun and cute romance that also deals with delicate topics with all the care they require. (Especially recommended to those who love to read about a golden retriever love interest willing to worship the ground where their partner walks on)

Best books!!! I loved it so much. Family relationship, grief, romance, book world, all things I love. A paranormal twist, “Ghost” and PatrickSwayze kept coming to mind in the best way.. if I capsule wrote a novel, I want to write like this, with perfect sentences coming at the perfect time for maximum effect. So good.

Romance isn’t dead after all!

Sometimes you just need a light, quirky romance and ‘The Dead Romantics’ is that book! No angst, just lots of very original characters and tons of pop culture references. And a smart, handsome (dead? 😉) hero! Take a look at the synopsis, this story is absolutely perfect for fans of Christina Lauren.

I had no idea what this book was about going in and I’m glad I didn’t. I loved the endearing heroine Florence Day and her very odd past! Her secret is that she can see ghosts. She’s had her heart broken by her ex and she’s having a very tough time finishing her latest book which is way past deadline. Well, not really her book, it’s for the author she ghostwrites for!

She doesn’t think anyone besides a close inner circle knows her secret ghostwriting identity. When she meets Ben, the new editor assigned to her, sparks fly. He’s gorgeous!

Lots of twists and turns follow, including Florence having to attend a funeral back in the small town she grew up in. This is a sweet, funny romance, with lots of inside references to the publishing world, authors’ egos, and the romance genre in general.

”I tried publishing once. It didn’t work out. And I definitely did not make millions.” He had barked a laugh.

“Well, that’s because you wrote a romance.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Oh, bunny, you know you can do better.” I faltered.

“Better? . . .”

“No one’s remembered for a romance, bunny. If you want to be a good writer, you gotta make something that lasts.”

Quelle horreur! Romance readers will enjoy this lovely romance, a wonderful escape on a summer day. Loved the cover and the cast of characters and Florence and Ben.

(Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.)

The best ghost stories are love stories and this book was an excellent example of both! I love love love stories that have some quirky stuff going on with death and the afterlife and so I was instantly hooked by the premise here of a writer going home for her mortician dad’s funeral and falling in love with the ghost of her hot new editor. Honestly the middle does drag a bit and some pieces of the ending are rushed but I can’t even dock a star for any of that because this book made me feel so many good things. Everything in here about grief and life and death and love and hope had me deeply in my feelings in the best way. Plus, who doesn’t love a hot ghost?