The Dead Romantics is beautiful and emotive paranormal contemporary that follows Florence Day, a ghostwriter for a bestselling romance author, who no longer believes in romance or happily ever after and was having very bad day – New editor, Ben, refused to give her extension of deadline for the last book she is ghostwriting for the author; Her ex’s new book is coming out that is actually her story he stole; and she receives news of her father’s death that makes her return to her hometown that chased her away a decade ago. To make it worse when she returns home she finds ghost of Ben at her family’s funeral parlor. It was interesting to see how she will deal with loss, ghost of new editor, family wounds, her past with the town, and the deadline of the book.

The story is about grief, loss, death, betrayal, unresolved past, self-belief, confidence, friendship, acceptance, and learning the meaning of love.

The best part is the setting of Days Gone Funeral Home and Mairmont, its community, characters and most of all how death, loss, and grief is dealt in the story. it was beautiful the way the author represented it, how every person deals with their loss, and I loved how Day family chose to deal with it. Even though the theme of the book is serious and emotive, it doesn’t feel too poignant. There is equal amount of love, happiness, and comfort.

Overall, this is poignant, touching, heartwarming, beautiful and ghostly paranormal contemporary with many layers and amazing quirky characters.

A very sweet romance with a tiny paranormal twist. This book was a breath of fresh air from everything else I was reading. The humour hit me in all the right places. I laughed, and I did actually cry a little, and I loved the ending so much! I liked that the book did not focus solely on the love story between the main characters, but also touched on themes of grief, love between family members, and rediscovering one self. All in all, this was a great, fun read!

I absolutely loved this book. I'm a fan of ghost romance, which I didn't expect this to be. But it wasn't only ghost romance. It was so much more.
There were a few things that didn't work for me...for example, when she runs into Ben outside of work, why in the world did they do what they did? It didn't make sense for me for that to happen at that point in the story, and was really never discussed or acknowledged by either of them ever again. But that didn't deter from the overall loveliness of the story.
The characters are unique and fun.
Death and grief are portrayed well. It especially resonated with me that Florence kept thinking, "Dad is dead." That's what it like when something as big as death hits someone you love. It's a constant process of remembering and forgetting that they're gone in order to get through your days. I also liked that Florence and her family still found humor in their grief.
There could have been a bit more to the romance to get it started, but it's still a five star read for me because it wrapped me up in Florence's world and I wanted to both hurry up to see how it all turned out, but also slow down and savor it because I enjoyed the book that much.

There are three things to know about Florence Day: She does not believe in love, she is a ghost writer, and she can see ghosts.

She can no longer avoid her hometown because she needs to attend a funeral of someone she cared very much about. She has to face the ghosts of her pasts, but also the ghost of her new handsome editor that she may have kissed right before he became a ghost.

This is a charming story about a a writer who learns to embrace her past and her present. Ashley Poston weaves together humor and wit, with grief and loss. There are many layers to Florence and readers will sure to find some way to relate to her.

One thing that I loved about this story is that even though Florence is processing grief, it is not a "sad" book. It was really a book about loving and celebrating life.

First off, HUGE thank you for the opportunity to read this book via an ARC through Net Galley!

I enjoyed this book so much, I believe I read it in 2 days; could have been faster, but life... ugh, it gets in the way of reading! :)

This was my first book of Polston's and I have recommended it to just about everyone I know that reads and number of books. This is one of few books I have read that I wish I could re-read for the first time, over and over again! I think that is why I share it with so many of my book friends- I am living vicariously through them and their first time reading this book! As you can tell, I loved this book!

The hero in this book is a ghost, a dreamy ghost! After an accident he takes on the task to help the female lead through a couple of hard times, a death and finishing a book as she was ghostwriter for a popular author.

There are plot twists all throughout this book, while some were expected, some were 1000% not, and I loved each and every one of them! At one point in the book, I was not so sure the book would end in a happy ending, which not every book has to, but I desperately wanted Polston to end this on a loving, happy note. Without giving any spoilers, I can tell you, she met my expectations!

Review: 5/5
TW/CW: Death of a parent, Death of a child (mentioned)

Florence Day is a romance writer currently ghostwriting for a well-known author. While on deadline, Florence has to fly back to her hometown after hearing that her father has passed away. Randomly, a ghost shows up at the doorsteps of her family's funeral parlor, confused as her. YES. This book has my heart now. The writing was beautiful. The characters were heartwarming. I loved this story so much. This is a paranormal romance but don't be fooled.. there is a happy ending! I loved this concept and where the author took this story. It made me laugh and cry at the same time. It was amazing. The book's voice was so poetic it almost felt nostalgic (and if you know me the more poetic it sounds the more I'll love it). I definitely recommend it if you also love those types of books. Not for everyone, but still lovely.

Thank you Berkley for the arc.

I was little hesitant to read this one, as I was not sure about the concept. But after seeing several friends rave about it, I decided to pick it up. And the Dead Romantics by Ashley Posten did not disappoint! I absolutely devoured this book. Read it in one sitting, which is hard for me to do these days! When I say this book had me in its grip, I could not stop reading wondering how Florence was going to get her HEA. This was a beautiful, moving, and delightful love story!! A must read!


Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.

When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won't give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.

For ten years, she's run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.

Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.

Romance is most certainly dead . . . but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.

A very cool book with a different storyline that was nice! I liked the characters and the journey they went through to get to their ending!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

This is a perfect spooky season read! As my shelftalker at work says, “Funeral homes are oddly sexy!” I loved the uniqueness of this plot and learned more about undertaking than I previously knew. Several of my friends are ghostwriters, so it was fun to read about the struggles with that as well.

4.5 stars
TW: Death, grieving, ghost, murder, crime solving, betrayal & bullying

A love story is more than just romance. It's grief, joy, sadness & anger all tied up in love; so many different types of love with a romance that works within all those stages.
I loved the little supernatural element in this book and how it was perfectly balanced with the romance and sweetness of the writing.

After leaving her hometown and family, she loves to live her dream as a writer (or ghostwriter) and get away from an image that wouldn't unstick, Florence is left unprepared when her father dies, AND she has to deal with the spirit of her book publishing boss. Coping with grief and trying to deal with falling in love with her boss's spirit, you follow a bitter and sweet romance.

I loved this perfect adult romance version of The Hollow trilogy - a YA series I loved as a teen. They both are ghost love stories that UTTERLY captivated me!
ALSO writing books and having people love your work & expensing books for your job... MY DREAM!

I just could not get into this book for the life of me. It had everything I could want in a fall read but it just felt like it slogged on and on. I felt like there were too many references to current media that will date this book almost immediately. That may just be a personal turn-off but it was strong and in your face from the first chapter.

An easy breezy recommend for patrons who love romance but don’t know they love romance. Solid writing and plot.

The Dead Romantics
By Ashley Poston

The story is about Florence Day, a writer who is about given up on love, with a deadline to finish her book.
Hiding from everything will not solve her problems nor write her book, but she returns home when her father passes away, and we learn quickly something special she shares with her father, and the funeral parlor their family runs.

I really enjoyed my time with all the characters in The Dead Romantics – the story was complex, with a little surprise and twists at every turn, and I just loved it to pieces.

The Dead Romantics made me believe in love again and that romance is not dead – no way.
Ashley Poston writes a heartwarming romance read that I found utterly romantic, with an eccentric protagonist I absolutely love reading about, and a very creative way of setting up this meet cute.

I enjoyed this book although, personally, I would classify it as Fiction with a super strong romance theme because of how it ends. However, I don't feel that the love story between Florence and Ben was the sole focus of the story. Really, it was about Florence's journey as she reconciled with all the changes that had happened to her in the last year. And she came out stronger and Ben was there but really it was a journey of self-discovery. So, if you're looking for a pure ghost romance, while this will be an enjoyable read, it may not scratch that particular itch.

I feel that it touched on the subject matter of all kinds of grief very well without being too much in any regard. Now there were moments where the grief was very real and raw and those parts were especially hard for me to read and I imagine it would be that way for anyone who has experienced a parental death. But still, it was hopeful towards the end which is always nice. I would recommend with the associated and expected content warnings of parental death.

Okay, so full confession I had multiple thoughts running through my mind with most of this book. I am SO THANKFUL they all came true. I mean seriously, I was like PLEASE be true. I can’t really say much more than that without fully giving away the plot (and y’all know how much I dislike doing that!).

Now, having said that Florence Day (I mean what a great MC name!!) is a ghostwriter for a famous romance author, who originally grew up in a funeral home (I mean seriously can’t make this up). She’s behind on her deadline for the last novel she’s going to write as this ghostwriter, and has to meet with a new editor- all while of course believing that Love is Dead. Needless to say Florence does NOT feel like this meeting goes well.

Florence and her editor Ben have these bazaar run ins that I find a little perplexing at the beginning, but are explained in more detail later on. During the midst of these details I do find a few STRANGE things Ben says that I was cringy just a little, but all was made a bit better by the ending when my HOPES were fulfilled, haha!

I really wanted to have MORE details about the ending of the book- seriously the last 30% of the book is totally worth the “she talks to dead people” parts.Just keep reading y’all, it becomes so good!

Thank you to @berkleypub and @prhaudio for my copy, thank you @berittalksbooks for the great discussion, as always! Such a fun time!

Lots of raves for this title so I gladly purchased for my library. However, the ghost story line didn't do it for me so I put the book aside. Thank you NetGalley for the advance e-copy.

I've never read something from Ashley Poston but now she has my full attention.
This book is everything I search in a novel: a mix of light-hearted and serious moments, woven magistrally together. The Dead Romantics is irriverent, funny, written in a style that I've personally adored and made me immediately empathize with the story and the characters.
Ashley Poston reworked some usual tropes adding peculiar elements that aren't easy to manage for sure. How can you talk about death in a contemporary romance, without being burdensome? This author creates the most adorable story in which there's respect for death but also a spotlight for the importance of being happy and celebrate life with the people you love. Also, it focuses on overcoming the fear of being a "nobody" in a world full of special and talented people. Everyone shines in their peculiar way, even if it's something easy to forget, and Florence is brilliant, even if she doesn't believe in herself, especially after her ex-boyfriend crushed her heart. Dull? Absolutely not. It's not the ending of the relationship the problem, but HOW it ended and how she was treated that made her loose hope on love and so on her ability to write loves stories. In fact, she arrives to believe that love ends always with suffering and pain, and maybe she's also simply not worth of it. And then her father dies and Ben's ghost arrives at her funeral parlor’s front door. This is the turning point for her to come back to believe and open herself to love again, reconnecting a relationship with her siblings and especially the town she fled from years ago.
I won't make spoilers, so I'll be brief. The magic component is very cute, I really love the way the interactions with ghosts, but I think one of the most important elements of this book was linked on Florence's father's figure. His love for his family and work is always there, enveloping the story like a warm blanket and I've loved it so much.
Moreover, the romance was perfect. I cheered for this couple from the first page I saw them together and I've adored how the whole plot has been developed.
If I have to find a "negative point" I say that the clarifying moment could have been a little bit longer, maybe even slightly more difficult, but really, I've adored all.
So, when can I read about Florence and Ben again?

Overall an enjoyable story that offers readers a sweet meet cute, unresolved family issues, humor, sorrow, romance, and an unusual HEA. Readers may find that the story is geared more toward woman's fic than romance as the story focuses strongly on a young woman's journey back home for a funeral the reasons she left in the first place. A fast read that leaves you satisfied at the end.

Wow. I am emotional. This book blew my socks off, seriously it's unlike any other romance or contemporary book I've read. It had me smiling, but also had me openly weeping a few times with absolutely no shame. I fell completely for Florence and her family and her hometown. I would visit in a heartbeat. A family owned funeral parlor and someone who can see ghosts?! What could be better. I also fell for Ben because he's not the typical romance hero that we see a lot of, both he and Florence are very introverted and have a lot of self blame that is unwarranted, but I could absolutely relate to. I love them throughout the book and I don't want to spoil anything, but gah I loved it!!

The Dead Romantics is the story of Florence Day, a ghostwriter for a hugely successful romance author. Florence grew up in a small town-in a funeral home. Her childhood was full of love, though it was admittedly a bit unusual. She and her father have one very special trait in common: they can see and communicate with ghosts. This gift didn't have a profound impact on her life until as a young adult, she helped solve a murder. She's been misunderstood ever since and is on the precipice of destroying her career because she no longer believes in love. As in any great romance, she's called home because of a tragedy. This book is very much about grief, acceptance, and love. The romance is a key part of the story, and it doesn't disappoint, but it's only part of this beautiful novel.