Member Reviews
I know there were mixed reviews about this book but I actually really enjoyed it. The ghost love story was sweet and the family tension was super relatable. Very cute!
I enjoyed the setting and getting to know the main character as she navigated major changes in her life. The book reminded me of a movie I saw, so I did see the twist at the end coming. However, I thought the author handled the situation well, and I would read more books by her.
I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't get into it. The premise sounded so fun, but I found the characters really hard to connect with and the whole thing just felt really flat.
Absolutely enjoyable book that combines The Ghost Whisperer with Six Feet Under. Florence works as a ghostwriter for a famous romance writer, when she starts to have writer’s block, having lost faith that love exists. Florence has also inherited her father’s ability to see ghosts, a trait that has led to her leaving home and not returning after solving a murder and having her community turn against her. The family owns a funeral home, which adds an appropriate setting to the story. I don’t want to give away the many twists and turns, but I highly recommend this appealing book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
I think this is the standout of the recent oops they’re dead contemporary romances, I really appreciated that the author included their comfort reads at the back of the book
I really liked the concept. I did struggle throughout the middle of the book, but the beginning and ending saved this book for me. It was fun and quirky! Ben and Florence were adorable and the reveals towards the end made it even better. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a review
I love this author. I absolutely devoured this book. I also absolutely did not care that it was predictable and a little bit cheesy. You can tell by the description what type of book this is, so that should tell you what you need to know in advance.
It's punny. A ghostwriter that can see ghosts, who grew up in a funeral home. The jokes abound.
This isn't a new premise (though I won't tell you where this story line also appears because that might ruin the surprise), but I thought it was well done. And it's fun. And quirky. It's definitely a comfort read, something I would read again when I needed the book equivalent of a hug.
The Dead Romantics was an unusually cute love story. This book was overhyped in my opinion though. I enjoyed the family-owned morgue aspect as well as the father-daughter relationship, however I didn’t feel the romance was authentic.
This book was such a fun read! I wasn't sure what exactly to expect going into it, but it was delightful!
I loved the characters and the story line. So glad I took a chance on this one!
I liked the premise of this book, but the execution was lacking. I found Florence to be boring. Her sister, Alice, had much more characterization. I wanted to know more about Florence's gift. I wanted to know more about the funeral home and Xavier. Overall, this book was a bust for me.
This was such a fun and interesting read! It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but the fact that it was so different than the expected is exactly why I loved it so much. Florence Day is a ghost writer who is struggling with so many things including writers block and the loss of a loved one. She’s a complex character who I loved from the beginning. There are so many more things I’d like to say about her and this unique love story that unfolds, but I don’t want to ruin any of the surprises along the way. This is one I’d definitely recommend you check out yourself if you love quirky characters, interesting storylines with great twists, and a happily ever after.
Oh my goodness! This book was so special and such an unexpected delight. It definitely gave me a sixth sense five but make it a Romance. I absolutely adored it and loved her precious and eccentric family.
I really loved this story of Florence and her devotion to her family's funeral parlor. her interactions with Benji were really cute. I liked this twist on the normal rom-com. and Ghosts!!
*Thanks to PRH for providing a free digital review copy via NetGalley. This did not affect my overall opinion of the book.
Florence Day has a lot on her plate. After a terrible breakup, she can’t bring herself to finish the current manuscript she’s writing. She’s a ghostwriter for one of the prominent romance novel authors. It doesn’t help that Benji, her very charming new editor, won’t give her the extension she needs. But that’s not the worst thing. She gets a call that her beloved father has died so she finds herself back to the place she’s been avoiding for years. Florence and her father share the same gift. They can see and speak to ghosts/spirits with unfinished business and help them fulfill it. She is expecting to see her father when she arrived but instead, she finds the ghosts of Benji.
I loved Florence. She’s sweet, talented, and quirky. Her gift is the reason why she has left home. I can’t really blame Florence for leaving and thankfully her family understands her decision. It was heartbreaking seeing her regrets especially after the death of her father. For not reaching out a lot since she moved away. Florence’s parents and siblings were also my favorites. Ben was an interesting character too though I would loved for him to have his own chapters. But all the characters in this book were superb.
The family dynamic in this book was wonderful. They do everything for their family including fulfilling their father’s strange but not-that-strange last requests. Plural. I thought it was fun and unique. It’s good that their family runs the town’s only funeral home.
I didn’t read the synopsis so I was surprised about the ghost part. I wasn’t sure about it at first but it worked and it got me more intrigued. I didn’t think that the romance was the main theme in this book but I liked the chemistry between Florence and Ben. I was curious how their story would end. It was predictable (at least for me) but satisfying nonetheless. I had a smile on my face while reading the last chapter.
I really enjoyed Poston’s previous books (both YA) so I was really excited to read her first adult book. The Dead Romantics was the book I needed. It made me laugh and cry. Despite of the heavy themes such as grief, this book didn’t feel dark and heavy. Her writing is also simple and easy to follow.
This book made me think about life and death. How death is inevitable and you can’t really do anything about it. To seize the moment. To show and tell our loved ones how much they mean to us while we still have the chance. Overall, this was a 5-star read for me. It’s a very heartfelt, beautiful and fun read.
I loved this quirky take on a rom-com and have been recommending it to everyone I know. Florence and Benji were such a fun pairing and I truly enjoyed watching them figure out how to be together.
The name dropping of some of my faves really knew how to lock me in, I gotta say. When you give me RW&RB, Howl's, and Christina Lauren all within a handful of pages? I'm sold. I'm sat.
I was super nervous but I've read Ashley's work before so I was hopeful that this would just go into my pile of books I shouldn't have doubted and I was not disappointed. I really did enjoy this. Ben and Florence fulfilled this Julie and the Phantoms-sized hole in my heart and I LOVE IT. I loved that show and this was just so close.
I think that Ashley does this great thing in the books I've read, where you seek out the endgame for a romance but she puts a heavy focus on our main character's relationship to their family. I loved learning about Florence's dad but I loved how carefully everything was done too. Her relationship with her family just felt so genuine and homey.
Ben was juuuuust great. Perfect even. I loved his quiet support but when he got louder, I loved his character even more. I'm just mad it took me this long to finally love all of this.
Florence was great too. A character who has a lot to work through, brought you right along on her journey to working through it. I wish we had a little more peeling back of her layers but it's okay. I just feel like that little extra peek into who she is would've made me love this that much more.
This was not what I was expecting, actually I don't even know what I was expecting but this did come as a surprise and a delightful one. I loved reading every bit of this book, it was addictive.
Florence Day is a ghost writer to a prolific romance author, she has a problem that she can't complete her next romance book for her as she doesn't believe in love anymore, not after her terrible breakup.
Her meeting with new handsome editor doesn't go well as he is not extending the deadline for the book. She gets a call from home which needs her to go back to the town she didn't visit in so long and to shock her more is when the very same handsome editor turns up dead.
The characters were well written, adorable and made me want to be there for them, smile for them, hurt for them and everything else. The story is a page turner and I read it in one sitting. It had me hooked. The chemistry, attraction, emotions were perfect.
I thought this story won't have a HEA and my heart was hurting knowing this is how it is going to end, being bittersweet. I mean you can't see spending your entire life with a ghost. I couldn't help shed a tear or two. This was immensely well written, Ashley Poston will give you scenes after scenes you wouldn't expect, this romance was chef's kiss.
I can't stop recommending this, one of my top favorites of the year and one I would reread again.
I don’t have enough good words to say about this book. I loved it from start to finish. The writing is beautiful, the story hooks you… it’s emotional and funny and just utterly perfect.
I wish I could say I was one who caught the twist early, but I wasn’t, haha. I laughed and I cried, and I couldn’t stop smiling.
I loved the family dynamics, the small town, and all of the banter. Seriously utter perfection from start to finish!
TW parent death and grief
Thank you Netgalley for this eARC!
This was my first Ashley Poston book and I cannot recommend it enough! I am officially a fan!
This story had me on a rollercoaster of emotions. With the loss of her dad and her connection to people who have passed and the ability to see their spirits, Florence had me thinking about the people in my life who I’ve lost - my grandma in particular, who died just last year. The little stories about people who refuse to move on because their heart and soul is still on Earth broke my heart and Florence’s endless searching for her dad’s spirit really resonated with me because I always try to look for “signs” that my grandparents are still around.
I had an inkling that this story would have a Just Like Heaven ending, which had me really excited because I absolutely love that book and film, but it also had me really rooting for Florence and Benji’s love story. However, Poston had me going for a while at the end! There were a few chapters that had me questioning my initial predictions…
The characters in this book were phenomenal! Florence’s family are pure gold and I would LOVE to read a spin off about any/all of their lives! I also really liked that there was a connection between Ben and Florence’s past, as well as her ghostwriting job. It all tied in very neatly and also gave the feeling that their love story was fate, if you will.
he Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston was a delightful and engaging story that was unique and fun to read. You can be certain that I’ve never read a book that had a romance between a ghost and a live person before.
As quirky and unusual as this premise seems, Poston did a phenomenal job of making the story ring true. I was very intrigued by the main character’s ability to talk to ghosts and listen to their stories. We all know that being heard can bring closure and peace.
There was a lot of wordplay with Florence’s job as a ghost writer, being an undertaker’s daughter and her supernatural skill of communicating with spirits. I very much enjoyed her familial relationships, her break the rules attitude and her multitude of references to both past and current romance authors.
This was a great book to read at the beach…light and different.