A super fun and funny romance. I really enjoyed it and will be recommending to my fellow romance-lovers.

This book was amazing, it was beautiful and haunting it was unique and I just loved it so much. I finished the book and literally wanted to pick it up right again.
You know those books that ruin you for a good month or two. Making it impossible for you to grab another book because it will never compare to the one you just finished ... this is that book.

The Dead Romantics is my favourite romance of the year. The small town vibes and the ghostly encounters was something I did not know I needed.
I absolutely loved how Florence's dad had set up a scavenger hunt for his funeral.
Ashley Poston wrote a masterpiece of a novel and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

The Dead Romantics was a highly anticipated read for me (okay, the cover got me to 😍) and I was really hoping that I would love it. I’m so happy to say that I really, really loved it. It was not only one of my favourite books in September but it was my last book for the month too. 🙌

👻 Florence Day, a ghostwriter for the legendary Ann Nicols life spirals out of control when her dad suddenly passes away, her book is way overdue and then her new editor Benji Andor becomes a ghost. What is a girl to do?

💕 I thought the ghost relationship between Florence and Benji was an interesting concept. The more they spent time together I could see the love blooming. At times I was reminded of the movies Ghost and Just Like Heaven, the longing to be able to feel touch but afraid to say goodbye 😢 but also at the same time “ghost why don’t you leave me alone” 😆

👻 I really love how spooky elements were added into the book, such as crows hanging around when a ghost was nearby, some of the setting was based in funeral home/cemetery, the way ghost described with a shimmer and a slight glitch- spooky 👻

💕 I did guess the ending rather quickly but surprisingly it made me want to read the book quicker. However I was surprised by one side plot which I wasn’t expecting which made me get a bit teary-eyed.

👻 I think this book would be perfect for those who want a romantic ghost book to read or a lighter spooky book.

Thank you @heyashposton @netgalley and @harlequinaus for the digital copy of The Dead Romantics by for reviewing purposes.

Unusual, thoughtfully written and posing some fascinating “what if” questions, this story is a romance between the ghostwriter for best-selling romance novelist Ann Nicholls and Ann’s new editor.
Florence Day is an exceptionally talented writer but has lost her sense of romance after a failed relationship. As the story opens she’s told that time’s up and the book she’s been struggling to finish must be delivered to the publishing house the following day.
Benji Andor—call me Ben—is the editor who’s given the ultimatum. He’s also tell, exquisitely built and handsome. As well as her instant attraction to him, along with a strong desire to climb him, Florence is in a state of panic over the book.
I loved these two characters. Florence has the ability to see and talk to ghosts, which sets her up beautifully for an unexpected and unwelcome meeting with Ben’s ghost the day after their meeting. She’s a thoughtful and compassionate character, though she’s avoided ghosts for years. I loved the way that she opened up to Ben’s ghost as the story developed.
Ben is even better as a ghost than he was real life, though his ghostly state creates problems when these two develop feelings for each other. One thing I particularly liked about him was his reason for loving romance novels, “I just like love stories ... the way they paint the world in this Technicolor dreamland, where the only rule you have to follow is a happily ever after.”
This story has been such a joy to read. It’s definitely a keeper.

Florence Day is the ghost writer for Ann Nichols, a famous romance author but for the last book in her contract, she is stuck. She can’t write any of the romantic scenes in the book, as after her breakup with her boyfriend, she no longer believes in love. Her world collapses when her father dies, and she must return home to her family who runs the local funeral parlour. To further complicate matters, she finds her gorgeous new editor, Benji Andor on the doorstep of the funeral parlour, confused as to why he is there. He is definitely dead, but his unfinished business has Florence second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love.

There is so much to love about this book. I loved her family and felt by the end that I knew them, even her dad. There are references to Six Feet Under and the Adam’s Family, but this is a family that has its issues, but is so full of love for each other. However, the friendship and love story between Ben and Florence, is touching and the more time they spend together, the more Florence begins to heal from the pain of her father’s death and the breakup of her relationship. Without giving too much away, this is a book that I am now starting to reread as I loved it!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Yes yes yes! This book was amazing!

I like to go into books blind so I often don’t read the burbs or anyones posts about the book until after I have read it.

And I think that’s why I enjoyed this one so much, just like Beth O’Leary’s The No-Show, not having any idea about what I am going to read I find gives the twists etc more of an impact.

This book had the perfect mix of love, humour, and awh moments.

Not going to lie, this story had me a little worried in the beginning. As an avid romance reader, I was intrigued by the blurb and the high praise it received from many of the bookstagrammers I follow. However, all that went around and around in my head was "how do ghosts get their happily ever after?"

Romance readers, never fear! Ashley Poston writes such a beautiful and satisfying ending to this story. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Florence and Benji's whole story but it was the ending that really set my heart aflutter.

I haven't read anything else by Poston (yet) but I plan to remedy that soon. Her writing was delightful and full of heart. I easily found myself transported into the story and relating to Florence. It really was a fun, wonderful story with many hilarious moments between the characters.

Be warned though, there may be triggers for some readers (e.g. parental death) so please keep that in mind and do your research, if needed, before starting this book.

I really liked this one, it was a little different from the norm which was a nice change.

I definitely recommend you read it

Meet Florence - undertaker's daughter, ghostwriter (ironically), country girl transplanted in NYC, with a particular talent. She sees dead people....

When we meet Florence, she's stressed with a novel due to go to the new editor for the author she ghostwrites for. The editor's name is Benji Andor. He's young, hot and the problem is, the novel isn't finished. The novel is about love and Florence feels love is dead after being betrayed by her ex-boyfriend, who wrote a novel based on Florence, and her slightly eccentric family.

When Florence's father dies she returns home to help the family arrange his funeral and honour his remaining wishes. This coincides with her encountering a particular ghost. He's smart, funny, and determined to see her finish her book. He's there one minute, and gone the next ...

Full disclosure - I hadn't read any reviews for The Dead Romantics before I picked up this e-galley. It initially gave me some magical realism, "out there" vibes, that I wasn't really feeling and wondered where the book was going. I did contemplate setting it aside for another time.

Florence is an acquired taste, made richer by her journey home, and observed in full colour within the context of her family. Her relationship with the ghost (who shall remain unnamed in this review for fear of providing spoilers) and her memories interested me but I kept waiting for the romance around every chapter which on the surface seemed to not be eventuating.

The last 20% of this book puts everything in perspective. It's a romance sure - it's just one that defied my expectations. There's romance all around Florence - and was as much about Florence's parents (ie. Florence's father) as it was about Florence's romance with her suitor. It all becomes clear, I promise.

This may not be for everyone, and I predict there will be reviews about pacing, and a lack of romance. But for mind it's unique, poignant, made me feel a little melancholy and then ever so hopeful, though I may not look at crows the same way ever again.

Firstly, this is the perfect spooky season read. The daughter of an undertaker who can see and talk to ghosts? Sounds amazing.
Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. Although Poston is a competent writer, the fact that I couldn't like the main character stripped most of the enjoyment of the story. I felt that Florence was written inconsistently - she kept referring to herself as a chaos gremlin, when she just simply wasn't. She seemed to almost be a different person in her own remembrances (always getting into scrapes, getting in trouble with the police) compared to the personality she actually is on the page (quiet, not self-assured, unconfident).
That said - there's a lot of angsty slow-burn to satisfy fans of that. Not a spoiler as it's in the blurb, but the love interest is literally a ghost. I liked the twist that resolved this problem, but the ending lacked spark and that sense of wonderful completion I need with a HEA.
The main vibe that this book made me feel was sadness. The grief surrounding the death of her father permeates the whole story, and honestly I just don't want that in a romance. Even a paranormal one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Florence Day is a ghostwriter for a big name in romance novels with a big problem. She is on the last book of a four book contract, the deadline has been extended three times already, and she has not been able to write for a year. As far as Florence is concerned, love is dead. When the ghost of her brand new, way too hot, but oh-so-inflexible editor shows up in her life, things start to get even more complicated.

I will start with - I loved this novel. It whisked me away. There was angst, family drama, romantic tension, and above all a sense of healing and hope beyond adversity. Florence is introduced as a woman burnt and diminished by a past relationship, who is connected to people who love her, and has the uncanny ability to see and interact with ghosts. There was everything you could wish for in a romance novel - including plenty of nods to other contemporaries of the genre. I won't go into more detail of the plot, because who needs spoilers, suffice to say that I recommend The Dead Romantics - go pick it up and give it a go if you enjoy a sweet romance.

I am already waiting impatiently to see what comes next for Ashley Poston.

Ooo I really liked this. I expected to, as I LOVED the Once upon a con series by the same author. I loved the setting of the publishing industry and the writers insights… there were lots of little nuggets and Easter eggs for fans of books, particularly romance. I really loved Florence and Ben and went through ALL the feels, with twists I did not expect and that nearly broke me 😂 all in all, I loved. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review in 10-ish words 'Just like Heaven' the movie but BETTER.

Synopsis: Ok I am not going to give a coherent synopsis. This is purely to get you hooked: Ghost writer can see ghosts. Goes back home to small town with emotional baggage, AND THE GHOST SHE CAN SEE IS THE EDITOR GIVING HER A HARD TIME ABOUT HER BLOODY WRITING DEADLINES.
Note: Editor is 10/10 and moody.

My thoughts:
OOF this was good. I was so intrigued by the story and where it was going to go, the plot was kept interesting except for a small drag towards the middle/second third where it got a little slow. Not enough for me to put it down but I had just felt myself waiting for the next part of the story to come up.
Florence has lots of relationships that I thought were deep and valuable here and the sibling relationships are written pretty decently which I always loved.

SPOILER: I wish we had had more yearning with Florence and Benji. We got a few cool scenes but do feel like the 'not being able to touch each other' had so much potential and I wanted more. END SPOILER

Lastly, I related a lot to Florence. I really felt for her going through what was a really rough year and just trying her best to keep up- book deadlines, family, etc- but that not being enough from her perspective.
OMG AND THE ENDINGGGGGG! I was alone in my living room and looking like the biggest goon, smiling, crying a little. gah.

All in all, this was a great, comfy/cozy romance read and I would love to read more of the author's work.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a complementary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

This was such a fun-feel good read that had me guessing how it would all turn out right until the end. Love a good ghost story, even better if it includes romance and family drama!

I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately just didn't. The book started off really strong but it kind of started going downhill from about Chapter 5.

I couldn't look past how quickly Florence and Ben's relationship progressed, and also the disappearance of the plot introduced in chapter 1/2 until chapter 16.

I also hated how the family death was covered in this book. I think it was the lack or mourning or empathy that irked me a little.

All in all a less than average read for me due to everything mentioned above + lack of plot and character development.

A romance between: a Ghost Writer x Editor (who happens to be a Ghost)

Florence has a pretty chaotic personality, which makes her interactions with the other characters hilarious. There were moments in the book that made me laugh so hard from the cheesy puns and quips. I especially love the family dynamics. Florence isn't perfect, which makes the story relatable considering the things she's been through. (although she did annoy in the beginning). The romance was cute, but it wasn't the main focus for me. And I really appreciate how grief was written and presented in "The Dead Romantics." I didn't expect to cry, but I did.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. It's one of my top reads for 2022. 4.25/5

Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

“Mom and Dad taught us so many things, and all of it led to this. They gave us the tools to figure out what to do when they were gone.”

The Dead Romantics is about Florence, a romantic ghost-writer who doesn’t believe in love and in the happy endings anymore and how with her editor ghost’s help (because yes, she can see ghosts) and with all the clues that her father left her, she can find the love path again. It’s romantic with a touch of sci-fi.

What to say about this book?

First of all, I really loved it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I wanted to know what would happen next. It really hooked me from the begining.

Here you will find several themes, the main one is Love but not only the love between a couple but also the love between parents and kids, and sisters and brothers, and friends. It's also about grief and how to overcome it, nostalgia and homesickness (I can name so much more) but they are the main ones.The prose is well written as well as both characters, Florence and Benji, are well characterized too.

I cried a lot with this book, heart-broken actually, because when you lose one or both of your parents is an indescribable feeling, so I was grieving with this book while I was reading it.

And I totally recommend it to my friends, especially if you are grieving. I think this book will help you to find the right path again.

"Love is a celebration of life and death. It stays with you. It lingers, my darlings, long after I'm gone. Listen for me when the wind rushes through the trees. I love you."

Florence Day is a romance ghostwriter who thinks romance is dead, which isn't great when she's passed the deadline for delivering her latest book to her new editor, Ben. But when she has to suddenly return home following her father's unexpected death, she's unexpectedly joined by a familiar-looking ghost, who helps her believe that maybe love isn't dead after all.

Here's what to expect:
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Workplace romance, with a twist: "a refined editor and his chaotic gremlin of an author."
- Slow burn
- Witty banter
- A hauntingly beautiful and unique love story.
- Set in both NYC and Florence's small Southern hometown.
- Family dynamics and the family funeral home business: "we might've been a family in black, but our lives were filled with light and hope and joy."
- A story of grief
- Beautiful writing that's equal parts atmospheric, poignant and humorous.
- Amazing audiobook narration

There was just so much to love about The Dead Romantics. Florence and Ben's connection was so heartwarming and their relationship included sweet and tender moments juxtaposed with witty banter. I loved her character development, I loved her family, I loved her best friend, Rose, I loved the small-town setting (which Poston captures amazingly), I loved the ending and I LOVED the audiobook. I couldn't recommend this book more, especially if you seek a refreshing romance read.

4 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

As soon as I read the synopsis for this paranormal romance, I knew I was going to enjoy the world Ashley Poston created in The Dead Romantics.

This was such a delightful read, covering a great array of emotions caused by grief and loss of oneself, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The humour was well-balanced between the darker feelings of both Florence and Ben as they navigated life after death together.

I enjoyed the small-town and funeral home setting a great deal. Florence was a fantastic protagonist, and I found her emotions rather relatable. Her return to a world she had escaped for 10 years, along with using her abilities that had once been part of the reason for her departure was interesting and quite cathartic for the character and reader. I enjoyed the process of Florence's wading through past and present and figuring out who she wanted to be now. Florence's loss of direction in the city after her breakup was cleverly weaved into her happenings in Mairmont, and I appreciated the level of detail the author put into Florence rediscovering her roots as a member of the Day family, of this town, and most importantly, of herself as an author.

The paranormal aspect was delivered well. It wasn't cringey at all as I've experienced with other books with similar plots, and even if it was rather predictable to guess the real state of Ben, I did appreciate the time spent together trying to figure out what was keeping him tethered to the world, and their feelings for one another. Ben really added a layer to this world that I admired a lot. His placement in Florence's world - both in the city and during her stay back home - elevated the story for me. The romance was paced well and felt rewarding the further developed the connection became. The emotional connection ranked superior to the physical one, and whilst this perhaps was down to a majority of the book being spent without the ability to touch one another, I just really liked the way these two connected outside of attraction for the other.

I also enjoyed the side characters a lot. This novel wasn't just a romance but focused on Florence reconnecting with what she had run from in the past. I liked the pressure some characters put on her, such as with her sister Alice, as it helped her find her footing once more.

There were small moments where I felt scenes or people didn't quite flow as well as they had been in others, but this was such a small issue, given the greatness of the rest of this book. I did guess a lot of the plot, as it was pretty predictable, but again, this didn't pull away from the actual reading experience too much. Possibly, the only thing I didn't quite enjoy was the time spent apart in the last bit of the book, even if it made sense to do so. The reader is immediately rewarded once they reconnect, however, so like all the above issues, it's such a small gripe to have.

I smiled a great deal whilst reading this book, and am definitely going to look out for future works by this talented author.