A fun rom com with....ghosts and goats! Gretchen has been cobbling things together serving as a medium to wealthy clients in the DC area but she's reluctant to take on an exorcism because, well, she's not a real medium. The money-$10K-is enough to have her pack her bag, hop a Lyft and take a look at the goat farm said to be haunted. And it is- by Everett, who, much to Gretchen's surprise, she can actually see and talk with. Charlie, the handsome goat farmer who came home from his work on yachts, is skeptical of Gretchen, doesn't believe in Everett, but needs help so Gretchen finds herself watering goats among other things. This is a slow burn of a romance with good dialogue, not only between Gretchen and Charlie but also Everett, who, btw, loves television. Charlie's got hidden depths, Gretchen has never allowed herself to have a friend, and they band together to save the farm. It's light, it's funny, and it's charming. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. An excellent read.

I almost DNFed this book.
Not because I didn't like it. Not because it was uninteresting or took a while to gain my attention. On the contrary, it had me from the very creative first line of chapter one.
No, I almost DNFed this book because almost halfway through Gretchen did a thing that peeved me off so royally—which was entirely the point, by the way, one of those moments when you just want to yell "What are you doing?!" at the main character—that I had to take a break from her and wasn't sure when I'd be able to tolerate her again. Then I felt the call to at least return for Charlie and Ev and proceeded to finish the rest of the book in a day.
It was so, so good. Gretchen was an incredibly dynamic character and watching her emotional growth was just such a blast, despite my earlier comment. Everett was the best character, hands down. A perfect addition to the cast. And Charlie was so surprising. I felt like I was constantly being kept on my toes with him. And when she finally confessed? When they finally came together? WHOO boy, that was so good. I loved everything about this book and I'm so excited to recommend it to everyone in my life.

Thank you to @berkley for the gifted copy! Thank you to @prhaudio for the ALC!
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC!

Mrs.Nash’s Ashes was one of my favorite reads from last year, and when I read the premise for Happy Medium I was so excited: a pro BS-er aka fake Medium, who takes a job from one of her long-time clients to exorcise a “haunted” farm for a man whose ready to sell it, only to discover an actual ghost she can talk to. Romance, a TV-obsessed ghost, and baby goats ensue.

This was such an endearing and fun romance! I loved every minute. Mara Wilson’s narration didn’t miss, she brought these characters to life so well. I loved Gretchen and Charlie, they were such great characters and worked so well together. Gretchen went through a great emotional arc and her relationship with her father (iykyk) and the resident ghost: Everett, were so well done.

I loved this book so much, and now I meagerly awaiting Sarah Adler’s next novel! Happy Medium releases April 30th.

This book cemented Sarah Adler as one of my favorite authors!! Mrs. Nash’s Ashes was so great I was excited to see what Sarah was going to do next and it didn’t disappoint! It was so creative and unique I had such a fun time reading. Gretchen was so relatable and it was a pleasure to read her journey. This book had me cracking up, crying and swooning! I can’t wait to have this book on my shelves!

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler was the perfect mix of heartwarming, and comedy, sentimentality, and supernatural elements. Gretchen Acorn, a fake spirit medium, faces an unusual challenge when her wealthiest client asks her help to explore the mysterious happenings at a troubled goat farm. While Gretchen knows she is a fraud, she does encounter an authentic spirit named Everett, who has been present at Gilded Creek since the 1920s. Everett tells her that Charlie Waybill, the owner of the farm, cannot sell his property or he will be cursed. Of course, Charlie does not believe Gretchen, let alone her psychic abilities. Somehow she needs to convince Charlie she is telling the truth.

There are comedic elements and emotional depth, depicting Gretchen's adjustment to her new duties and requirements as a medium, the implications of a family curse, and her evolving romantic feelings towards Charlie. Everett was a charming presence in the story and his wit added humor and depth to the story. Charlie was truly a kind and loving man who sees right through Gretchen, pushing her to see some uncomfortable truths about herself. The banter and off the charts chemistry between Gretchen and Charlie was perfect; though Everett absolutely stole the show.

Ms. Adler wrote an enjoyable story that blends comedy, sentimentality, and supernatural elements. All of the farm life adventures from goat yoga, to selling soaps at the farmer’s market, and the manual labor, allowed me to visualize the story as I it.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
#NetGalley #Berkley

Since this book is almost out I want to say I’ll not be able to give a full review yet but as of now I’ve tried to read it twice and the writing is just not working for me. I might try to read it again in the future, but sadly for now it is a dnf.

Gretchen Acorn is con artist. She pretends to communicate with the dead but really can’t She does have rules though, she never hurts people and always leaves them better off. One of her best clients offers her a bunch of money to cleanse a friends haunted farm. The offer is too good to turn down so Gretchen finds herself knocking on the door of a very skeptical, grouchy handsome Charlie Waybill. He has no need for Gretchen’s services and demands that she leave his property. When she does she literally runs into, or should I say through an actual ghost, Everett. He is a dead relative of Charlie’s and convinces Gretchen to stay and save Charlies life due to a curse.

This was quirky, fun, sweet and romantic. There was some great banter between the characters and I absolutely loved the friendship between Everett and Gretchen. A very unique story and premise that worked really well.

4 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:
Gretchen Acorn is a con artist. She pretends to be a medium to rid rich people of their money. But when she actually interacts with a ghost, nobody is more surprised than Gretchen.

My Thoughts:
There was a silly ghost. Some goat shenanigans. And some love. I was expecting more LOL moments. And overall liked it!!

4.25⭐️
this was such a sweet, funny, heartwarming book and I had such a good time reading it. The characters had great depth and it was such a lovely read. Would definitely recommend!!

Thank you to @Netgalley, @sarahadler and @berkleypublishing for my gifted copy! Here is my voluntary review!

Happy Medium is about a phony, psychic medium who gets paid $10k by her client to exorcize a supposed haunted house. Gretchen shows up at the goat farm of her client’s friend, expecting a 75 year old man to answer the doorbell. Instead, young and handsomely hot Charlie, goat farmer, turns her away, seeing her as the fraud she is, As Gretchen walks away, she walks into, literally, her first real ghost and Charlie’s ancestor, Everette. Gretchen is now a true blue medium.

Finding out a family curse exists and death will befall Charlie if he successfully sells his farm and leaves, Gretchen and Everette do everything possible to prevent said sale/convince Charlie of the curse.

This is a cute, supernatural enemies-to-lovers romance that hooks you from the first page! A real PAGE-TURNER, addicting and holy moly, what an AWESOME read! LOVED, no ADORED this book!

Fans of Lucy Score’s ‘The Dead Guy Next Door’, Riley Thorn series will LOVE this!

I loved the idea of a fake psychic who realizes there’s more truth to her powers than she thinks. It was so clever, and a charming follow-up to Adler’s debut Mrs. Nash’s Ashes.

This read was such a DELIGHT!

I really, really, REALLY loved Mrs. Nash’s Ashes and it was one of my favorite reads of 2023 so, when I Saw Happy Medium was being released this year it quickly became one of my most anticipated reads!

Have you ever wanted to or had a tarot card reading? Do you believe in mediums or ghosts? I haven't had a reading but I have always wanted to and I sure do believe in mediums AND ghosts so I knew I was going to be interested in this read and it did not disappoint!

Similarly to Mrs. Nash’s Ashes I was cackling out loud to most of this story while also having heart eyes and a strong desire to work on a farm where I can hang out with some baby goats! This is a contemporary and paranormal romance (who doesn't love that combo) with characters that are fun, a refreshing setting , and a plot that is oh so binegable!

I really can’t wait for you to meet Gretchen and Charlie but even more than that, I can't wait for you to meet Everett. He is one sassy ghost and I loved so many of his one liners. He really made the story for me. I also loved getting to know Gretchen and Charlie and following along while they have to work together. I especially love when they have to birth some goats!

I used to work in a barn and this farm setting really spoke to my soul! It really made me miss the animals I used to work with. I think more and more farms are getting harder to maintain so learning about the process to keep one afloat was interesting.

I read this one in a few days and it feels like the perfect beach read. I really can't wait to see what more Adler writes because she has quickly become an auto-buy author for me!
4.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for access to this arc.

Last year I adored “Mrs. Nash’s Ashes.” I was hoping for a repeat experience with “Happy Medium.” Let me just rip the review Band-Aid off and say, I didn’t get one. For the most part, Everett the ghost is a pervy asshole. He does have some good moments when he pops up to give Gretchen some words of wisdom but they’re few and far between. Although if I were stuck in the same place for 100 years, unable to talk to anyone, maybe I’d begin to get my entertainment by watching people regardless of whether those people were in the bathroom or bedroom. I think he’s supposed to add most of the “quirk” to the book but I disliked him more and more as the book went on.

Gretchen, who in order to justify her actions has changed her con-artistry to only work with clients who she feels she can leave better off than when they first came to her, is so hesitant while at the farm. SO many times Charlie would ask her to do something that needed to be done RIGHT NOW and Gretchen would dither for half a page or more trying to work herself up to it. I would mentally yell “Just do it! The baby goat needs you!” at her. She does, I will admit, have great ideas for ways for Charlie to increase the income the farm makes and does something really nice for Charlie’s grandfather. That was sweet.

Grumpy hero Charlie is barely in the book for the first third. And when he is, he’s simmeringly angry at Gretchen. Like that’s pretty much his only emotion. He does eventually show his good side and after that, I agree with Everett (and it pains me to agree with that asshole about anything) that Charlie is a good egg with a runny yolk. Hmmm, that description sounds better in the book.

Miscommunication is a big part of this story. We’re told that everyone around Gretchen and Charlie can see that they’re falling for each other (even if I didn’t see much chemistry for a long time) but these two won’t give in because Gretchen won’t allow anyone close to her in her life and Charlie thinks she’s a fraud. Then this progresses to martyrish tendencies from them both. Ugh.

The worst thing though is the endless telling instead of showing. We never do get any POV from Charlie but do get endless rounds of everything going on in Gretchen’s head. Plus descriptions. Cut those down and the book could have easily lost 75 pages of nothing. There also wasn’t much tension. Honestly, I was more underwhelmed with it than anything else. I did expect one plot point to be expanded on but that never happened, which is a good thing because I was dreading it, so yay for that. Also the baby goats are cute.

Looking at other reviews, I am definitely an outlier. This book seems to be pleasing a lot of people but most of it just rubbed me the wrong way. Sadly I’ll have to hope that the next book wins me back because this one didn’t do much for me. C-/D

3.5⭐
Genre ~ romantic comedy
Setting ~ Washington DC & Maryland
Publication date ~ April 30, 2024
Page Count ~ 416 (38 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 0 minutes
Narrator ~ Mara Wilson
POV ~ single 3rd
Featuring ~ con-artist, paranormal, small town, farm life, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, opposites attract, slow burn, minimal steamage

Gretchen has perfected cons by 'speaking' to dead people. She's so convincing that her fancy client has hired her to help her bridge playing friend, Charlie, get rid of a suspected ghost that's not making selling the farm easy.

Gretchen's met her match because Charlie is having none of her lies, except this time she's not lying and she really does see the infamous ghost of Gilded Creek Goat Farm and his name is Everett. He agrees to let her stay for one month, but she'll need to help out around the farm every day. Turns out the farm isn't very profitable, but leave it to Gretchen to come up with some great ideas to get it in the black. I enjoyed watching her step into her yellow rain boots and take on every task given to her.

I said in one of my updates that I'm slightly in love with Everett. He's such a fun ghost and I totally would've let him rock my world back in the 1920's. Poor thing is so bored, all he wants to do is watch TV when he's not trying to scare potential buyers. Can you blame him though? He hasn't had anyone to talk to in nearly 100 years and finally someone can see him and listen to him yabber on for ages. You can't help but feel bad for him, but then slightly mad at him towards the end.

I'm normally down with a grump, but Charlie is a little too mean to Gretchen sometimes, which took me an extra minute to warm up to him. But after I heard his backstory, witnessed his sweetness towards his grandfather and read his memories of the times he spent with his grandma, he grew on me, mismatched and long sleeved sweaters and all.

Some downsides for me are that the plot only takes place for about a month, and there's a lot jammed packed in that month, but this felt so long and it took me quite a while to get through (2 weeks!). I don't feel like their relationship progressed realistically either. Their first whomp was really weird. I could have went without the stuff with her father as I don't feel like it was wrapped up nicely at all. A few chapters from Charlies POV would have been helpful.

Overall, there's a good amount of wit and TV show references that kept me entertained.

I was so excited to get approved for this but unfortunately it just did not work for me. I felt zero chemistry between the MC’s and the romance didn’t even start until 70% in which was way too slow of a burn for my taste. I would have loved more cute farm stories or more goats- just something! And there was the plot hole with Gretchen’s dad. By the end, not even Everett the ghost could save this for me. I’m still going to check out Mrs Nash’s Ashes but this one was not for me.

I thought that Happy Medium was delightful. A little goofy but still a really earnest story. Gretchen and Charlie were both great (Everett too I suppose) and the storyline was a lot of fun. I think people will like it and I’d definitely recommend it. It’s like a very light paranormal romance. Just like a little bit of ghosts!

Giving this a semi-generous three stars from me. Did I love the idea of a fun, haunted, goat farm love story featuring a ghost with amazing taste in television???? Absolutely. Was I totally crazy about the execution??? No. I think for many people this book will be the fun hallmark brand romance they were looking for—filled with all the fun tropes, a hot & grumpy farmer who wears homemade sweaters, & a girlie with maximum trust issues & business savvy. For me, it was just a bit difficult to get through. I wanted more from the characters & the story.

I truly thought that our ghost compatriot Everett was the most fun part of the whole story. He was very much giving Disney Sidekick energy in the best & worst ways. I wish there was a bit more about Gretchen’s dad that was covered & even more on Charlie’s grandparents. But the transformation of the barn was cute & fun, & the journey getting there was filled with promise but just a bit lacking. Take all of this with a grain of salt because I am certainly a woman of picky tastes, so if this sounds like your vibe, GO OFF & ENJOY.


Thank you so much to NetGalley & Berkley for the arc!!!

Haunted goat farm anyone?  That's the setting for Happy Medium by Sarah Adler.  I didn't even really read the blurb for this one, I just saw the cover, the words ghost and curse and hot farmer and I was sold.  Charlie and Gretchen were explosive from the minute they met and Everett the TV addicted ghost was absolutely hysterical.

Gretchen tries everything she can to help Charlie break the curse that has plagued his family's farm and Charlie tries to ignore Gretchen at every turn.  Of course the two have chemistry and of course this leads to an explosion of sexy proportions that was worth the slow burn wait of it all.

This book also deals with some heavier topics such as caring for a loved one with dementia so if that is something that could trigger you, please take care.  If you love forced proximity, you will definitely want to check this one out.  Overall, I enjoyed the story though I did find the subplot with Gretchen's father completely unnecessary to the overall book.  Happy Medium comes out on April 30.  Thank you to @berkleyromance and @letstalkbookspromo for the early copy.

I absolutely adored Mrs. Nash's Ashes when I read it last year and was so excited to read Sarah Adler's follow-up, Happy Medium. Gretchen Acorn is a spirit medium - or at least that's the story she sells her highly paying clients. When one of those clients pays her ten grand to do an exorcism at the Gilded Creek Goat Farm so Charlie Waybill can sell the farm, Gretchen packs her stuff and heads to the country. Charlie, of course, is not the elderly gentleman Gretchen expects but rather a strapping farmer who immediately is wise to Gretchen's act.

From the beginning, I was absolutely delighted by this book. The set up was adorable and (like every other review I've seen) I fell hard and fast for Everett the friendly and slightly horny ghost. I loved the development of the relationship between Charlie and Gretchen - seeing them both open up bit by bit was so much fun to read. And the friendship between Everett and Gretchen had me alternatingly laughing and sighing. I was full steam ahead with my five star review until we got to about 80% in the book and we hit the third act conflict which seemed to come pretty out of left field for me and then drug on for a sufficiently long time that I started skimming ahead to get to the resolution. The epilogue wrapped it up really well thankfully, and I landed at about 4.5 stars for this story.

Content flags: Charlie's grandfather has dementia; Gretchen's relationship with her father is strained

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Gretchen Acorn is a spirit medium and also a fake. A seemingly simple “exorcism” on a small goat farm turns out to be way more than she signed up for - a hot farmer who completely sees through her fake persona and an actual ghost that she can see and talk to. This was a super cute romcom and it would be an absolutely lovely fall read!