I really enjoyed reading Happy Medium. It was a fun, entertaining paranormal romance. If you enjoy tropes like enemies-to-lovers, small town romances, ghosts, medium, farm setting - then you will enjoy this book! It was really fast-paced and I can't wait to read more from Sarah Adler.

Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed this lighthearted rom-com. Gretchen Acorn - a self confessed con woman - is sent to deal with a ghost haunting a local goat farmer who is extremely sceptical about the whole ‘ghost’ concept. For the first time she is faced with a ghost she can see and communicate with - and his message needs to be believed to save his life!

Inevitably they fall for each other and have to work out how to evade the consequences of the family curse.

An entertaining heartwarming read about friendship, family, trust and love.

Thank you for my earc of the book. Unfortunately I couldn’t read due to formatting issues but I’ll be sure to update my review when I have a readable copy

Wacky and whimsical, this rom com was a lot of fun to read. My favourite part was watching Gretchen evolve over the course of the novel and become brave enough to build connections. She earned her character development!

Gretchen was a likeable heroine, even though she probably wasn’t meant to be. She wasn’t completely morally sound, but there was well-intentioned logic behind all her scheming. At her core, Gretchen had a good heart. This meant that when she (often) made mistakes, I still liked her. I appreciated her honesty with Charlie about the curse. While he didn’t believe her, this ruled out the infuriating possibility of miscommunication. Phew!

Charlie wasn’t my favourite romantic lead to ever grace the page, but he was kind and thoughtful. It was adorable how he (very unsuccessfully) tried not to like Gretchen. He gradually transitioned from being outwardly antagonistic towards her to genuinely admiring her and being actively caring. Their romance was a little melodramatic at the end, but it was hard-earned and ultimately rewarding.

I appreciated Gretchen’s friendship storyline with her roommate Yolanda. This highlighted her need for connection. It was heartwarming to watch her become brave enough to openly care about someone. Gretchen even formed a friendship with Everett the ghost. He was a proper troublemaker, injecting a chaotic energy into each of his scenes and propelling the plot forward. His friendship with Gretchen definitely wasn't perfect, but it was something they both sorely needed.

The ending threw in a few surprises, which made the story engaging right up till the last chapter. Overall, it was an utterly entertaining read!

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Sarah Adler and I loved this book!!!

I don't know why it took me so long to review this (I read it back in May). It think I was just processing?? But it does mean I can confidently say this book was a 5 star because I'm still thinking about it.

This book is exactly as fun as the description sounds - ghosts, a fake medium and a small town farm vibe. The banter is solid and the chemistry is 10/10. Sarah Adler is clearly very talented at writing deeply romantic romances, even when the premise is a bit insane.

Highly recommend checking this one out.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sarah Adler and Quercus for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Always leave people better off than you find them. This is the statement Gretchen lives by as a con artist who is currently working as a spiritual medium. Gretchen gets the fright of her life when she is asked to help a friend of her client with a ghost problem. The problem is for the first time Gretchen can actually see and talk to this ghost and Charlie the owner of the house is the only one who doesn’t believe her. When the chatty ghost reveals that Charlie’s life is in danger Gretchen must use all her tricks to try to save his life. But what happens when she starts to fall for Charlie and the stakes are suddenly higher.
A cute and cosy feel good rom com from Sarah Adler. I loved the story idea and the characters! There’s a crazy, nosy ghost, grumpy goat farmer and tragic con artist. There are some funny moments and the farm setting is richly crafted. The only complaint is that the romance had something missing and I cannot put my finger on what. Maybe it needed more swooning scenes I don’t know. I still really enjoyed the story and would recommend it.

Thank you to the author, netgalley and publisher for the chance to read an advanced copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was the perfect mix between heartfelt and joyful!

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc.

It was my first time reading a Sarah Adler book and I can proudly say that I really enjoyed the experience! I loved the pace of the plot and the writing. The setting on the farm was just chef's kiss and the characters were lovely. And the romance was amazing! I loved Gretchen as the fmc and I really enjoyed her dialogue and her character in general <3. I loved Everett too, he was probably my favorite character, tbh.
All in all, it was such a great book and I can't wait to keep on reading every book Sarah writes!

Get Your Goat Ewe’ve Pulled

Happy Medium
Sarah Adler
Published by Berkley (An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC)
Release date: 30th April 2024

Fake spirit medium Gretchen Acorn isn’t rich by any means, but earns a decent grift ‘connecting to the spirit world’ and giving advice to her clients. Her one rule is to leave them in a better place emotionally than they were before she got involved.
Using the internet for research and her roomie Yolanda who works at a local nail salon and a boutique, she gets titbits and insider info.
Her biggest client, Deborah Van Alst, also provides her biggest income and lots of referrals.
In fact Deborah – who lost her thirty-three year old daughter recently – seems to be doing remarkably well and getting out socially again, so much so, Gretchen plans to reduce their sessions.
She’s done her job.
Now the next one; Deborah has paid her to “exorcize” a presence at a goat farm, Gilded Creek, owned by her bridge partner Charlie Waybill.
Gretchen expects a doddery old fella based on her research. What she gets, is a lumberlicious flannelled farmer who’s taken over the farm now his granddad is in assisted living. Except he’s dressed in a “right travesty of a sweater” which we find out is one of the many knitted by his departed Gran. The ones he knitted look like the drawings a child might make of animals ... Far too many limbs.
Inspired by the 1990 film ‘Ghost’, the novel heads into paranormal territory when Gretchen is approached by a guy called Everett. He’s the farm’s resident ghost and wants her to help save Charlie his family’s curse.
Charlie is trying to sell the farm to help fund his granddad’s care, but if he leaves the property permanently he dies then pops back up as a ghost at Gilded Creek.
She knows it’s a hard sell, but Gretchen makes a bargain with Charlie, she’ll stay a month at the farm as in intern if he gives her a chance to persuade him of the curse.
There’s a simmering chemistry between them and Charlie gets adorably flustered around her. But he’s also a grouch, because he knows Gretchen is a fraud.
And he’s intent on proving it.
Despite the antagonism, Gretchen has solid ideas on how to improve income. Especially at the Farmers Market.
I liked that we had more than one LGBTQIA+ character in the book. There’s Yolanda and Penny for starters, plus the male couple with babies at the market, who are so sweet.
Amidst the main story arc, we learn about Gretchen’s vulnerabilities, and why she holds people at arm’s length.
“Her usefulness is the only thing she has to offer anyone, and there’s little reason to keep her otherwise.”
They leave her, or she’s forced to leave them, and she has no reason to believe Charlie will be any different.
The hi-light of the novel is the relationship between Everett and Gretchen. From reluctant allies to BFFs. He’s a prohibition‑era ghost, a cousin/ancestor of Charlie and is hilarious; from his outdated slang and ‘dude bro’ swagger to his whiny teen-like attitude when his TV is turned off.
Yet somehow, they become best friends.
There’s romance, drama, emotional moments, the tragedy of dealing with elder relatives suffering from dementia, abandonment issues, intimacy and lots of laughter.
I adored this book on every way and it will linger in my heart like the echo of a ghost who has just left the room.

This novel was super fun and kept me hooked. The main character is a spirit medium con artist who’s supposed to exorcise a ghost on a farm. When she gets there, she meets a super sweet and good-looking goat farmer who totally knows she’s a fraud. But then, surprise! There’s actually a real ghost who spills the beans about a family curse on the property. Im short, such a fun and distinct new read!

Overall, it was a cute read and a perfect break from heavier stuff. My only gripe is that their relationship felt a bit rushed, and I would have liked to see more of them. It went from instant attraction to enemies to lovers, and back to instant attraction before we finally got some deeper development, which was kind of weird and made me not connect as much with their relationship as I thought I would..

"Loving you . . . loving you will always be worth it. And I do love you, Gretchen Acorn. I do."

Rating: 3.5/5

- Con artist FMC x farmer MMC
- Magical realism (she talks to a ghost)
- Goat farm setting
- Forced proximity
- Single POV (third person)
- Narrated by Mara Wilson

Premise: She's a con artist who gets paid too much money to exorcise a ghost from a client's friend's farmhouse because it's scaring away potential buyers. But things get complicated when she actually meets the ghost and has to work with him to get the hot owner not to sell his farmhouse. Kind of a switched Ghost, ya know?

I personally didn't love this one as much as Mrs Nash's Ashes. I struggle with third-person POV at the best of times, but third-person AND single POV is double the trouble 😅. Gretchen and Charlie had some cute moments, but I didn't feel they had a strong/soulmate level of connection. I would've loved getting inside Charlie's head!

On the flip side, Gretchen had excellent character growth, Mara Wilson nailed the audio, and I liked the friendship between Everett and Gretchen. Sarah injects a lot of humour and heartfelt moments into her books. This one just left me wanting more.

But if you go into it expecting women's fiction with a side of rom-com, you probably won't be disappointed.

4 ☆
It was so cute and funny!
I love paranormal rom com and this one was perfect!

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with this ARC!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It’s cute and heartwarming in the end and a fun light read with a bit of the paranormal. The ridiculous part though isn’t the ghost, it’s that so much of the plot hinges on adults being completely unable to communicate and making decisions based on wild assumptions. Plus, Charlie is supposed to be sweet, but is unnecessarily rude to Gretchen for most of the book.

I enjoyed reading it, but I definitely did some grumbling while doing so.

A lovely light hearted paranormal Rom com. A great read to cosy up with and devour.

Really enjoyed the characters and cannot wait to read more from this author.

I didn’t know what to expect of a book about a ghost. I don’t venture into paranormal romances a lot, and when I do it’s usually werewolves and vampires. I don’t think I had ever read a medium / ghost story before, and I was so enchanted by this book. The story is very strong, it builds slowly but surely and it’s just the nicest read. Gretchen is the sweetest, I was so glad to see her finally learns to let people in thanks to Charlie (and Everett). They deserved (and they got) the cutest happy ending.

This was a nice light-hearted rom com.

Gretchen is a medium but she is a con artist she hasn’t got many friends. One of her clients hires her to exorcise a ghost at her friend’s farm which he is trying to sell. Gretchen meets Charlie the owner of the farm you can see the sparks flying between them. Charlie does not quite trust Gretchen.

It was a very enjoyable book and it was funny, sad and happy in places.

The characters worked well together.

This book was such a fun lighthearted read! I really loved the character development Gretchen went through and absolutely adored Everett!

I enjoyed this quite a lot! Gretchen is an interesting character; she runs a questionable business, but her intentions are right. Charlie is very grumpy, but luckily never mean. I enjoyed seeing them both learn to open up to others and trust other people. I also love the irony of a fake medium discovering ghosts actually exist. A fun read!

I have heard nothing but great things about Adler's previous book, Mrs. Nash's Ashes, but I am yet to read it, so when I saw this newest book from her, I jumped at the chance to read it. However, I didn't love the deception behind Gretchen's apparent ability to commune with the dead, and although there was a level of kindness behind her intent, the fact that she did it as a living before moving on to the farm did rub me the wrong way slightly, and didn't set the book off in good stead to impress me. I enjoyed the interactions between Gretchen and the farm's resident ghost, Everett, but didn't find Charlie's sudden belief in him to be too believable. The chemistry between them was good, but the whole 'marry me so you can leave' felt a bit ridiculous, and their reunion in the end didn't fill me with as much joy for the characters as I would've liked it to.

3.75
Happy medium it was a funny romcom about a con artist and a grumpy farmer. I feel like in the middle Wednesday begin to open up to each other it was maybe too instant and not really thought it through, but Everett (the ghost who turns up to be true) was always there to save today up until the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for sending me this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.