Thank you to NetGalley UK and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of Happy Medium in exchange for a review.

I immensely enjoyed this book. It had everything I wanted. Loveable characters? Check. Sexual tension? Check. Mischievous himbo ghost? Check. Delighted me.
Gretchen is a con artist and a fake medium, but a secret good egg with a runny yolk (soft-hearted, and one of my new favourite metaphors thanks to this book). When she's employed by a client to perform an exorcism on an unwilling friend's goat farm, she meets the young, hot farmer Charlie and the first actual ghost she's ever encountered. The cheeky, so charming and tv obsessed Everett convinces Gretchen to stop Charlie selling the farm because leaving it will kill him, like it did Everett nearly 100 years ago.
What else ensues but Gretchen falling for the kind-hearted Charlie and the farm along with it? It was just so cosy, sexy, exciting and FUN! I giggled so many times and hardly wanted it to end.
4.5 stars!

This was such a fun read - it was quick and witty, and there were a lot of funny one-liners; the love interests had great chemistry and tension. There were some subplots like with the dad that felt unnecessary that took away from the story to me and took it to 4 star instead of 5.

4,5 ⭐️
I was so happy when I saw that I got an arc for this book. This is the first book that made me laugh so much, how can you not with Gretchen and Everett? I loved everything about this book! The characters, the setting, the romance, the story itself EVERYTHING! I highly recommend this book and I'm excited to read more books by this author
Thank you Netgalley and Quercus Books for this arc.

4 stars
TW; trauma from toxic parents, talk of death, side character with dementia
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC to review. All thoughts are my own.

I'll admit, despite having a love for ghosts in rom-coms, I was dubious at the beginning of Happy Medium. Gretchen is trying her best to make ends meet whilst conning rich ladies out of their money as a medium. She has a rule where she won't take from anyone who isn't going to be better off after her little lies, and cannot turn down $10k to go pretend to rid a farm of a naughty specter. Of course, Gretchen finds an actual naughty ghost living at the farm, and a surly, down-on-his-luck owner who can no longer make ends meet. In theory, this sounded cute, but as it started to play out, I did find myself initially resistant to the charms of this story. Gretchen, whilst admitting to her morally grey ways, is very easily defensive, and Charlie in turn doesn't buy any of her crap and his treatment towards her is hot then cold. Add in a severely perverted and TV-obsessed ghost named Everett, and I was left wondering if I would become invested in any of them.

Needless to say, I came out the other end absolutely adoring this little story. Sure, some of the scenes where Charlie is downright rude to Gretchen, who was only trying her best in a new environment, still rubbed me the wrong way. But overall I enjoyed the character development, especially from Gretchen. She starts off as a woman against the world, and by the end of it, was willing to do more for others at the sacrifice of herself. She learned that not everyone was going to treat her like a usable pawn in nefarious deeds like her father once did and that friendships and love didn't always have to end in pain. Charlie and Gretchen fall in love in a rather wholesome way and I appreciated the build of their sexual tension before any passionate moments came to the forefront.

Everett, the ghost, provided plenty of lighthearted banter, and whilst I got teary-eyed at the ending, I think the overall use of him in the storyline worked well. I did find the final plot twist with the curse on the Waybill line to be a little convenient, but it still worked out well enough and I was happy with the ending.

Overall, I had a good time with this story, and I plan to check out the author's other book thanks to the fun I had with this one.

Happy Medium follows Gretchen as she attempts to persuade goat farmer, Charlie, of a ghost on the goat farm property. Despite advertising herself as a medium, this ghost, Everett, is the only ghost she has been able to communicate with, and Everett wants her help to break a curse.

This was such a delightful book! Despite being a fraud when it comes to being a medium, Gretchen only lies when she feels that it will help others, which I think makes her character more endearing when she could be the opposite. Gretchen's journey to feeling as though she also deserved friendship and love was a beautiful journey.

Charlie was also a lovely MMC, who saw straight through Gretchen's usual lies. He has a lot going on in the background and his story was really beautifully written.

I really enjoyed this story! Thank you Quercus Books for an e-arc of this one, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this fictional paranormal love story. At first, I couldn't make it through the first chapters but when the story got rolling I loved it. Both Gretchen and Charlie are very likable and their love story is truly unique with a lot of laughter, goats, and a ghost.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgalley

REVIEW
cw: dementia, grief
When fake medium Gretchen Acorn has to persuade goat farmer Charlie Waybill of the ghost on his property, he's sceptical. Everett is the only ghost she's ever truly been able to communicate with, and when Everett reveals that there's also a curse, she needs to convince Charlie that both the ghost and the curse are real.
I loved this book! Gretchen was such an interesting character, and even while she was a fraud, I appreciated how she still had rules of ethics. I appreciated that the author took us on a real journey with the character, revealing how she'd become a confidence trickster, whilst allowing us to empathise with her loneliness. Gretchen's realisation that she deserved love and friendship was so moving. I also particularly empathised with her clumsiness, and there were some genuinely comical moments, especially between her and Everett. Gretchen's first introduction to the goats was also hilarious.
Charlie was such a sweetheart, but I loved that he wasn't a pushover and that he could immediately see through Gretchen's usual lies. Their relationship was really interesting to watch develop, and I loved their immediate chemistry. The chapter when Gretchen came clean to Charlie was so visceral and raw, but also incendiary (IYKYK). Meanwhile, chapter thirty-four absolutely broke my heart, as did the chapter with Charlie's grandfather. Anyone who's had a family member dealing with dementia will empathise with how heartbreaking that scene was for Charlie, and it was beautifully written.
But, for me, the majority of the humour came from Everett the ghost. I really grew to love him, despite his quirks, cheekiness, and deception. He was so hilarious, and his obsession with TV was such a fun characteristic, with so many nods to my own favourite TV shows. I cackled laughing at his Ally McBeal baby dance, and the TV time-outs were hilarious.
I loved the epilogue, even though it made me cry (no spoilers but it was kind of bittersweet).
This book made me laugh, cry, and swoon in equal measure.

Overall Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own*

Favourite Quotes:

"...I know this sounds ridiculous, but it’s like I can feel . . . her love . . . when I wear something she made. And I didn’t want all that love to go to waste sitting in the back of a closet.”

“Loving people . . . can hurt,” he says slowly. “I understand that. Maybe better than anyone.”

“Don’t you think I feel it too?”Charlie asks abruptly, less irate and more . . . pleading? “Of course I . . . I feel whatever it is between us. But I don’t trust it, I can’t. Because I don’t trust you. And I think you understand that. So please don’t . . . please don’t test me.”

He’s so f**king ridiculous , Gretchen thinks. And he’s the best friend I’ve ever had.

“How do you not see what I can’t help but show you? How do you not see the way my heart is absolutely breaking with how much it needs to keep you safe?”

"...he spotted the real her beneath all of her strategic outer layers the moment they met. And yet he’s still here with her, touching her, wanting her.

She tells herself that staying here will be enough. It will be enough to ease this ache in her chest. To quiet the whispering voice that tells her the yearning she has isn’t for a place, but a person.

“I need to know you’re going to crave this every single time you walk up these steps for the rest of your life.”

“We don’t have to pretend I’m a good person, Charlie,” she says, looking away, his eyes in their reflection seeing too much.
“How could you think—Jesus, you’re not a good person, Acorn, you’re the best person."

Gretchen always wondered what it would feel like to return somewhere and feel like she was home. Like she belonged to a place and it belonged to her. She thought that she was close to feeling that way about the farm. But when Charlie kisses her, she realizes that it’s this. This is the feeling she’s wondered about her whole life. This is what it feels like to be home at last.

“The truth is this: I want to stay here. And I want you to stay with me. I want to work together every day. Sleep together every night. Plant a field of sunflowers together, one that will actually grow. I just want to be together for as long as we can. I want you to be my family. And even if it doesn’t work out and I wind up stuck at Gilded Creek for the rest of my life, it’ll have been worth it.”

“I will always need you, Acorn. And not for what you can do, but for who you are to me.”

“I’ve never wanted you because you were useful, Gretchen. I want you because you’re you.”

This is an amusing story of Gretchen who is a con artist making a living by making people believe she can talk to the dead. One day one of her clients asks her to go and help her friend save his goat farm by performing an exorcism. After being offered an huge sum of money Gretchen decides she will do it, or at least pretend to and pocket the money).

When Gretchen arrives at the farm she suddenly finds she can converse with a ghost! He tells her of a curse on the farm and that if the current occupier sells the farm and leaves, he will die and be in purgatory. Gretchen then decides to help the ghost save the occupant, Charlie.

The story is good and full of humour but is essentially a story of love, friendship and trust.

first heard about Happy Medium when Laura Wood mentioned it on her instagram feed and I knew I had to read it - ghosts, romance and a recommendation from one of my favourite authors? It was a guaranteed hit!

When spirit medium Gretchen Acorn heads to a supposedly haunted goat farm to perform an exorcism, the last thing she expects to find is an actual ghost - because Gretchen has been faking her physic abilities for years and this job was meant to be a quick weekend trip filled with fake words and reassurances. But not only does Everett exist, he's also adamant about the existence of a curse that threatens the life of farmer - and sceptic - Charlie Waybill if he sells the property. Cue a hilarious romance filled with goat yoga and adorable paranormal friendships.

I really loved the premise behind this story and it was so much fun to read! Charlie and Gretchen were really cute. I'm looking forward to reading more Sarah Adler novels soon!

I don't usually read romcoms, and I honestly couldn't tell you why because I quite loved this one and I need to read more books like it.

It was funny, cute, wholesome, and most of all the entire plot made sense. Every choice, every dialogue, the personalities, it all worked perfectly. Such a cozy read, I loved it.

“I ain’t afraid of no goats!”

I went into this completely blind as was recommended to me by the publishers through NetGalley and absolutely loved it! A Ghost inspired set up where a (fake) Medium goes to help exorcise a spooky farm but discovers more than just a weekends work! Of course there’s hilarious, poignant and spicy scenes that just make ‘Acorn’ and ‘Chick’ fall in love with each other and bring us along with them. Everett is my favourite character though and a kindred spirit as would absolutely be obsessed with several tv shows if I couldn’t do anything else!

4.5 🌟

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book and found the initial bit of the story quite slow, however upon reflection I think that was actually just my mood! I got 20% through and I didn't think I'd finish it, but I carried on and then suddenly before I realised I had absolutely FLOWN through the entire book.

I liked the character development, I liked the storyline albeit I didn't originally like the Everett inclusion, but overtime he totally grew on me, much like he did with Gretchen, smart writing! I liked how the story was unwrapping and I liked the conflict that Charlie was visibly showing throughout.

My only wish for this book is that we got to see a little more of the growth for the farm, and development of Gretchen's FRIENDSHIPS, but perhaps there's another book in the shadows?

Great read, totally kept me turning each page and I really loved the level of Sass written into it.

I absolutely loved Sarah Adler's debut "Mrs. Nash's Ashes", therefore, I asked for this arc as soon as I saw it on NetGalley. To be honest, "Mrs. Nash's Ashes" remains my favourite, still I had a really good time with "Happy Medium".

I immensely enjoy author's writing style and humour, her gift to create likeable characters and weave charming love stories with some depth. The chemistry between MCs in "Happy Medium" was great, and the sidekick character, whom somehow I didn't expect at all, almost stole the show. And who doesn't like a storyline of a city girl in the country, especially one involving goats?

My main issue with the book is that the ending was a bit of a mess, and really wanted for some kind of conclusion for the daughter-father line.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the eARC.

This turned out to be such a lovely book! The beginning felt a little slow, but I was invested enough already that I wanted to continue reading. But once on the farm, it was really enjoyable. Some of the dialogue was hilarious, and I found myself compelled to continue reading. Definitely a book I can recommend!

A really funny rom com book which also includes a ghost. A heartwarming read which I couldn’t put down.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review. It was an absolute pleasure.

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler @sarahadlerwrites
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thankyou Net Galley and Quercus Books for this arc of Happy Medium. Releasing 30th April 2024

“Okay well you be careful out there in the boonies. Don’t fall in love with the farmer and move to the countryside or anything.”

This book made me so giddy and I was laughing out loud at the hilarious banter of a ghost! This paranormal, small town, enemies to lovers, found family romance was the cutest!! Such a unique story that I utterly enjoyed.

This was such a heart felt rom-com with an amazing slow burn. The chemistry was off the charts! A MMC farmer with a goat and sunflower tattoo and a con artist FMC posing as a psychic… need I say more!!

What a wonderful and charming story!

Gretchen is a spirit medium con artist who is paid by her frequent client to perform an exorcism on a haunted goat farm that its owner Charlie is trying to sell, unsuccessfuly since whenever interested buyers come by, weird and unexplainable things start happening. Turns out, there is an actual ghost at the property and Gretchen can actually communicate with him.

I gotta admit, it took me a while to warm up to the story. I'm just very much not used to the 3rd person narration, but I ended up loving it!

Everett the Ghost is undeniably my favorite character! He's just a silly, funny himbo guy. And I love him.

Gretchen and Charlie's relationship was great. It was developing reaaaaal slooow since Charlie from the start knew that Gretchen is a fraud, so he was reluctant to trust her with anything. But their banter was top tier!

I think it's a perfect story for a movie!

4⭐️- Happy Medium is a hilarious, meaningful and extremely heartwarming story with such an original plot; all in all the perfect romcom! 🔮✨

Gretchen Acorn was raised by her con artist father to follow in his footsteps and makes her living as a fake medium, pretending to speak with loved one’s ghosts.

Her most dedicated customer leads her to Gilded Creek farm and what she thinks will be her easiest job yet…only to arrive and find not just Charlie the handsome but surly farmer, an actual ghost called Everett haunting the farm 👻

There was so much heart in this story 💕 Gretchen was such a relatable character who just wanted to find her place in the world and be accepted. Her friendship with Everett was so funny and at times really emotional, as they could both relate to each other for feeling lonely. And the romance between Gretchen and Charlie, of course, was my favourite part. Charlie was so humble and lost in his grief whilst trying to stay dedicated to his family’s farm. He was so determined to dislike Gretchen for her scamming ways, their slow burn relationship was endearing, genuine and spicy! 🔥

This was such a wholesome and unique read, my first of Sarah Adler’s books but definitely not my last.

Thank you to Quercus publishing and NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

Well this was disappointing. And it honestly makes me sad, specially because I was actually having fun in the beginning of this book.

This story follows Gretchen, a fake spirit medium, who is hired by one of her best clients to help her bridge partner to perform a sort of an exorcism to cleanse his farm. He's been trying to sell the property for some time now, and every time potential buyers show up, something out of the ordinary happens that makes them run for their hills without looking back.

Gretchen is, of course, happy to help, but what she didn't expect was coming face-to-face with a very real ghost. And said ghost tells Gretchen about this family curse and asks for her help to prevent selling the farm in order to save Charlie's (the property's owner) life.

Now she has one month to convince Charlie not to sell the property. And how hard can this really be, right?

I really enjoyed the way this story started. Everett, the ghost, was honestly the star of the book for me. He's hilarious and all the giggles and little laughs I gave were because of him.
And that's pretty much all I enjoyed about this book.

Unfortunately I couldn't connect to the main characters at all. There was no chemistry between them, their first intimate moment (and all the other moments, tbh) felt cringe, very awkward, and not sexy, and I couldn't see how these two people fell in love. They just don't work together.

The book itself felt both too long and incomplete at the same time? I felt like some chapters were there to just "fill in the pages" but didn't necessarily bring development to the story itself, and the plot seemed a bit messy with many loose ends.

I recommend Mrs. Nash's Ashes book by Sarah, but this one was very much a miss for me unfortunately.

This was such a cute, heartwarming read! A nice mix of enemies to lovers, an annoying ghost and found family. This book really pulled in my heartstrings in the third act.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.