This is the second book by this author I have read and I read it one sitting - just as I did with the first, Mrs Nash's Ashes.

Gretchen is a bit of a con artist, but with a heart of gold, who is sent by one of her most wealthy clients to a farm to perform an exorcism. But once she gets there and meets the man, Charlie (Hot and Grumpy) and the Ghost (strangely wonderful and a bit gross) she decides to do the opposite. She has to get Charlie to stay and make the farm successful, despite her discomfort around goats and love for her suede boots.

Charlie is automatically suspicious of Gretchen. He thinks she's been scamming his friend and he's a skeptic anyway. He doesn't believe that the ghost is real but he's willing to let her stick around for reasons he does not want to analyse to closely.

Sparks fly but also moments of closeness happen and Everett, the ghost, not only becomes one of Gretchen's best friends, but helps her to see the good in herself. I loved the relationships in this book. The characters are complex and believable, even though one of them is on an astral plane. They are very endearing. The end was bittersweet (still a HEA for our couple) but I put it down with a smile on my face.

This author is one I will continue to follow - I really enjoy her style of writing and the way she writes about human frailty with empathy and insight. And even though the romance is slow burn, it packs a punch.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

When I started this book, I was thinking - how is this going to work? But wow this turned out to be the perfect romcom!
A witty romance with a hint of the paranormal set on the backdrop of a goat farm.

Gretchen Acorn is a con-artist with a conscience. She has a rule to only leave people better off than she finds them -while simultaneously conning them out of money. When a regular client contracts her to help a friend, Charlie Waybill with a pesky farm haunting, the last thing she expected was to meet a real ghost.

When Charlie makes it clear he sees her as nothing but a con-artist taking advantage of his friend, and Everett, (the resident ghost), makes it clear there is a curse on the Waybills that she must convince Charlie of, Gretchen realises she's signed up for a lot more than she bargained for.

Convincing Charlie via a bet that she can persuade him she's being genuine leads to a whirlwind of banter, grumpiness, goats and chemistry as Gretchen and Charlie try to discern what is and isn't real, while working together to save the farm, and Charlie's life.

Tropes&Micro-Tropes include

-Forced Prox
-Enemies to lovers
-Ghost Banter
-Grumpy but soft-hearted MMC
-Goats
& more!

I was left feeling utterly bewitched by Sarah's style of writing and I would for sure recommend her to anyone looking to delve into her work or this genre.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing an e-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion, and I have to say I was very surprised because this is not my usual romantic comedy, but it was a great introduction to Sarah's work as it was my first time reading her books.

At the start, I felt the story was slow, and I felt a bit uneasy as I don't enjoy reading about people who scam others for a living. However, I found myself laughing when Gretchen was sent to perform an exorcism and encountered a real ghost; I thought this was the best way to redeem this con artist, haha.

Overall, I enjoyed this read, but it was not my favorite. I loved the banter between these enemies, who, of course, turned into lovers, and how the grump turned out to be the softest, gooey cinnamon roll underneath.

I enjoyed Happy Medium by Sarah Adler and would recommend it to others who enjoy a story with light humour, enemies to lovers/grumpy meets sunshine type tropes and steamy romance. It has the classic city girl falling for the countryside but with a twist, she can see and talk to a ghost! It was very entertaining and I look forward to reading more by Sarah Adler.

Going into Happy Medium, I found myself vaccillating between being appalled at how Gretchen was conning people, and applauding her genius - she was really good at telling people what they wanted (and needed) to hear.
It took me a minute to get into it, but once I was in, I was completely hooked!
Everett the ghost made for a great sidekick. He actually stole the limelight quite a few times. He shone through all of his scenes, brought the fun, and oftentimes an unexpected poignancy to the story.
I loved both Gretchen and Charlie. Gretchen was such a good soul, wanting to help people (even though her means were morally questionable), and Charlie was, like Everett (the ghost) said, a good egg. It was a slow-burn for them, and it really paid off.
This book is riddled with pop culture though. And mostly came from the decades-old ghost too - lol at his obsession with tv shows - which made it hilarious. However, in most of the cases, I could not get the reference and that was a bit frustrating to me.
That being said, I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. A very enjoyable one!

Thank you to Quercus Books for the ARC via Netgalley UK. All opinions are my own.

I’m very new to romance and seem to only choose books with a witchy or paranormal element which can be a bit hit or miss, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

I really liked all of Everett and Gretchen’s interactions, he may have been slightly annoying but who wouldn’t after so many years of loneliness. It made me think of BBC series Ghosts and I loved all of Everett’s TV references.

Charlie was the perfect brooding hero, even with the garish jumpers - very Mark Darcy.

There was just the right level of spice in this for me but I think I’m pretty vanilla! I’d definitely read more from this author if it’s in a similar vein.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me this arc!

This was such a fun read - it was quick and witty, and there were a lot of funny one-liners.

Gretchen was sassy and sarcastic, and her character had depth instead of falling flat. Her interactions with Everett made me laugh and cry, especially when he admitted how lonely he was and that he saw that in her.

The tension between Gretchen and Charlie was electric, and I loved watching them soften towards each other.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to seeing what the author does next!

Happy medium was the perfect mix of funny, heartwarming, and enchanting, all wrapped up with an original plot for the seamless rom-com recipe.
Grenchem was raised to be a con artist and earns her living pretending to speak with ghosts. In an surprising turn of events, she ends up in haunted farm speaking with a real ghost, trying to convince a sceptic tattooed farmed that this time she is telling the true.

I was utterly charmed by Grenchem and Charlie! Their banter was great, and their chemistry was off the charts. I must admit that at some point I was a bit worried with Charlie’s behaviour, but he does have a wonderful heart that won me over completely.

Everett was the best character and absolutely steals the show!

<i>I would like to Quercus Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest an honest review.</i>

P.S: As a former big4 consultant, I feel obliged to defend their honour and tell you that absolutely no one working in Deloitte, PwC, EY or KPMG would ever go to a bar wearing clothes with the company’s logo, much less bet $1,000 on whichever… everyone is usually too overworked, and value their hard-earned salary too much.

Gretchen is a fake medium, sent by one of her clients to carry out an exorcism on a friends goat farm. Charlie the owner is sceptical. Things get complicated when Gretchen meets the ghost, Everett, Carlue's ancestor. Cursed to stay on the farm he tasks Gretchen to stop Charlie selling the farm or he too will end up like Everett.

The ensuing rom-com story plots Gretchen's attempts to make Charlie believe but also details Gretchen's attempts to resolve her own issues.

An interesting idea for a story but too many plotlines some of which are never resolved. The relationship between Everett and Gretchen is the most interesting one!

A fun read but not a great one.

A flimflam woman, a hot tattooed farmer and a cursed tv obsessed ghost living on a goat farm made for a wonderfully engaging read. Gretchen was a great female lead who after years of playing a medium actually ended up being one. She was funny, snarky and charming and relatable in her loneliness and fear that she was not wanted (I kept wanting to bubble wrap her heart). Charlie was a lovely, soft hearted marshmallow, struggling with his own loneliness and the pressures that came with holding everything together. Their chemistry was electric and loved how these two people found each other in such strange circumstances and found that piece they had each been missing. And finally Everett, I loved him and all his ridiculousness. He was funny, a little sad, charming, soooo dramatic and a such a child in often hilarious way. The connection, love and friendship that grew between him and Gretchen was wonderful and heartwarming. A very entertaining read. 4.5 ⭐️

I absolutely LOVED this book. The premise was so great - I loved the fact that it felt utterly original but managed to deliver brilliantly on so many great romance tropes, a balancing act that takes real skill. I cared tremendously about the characters, and wanted only good things for them. The chemistry between Gretchen and Charlie was flawless, and the way they saw and understood each other absolutely swoon worthy. Of course, Everett was a huge joy, and there were so many lines that had me laughing out loud.

Honestly, one of the best rom coms I’ve read for ages, full of baby goats and sassy ghosts, a beautiful family farm that needs saving, and a handsome, tattooed, knitting- enthusiast of a love interest. A total delight.

This was a silly, fun rom-com that I liked but unfortunately didn't love. Major props to Adler for the very original concept, but sadly the execution lacked some finesse, the writing was a bit more telling than showing, and the story subsequently ended up feeling a little cliche despite the unique premise. Overall it was cute but not my favourite.

A good read and very charming. I couldn't quite connect with the writing style. I still recommend as it was lots of fun.

This is a five-star read that will fill you with wonder. This was a difficult one to rate, as I really enjoyed most of the story, but there were sections that dragged a little. I really liked the characters in this story, they really made it for me, Gretchen, Charlie and Everett all had amazing stories to tell, and the way the author brought them to life, really added something to this story, even little sleepy-jean made me smile every time she popped up. As I was reading this one, it made me stop to check out cute goat videos as I really felt the need, they are just so beautifully written, that I was desperate for Gilded Creek to be real, I was so desperate for a break with the goats that I could taste it. If the story was as strong all the way through this has the bones to be one of those stories that stays with you, it certainly made me smile, and made me want to check this author out to see what they have next.

Ahhhh I loves this romcom! The banter, chemistry, side character. It has everything I want from a perfect romcom. If you enjoyed enemies to lovers romance, don’t hesitate to get this book.

Absoutely loved both MCs, Charlie and Gretchen! The dynamic they had in the beginning to the one they develop towards the ending is so fun and so sweet. The way they resist yet cannot help opening themselves up to one another slowly and gradually warmed my heart and I was just obsessed with them!

And we have Everett, the ghost that haunts Charlie’s farm, plays a vital role to drive their romance but also just make the whole book so much more fun! He’s charming, witty, impossible to hate. I loved friendship Everett and Gretchen formed. Another reason why I love this book!

So if you like

-enemies to lovers
-small town romance
-a charming ghost in romcom

I highly recommend this!!

4.5 🌟

Honestly I was a bit skeptical going into this book, but by chapter 3 Sarah had me hooked, it had pretty much everything you want from a romantic comedy from a hilarious meddling ghost to sweet romantic moments.

Gretchen’s character development throughout the book was heart warming to read, as well as the way that her and Charlie’s love blossomed, I’m a sucker for an enemies to lovers and I really enjoyed this one!

However Everett stole the show, he was funny and cheeky and just as meddling as you’d expect from a ghost haunting a goat farm, and as much as he had me laughing I definitely shed a tear when it was time for him to go!

Overall I really enjoyed this book, from the laughs to the tears!

Unfortunately I could not finish this.

This book is ridiculous - Gretchen is insufferable, Charlie treats her terribly and the sex scene where she was wearing the jumper he made for his grandad? No thank you. The lack of chemistry between the two characters and the multiple different storylines that are half heartedly crammed into this just do not work for me.

The only thing that kept me interested was the baby goats and even they can’t save this book.

I loved the premise of this book with the con medium Gretchen that can actually see and talk to a ghost. I had a really hard time getting into it and it didn't feel like the story truly picked up until the last 30% of the book. I did thoroughly enjoy those last percents but all in all the book kind of fell flat. There was a lot going on in the plot that I didn't even feel got a real conclusion, like the whole ordeal with Gretchens father. Overall I rate this books 3 stars.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this arc.

I had been hearing A LOT about this book, and it did not disappoint. A perfect match of characters, with witty banter, and a reason to stay apart that was as genuine as it was enticing. Loved both characters' arcs, and they way they circled each other until they couldn't stay apart any longer. Funny, endearing, and absolutely delightful!

I absolutely loved Sarah Adlers first book and was extremely excited to read her second one ahead of its publishing date.
Sarah Adler writes incredible romantic novels where she writes real characters. Hardly any cringey moments but a story that could be a friend telling their real life happenings.
Of course a story with a ghost popping up is not quite the real life story one would have in mind and to be honest for a long time I was reading and thinking let’s hope Gretchen doesn’t have a brain tumour and that’s the explanation for seeing a ghost all of a sudden.
While I was not able to put down Sarah Adlers first book, this one took me a bit longer to read. Some story parts went on a little bit too long and others I wished would have gotten more words. The ending after all was a bit too rounded. Everett being a baddie and the hero all at once but I’m also glad he got to go UP. And who knows maybe we get a second part, maybe Everett’s evil aunt gets send to Gilded Creek Farm as a ghost to make up for putting a curse on Everett 100 years ago? Maybe we get to hear more about Gretchen’s dad? See Sleepy Jane again? Who know?!
I will however read anything Sarah Adler is going to write from now on.