When Gretchen gets paid to exorcise a ghost out of an old goat farm, she accepts the opportunity even though she is a fake spirit medium. But when she gets there, two things suddenly become clear: the farm owner is a sceptic who wants nothing to do with her and the ghost is very much real and Gretchen can suddenly talk to him.

Ever since I read Sarah Adler’s debut novel ‘Mrs. Nash’s Ashes’ I couldn’t wait to read the next one, and it was even better than I expected. It was completely charming, funny and original book with an amazing set of characters. Gretchen is the flawed protagonist; a con-woman who very self-aware of the morality of her own actions and desperate to somehow redeem herself. I absolutely adored Everett the ghost, he aded such a comic relief to the book while still being such a well rounded character. And of course Charlie was the perfect love interest. There were a few plot points that led nowhere (mainly the letter from her dad) and everything is pretty much surface level, but still it was the delightful feel-good read I was looking for.

Many thanks to Berkley, Sarah Adler and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was amazing, so funny, full of heart, hope and love. And also TINY GOATS 😍 And Everett!!!!! He’s my favorite ghost!! Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus for this ARC.

‘Happy Medium’ by Sarah Adler is a hilarious, romantic, paranormal tale set on a goat farm that had me laughing out loud so many times. Gretchen makes ends meet in DC as a fake spirit medium, using her roommates gossipy connections, social media and a premium subscription to ancestry dot com to convince monied clients that their relatives are contacting them from beyond the grave. Unlike her unscrupulous father, she operates under a strict moral code and ensures to leave her clients better off than she found them. As she begins to wean the wealthy Deborah Van Alst off her services, her still-bereaved but less overcome by grief favourite client offers her a hefty sum to help her friend who is experiencing strange events at his goat farm.

Gretchen arrives at Gilded Greek expecting to find elderly, bridge-playing Charles Waybill. Instead, she comes face-to-face with his sceptical grandson Charlie who sees right through her schemes and turns her away. On her way off the property, Gretchen walks right through a freezing cold apparition and realises she is seeing an ACTUAL GHOST for the first time… and this ghost warns her she has to stay and help Charlie who is in grave danger! The book follows her attempts to infiltrate his farm and his heart in order to save his life, and maybe get outside her comfort zone by forming a real connection.

I loved:
- Everett the ghost was comedy gold - I adored his TV obsession and banter
- Gretchen’s past was slowly revealed which made her more loveable and explained how she ended up in the life she was living
- Charlie was a golden retriever under his thin veil of grumpiness
- The story contained relatable and sensitively approached dementia representation
- Gretchen helped deliver a baby goat which was super heartwarming
- They found dozens of baby goat sweaters in the attic and I had to google pictures of baby goats in sweaters, which was a wonderful diversion!

All in all, this was a unique and funny novel which I’d highly recommend to fans of Ash Poston’s magical realism and Lyla Sage’s countryside romances. I’m giving this 4.5 stars!

I received a Digital Review Copy of this novel from Quercus Books via NetGalley, for which I am very grateful. This review is my own unedited feedback.

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Oh wow, what a ridiculous book! With silly being my middle name, I loved every bit of it - apart from Charlie saying 'good girl.' Whatever that came from?!?!

Indeed, Gretchen was indeed a bit on the wrong side of history being a con artist, but her shenanigans with Everett showed another part of her that was warm and witty.
The cute goats, purring cats and marshmallow dogs completed the farm scenery and setting for this book. And I cannot help but smile at the knitting that was part of this story :)

So yeah, weird but wonderful and therefore deserves a place on my for-a-rainy-day shelf on Goodreads.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.