Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Haunt Your Heart Out by Amber Roberts!

This gave cute, quirky romance vibes - and although I assumed from the title/cover this was more of a Halloween read it's set over December/New years with a little spooky/paranormal doco plot which was fun!
I'm not a huge fan of insta-love and found it hard to really connect with the characters but it was still a fun read and can I just say I LOVE to see an FMC in her thirties instead of early twenties!

This book is perfect for those that love:
- Small town romance
- Strangers to lovers
- Book seller FMC
- Cosy spooky vibes
- Mental Health Rep
- LGBTIQA+
- Gilmore Girls-esque setting

The idea for the story made a good backdrop and driving force for the romance. The pacing was inconsistent at times.
This is a good pick for fall and Halloween reading!

I loved this! It was a super fun, cozy read (one of the best types of books), and I enjoyed the characters. I loved the romance between the FMC and the MMC and their dynamic. I will admit that towards the middle/end, I was concerned it was dragging on a bit, but it was still great. If you're looking for a cozy read with a bit of spooky vibes then I would highly recommend this. Also, it has the cutest cover.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a freakin' adorable little book where I actually believed that the woman who wanted to buy a bookstore in a small town not only understood that it was a legit business, but also understood the town. Also, he was a lil' cutie too. A lovely read for a crisp fall evening.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review..

omg what a ride!I absolutely devoured this!! can’t fault it ! This book delivered and then some!! all the stars! ⭐️

I was drawn to this book because of its plot. The concept is new to me as I haven't really read romance novels around ghost hunters. Sounds fun. And for the most part it is. The start was engaging, funny, and fun. It drug a little in the middle. But the bond between the characters was adorable and the characters as a cast were incredibly likable. Not necessarily a realistic relationship, and because the characters get together fairly early it is a little repetitive. It's also pretty heavy on the miscommunication trope, which is not my most favorite. But it has good warm, winter vibes and fun settings.

This book may appeal to those who like cozy, flirtatious romance.

This book had me from the start with a book store called “Dog Eared” because that’s also the name of my fave bookstore in Iowa!🤭

I don’t love plots that are based on lies, but the author did a really good job justifying it and it’s so clear that the lie is too far gone to come back from. I didn’t care for either of the main characters though. They felt a little flat to me in terms of personality, which could just be a me thing.

If you’re looking for a cozy book about ghosts that isn’t about real ghosts, this is for you! I think I would’ve enjoyed this more during the vibes of spooky season. Lots of wealthy, privileged conflicted & self elected isolation from family

This was really cute. I had a great time with the blend of Christmas and Halloween. The pacing was a bit off but that was my only complaint.

I really liked the cover, but I just could not get into this book.
Thank you NetGalley, Amber Roberts, and Alcove Press for my advanced copy.

This one should have been a hit for me, but unfortunately, it didn't quite do what I had hoped. I almost dnf'd but pushed through. It's a learning process for me I guess. I disliked the fmc pretty early on, and the dialogue and banter didn't feel very natural on several occasions. I hated that there were lies and secrets underneath the story, and I wasn't even aware of all of them. This wouldn't fall under the miscommunication trope perse, but I would say it's definitely adjacent. It really made me dislike the fmc even more that she would keep her secrets for her own gain despite thinking/knowing that she was causing harm to people she cared about. I was really frustrated by the plot twist. The ending felt like it turned the story around a little for me, even if it was a bit forced, but it didn't quite make up for the rest of the book.

⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

I really wanted to like this one, but the plot moved so quickly and yet somehow nothing happened...

I don't think I can recommend this read because even though I enjoyed their banter in the first 1/3 of the book I didn't like how they went straight into insta-love. It was also kind of boring and I should probably have dnf'd this one 50% or earlier into the book. Even the sex scenes had me skimming, and that is absolutely insane.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

This is a charming and quirky romance. The pacing is a bit slow for such a short book, but the characters are excellent, banter is good, and the setting is well imagined.

I adore anything Halloween/spooky and love a small town romance book so this was the perfect combination for me! I loved the characters from the get go and instantly wanted Lex and James to get together! I really do think those two were the perfect match and helped each other in so many ways. This book was incredibly well written and such a easy read!

This was a cute read overall, with fantastic small town and winter vibes. I really enjoyed James as a character and the anxiety representation in Lex’s character. The pacing of this book was a little bit off and there was a lot of miscommunication between Lex and James. I wish there was a bit more banter and chemistry between them throughout the book.

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.75🌟

When I started this book I just knew I was going to really enjoy it. The seasonal settings and the cosy moments throughout this one was perfect for a mix of Halloween and Christmas fans.

This story was such a nice change up from the usual small town, autumnal books with the addition of a ghostly town and a film crew to capture all the spooky moments.

This story focuses on home body Lex and the out-of-towner James and how they found themselves falling for each other despite it going against what they want. I loved Lex and James. They had such a great relationship and connection from the get go. I loved the flirty banter and sarcastic comments between them and how it made watching them fall for each other that much sweeter. I loved that they both always had each other’s backs when they were faced with uncomfortable family dramas and I loved their ending. I really didn’t know where this was going to end up but I would’ve been happy with anything as long as they were together.

I also really liked the character growth of a lot of Lex’s family, including Lex herself. I loved seeing how they all had a lot of issues but was happy to see them on the way to resolving them together. It was also nice to see aged up characters because I feel like a lot of books these days have characters who are still in their teens and it makes it hard to relate. I liked seeing the struggles of adult life instead of petty teenage drama for once.

However, as much as I really enjoyed this one I found that it started off so strong and was going to be a 4 star but after the first half it started to slow down and feel quite drawn out. It luckily picked back up towards the end and had me hooked again.

Overall, this was a great little small town, spooky season story filled with love, laughs and the adorable doggy sidekick. This one is definitely worth the read this autumn/winter.

Haunt Your Heart Out is the perfect little wintertime romcom that’ll fit right in as a December - February read (or whenever it snows really!).

It pretty much gives you all the cozy romcom tropes that you can think of with little dash of ‘oh no, miscommunication’ but it all works out in the end — perfect for anyone wanting a stress free reading experience and some feel good moments (with some realistic human emotions too).

I can see how this will be perfect for some readers, maybe less so for others. I personally didn’t love it as much as I thought I would’ve — I didn’t really feel the connection between the two MC’s and so I just didn’t really feel that invested in the relationship unfortunately. In the book’s defence, I did read this straight after a (to me) 5-star romance mystery and I’m sure it affected how much I enjoyed this. Maybe this would’ve hit different if I’d read it before or later on this year?

I will say that the representation of anxiety was really spot on and something that’s definitely relatable in its description. The way the different family dynamics are shown and the struggles you can have feeling less than others was great too — I did honestly feel like shedding some tears just a little by the end of the book because of Lex and her complicated relationship with her parents and sister. So honestly the author did something right with this part of the story!

Overall, it’s not a half bad book, even if I didn’t feel the romantic connection it’s still a pretty cute book.

/// ARC courtesy of Alcove Press and NetGalley.

I am a sucker for small town, holiday romance. Loved the concept of a ghost hunter! It was a fun little twist in the story. We need more Halloween romances, Will definitely be recommending to people next year.

I'm giving this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book was cute and had small
town charm and book shop, so it definitely had that going for it. I liked how whimsical the story was and how, although it was set during Christmas time, it definitely had Halloween vibes. That was a fun combination!

Unfortunately, the female main character was a little annoying, and that ruined it somewhat.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.