I stopped reading this at 100 pages. For me the pace was just too slow and felt like nothing was happening for a long bit. I also did not understand the romance between the two characters- they just didn't fit for me. I did really like both characters and the main element of the plot with the supernatural/ghost hunting aspect and how the two were connected by it.

Opposites attract in this spirited, small town romance between a homebody bookseller and an adventurous filmmaker. Though they fall for each other while hunting ghosts, there's more spice than spooks to be found in these pages. As their love story progresses, Lex and James must also contend with a shared desire to lay down roots and define happiness on their own terms, as they struggle to find balance between the expectations of their families and the dreams they have for themselves. A perfect autumnal read, Roberts' cozy romance is a ghoulishly good time!

Haunt Your Heart Out is a modern romance novel that blends themes of love, humor, and the paranormal. Taking place in a charming Vermont town, the narrative follows Lex McCall, a bookstore owner who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a ghost-hunting escapade with the charismatic James, a crew member of a documentary team exploring the town's supernatural tales. As the story unfolds, the complexity deepens as Lex's clandestine role in perpetuating these ghost stories jeopardizes not only her developing relationship with James but also her dreams of owning the bookstore.

Lex McCall is a character that many individuals can relate to, as her fears and aspirations strike a chord with those who have experienced the fear of being abandoned. Through a skillfully constructed character arc, Lex evolves from a hesitant local to a bold individual who is willing to embrace risks for love and pursue her dreams. James, the charming ghost hunter, goes beyond being a mere romantic interest; he serves as a catalyst for Lex's personal growth, playing a crucial role in driving the narrative forward.

Amber Roberts' writing is characterized by its engaging and witty nature, embodying a narrative style that effectively conveys the spirit of a small-town romance. Through thoughtfully selected words and phrases, the author infuses a cozy charm into the story, resulting in an enjoyable reading experience. The book's overall effect is one of warmth and entertainment, ultimately leaving readers feeling satisfied.

The novel examines themes of love, belonging, and the fear of change through the literary techniques of irony and humor employed by Roberts. These elements add complexity to what might otherwise be considered a lighthearted romance. The overarching message conveyed is that embracing change can result in unforeseen and rewarding consequences.

The book maintains a consistent pace, incorporating enough unexpected developments to captivate readers without overwhelming them. The layout is clear and uncomplicated, facilitating comprehension. The ease of reading is enhanced by Roberts' concise and lucid writing approach, guaranteeing a seamless reading journey.

"Haunt Your Heart Out" is an engaging novel that goes beyond romance to explore complex themes of the human experience within the context of a small-town love story. The book is praised for its well-crafted plot, realistic characters, and the author's skillful blend of humor and emotional depth.

I would suggest "Haunt Your Heart Out" to individuals seeking a modern romance novel with a unique twist. Fans of "Gilmore Girls" and those who appreciate romantic stories with depth will find this book especially engaging. It is an ideal choice for a relaxing evening at home, offering a delightful and haunting experience for readers.

Amber Roberts' "Haunt Your Heart Out" is a charming contribution to the contemporary romance genre, blending humor, emotional depth, and a touch of the supernatural. The novel's engaging storyline and endearing characters are certain to leave a lasting impact on readers well beyond the final pages.

#HauntYourHeartOut #NetGalley

Haunt Your Heart Out is the perfect read for OG YouTube fans and hallmark holiday movie lovers. Balancing spooky ghost vibes with cozy small town Christmas, this book also had some hidden depths, a surprise from the sweet, fun, spooky romance I was expecting.
Complicated family dynamics and the pressures of unmet expectations are a big theme and something our hero and heroine bond over, including the difficulties of advocating for yourself when facing constant parental disappointment. I could relate to Lex and her desire for comfort and certainty over a big adventurous life. Working in a used bookstore in a wintery Vermont tourist town sounds so dreamy! I also adored reading about Lex’s eclectic collection of annotated books and how it made her feel close to her grandfather.
Plus, you can never go wrong with an adorable canine side character, especially with the name Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

This book was a did not finish for me. I tried and tried and tried - got 100 pages in and just had to stop. it was confusing, not well=written, and frankly, boring. I didn't feel like anything about the plot was authentic. It seemed to just borrow from Ashley Poston. It's as if AI was asked to write an Ashley Poston-esque novel with ghost stories. You know when you ask AI to make an image and it gives you people with 7 fingers on a hand? This novel seemed to suffer in the same way - there were parts there but they didn't fit. Nothing came together smoothly and the pacing was just all over the place. The romance had zero chemistry. This book was a definite no.

Solid 3.5. This was a unique and adorable premise for a book! I really liked the FMC. She was smart and funny! I appreciated the mental health representation that we got in this book. The love story was sweet.

I wish the MMC was a bit more flushed out. He seamed a bit flat for me. There was the occasional thought like “wow, where did that come from”. Like with the personal “filming” scene (if you read it you know what I am talking about) that came out of nowhere. It just felt like it was out of character for the FMC.

Overall I enjoyed it! It’s a cute quick read great for the Halloween to Christmas season.

Lex is our resident bookseller, who happens to run a vlog all about ghosts. James is part of a ghost hunting documentary crew that comes into town, with all the charm and charisma to sweep Lex off her feet. What’s gonna happen when it comes to light that Lex has been making up the ghost stories?

This was a cute novel involving ghost hunting, a small town, roots, family, and finding your way amongst it all. The chemistry between Lex and James was good, the uniqueness of the story hasn’t been done, which kept me intrigued.

I would recommend this for fall reading; definitely gets you in the spirit!

Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for this ARC; all opinions are my own.

Haunt Your Heart Out is a delightful blend of romance and humor. Set in a charming Vermont town, the novel follows Lex McCall, a devoted bookseller with a knack for crafting ghostly tales. Lex's quiet life is turned upside down when James, a dashing ghost hunter, arrives with a documentary crew to investigate the town’s “hauntings”—stories Lex fabricated for her old vlog.
The chemistry between Lex and James is palpable from the start, their interactions sparking both laughter and tension. Lex’s initial attempts to sabotage James’s research to protect her secret and secure her dream of owning the bookstore create a fun, engaging premise. As the two spend more time together, Lex’s walls begin to crumble, revealing her vulnerability and deepening her feelings for James.
The author skillfully balances the steamy romance with lighthearted moments and the occasional ghostly scare. The small-town setting, reminiscent of Gilmore Girls, adds to the novel’s charm, making it an enchanting escape.
While the plot occasionally feels predictable, the characters’ growth and the witty dialogue keep the story fresh and enjoyable. Haunt Your Heart Out is a read that will leave you smiling, proving that sometimes, love is the most unexpected—and delightful—haunting of all.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a heartwarming story that blends the spirit of Halloween and Christmas, offering the best of both worlds. The story follows Lex, who resides in a small town far from her family. Battling anxieties since her teenage years, she has learned to tame them over time. She has crafted a life she wouldn't trade for anything: residing in the memory-laden house inherited from her grandfather, despite its financial strain, and working in a bookstore where her love for literature finds solace, though she's frustrated by the owner's resistance to her improvement ideas. Throughout it all, she knows she can always rely on her best friend, Natalie. However, Lex's stable world is thrown into disarray when James enters the picture.

I particularly enjoyed the banter between the two protagonists; Lex exhibits wit and rhetorical flair, while James comes across as mature and caring. I also appreciated the subplot with the ghost stories, showing off Lex and Natalie's fearless streak, and the cozy vibe of the Hallmark-style small town.

What slightly threw me off was the pacing, which felt a bit sluggish at times, and the lack of communication between the characters towards the end, which seemed unnatural compared to their earlier direct exchanges. Nevertheless, reading this book remains a cozy delight for fans of small-town romance.

Thanks NetGalley, Amber Roberts, and Alcove Press for providing an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was SO cute!
Such a cozy-spooky-christmasy all in one?

Lex and James seems to be opposites where Lex is content to stay in her “bubble” James is a paranormal filmmaker and it was amazing watching these two interact around each other!
It’s got the cozy romance vibes with spooky AND christmasy vibes such a fun read, there was a 3rd act breakup kinda but it didn’t bother me as much as normal, overall it was such a fun read!

I loved reading this mainly because age wise the MCs were more relatable

3.5 rounded up to 4. Wow, this one packed more of an emotional punch than I was expecting.

Lex loves her hometown and doesn't want to leave. She lives in the house her grandfather built for her grandmother (even though it's falling apart) and works at the local bookstore (even though her boss won't let her implement any of her marketing ideas). To some, she may look like she's settling, but to Lex, its heaven. When James comes to town to film a documentary about local ghosts, she tells herself it's a bad idea to indulge her little crush. He's only going to leave when the film is done. But Lex can't deny their chemistry.

The set up for Haunt Your Heart Out is so cute. I loved the chemistry between Lex and James and how compatible they were. And the scenes where James was afraid of the 'hauntings' were priceless. But I think my favorite thing about this book was how whether or not the 'hauntings' were real or fake tied into Lex's perception of herself. She thought she was the least favorite daughter, a disappointment, a screw up, only to discover that her sister though that Lex was the golden child, and her parents were proud of her (even if they didn't always show it). I bawled my eyes out unexpectedly and I loved the ending.

This was a cute book and worth adding to your spooky season TBR.

With its quirky characters, witty dialogue, and whimsical plot twists, this novel is sure to cast a spell on readers from the very first page.

This was a perfect little holiday read!

I think most of my indifference comes from requesting it and reading it at the beginning of summer, when it's a halloween-y and snowy vibe in the book, and I just couldn't entirely connect.

The characters were very sweet though, even if Lex got a little annoying at times. I really liked James and Lex's relationship, even if it was a little insta-love, which im not too big a fan of. I feel when it's insta love that the angst and excitement dwindles before the middle of the book, but the pacing was pretty solid for this one. The end got a little long and it dragged but at least it was the end.

The small town vibe was lovely!!! The synopsis refers to Gilmore Girls and the stars hollow vibe served.

Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review!!

Haunt your heart out by Amber Roberts - review

3⭐️
2🌶️

First of all Netgalley and Alcove press thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to read Haunt your Heart out by Amber Roberts in return for a honest review🥰

Haunt your Heart out is a small town romance set in Stowe, Vermont. The home of a witty, anxious, thirty something bookseller named Alex, or Lex in short.
After dropping out of university because of her mental health she decides to work at the local bookstore Dog Eared fulltime. She had inherited the house of her grandpa, which she loved and is quite content with her life.
One night James, an out of towner, paranormal filmmaker drops into the bookstore. He is making a ghost movie with his friend Julian about the ghosts in Stowe, which are slightly based on the youtube videos of Haunted Happenings (Lex’, alterego Luna, and her bestfriend Nathalie’s channel). But is Lex able to resist James’ charm, knowing he will leave and she is not planning on leaving Stowe ever.

I really liked the romance and the background plot of the movie. It is such a fun plot 🎬📽️.

The characters of Lex and James are also so loveable and adorable and their banter was just 🤌🏻. And James’ dog seems like the cutest little bean ever 😍.

I also really liked the main characters both being LGBTQ+, Lex being pan and referring to her earlier relationships which were non hetero and James being bi.

The book is such an easy and fast read and definitely something to read for halloween or Christmas as it is also set during these holidays. Not really the timing for me at the moment 😂, since it is just starting to get warmer and more sunny ☀️ out, and the book mostly talks about snowy ❄️ weather 😅.

Overall a great, fast romance, nothing out of the ordinary but really enjoyable 🥰. I would definitely recommend this read for the more cozy times of the year. Especially if you love the vibes of Gilmore Girls and Hallmark movies 💕✨.

If you're looking for a cozy, Hallmark vibes romance, Haunt Your Heart Out checks all those boxes. The setting, the small town of Stowe, Vermont, was perfect. I loved all the descriptions of the bookstore where Lex works in particular. This was the perfect read for cold winter nights on the couch. Lex and James are super cute together and I appreciated how they helped each other through their respective family situations.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Paranormal in the winter with characters in their 30s? Sign me up!

I've never been a fan of insta-love. I like the characters having to work for their happy ending and waiting for them to finally get together. But, I have to say, I enjoyed Lex and James' chemistry and didn't mind that they got together quickly. It may have dwindled a little in the last third and their breakup and getting back together was a little rushed, but I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would.

The book, unfortunately, was a little long. I don't think it needed to be as big as it was. With so many pages, things kind of got repetitive. Overall, though, I liked it! If you want a cute, spooky story for the winter, I strongly suggest this one!

Lex loves living in her small town running a bookstore even though most of her friends and family have moved away. She has a few rules, one being no dating tourists. This rule is tested when ghost hunter James comes to town. He is part of a crew that has been drawn to the area in part due to a fake YouTube series created by Lex and a friend when they were younger. Lex agrees to help James and his team research the ghost stories in town. Problems arise as Lex begins to develop real feelings for James while tracking down the fake ghost stories.

I had a lot of fun with this book! The characters were great and I loved the fake ghost hunting aspect. Lex and James had great chemistry and banter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 38%

I really wanted to love this one - a romance with spooky vibes and small town charm it sounded perfect for my Halloween loving heart. But unfortunately it was a miss for me and after really trying to push through I decided to DNF. 💔 (which to be clear I don’t do.) I saw the author wrote about not liking scary things so I knew not to expect horror content so I expected this to read more like Ghost Whisper or Being Human. (Funny or emotional ghost stories but not scary.) Unfortunately, that was not the case and the ghost stories in this weren’t interesting. Honestly, this story felt like it was dragging from the start and really struggled with its pacing. The relationship between Lex and James was just eh and it didn’t really make me feel anything…I wasn’t rooting for the characters and I wasn’t attached to anyone. Personally, I also think this story coming out so early in the year was a mistake because the fall vibes aren’t here yet to give it that extra oomph.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc and I apologize for not being able to finish and enjoy it. 😢

I love that I’m finding more books with people in their 30s. I will say I think I would’ve enjoyed this book more if I had read it during the fall. But I thought this was a quick, cute, fun read!

Lex loves her small town life. She grew up creating ghost stories & now lives in her grandfathers old run down house, despite her parents wanting her to sell it & move away. Loves her job in the local bookstore, even though her boss will not let her take artistic control to bring in more business & calls her everyday to check in. Other than her best friend, everyone in her life has moved away, leaving Lex with a sense of abandonment.
James works on a documentary crew & comes to town to get proof on the elusive ghosts that haunt the town. Lex knowing the truth & unable to be attractive to James's cockiness tags along to help the crew get footage. But Lex tries not to fall for James, as she couldn't handle another person leaving.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book. A 30something who runs a cute bookstore & created a vlog about the hauntings of her town who falls for a fellow ghost hunter, who also has a cute dog. And the cover is super cute. I enjoyed the beginning, but about 30%-40% into the story started to feel bogged down & I started to lose interest.
I wish the romance had been a slower burn. Lex & James were hooking up about 25%-30% into the book & wish we had a more of a build up of them exploring their attraction before giving in.
We never forget that Lex has abandonment issues as this is brought up all the time. It became so repetitive, it felt like nothing else was moving forward in the story as was so stuck on this point,
This had all the makings to love this story, but after struggling to get this finished for over a month ended up DNF'ing at 64%. Feel so disappointed as really wanted to love this is.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this.