Thank you to @netgalley @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca is a delightful blend of romance, humor, and the supernatural, set in the charming seaside town of Boneyard Key, Florida. This novel follows Cassie Rutherford, who moves to Boneyard Key and buys a historic cottage, only to discover it’s haunted. With the help of Nick Royer, the grumpy yet endearing owner of the local coffee shop, she navigates the spooky happenings and finds unexpected love.

What I Loved:
Character Chemistry: The dynamic between Cassie and Nick is electric. Their interactions are filled with witty banter and genuine emotion, making their romance both fun and heartfelt.
Humor and Heart: DeLuca’s signature humor shines through, providing plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. The story balances these lighthearted scenes with deeper emotional beats, creating a well-rounded narrative.
Unique Setting: The small-town setting of Boneyard Key, with its quirky residents and ghostly charm, adds a unique twist to the romance genre. The vivid descriptions of the town and its haunted history make for an engaging and atmospheric read.

Overall, Haunted Ever After is a charming and spirited romance that will leave you smiling. Jen DeLuca delivers a story full of love, laughter, and ghostly magic, making it a perfect read for fans of contemporary romance with a paranormal twist.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #berkleypub #berkleyromance #berkleybuddyreads #ltbreaderteam #berkelywritesstrongwomen #hauntedeverafter #jendeluca

This was adorable! I loved Jen's Well Met series so was super excited for this one. It did not disappoint. I thought the premise was so fun and getting to know not only the main characters, but the ghosts too was great. I liked the historical aspects of the town and the way they found out that some of the stories they'd always thought they'd known weren't accurate. They re-wrote history.

The romance was lovely. I enjoyed Nick and his cafe. I wish I had a man who baked me banana cinnamon bread! I definitely recommend this one!

No need to twist my arm to read a romcom with small town haunted vibes AND coffee shop vibes?? Although I have been bamboozled into thinking it was fall themed, but it's FINE. I think I liked the paranormal vibes more than the actual romance lol I just couldn't agree with the chemistry they had. Was a fun and easy story to get through though!

I loved Jen's Well Met series, so I was super excited to get the chance to read this new one set in a lovely (and haunted) small town in Florida. This was a fun and unique rom-com with a supernatural element. I loved the small town setting and the quirkiness of Boneyard Key. The characters in this book were great - I almost enjoyed the side characters more than the MCs at times. There was so much to love about the grandmother who can speak to ghosts and the ghost tour guide and the historian/bookseller. The history of the town and the backdrop for the supernatural elements was well balanced with the developing relationships and current events.

I really enjoyed the historical ghost tour and the way that the ghost in the house reacted to the guide's story telling. I also loved the way that the ghost got her own back story and the way that ghosts were essentially characters in the book. The creative ways for the ghosts to communicate was super fun and I had a good time reading the exchanges between the ghosts and their respective 'roommates'.

The two MCs were interesting characters - there were times where I felt like Cassie in particular was a little one dimensional. I was glad that she found a good group of friends and a community in Boneyard Key and was able to move on from the friend group that she was struggling with in Orlando. Nick was a wonderful coffee shop owner with a great mix of grumpy and considerate. Their relationship development was a little bumpy at first and it took me a while to get on board with their connection.

Overall, there's a lot packed into this book that made it move really quickly and made for a super enjoyable and entertaining read. I'm really hoping for another book that focuses on a Sophie x Leon storyline! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!

I ended up DNFing at 25%, I was not enjoying and i think that its solely my fault. I dont think paranormal books are for me because everyone just seems schizo. SOOOO would I still recommend? Yes if your'e looking for a paranormal aspect in a book. Other than that i will still classify this as cozy and fsll vibes and sell to customers.

I am a huge fan of Jen DeLuca’s renaissance faire series and was so PUMPED when I saw she was writing a new series. It’s the perfect balance of sweet, slightly spooky, and spicy. Did I tear up twice in the last 20%? Total sob fest. And this cover? 20/10. Nick and Cassie were so cute together. Cassie’s struggles with life and finding her place will be so relatable to so many. Nick is just a cinnamon roll sweetheart and I love those over here. The characters in town are totally entertaining and lovable for the most part, and I adored reading along.

Haunted Ever After is the first book in the Boneyard Key romance series by Jen Deluca. After Cassie starts feeling as if her friends have out grown her with their baby announcement engagements and having nothing like that to report Cassie decides to move, only by the time her bid is excepted she’s agreed to move across the state to boneyard key. A beachfront town known for its hauntings something Cassie at first doesn’t think much about it after meeting Hallowed Grounds coffee owner Nick she learns she’s bought one of the most famous haunted houses in the town, her house is even on Sophie’s ghost tour. The more she goes to the coffee shop the more she feels she is falling for Nick but Nick and Cassie both have reasons that make them hesitant to start dating. Will Nick get over his heartbreak and will Cassie get over the whole ghost thing? This is a horrible review but OMG it seems the better the book is the more trouble I have writing a review in this book was so good I cannot wait for the next book. I love a good book series and if the first book is any indication this is going to be a great one. #NetGalley, #BerkeleyPublishing, #JenDeluca, #HauntedEverAfter, #BoneyardKey,

I was so excited to read a new book by Jen DeLuca. I absolutely adored her Rennaisance Faire series. However, this story was a struggle for me. I feel like the books had fits and starts, moments that I was really captured by the story, but it didn't carry through. I did like the main character, but the romance chemistry fell flat for me. All the ingredients were there for a cozy, Fall Charmer. But, it didn't quite deliver.

I am starting to enjoy spookiness and ghosts in my books more. Especially if they are micromanaging a cafe and meddling in love affairs

This was such a sweet read of a mix of romance and mystery. Cassie moves to a smalltown in Florida that focuses on the local lore of ghost stories. She has an awkward first impression with coffee shop owner Nick, and you can just tell from their intensity they’re going to be more than friends. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the story with so many ghosts floating around, but they really shape the story along with the friends Cassie makes along the way.

Cassie is dedicated to solving the mystery of her house and the previous owners. She is having her own ghost situation, and I enjoyed the sleuthing she and her new friend Sophie did to uncover more about the local ghost stories. Nick also wins you over with the I’m grumpy to everyone but I’ll be nice to you stick, and he’s got a sweet spot for Cassie. The locals of Boneyard Key (the spirited and live people) are so fun and charming as well. Those characters steal the show and make this a sweet and humorous read.

Not that I had low expectations going into this (I have loved Jen DeLuca's previous works), but I did not expect this book to be my favorite ~spooky season~ release of the year! The last books I read by this author were about finding love at a Ren Faire, whereas this one was about finding love in the most haunted town in America. The spice was spicy, the romance was so sweet, and I did not expect to cry over a ghost. All in all, 10/10.

I found this to be a very cute and enjoyable read. I loved DeLuca's ren faire series and I was thrilled to find out she was writing a paranormal-y romance. Cassie and Nick had such great chemistry (despite the rough first impression) right from the start. I appreciated that there wasn't a slow burn between them really. They knew that the other person liked them right from the start. I also loved getting to know the rest of the quirky locals in Boneyard Key, both dead and alive. Sarah Hawkins in particular was special and I loved getting to know her story. I look forward to reading more books in this series!

I love cozy romances as much as I love the angsty, spicy ones, and Haunted Ever After hit the spot for me. There were some communication issues between the main couple that frustrated me more than usual, but overall, this is a great romance for when you want a little spooky and a little sweet. I made myself some hot cocoa and curled up to finish this book in a single night.

I am obsessed with everything about this book.

Cassie and Nick's relationship? Obsessed.
The town and its townspeople? Obsessed.
The ghosts and magical realism aspect? Obsessed.
The way Cassie communicates with the ghost through letters on her fridge? OBSESSED.

This book was quirky and cute in all of the best ways. This book was so unique and fresh. This is a perfect cozy book if you're wanting a light spook but also a romance to die for! This was very entertaining, and I'm spotting on Goodreads that this was book 1 which means there are going to be more which means SIGN ME UP I NEED IT!

I loved Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca! It was a fun fall read with characters that had clear character development. Cassie and Nick were adorable. Even though everything was haunted in this little town, the ghost twist at the end was well done and unexpected. The romance itself was grounded in reality and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.

This is a fun, not too spooky ghostly romance. I've loved Jen DeLuca's Well Met, Ren Faire backdropped books, and this new setting, world, and characters are a fabulous new direction. You do have to buy into the ghost lore in this book, but the author makes it easy, and I came to really love the ghost characters as much as I enjoyed the main characters.

Such a fun read and though I felt like I got a little bogged down in the middle, the end really pulled me back in. I felt like it took a long time for some of the obvious plot points to sink for the characters, but they get there eventually. My favorite character was Elmer and that kind of broke my heart, but the way that wrapped up made the ending that much sweeter for me.

If you are looking for an easy fall spooky read, this has it all. Small town romance, ghosts of the scary and cozy variety, and a lot of coffee and baked goods.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Haunted Ever After is a unique twist on a "holiday" romance. It features a small beach town that is haunted by ghosts. Our protagonist Cassie moves into the infamous Hawkins House, not knowing it is haunted. She must work with the local barista, Nick, to figure out what is wrong with her new home while navigating her feelings for him.

I enjoyed a lot of parts of this, but I could have done without misogyny as a plot device. It is a tough one to really speak on as it is the main reveal of the book- what I will say is that I appreciated that the conflict was external to the relationship, but I didn't really enjoy how the conflict was addressed. There were also a lot of humorous moments in this book, and the small town setting and characters were enjoyable. The haunted storyline was also quite refreshing as it's a change of pace for me in the romance genre. I would read the next in the series, but this doesn't rank quite as highly as Well Met for me. If you want a sweet but spooky romance to read this fall, definitely pick up Haunted Ever After!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy to review. All thoughts are my own.

Haunted Ever After is a cute and unique (if predictable) story that’s perfect for spooky season. While it has a strong romantic subplot, I don’t think the romance is the meat of the story. I enjoyed the full cast of characters—living and otherwise—and thought they all had great chemistry. I did feel like I spent a fair portion of the book waiting for the storyline to catch up to what I’d already figured out, so the “mystery” of sorts wasn’t actually very mysterious. Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone looking for a lighthearted, thematic read for October.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is perfect for romance lovers that want a ghosty story. This one has:
- a small town with a rich history
- a texting ghost
- a ghost tour
- a coffee shop with a good looking barista

Definitely recommend this one! It's cute and fun, perfect for spooky season when you don't really like the "spooky" part.

This one was cute. Nothing extraordinary, but cute none the less.

Haunted Ever After is about Cassie, who has moved from the city to a small town which is famous for its ghosts. After feeling lonely when she can't relate to her friend group of married women, she also has a lack of friends in her life. When she can't seemingly charge her laptop in her house, she starts frequenting the only cafe in town to work. Enter Nick, the cute cafe owner.

This book wasn't especially predictable - it did not have an obvious twist - which I liked. It was also the right amount of spooky for me which means almost no spookiness. But it incorporated ghosts into the story quite well. Also, the side characters were entertaining, and I also liked how Cassie handles the situation when she thinks that Nick has crossed a boundary. She was a good MC and Nick is a cute male love interest with his own issues that get addressed as well.

Give it a go if you want to read a cute romance with a bit of paranormal thrown in. Perfect for starting the Halloween month!