Boneyard Key, Florida is a tourist town and one of the most haunted towns in the state. Nick runs Hallowed Grounds coffee house and is a life long resident. He embraces the slower way of life, including interacting with the dead. Cassie moves to town to escape the big city. She meets Nick and sparks fly. But before they can move forward she needs to solve the mystery of her house, its history, and why she can’t ever charge her laptop. But what she finds is more than she bargained for and she needs to rely on Nick and some new friends to keep the past in the past.

👻I enjoyed the small town atmosphere, the funny interactions with ghosts, and the side characters. It’s a great choice for spooky season without too much fright. I wanted a little more depth between Nick and Cassie but I definitely will read more in the series to find out what happens next.

This was a cute premise, and overall I enjoyed it, but I felt like the haunting/ghost aspect and the romance aspect of the book were at odds. The romance was fun and mostly light, but the haunting of Cassie’s house was dark enough for it to feel like a weird clashing. And then the conclusion was very rushed and wrapped up extremely neatly. I did really love the haunted, small town vibes, though.

okay so like, the romance in this was terrible. literally nothing about it compelled me. Cassie had the personality of a wet mop and Nick was whiny AF. the only reason I finished this is because I was very invested in the ghosts 😂👻 such a bummer because I loved Well Met (although admittedly didn’t love the rest of the series). still, this was a fun spooky read. thanks to @netgalley for the gifted digital copy ✨

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I read almost all of Jen DeLuca’s Well Met Renaissance Fair series and loved them, and this book was a real departure from this series, in ways that worked and didn’t work. I think DeLuca is good at cozy, sweet contemporary romances, and this one fits that description, but adds in a paranormal aspect her first series was lacking. I saw someone online compare this book to Gilmore Girl Stars Hollow if the town was haunted, and I think that matches the tone of the book, plus it adds a Florida beach vibe. This book was cute and I think got better the further I went into it. To me it was a little slow at the beginning, and sometimes the pacing and mystery element of the book felt a little off. But overall this book had a fun ghost and beach story, which worked for September. Overall, I recommend this book for fans of ghost story romances, beach settings, and DeLucas as a writer.

Marked as DNF @ 20% on 9/5/24 | I was really excited for this one but it was just a too slow for me, and I also really don't enjoy romance in third person. The author really has to make me forget that it's in third person and it just really wasn't happening here. I wasn't getting a lot of personality from either main character and the ghost part of it was just a little off. I probably could finish but eh, this wasn't going to do it for me so I'll pass.

This is the perfect spooky season book! The book follows Cassie who has recently upended her entire life to move to the small beach town of Boneyard Key. She quickly realizes that her house and the town’s haunted history are not as fictional as she had first imagined. While there is a romance in this book, it was (in my opinion) secondary to the story of the ghosts in the town. I actually loved this because the ghosts in this book and how they find ways to communicate with the living were so compelling! I found myself fighting sleep multiple nights trying to stay up for more chapters. This book made me snort laugh and sob cry and left me so happy in the end! I’ve already purchased the audiobook because I loved this so much!

Thank you so much to Berkley and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

I liked this one a lot! Boneyard Key felt very Salem-esque in being a tourist town with supernatural happenings. The vibes were comfortable and strongly small town without being too much of a stereotype.

I enjoyed the romance and characters, but nothing really jumped out. It was all pretty average.

I did however like the ghosts in this book! Sarah Hawkins communicating via magnet poetry was so fun, and the twist was well earned with how it was being teased. I found myself more intrigued with the Hawkins House story than Nick and Cassie’s romance, which at times felt rushed.

Overall, a good read for summer or fall if you want a mix of spooky and beach-y. I’m looking forward to the next in the series!

I loved Jen DeLuca’s Well Met series so I thought this was going to be another hit for me, but unfortunately it was not. I just didn’t care about the romance at all, which I feel is important in a romance novel. I did however like the ghost mystery, so at least there was that.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Berkley for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this if you like: Paranormal romance, cozy feelings, small town, endometriosis representation

This is so quirky and funny. The small town setting with ghost tours and stuff is great. I enjoyed the characters. Cassie was a bit much, at first, but who could blame her. 🤣 I get being skeptical. I highly recommend this read, especially for Spooky season.

4⭐️ 1.5🌶️

Now THIS is the perfect Fall read and let me tell you why!!

There is mystery, ghosts, romance, food and the cutest small beach town. This binge based in Florida was so funny to me because understanding why it was so important to Cassie to have access to a PubSub really did it for me.

This was a very easy and fun read. I was very entertained the whole way and thought it wasn’t hard to realize what was going on and I kept screaming at them how to fix the issue!!!!!! I I’d have a grand time reading this book. It’s so cozy and a great read for any Fall/Halloween TBR.

The characters had good banter and chemistry. The pace could have been a bit faster but it all works out in the end. It is a very slow burn to the point I thought it was gonna be closed doors and boy was I pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t hehehe but it would have been fine without any spice too.

I’m excited to go through Jen DeLuca’s prior works because her writing style is so fun!!

I had such a great time reading this book! As a Florida native who got the heck out of dodge, I was pretty apprehensive. But Jen DeLuca is stellar and so of course I was going to give "Haunted Ever After" a fair shot. And thank God I did!! Cassie and Nick were such fun characters. Their banter was hilarious. Several times I found myself laughing out loud and running to my friends with "you won't believe what Nick just did for Cassie," or "guess what Elmer just said!" Because make no mistake—Elmer was my favorite. The entire cast was well-detailed, and I felt completely immersed while reading. I'll definitely be sticking around for the sequel!

Cassie moves to Boneyard Key to fulfill the American dream of owning her own home. She’s ill prepared for the grump she’s forced to deal with to secure a daily coffee nor the antics of the locals and their claim to fame: ghosts in residence. Her new home is supposedly haunted and the faulty wiring is the least of her problems.
The cozy small town setting is fantastic and I really enjoyed the supporting cast of characters. It feels quaint without being to kitschy, the right amount of spooky balancing the fun. The romance was a bit too insta-love for me and there’s a scene that absolutely made me cringe, but I’m invested and looking forward to more in a spin off or two.
Thank you to Berkley Besties and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

It pains me to rate this book as one star, but, this wasn't a romance novel. I really enjoyed DeLuca's previous series, so I was looking forward to reading this, but it was a complete disappointment for me. I finally had to give up near the end and start skimming because I just didn't care about a single one of the characters. The story had potential, but I think (for me) the ghost aspect overwhelmed everything else, and the book came off as cheesy and tiresome. I don't think I will be continuing this series.

Haunted Ever After is a cozy paranormal rom-com about a woman who moves to a small town where there are almost as many ghosts as people. Of course she moved into the most haunted house in the area, the one even the locals were a little nervous about, and she enlists the help of the local coffee shop owner to help her figure out the story behind her house and its former occupant.

I think there is definitely an audience for this book, but it isn't really me. This is cozy to the extreme, and I need higher stakes and more laughs out of my rom-coms. I was drawn to this book more because of the author since I loved Well Met, but this doesn't quite live up to the other series in my opinion. The romance lacked any tension or chemistry and fell flat for me, since there were no stakes and no hurdles for the couple to overcome. The dialogue wasn't strong, and I was disappointed there just wasn't much to the story. Even the ghost haunting the house, as it turns out (spoiler!) isn't actually malevolent at all.

But this might be great for someone looking for a low stakes read!

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

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

This is the cutest spooky rom-com I’ve ever read!

Cassie makes a big change when she buys a home away from her friends in a place known to be haunted. It’s the biggest tourist attraction in town but when her home also has a resident ghost and she isn’t happy.. Cassie wonders if she made a big mistake!!

Cassie is great! She really puts up with a lot with her new house and because she can’t charge her laptop in her house, she has to go to the local coffee place where she meets the handsome hunk Nick. Sparks fly! I love the chemistry between them! Her house though and her ghost.. seems to have a weird effect on Nick!

I loved the spooky town and all the ghosts! I want to visit. It was my favorite read of August!

Small town romance is the best and this one is perfect for Halloween!

5 stars

This is a super cozy/ spooky, perfect for fall, romance book! Set in Florida of a haunted town, the two MC’s need to come together to fix the ghost problem in Cassie’s house. I saw it’s a series, and I’m so excited to get some other stories from this sweet town.

Oh my gosh, I love this ghosty rom-com so much! I’m so glad this is book 1 of a planned series all set in the same spooky town. Jeannie Sheneman did such a good job with the narration and she made it so easy to binge in an afternoon!

What you’ll find:

- Grumpy coffee shop owner
- A banana bread obsessed ghost who can text
- A house ghost who sends messages with poetry magnets
- A mystery to solve
- Ghost tours
- Insta-attraction
- Iced coffee addiction

This book definitely got me in the mood for spooky season and I could not get enough of it!

This book was so fun! I love a quirky little small town and especially if it's known for having ghosts! I wish this place was real because I would love to visit and have a vacay there. Also the town's name is Boneyard Key...adorable.

Our main character Cassie is super relatable when she finds out that the town she uproots her life to is supposedly haunted, oh and also the house she just bought is too. I would have reacted the same way as her if I found out my new house had ghosts in it. I don't really believe in ghosts, but maybe I'd change my mind if I had some experience with them, and unfortunately I don't.

I also appreciated how Jen DeLuca portrayed Cassie's struggle with her old friends. I found it very relatable as someone who doesn't have children to feel a little left out of some of my old friend groups now that they're all moms, and I'm not. I was so glad to see her create new friendships and have a found family within the little community, and also with her relationship with Nick.

I would highly recommend this one! There's really only one spicy scene in the book and the rest is kissing, but technically this is open-door so don't be fooled about this little spooky romcom book!

A read perfect for spooky season. The writing was a good pace and kept your attention. There weren't any points in the story that felt like they were dragging or needed to be quickened. I really enjoyed every minute of it. It was interesting to see the clear setups of other potential love matches in the town that can lead to more books in the same universe. My only criticism was everything that happened was rather predictable, I could see a lot of the "plot twists" coming from the context clues of the story. But there were still a few surprises for me. Overall a great read and a fun romance. I love seeing books from DeLuca and can't wait for more, hopefully in Boneyard Key.

TY for the free book @berkleyromance @netgalley #berkleypartner #berkleybooks #berkleyinfluencer !!

I’m back!

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, given the premise: Cassie uproots her life in Orlando and buys (almost an impulse buy even) a house in Boneyard Key, Florida, which is, unbeknownst to her, a haunted town. Nick is the owner of the only good coffee shop, and a Boneyard Key lifer with a ghostly roommate. Cassie meets Nick because her haunted house won’t let her charge her laptop for remote work. After a bit of a call her a tourist kerfuffle, Cassie and Nick are no longer enemies to lovers and are instead friends who would have benefits but the ghosts don’t let them. Literally, the ghosts cockblock them.

They have to solve a mystery involving Cassie’s haunted house and its ghostly inhabitant, Mrs. Hawkins. This takes up the majority of the book, and creates a conflict between Nick and Cassie, who otherwise have no conflicts except some nonsense about Nick wanting Cassie to stay in Boenyard Key and just get over her ghost problem to be with him, which is the opposite of what his ex-girlfriend Madison did a few years ago. Nick hits it and quits it, normally, but his ghostly grandpa type wants him to be with Cassie long term.

Ultimately, there was too much going on with the ghost house (and it wasn’t scary in the slightest). Nick was described as a nice guy but he felt a bit underdeveloped. Their relationship was instalust-style, so I didn’t feel they worked for it. I liked his relationship with Elmer more than I cared about what happened with Cassie, and that’s not great. I liked Cassie though, and I related to her feelings that she was moving past her friends in Orlando and their mama group chat.

Overall it was okay.