I don't often read books about talking ghosts to be honest with you but I've gotta say, I really enjoyed this one 👻

I'm what you would call a sceptic when it comes to the paranormal, having not 'seen' anything for myself I'm very much still in the 'see it to believe it' camp. But yeah I still liked this. And so I reckon all you ghost whisperer's who love nothing more than a wee phantom tickle on the toe late at night would absolutely devour it!

Started off great for me, probably because it was something different to what I'm used to and I wasn't sure what to expect next. As it progressed I learnt more about main character Florence's background, from growing up in the family funeral home and striking up convos with some of the cold ones who passed through awaiting burial to the Florence of the present, ghost-writing for the critically acclaimed romance novelist Ann Nichols.

Florence winds up back home at the funeral parlour, the same place she's been avoiding for years - this is when the fun really starts...

Just after the halfway point, I noticed a dip where a section got quite repetitive and (I think boring is too strong a word) but I wished for kick start to get things moving in the direction of a conclusion shall we say...
And ooof just like that, my prayers were answered.... All I'll say is....

What a fantastic end 👌

The Dead Romantics is a fab one for a YA reader (like me - HA! 😉) Yeah it's got a couple of F bombs in there, oh and maybe a bit of ghost sex but let's be honest what teenager do you know who hasn't seen or heard about it already (maybe not the ghost sex but y'know!)
Failing that - Chick Lit, Romance fans and those of you who like a little break from the norm - GET IT ON YOUR TBR!!!

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston is the most delightful novel that wraps around the reader, filling them with love.
This is a book that I never wanted to end. It was beautifully written and just sank into my heart and soul.
This was a book about love. It was a love that was not confined to the here and now but a love that defied space and time.
And this was a book that makes you feel good, as you experience the love. It was also a book that made you feel whimsical, as I kept thinking ‘oh no, if only…’ As I read towards the conclusion I did yell a loud ‘Oh yes!’ at a certain point – see if you do too.
A major theme was that of grief and loss as the family own and run a funeral home. But among the loss and the grief lives love. Love is a lasting legacy. Love says we lived even though we are now gone.
All the characters were well drawn, likable and realistic. I loved the two lead characters and their interactions were beautiful to witness, as we observed a growing affection and playful teasing.
When our muse dries up, what do we do? We see a character struggling to regain her talent after the world has dealt her a bitter blow.
There is sibling rivalry. Sometimes situations have been misunderstood but at the end of the day, family is bonded by memories and love.
I absolutely adored The Dead Romantics. I had the dilemma – I wanted to see what happened but I didn’t want the book to end! It was so beautiful. I cannot wait for more by Ashley Poston.
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

I have enjoyed Ashley Poston's young adult books and so was excited to see what she would do with her first adult outing. I was rather blown away by how much I did end up liking it. One of my only complaints about Poston's YA books has been that sometimes relationships seem to develop a bit too quickly and some of the potential depth is glossed over. That is not the case here. While this is billed as a romance (and does include a romance), it is almost more a story about grief and family and the endurance of love. If you're looking for an adult romance in the light and sexy sense you might be disappointed, but if you're interested in a book with more adult emotional themes, then this story might be for you.

This was okay. I enjoyed the Ashley Poston books I have read previously. I enjoy her writing style in general but found this story very predictable and found myself skipping pages with only scan reading. I also hated the constant name dropping of other authors, many of whom were authors I enjoy, it was just a bit too much.

This was hilarious, heartbreaking and SO FREAKING CUTE! I thought it was absolute perfection and there is not a single negative thing I can come up with for it. An instant favourite and one of the easiest 5 stars I've given all year!!

Thank you Netgalley and HQ for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well I already want to re-read this one. I genuinely loved it. It was one of those books that I could tell I was going to really enjoy just from the first chapter and that doesn't happen often for me.

I just loved the writing style and I already had a smile on my face by the end of that one chapter alone and thought oooh this is going to be good.

I really liked that this was romantic and funny, but that it wasn't just lighthearted as Florence also dealt with grief, being unable to write a romantic scene after swearing off love and having to return to her home town that she would rather have avoided.
The story cracked me up laughing in some places, whilst others really resonated and made me feel teary eyed. It had everything I wanted from it.

Ridiculously easy to score this - 5/5 ⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, HQ and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Preliminary 5-star review. Will post a full review and adjust the rating accordingly after I finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I absolutely adored this. This was so so good, the writing instantly captures you and is both funny and beautiful. The romance was swoony and aching and I loved the way it interwove with the plot. Absolutely stunning and made me cry at several different points. I hope we get to read about Rose and Alice next.

Well, wow! Get ready to fall in love with love, this story is EVERYTHING you need in a rom-com. Fresh and unique with beautiful characters, I could not put this down!

I loved this book!

Having read Ashley Poston's YA Once Upon A Con series, I knew that I loved both her writing and her romances but I wasn't prepared for how much I would love this book.

This is more than just a cute romance as it also explores the bigger topic of grief. I was absorbed in Florence's story of going back to a hometown that hasn't always been the most supportive of her. I also, of course, did love the romance. I was rooting for Ben and Florence even if it seemed logistically impossible (what with him being a ghost and all).

I can't wait until I can get my hands on a physical copy of this.

This book had e happy to sad to happy to crying to mad to happy again all within the first 5 chapters... it was an insane rollercoaster of emotions.

I literally adored this book but it totally wasn't what I thought it was going to be and I went in blind but it was the best decision I made because this book had me shook!

I loved the premises of the book but wont say too much as I don't want to spoil it but if you love heartbreak in books... but with a HEA ending... this book is for you!

5 star read!

This is the romance read that has surprised me the most this year -set in the most part in a funeral home as a woman who can see ghosts grieves her Dad falls for one of the ghosts? Yeah, this could easily have missed every mark.

It really doesn't. This is lighthearted whilst dealing sensitively with hard truths of life - love and sadness often have to coexist. The book is funny and sweet, it appeals to the easy sense of home and cheers you up. I listened to it and would highly recommend the audio version.

Think the Just Like Heaven films meets that Meg Cabot Mediator series and you have this book - perfect for any romance readers that remember the film and books being out when they were a young teen. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

This is a really lovely book, although deals with grief and loss in a way that feels very heavy at times. The characters are brilliantly fleshed out and the hint of fantasy makes for a gripping read. Great plot, great pacing, and a voice that jumps off the page.

to me, despite the overarching romance plot, this was not strictly a romance book. it follows Florence Day's 'ghostmance' with her editor, Benji Andor, while still managing a tragedy she has to travel back home for. but alongside that you get a taste of building back familial relationships, and as an oldest sister i found some of Florence's character traits all too relatable. I found the slight plot twist to be largely predictable, plus the writing at times was a bit *too* rom com cliche for me, hence the lowered star, but overall this is a really sweet book that I ran through after falling in love with the characters in the first chapter or two, so I would recommend it in a heartbeat. or lack thereof, if you're Benji.

huge thanks to netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

In The Dead Romantics we follow Florence Day, a ghostwriter who can see ghosts. To be honest, that one line made me want to pick up Ashley Poston's novel immediately. Reader, it was so much fun! Florence is struggling with the latest book she's been ghostwriting, she thinks the love is dead, her old, trusted editor retires and the new one arrives, and then a family tragedy strikes... Ashley Poston put all of these things together, added some brilliant humour and ghoulish elements reminiscent of Six Feet Under and The Addams Family (which I love) and created an unputdownable, often touching, funny and original book.

The characters are perfect; from our main protagonists to the background characters - everyone is so vivid and well written. Honestly, I loved reading about every single person (and spectre) in this novel. The story is unpredictable, it made me laugh and almost cry a few times! I enjoyed the dynamics between people (and ghosts!) - friends, siblings, parents, lovers. The Dead Romantics really has it all.

I can't recommend it highly enough, whether you're looking for a bit of romance or spooky fun.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book. I loved how quirky and unusual it was, the Day family were amazing and I loved getting to know everything about them and how their lives had been growing up, they were so endearing and it just had such a beautiful family feel about it all. Florence was probably one of my favourite characters I’ve read in a long time, I loved her sarcasm and humour.. she was the reason I was so captivated from the first page and I just adored her throughout. I was fully invested in the story, the characters, all of it! It was written so beautifully too, I got emotional quite a few times as it’s quite an inspiring, thought provoking read. I highly recommend it and probably won’t stop talking about it for a while.

The Dead Romantics is not a book you only read once. It’s a book you pick up whenever you need that heart-sore, real love feeling to overwhelm you. It’s the book that makes you laugh at the silly, wonderful banter, the sweet family relationships, and the achingly beautiful love story. It’s one of those great books that make you feel whenever you think about them. It’s happiness and love in grief.

In a word, The Dead Romantics was perfect.

Florence Day is a romance writer who no longer believes in love. Benji Andor is an editor whose control stops him from living his life to its full potential. Benji is Florence’s new editor for a book she’s ghostwriting but hasn’t finished yet, even with the deadline days away. But Florence had her heart broken by the man she loved and now can’t finish this last romance book because she no longer believes in happily ever after.

When Florence unexpectedly multiple calls from her siblings and her mom, she knew something wrong, but she never expected that her dad had died. Flying back to the hometown she hasn’t visited in the last decade, Florence is further shocked when a knock at the door reveals her editor, Benji, as a ghost.

After solving a murder when she was thirteen, with the help of a ghost, Florence was bullied, named a liar, and ran out of town. Since then, she’s done her best to avoid ghosts, but when she sees Benji, she knows she must help him. It’s what her dad would have wanted. While trying to get through the frankly bizarre list of demands her dad made for this funeral, Florence and Benji walk through grief together, hold each other up and keep the other moving forward. Benji helps Florence to see herself for who she is, a talented writer and spectacular woman, while Florence allows Benji to live and experience before he moves on.

The relationship that blossoms between these two is so heartful and gut-wrenching it's sweet and romantic, a girl who sees ghosts and a boy who’s a little bit ghostly. I cannot tell you more about what happens because you need to experience it for yourself, but I don’t see, in any way, how you could not love this book.

It was just what I needed to pull me out of a romance reading slump, although predictable, it was heart-warming and laugh out loud.

It had just enough spookiness to appease my little emo heart as well.

There was the potential for this to be a really heavy read, but the way the author knitted in the ghostly romance gave moments of levity and a yearning that I absolutely adored.