I was captivated and delighted by this story of a ghostwriter and a ghost. Charming and compelling and captivating this adult debut by Poston suggests there are lots more wonderful stories we can look forward to.

This book was EVERYTHING. I loved it so much. A book about a ghostwriter of romance falling for the ghost of her editor...it's like it was written for me. It was soft and funny and perfectly paced. And while I guessed the twist early on, it didn't make the journey any less sweet or satisfying. This will definitely be one of my favorite reads of 2022.

books like this are the reason I'm glad that I don't read synopses sometimes

this book was a pleasure. there are themes about death so if those are triggering to you I wouldn't read this, but honestly I have trouble with death sometimes and I didn't find this sad or hard to read. it just made me feel warm. I saw other ppl say they found this book laugh out loud funny and I didn't really find myself laughing, but I enjoyed the book a lot.

again, this may be because I read this book without reading the synopsis, but I found I was often surprised by things that happened and felt like plot twists were thrown my way. I thought I was in for a regular romance and definitely wasn't

going to miss Florence Ben and her family so very much (even her dad. I left the book feeling like I really knew him)

overall a really warm lovely book

4.5 stars. Florence Day is a ghostwriter who can talk to ghosts. She’s ghostwritten three romances for a famous author, but she’s having trouble finishing the fourth book of her contract because she no longer believes in love. But her new, tall, handsome editor won’t give her an extension. Then, she gets a call that her father has died, and she has to return to the small town she was driven out of (after helping solve a murder with the help of a dead boy), and she gets unexpected help along the way.

This is a fun read. Even though a death of a loved one is what sets off the rest of the plot, it doesn’t seem sad, so I was surprised to find myself crying and grabbing at tissues more than once. It has the coincidences and implausible moments you expect in romance, mixed in with the complexities of family life and career and disappointments, and I enjoyed it a great deal.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES JULY 5, 2022.

Review will post week of release date.

I almost passed this book up. The blurb was so intriguing with its mentions of ghostwriters and ghosts, funeral parlors, and dead editors, but I still hesitated. Mostly because I tend to grab up books like I’m hoarding in case of an apocalypse. I have zero willpower and my TBR shows it. But then one more email hit my inbox and I couldn’t resist anymore. I hit that read it button and never looked back. I’m so, so glad I did.

The Dead Romantics is a quirky, weirdly wonderful book about a woman finding her way through grief. Florence Day is a ghostwriter for an enormously popular romance author and she has a huge problem. She doesn’t believe in love or HEAs anymore. Which makes finishing this last contracted book an issue. She asks her new editor, who may or may not know she’s actually the ghostwriter and not just an assistant, for an extension, but when he says no she knows she’s in an impossible situation.

Then she receives news from home that her father has died and her whole world changes.


"For ten years, I hopped from one apartment to the next, chasing after a love story that wasn’t mine, trying to force myself to be the exception instead of the rule, and over and over again all I found was hearbreak and loneliness, and never did I see a murder of crows in a dead oak tree, or a ghost on my front steps, because I was like everyone else, normal and lost, and my dad was still alive."


It’s hard to encompass this book and the emotions it invokes with just a few paragraphs in a review, but I’ll do my best. When Florence heads back home after 10 years she is a little lost and deep in her grief for a father she adored. She feels like her life is in shambles, a failure who didn’t make it in the publishing world under her own name, who thought she found the “one” only to realize he used her for her stories and then stole them for his own book. Florence is a little bit of a mess and I loved her so much.


"We might’ve been a family in black, but our lives were filled with light and hope and joy. And that was something that Lee Marlow never understood, never wrote in his cold, technical prose.

It was a kind of magic, a kind of love story. I didn’t think he’d ever understand."


The Days are a staple in the small town community where she grew up. They own the only funeral parlor in town and have made giving heartfelt goodbyes to the dead and their loved ones the purpose of their lives. They are a marvelous group of individuals who embrace their differences and have a deep and abiding love for each other. They make this book shine and sparkle and I enjoyed every one of their interactions.

One of the gifts Florence and her father shared was the ability to see ghosts, which is what eventually drove Florence away from her hometown. But when she gets back to help with the funeral of her father an unexpected ghost appears… her new editor who refused to give her an extension.

Benji Andor doesn’t understand why no one else but Florence can see him. He doesn’t understand why he’s more shadow than solid. It’s up to Florence to help him realize that he is dead and figure out why he’s still around. What can she do to help him wrap up his unfinished business? As Florence plans a funeral and deals with sadness and grief and missed opportunities, they grow closer. Ben is there for her like no one really has been for a long time. He sees her. He understands her. He helps her believe in love again.

You would think this would be a deep, dark, heavy book, but it’s really not. There is sadness and a couple of times I did get that heavy feeling in my chest and head which means that tears are imminent… but I also laughed and smiled and felt a lightness of spirit at the end. There IS a HEA. There are also twists and turns and unexpected detours. Surprises that made me grin in delight. There is an ending that left me satisfied.

The Dead Romantics is such a fabulous journey of life and loss and love. I enjoyed it so very much. I’m going to gently place it on my keeper shelf to come back to when I need to revisit these characters.

Highly recommend.

Favorite Quote:

Love wasn’t a whisper in the quiet night.

It was a yelp into the void, screaming that you were here.

So this was utterly charming and absolutely what I needed. It felt like one of those supernaturally inclined hallmark movies which, anyone who knows me knows I love hallmark movies. It had all the relatively lighthearted ease of one of those while blending in some very poignant conversations about grief and family (I ended up calling my dad half in tears because “the dead dad in the book loves Bruce Springsteen and I needed to tell you that I love and appreciate you ;~;”)
It’s a fast read which I absolutely needed after reading a lot of complex high fantasy novels, and I lost count of the number of times it made me laugh out loud.

Some of the authorial name drops felt a little…much in the beginning but those for the most part tempered off and if that’s my only so-called complaint then that’s an overall good book.

I really wanted to like this book. I love the concept! However, this was a miss for me. I didn't go on with the writing, and the story felt off. I don't like the "she's so small, he's so tall" trope. There was something so dramatic and cheesy the whole thing.

This was soooo good! I just love Florence and her story. Especially love the little mix of supernatural. I was sad to finish it and would love more of her and her family’s antics.

The Dead Romantics is a delightful and engaging tale that is pure fun. I love how clever and relatable Florence is. This is a book that you will not want to put down but will stay up all night to finish.

this was a very funny and a very cute rom com thag i really do think that a lot of people are most likely going to really love

Did it make me cry on a train? Sure did.
I feel this book hits the grief of losing your dad unexpectedly right on the head. The romance was cute too though. Minus the weird almost sex scene with a ghost.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I LOVED THIS!!!!!!! The writing was sweet and sincere. There were a lot of things I was hoping would happen within the story and I'm glad it all actually panned out. I just think the entire plot of this was super clever and really well executed. I can't wait for this to come out so I can sell it to everyone.

It's happened again - I've fallen in love with a book about books! The Dead Romantics was surprisingly one of the best and most unique romance novels I've read all year. It was funny, heartfelt, and very, very fun, though when more serious topics were being discussed, Poston did an excellent job switching the tone of the novel to fit the situation. Florence was a refreshing main character, and I absolutely loved the usage of chapter titles (why did they ever go away!?) in expressing Florence's mental state. If you're interested in romance novels (with a twist), books about books, and ghosts, The Dead Romantics is absolutely the book for you.

BRB - going to binge the entirety of Poston's publishings.

Hi this book destroyed my life but in a hot way.

All I know is that my full review will come later because I still need to process what I read. I haven’t cried this much because of a book in probably two years.

Did I have “ghost rolling up shirtsleeves to expose muscular forearms” on my 2022 new kink bingo board? No, no I did not. Ben was such a perfectly sweet cinnamon roll and exactly the perfectly sweet cinnamon roll Florence needed.

The book deals with death, grief, and mortality so it is a heavy read. Thus, Ben absolutely needed to just be everything light and fluffy and sugary and awkward that Florence could fall back on when life got dark and hard. If the ghost is also hard, well ce la vie.

There was lots of tragic lamenting, moaning regretfully, and mishandling of mortification. I don’t know about you, but same. If you don’t dramatically throw your head back against your headboard and yell “fuck” a la Roy Kent because a ghost is now your new sexual fantasy, then are you really reading this book?

I’m seriously so emo right now. Don’t talk to me unless you’re a ghost who wishes you could hold me in your shirtsleeves-rolled-up arms but you can’t because you’re a ghost.

Florence keeps secrets, that is her work as a ghost writer for a famous romance author and that she sees ghosts. She's struggling with her latest book when her father dies and she has to return to her hometown for the first time in a long time. Expecting to see the ghost of her father, Florence instead finds the ghost of her editor. A unique twist on the rom-com but just as full of excellent dialogue and fun engaging story.

Thank you so much to Berkley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVE the premise of this! I'm a huge fan for slightly speculative or otherworldly elements to genres like romance, so I couldn't wait to dive in!

This was everyhting I wanted it to be and more. It talks a lot about the process of grieving, as well as Florence's struggles with writing. A lto of aspects of the story-her being run out of her town because of bullying, her feeling like she has to do everything herself, and her struggles with her own career, felt very real.

I will say, although I loved the romance and really enjoyed Ben as a character, I do wish we'd gotten to know him more. He wasn't quite as fleshed out (ha) as I wanted him to be, but I did still really enjoy him as a love interest. It was alo really interested to see them develop a relationship while he's a ghost.

I did guess the twist early on (it is a romance, after all, and I'm totally okay with that) but I sitll loved the reveal! I loved the quirkiness of it, and the ending. OVerall, just a really sweet, fun take on a romance!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of a loved one (on page and major plot point), grief, family tensions, bullying (past)

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f paranormal romance
-insta attraction
-returning home
-forbidden romance elements
-I see dead people
-workplace romance elements
-forced-proxmity elements

I fell in love with ghost book boyfriends with Jesse in the Mediator series and in many ways this gave me the same vibes, with one notable exception, When Ben pops back into her life as a ghost she can no longer touch him. I loved how it was used to amp up the sexual tension. Florence in a lot of ways has given up on her dreams and is living a quieter life because of things in her past, but she loves to write and is now a ghost writer who you know can see ghosts.

When she has to return home with the death of her father, Florence has to grapple with her past in order to step into what she wants in the future. Both Florence's story and her romance with Ben, somehow this ghost story that takes place during a funeral was soft and lovely. I loved Florence hashing things out with her family, finding the joy and celebration of life while mourning someone you dearly loved. How much Florence adored her family yet also felt separate from them. And then you add in starchy Ben, somehow always brought back to Florence.

The ending really had me turning the page, desperate for these two to get the HEA they deserved and the payoff is great. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

Steam: 2

I loved this quirky supernatural sorta romance. Adorably romantic and an absolute pleasure to read. Ashley Poston is officially on my watch list.

The Dead Romantics is a thrilling and exciting novel by author Ashley Poston. I didn’t see this book coming and it hit me with all the feels.

When we first meet up with Florence Day, we discover that she is a ghostwriter for one of the top romance authors in the industry. Unfortunately for Florence, she’s had writer’s block ever since her last breakup. Now with her script due, she has no idea what to do but ask for an extension. Sounds easy enough until her sexy new editor refuses. Florence has no choice but to bang out a manuscript no matter how awful it might be. Everything is going to plan until one phone call turns her entire world upside down…

The Dead Romantics is a quirky and well-written story. I was sucked in and intrigued from the very first page. I thought the plot was fun and unique. I loved the paranormal aspects of the story and how much they added to it. I enjoyed the characters and all the different dynamics they brought to the table.

There is so much more to The Dead Romantics than meets the eye. It’s a unique love story filled with humor, family dynamics, and dealing with grief. This book was highly entertaining and I devoured it in just a single sitting. In the end, I thought this book was a really fun read and had a wonderful time getting swept up in this story.

When a writer on a deadline finds out her father has died, she’s forced to come back to the hometown she hasn’t seen in years. As she deals with unresolved family issues and her ability to see ghosts, she discovers that you can go home again and maybe even discover love. YA author Ashley Poston offers readers her first adult novel in the sweet, funny, slightly idealistic book The Dead Romantics.

Florence Day has a big problem. She’s on a major deadline for the next book she owes her publisher, and she can’t ask for another extension. She’s already gotten three, and now her editor has retired. She’s nervous about meeting the new editor, but Florence knows one thing for sure: deadline or no deadline, she can’t finish this book.

As the ghostwriter for premier romance author Ann Nichols, Florence has spent the last five years creating novels that millions have loved. Florence doesn’t mind that Ann gets all the credit. She’s easy to work with, living in Maine while Florence lives in New York and letting Florence make all the big decisions about plots. Other than the fact that the world has no idea who she is, Florence is living a great life.

Well, it was great, until the breakup. When Florence met Lee Marlow, she thought they’d be together forever. Then he betrayed her in the worst way possible: Lee stole Florence’s secrets and turned them into a bestselling book of his own. Worse, when she told him she was leaving, he didn’t do much more than shrug.

Since then Florence has stopped believing in love and romance, which is kind of a professional hazard. Now Florence has to figure out how to get on the good side of the new editor, Benji Andor, fast. On the day she meets Benji, though, Florence gets the worst news of her life: her father has died.

Florence takes a deep breath and goes back to Mairmont, South Carolina, where she grew up, to help her family with her father’s funeral. It’s been 10 years since she’s been back to Mairmont. Florence and her dad were the only two people in town who could see ghosts, and Florence spent her childhood helping the ghosts move on to the next phase in their journey.

When she helped solve a murder at the age of 13, living in Mairmont became a nightmare. She tolerated the bullying, the sideways looks, and the hostility until she could leave and then ran away to New York. Nothing, she thought, could ever bring her back to South Carolina; it’s ironic that a death is the one thing that does.

As Florence tries to manage her grief and the strained family relationships she left behind, she opens the door to a complete surprise: Benji Andor’s ghost. The day after Florence left New York, Ben was hit by a car. It’s unfortunate because the more time Florence spends with him, the more she wishes he was alive. His kindness, thoughtfulness, and, quite frankly, his hotness make Florence wonder whether she was wrong to swear off love. But can she really fall in love with a ghost and handle her past at the same time?

Author Ashley Poston writes with a freshness that brings echoes of her experience in YA books. Florence is funny and observant, and some of the asides Poston gave her will make readers laugh out loud. With a delicate touch, Poston allows Florence and Ben to break the fourth wall in a way that endears them to readers, especially those who enjoy a good romance.

Florence’s grief rings true to life, and readers will appreciate that she doesn’t flip a switch on her feelings whenever Benji’s ghost appears. Some of the book’s minor subplots, however, are harder to buy into. For example, Florence claims she was ostracized in her small town because she can talk to ghosts, yet those same small town residents (who, true to the trope, never left) don’t bat an eye at a gay couple living there and a nonbinary person running Mairmont’s only B&B.

Also, while the romance lingers, the resolutions later in the book of all the conflicts feel a little too pat. Poston stays true to the genre in granting Florence a happily-ever-after with a “twist” that many astute readers may seem coming, but she manages to keep a secret until almost the end that makes the wait worth it.

Those looking for a feel-good romance will definitely enjoy this one.