It has taken me a very long time to sit down and write this review, because The Dead Romantics left me with all the feels. I put the book down several times, because I felt overwhelmed with emotions this book prompted. This book covers loss in depth and I think that should be mentioned early on in this review, because if that's not something you are feeling prepared to read, save this book for another time; it's worth it.

When I read the synopsis and requested the book, I thought I was jumping into a lighthearted romance novel. Wow, was I wrong!

Florence Day is a ghostwriter for an extremely successful romance author. Her job as a ghostwriter had been successful as well, until her ex-boyfriend broke her heart and Florence felt love no longer existed. Try writing a romance novel while feeling that way! With a new editor joining the publishing house, Florence hopes to wow Ben, but instead sounds more like a stammering fool. He tells her the deadline and she leaves feeling defeated. Later that night, everything is put on hold, when Florence unexpectedly receives a call from home letting her know her father has passed away. Let me just say, anyone who knows me, knows I am a daddy's girl. So, my heart broke for Florence with the news and I have to be honest as the next few chapters unfolded, I wasn't sure if my own heart could handle it. Like her dad, Florence has a secret, she can see and talk to the dead. So when she unexpectedly finds a ghost waiting for her, she's surprised to discover it's her new editor.

This book was heart achingly touching. The details for the dad's funeral and putting it all together was beautiful. The quirky cast of characters made me smile. The feelings of loss made me want to run home and hug my parents and tell them how much I love them. Florence's continued hope to maybe spot her dad made me feel so many emotions at once. I don't think I'll ever look at crows the same way anymore after reading this book Ashley Poston!!

Thank you so much Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the free copy to read and review! I think this will be a book I read again, which doesn't happen often, but I loved it so much!

I don't read a lot of paranormal romance so I was hesitant when I first picked up The Dead Romantics. However, it did not take long for Poston's writing and character development to win me over. All the characters, not just the protagonist, were lovable and I was truly rooting for everyone to get the happy endings they deserved. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this author and reading whatever she publishes next.

Absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down. When trying to explain the plot to other people if felt like it shouldn't work - a ghostwriter who is a mortician's daughter but can also see ghosts and falls for her editor who is also suddenly a ghost. It shouldn't work, there's too much going on. But it does work!! It works perfectly and leaves you wanting more.

The way this book gave me a publishing romance AND a hot ghost! Here for all of it. Will follow Ashley Poston anywhwere.

Florence ghostwrites for Ann Nichols, a renowned romance novelist. She’s struggling to finish her last contracted book in the aftermath of a bad breakup. Florence meets her hot new editor, Ben, who expects her to have the manuscript finished tomorrow, but she’s nowhere near done. When Florence’s father unexpectedly dies, she has to fly home from New York to her small town down south. While reuniting with her family and dealing with the funeral planning – her dad left some pretty extravagant requests – she hears news that Ben was hit by a car. And then something strange happens. Though Florence, like her father, can see ghosts, she never had one follow her before – and Ben has followed her here.

Florence sets out to make her father’s funeral everything he wanted while struggling to reconnect with her sister and to fit in with her family in a small town that always found her a little strange. Meanwhile, Ben keeps popping up and fading out, and though he is a ghost, Florence can’t help but be drawn to him. By the end of the week, Florence and her family are ready to celebrate their father’s life, and Ben and Florence have considered – maybe he should stay to be with Florence. You might be wondering, how does a romance work with someone you can’t touch? But I assure you, this one has a HEA.

This was an interesting read. I went into it expecting romance but I felt it was more women’s fiction (or, as I like to call it, fiction) with a heavy romantic subplot. I felt the heart of the story was about Florence and her family. All in all, this was an enjoyable read, and it handled death in a way that was more nostalgic than truly tragic. I rate it 3 stars and think regular readers of women’s fiction will enjoy it even more, or folks who appreciate gentler, slow burn romances.

I fully expected to love this story ... like, LOVE it. A ghostwriter for a famous romance author meeting their new editor who has zero idea she's the ghostwriter and not the author's assistant? And she can see and talk to actual ghosts?? SIGN ME UP!!!!

Unfortunately, this story did not meet my admittedly high expectations. It was way less a romance than it was women's fiction with a hefty dose of grief, with the vast majority of the story taking place in the protagonist's hometown when she returns for her father's funeral. There's familial drama and angst, along with the grief, and the brief parts that touched on what I'd expected from the book's description weren't as quirky or comedic as I'd hoped.

All that said, it wasn't a bad story by any means. In fact, if it had been marketed differently, I think I would have enjoyed it more. (Yes, there is an HEA, but the romance is not the focus of the story.) It was good but not great, and I'm now on the lookout for the quirky, light paranormal romance I'd hoped this one was going to be.

RATING: B

This was pitched to me as Emily Henry-esque, and that was enough to get me to sign up to read it. It was an accurate sell, but for any fans of Sarah Hogle out there, it has a lot in common with her "Twice Shy," as well.

Florence is a ghost writer who can see ghosts. Benji is her new editor and he wants her to turn in the final romance novel she's ghostwriting for one of the greats. The problem? Florence doesn't believe in love anymore after her jerk ex broke her heart and her trust. Benji in problematically hot, and when the pair run into each other at a bar where Florence's trash ex is doing a reading from his upcoming novel, they end up lip-locked in the alley out back.

Their budding romance is cut short with terrible news: Florence's father has died. She has to go back to her small town and her family's mortuary business. When she arrives to work through her grief and the estrangement with her family, a new ghost shows up at Florence's door: Benji.

Florence is determined to help Benji move on, even though she's learning to like him a lot more in death than she did in life. At the same time, she is determined to fulfill her father's written requirements for his funeral arrangements. Both tasks prove more difficult than Florence would lie, but she feels like she has to do both on her own to prove her worth to herself and her family.

"The Dead Romantics" is as much about Florence and Benji as it is about Florence's process of grieving in her father. In that way, it's very much like "Twice Shy." I wanted to hug Florence and see her terrible ex pay for what he did to her. It's also poignant in the way Florence recounts her unconvential upbringing, where she spent part of her childhood living in the same funeral home her family owns. It was strange, yes, but it was filled with love and laughter. Florence shared the ghost-seeing ability with her father, and it bonded them in a way that was wonderful and sometimes kept her separate from her two siblings, not to mention the rest of the town.

Florence has spent most of her life trying not to acknowledge her ability, especially since it's made her a strange pariah in her town, where she helped solve a murder as a child. She has to overcome her own insecurities about herself and her career, which is a secret from her family, and to bridge the gap between herself and her family, who she hasn't seen in years because of her big city life.

Benji is there, too, friendly and personable. He doesn't stick out as a great romantic lead, but he's pretty harmless. He's not a jerk at all, thank the heavens. He's just a bit standoffish and shy. But he does believe in romance and the power of the genre and is supportive of Florence's bigger but abandoned dreams (the novel she published under her own name didn't sell well at all and she was abandoned by both her agent and publisher shortly thereafter). There are some great tender moments between Benji and Florence, where they connect over the power of words and a love story told right to the right person.

When I first read the description, in that the main love interest is dead, I was worried about the prospects of a happily ever after. I won't spoil it, but if you are even passingly familiar with how these things work, you will guess how it will all shake out well before the book reveals it to you officially.

The spice is quite low, as well, one of the main romantic leads is incorporeal, so there's no surprise there. But the book really is more about Florence's internal journey, and the romance with Benji is an offshoot of that.

Overall, this book met expectations and I am interested to see what Ashely Poston writes next.

Florence, a 20-something in NYC, is the ghostwriter for a bestselling romance author. But her secret job isn't even her biggest secret -- she can talk to ghosts, something that runs in her family of morticians and funeral directors.

After a major traumatic incident in her childhood related to her "gift" she no longer engages with it and generally ignores the specters she encounters. When she returns to her hometown to help her family with arrangements after her father's unexpected death, she knows she will probably encounter a ghost in her old home. She doesn't expect it to be the ghost of her hot editor who is not impressed with her current novel's progress and who was very much alive just the day before.

What follows is a surprising story about making peace with yourself, your family, and your past, and about how love doesn't always show up like a lightning strike, but can be a slow bloom. You may be doubtful that a love story between a living human and a ghost (no, they can't touch each other in any way) would have a happy ending, but this does, and it is a pleasantly heartwarming comfort read.

Recommended for fans of feel good romance. A bit of steaminess, but overall not the kind of book that would embarrass you sitting next to a stranger on a plane.

I was really looking forward to this one and while I didn't hate it, I didn't love it like I thought I was going to.
I liked the premise. But the writing felt repetitive at times to me. Also, I'd heard it was a funny read but I didn't laugh that much... maybe I just didn't get some of the humor?

Anyways, not terrible! It was just okay for me. Try it out if the premise sounds appealing to you.

I absolutely adored this book! It made me laugh, cry, smile, swoon, all in one. I had read Ashley Poston's YA contemporary romance series (Once Upon a Con) before reading her adult romance debut and let me just say I was not disappointed!

Let's start off with the characters- As an eldest sister myself, I loved reading about Florence. She was funny, relatable, and very human. This book dealt heavily with the theme of grief and the way Florence potrayed grief after the death of her father truly touched my heart. Her relationship with her family, including her posthumous memories of her father, made me me want to hug my family close and tell them I love them.

I also enjoyed that the love interest had a personality beyond being your basic average hot book boyfriend. Benji Andor, was the ideal man and he had emotional depth. I find one that one thing that a lot of romance novels do is make the love interest a carbon copy macho overprotective possessive guy and Benji Andor was anything but. Don't get me wrong, Ben was still a hot love interest, but he was kind, caring, polite, funny, adorable. I loved reading Florence and his love story, to the very end!

As for the plot itself, I thought that the idea behind <i>The Dead Romantics</i> was so creative! I truly have not read anything like it before. I loved the romance plot, but I really connected with the way grief was presented in this story. I cried... a lot. But that's only because this book really showed me the beauty of a life lived well and how death isn't really an end, only a new beginning.

Overall, a wonderful book that I recommend you pick up ASAP! Ashley Poston is one of my favourite authors for a reason and I promise you will enjoy this book.

4 stars

LIKES:
📝 breezy, quick, intimate writing
🏡 set in a small town
🍑 Southern vibes!
✨ magical realism
👻 ghosts!
👱🏻‍♀️ Florence is relatable & stuck in life & love
✍️ author vibes
💼 workplace(ish) romance (3/5 steam)
👩‍❤️‍👨 friends-to-lovers
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 explores eccentric family dynamics
⚰️ + society’s relationship with death
🖤 + grief & loss
🥹 emotional & heartwarming
🪞 reflective
•
DISCLAIMERS:
⚠️ dm me for TW!
🔗 didn’t really connect to the love story
🧞‍♀️ almost wanted more just about Florence
•
VERDICT: a magical, ghostly, reflective, & heartwarming friend-to-lovers romance exploring family dynamics, grief, loss, & death - a good book club pick!

I think this is a perfect beach read. It's entertaining, light, funny, and weird enough to hold your attention. I did not like the overly-woke aspects and it does feel a little YA because the main character is pretty immature, but overall I have good feelings when I think back about this book. I like the writerly, ghost, and cemetery elements very much. I wouldn't run out to buy her next book on release day but I would keep an eye out for an ARC.
I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A unique love story that I've raved about on social media. Kept me guessing until the end -- very sweet and different.

I know there were mixed reviews about this book but I actually really enjoyed it. The ghost love story was sweet and the family tension was super relatable. Very cute!

I enjoyed the setting and getting to know the main character as she navigated major changes in her life. The book reminded me of a movie I saw, so I did see the twist at the end coming. However, I thought the author handled the situation well, and I would read more books by her.

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't get into it. The premise sounded so fun, but I found the characters really hard to connect with and the whole thing just felt really flat.

Absolutely enjoyable book that combines The Ghost Whisperer with Six Feet Under. Florence works as a ghostwriter for a famous romance writer, when she starts to have writer’s block, having lost faith that love exists. Florence has also inherited her father’s ability to see ghosts, a trait that has led to her leaving home and not returning after solving a murder and having her community turn against her. The family owns a funeral home, which adds an appropriate setting to the story. I don’t want to give away the many twists and turns, but I highly recommend this appealing book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I think this is the standout of the recent oops they’re dead contemporary romances, I really appreciated that the author included their comfort reads at the back of the book

I really liked the concept. I did struggle throughout the middle of the book, but the beginning and ending saved this book for me. It was fun and quirky! Ben and Florence were adorable and the reveals towards the end made it even better. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a review

I love this author. I absolutely devoured this book. I also absolutely did not care that it was predictable and a little bit cheesy. You can tell by the description what type of book this is, so that should tell you what you need to know in advance.

It's punny. A ghostwriter that can see ghosts, who grew up in a funeral home. The jokes abound.

This isn't a new premise (though I won't tell you where this story line also appears because that might ruin the surprise), but I thought it was well done. And it's fun. And quirky. It's definitely a comfort read, something I would read again when I needed the book equivalent of a hug.