Happy Medium follows Gretchen Acorn, a con woman masquerading as a spirit medium. When one of her regular clients hires her to perform an exorcism for her bridge partner so he can sell his goat farm, she’s reluctant to go. Despite all her lies, she does have an underlying rule — She can’t cause harm. But when she’s made an offer she can’t refuse, she packs up her bags, and heads off to the goat farm. Once she reaches the farm, she soon realizes that it’s not what she expected. For one, Charlie isn’t a decrepit old man, but rather, a young man who is incredibly skeptical of her abilities, and rightfully so. Not to mention, there’s a chatty ghost by the name of Everett, that Gretchen can see, and is the reason why the goat farm hasn’t been able to sell. It’s not that Everett wants to keep the goat farm in the family — rather, there’s a curse that requires the goat farm to remain in the family. If Charlie’s to sell the farm, terrible things will happen — which is how Gretchen is convinced to offer her help on the farm for a month as she attempts to convince Charlie not to sell the farm for his own good. When we first meet Gretchen, she’s the definition of someone who has all their walls up. She’s hesitant to let anyone in — including her roommate, who desperately just wants to be her friend. Her first real friend is Everett, a ghost who is trapped on a farm. While Happy Medium is a romance, the most pure form of love in the story, for me, was the dynamic between Gretchen and Everett. I loved how Everett truly annoyed Gretchen into accepting his friendship and his meddling behavior, and how through that, Gretchen learned to trust the people around her. Charlie is equally distrusting, although in this case, rightfully so. Gretchen and Charlie are two sides of the same coin; both distrusting, incredibly independent, and struggling to let other people help. While I wouldn’t call Happy Medium grumpy sunshine, I did love reading about Gretchen melting Charlie’s gruff exterior and earning his trust. The two of them truly made each other better, and helped each other grow. I couldn't help but root for them! I just absolutely adored Happy Medium.

Thank you Berkley for my copy! All thoughts are my own!

I’m just gonna say this: I LOVED this book. Sarah Adler is an author who just vibes with my reading taste. Her stories are unique with a quirk, but still grounded in reality. Both of her books had everything I look for in a romance: a believable connection, a great setting, and good conflict. I thought the premise of this book was so unique yet familiar, I need it to be a movie NOW! I want to watch this story play out over and over. There’s a quietness to her writing that makes me feel so good as a reader. I just loved it.

Synopsis:

“Fake spirit medium Gretchen Acorn is happy to help when her best (read: wealthiest) client hires her to investigate the unexplained phenomena preventing the sale of her bridge partner’s struggling goat farm. Gretchen may be a fraud, but she'd like to think she’s a beneficent one. So if "cleansing" the property will help a nice old man finally retire and put some much-needed cash in her pockets at the same time, who's she to say no?Of course, it turns out said bridge partner isn't the kindly AARP member Gretchen imagined—Charlie Waybill is young, hot as hell, and extremely unconvinced that Gretchen can communicate with the dead. (Which, fair.) Except, to her surprise, Gretchen finds herself face-to-face with Everett: the very real, very chatty ghost that’s been wreaking havoc during every open house. And he wants her to help ensure Charlie avoids the same family curse that's had Everett haunting Gilded Creek since the 1920s.Now, Gretchen has one month to convince Charlie he can’t sell the property. Unfortunately, hard work and honesty seem to be the way to win over the stubborn farmer—not exactly Gretchen's strengths. But trust isn’t the only thing growing between them, and the risk of losing Charlie to the spirit realm looms over Gretchen almost as annoyingly as Everett himself. To save the goat farm, its friendly phantom, and the man she's beginning to love, Gretchen will need to pull off the greatest con of her life: being fully, genuinely herself.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The “Paranormal Light”: I loved Meg Cabot’s Mediator Series and it was so fun to read a contemporary romance with a paranormal element. It was unique and fun! I think this would be such a fun movie.

The Setting: Small town farm life is the complete opposite of my life, and yet I can’t get enough of it in my books. The setting was so clear and I just loved.

The Characters: I loved them all, including the animals on the farm! Charlie is dreamy and I became very attached to Everett.

The Romance: A perfect enemies to lovers. The tension was great!

What Didn’t Work for Me:

I want this to be like 4.9 stars because there was one aspect that I felt like we kept waiting for, and that was if Gretchen’s father would make an appearance. I felt like it needed to happen for her journey to be complete so I almost wonder if there had been a better way to achieve it. Just food for thought!

Character Authenticity: 4/5 Spice Rating: 1/5 Overall Rating: 5/5

Content Warnings:

dementia/alzheimer’s, death, grief, animals giving birth

Sarah Adler's debut, Mrs. Nash's Ashes, was one of my favorite books of last year, so I was both excited and apprehensive going into this. I think it was really smart of Adler to go in a really different direction here - we have a sort of morally gray female main character named Gretchen Acorn (she describes herself as a bullshit artist, and she makes her living as a fake psychic, but she also definitely has a code of ethics and she's very committed to helping her clients, even as she is lying to them) who gets talked into going to help basically "exorcise" a goat farm outside of DC for a friend of one of her wealthy clients who is trying to sell the property. The client's friend, Charlie, is unexpectedly young and super handsome, and he and Gretchen share a spark of attraction until he realizes that she's the one conning his elderly friend. Gretchen is ready to say oh well and head back into the city when she's stopped by an actual ghost named Everett - not one of the ones she claims to see/speak to in her day job - and he convinces her to stay by explaining that he's been scaring potential buyers off because Charlie has to stay on the property or else he'll die from an old curse that was placed on him (Everett) and all future male relatives on the farm. This was really quirky and inventive but also sad and sweet and really well balanced. Very different vibes overall from Mrs. Nash's Ashes, but I still loved it.

Gretchen makes her living as a medium, knowing its a con and she's faking it. It turns out she may really be a medium when her highest paying client asks her to travel to a neighboring farm because she's worried about its owner. Turns out there really is a ghost and a curse. Add in that the farmer is not an older man as she assumed but a really attractive man who clearly thinks she's a problem. Fun dialogue, some magic, and fun characters combine in a highly enjoyable rom-com.

Thank you to Sarah Adler, Berkley Romance, and NetGalley for this digital ARC. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt reading about a fake medium traveling to the countryside to rid of a ‘ghost’ in a farmhouse that’s going on the market to sell. I really wasn’t sure how this storyline was going to go, but it worked! I didn’t read Mr. Nashes Ashes by Sarah Adler, but I think after this read I’ll be pushing it up on my list to take a look. I think I did truly fall in love with Everett, the ghost. I really liked the fun personality and the fun comical relief was needed between the two tense MCs. I think I would recommend it to future readers, as long as I understood with where they stand in relation to mediums and ghosts.

I read this book a couple months ago, and thinking about it still brings a smile to my face. Gretchen is a fascinating character. The author deftly handles the ethics of her protagonist's work as a fake spirit medium, and Gretchen's relationship with real ghost Everett is one of my favorite parts of the book. Everett has a big personality and hilarious taste in television, and I couldn't get enough of him. I also couldn't get enough of Gretchen's love interest, Charlie--a skeptic and a genuinely good guy. Super fun and heartwarming at the same time!

This was so stinking CUTE!!!!! It was my first foray into Sarah Adler's work and you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be coming back for more.

This book has everything:
- enemies to lovers
- forced proximity
- farmer/city girl
- hurt comfort
- a very loveable ghost!!

Honestly I was not expecting there to be an actual ghost given the fact that Gretchen is, as Charlie so nicely put it, a "charlatan." But low-key Everett made this story so much fun! I loved watching his friendship with Gretchen develop, how much they grow to love each other (platonically) by the end. Charlie & Gretchen definitely started off on the wrong foot but make their way forward together as they slowly build trust. I loved how well they could see each other and truly know one another, and how that made their bond even more special.

Highly recommend!

Thank you very much to Berkley Publishing (and NetGalley) for sending me a widget of this book. All opinions are my own. I was very excited to read this book as I loved “Mrs. Nash’s Ashes” by Sarah Adler that was published last year.
While I’m not a huge fan of paranormal I do love quirky characters (Gretchen was definitely quirky). I also wouldn’t classify this book as “scary”. It was actually very adorable, happy and lovely. This book will put a smile on your face. As much as I loved Mrs Nash’s Ashes, I think this is my new favorite of Sarah Adler’s and I’m definitely going to be buying the book to add to my collection. I loved the relationship between Gretchen and Charlie and I think Everett also provided a good comic relief. I can’t wait to read Sarah Adler’s next book and I’m sure it will be as delightful and charming as this one. If you love Emily Henry, Tessa Bailey or Abby Jimenez, you will love this book. I highly recommend this book!

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // 🌶️🌶️

I adored Mrs. Nash’s Ashes and have been dying for more from Sarah Adler and Happy Medium exceeded my expectations.

The book starts off with a bang and the action never dissipates. I was utterly captivated the entire time and never thought I would be wanting my own goat farm 🤭

Gretchen and Charlie have the perf enemies to lovers vibes. Charlie may despise Gretchen (but we all know he cares for her so much) but takes care of her and just 🥹. Charlie and Gretchen were perfect but then add our (mostly) friendly ghost, Everett into the mix and you’ll be laughing non-stop.

Happy Medium is tension filled, cozy, funny and full of heart with some dashes of spice - which is everything I want from a rom com!

DNF

You kind of have to suspend belief for this one (besides the obvious ghost character). Interesting premise. Loved the author's previous book, but this one drags a bit with pacing issues and I didn't feel as connected or emotional about this one as I did her previous one.

There is so much story in this story!! A delightful take on the modern rom com with a paranormal twist. Gretchen was both vulnerable and confident, she contains multitudes. It was wonderful to watch her grow and let her walls down with Charlie. And oh, Charlie. What a man. So many excellent micro-tropes in this story including "reaching for dishes too high in the cabinet," "teaching how to play pool," and of course "raising baby goats."

I was anxious throughout basically the whole story on what would happen when/if Gretchen told the truth. First of all, it did NOT happen how I expected (*mega blush*) and secondly, I absolutely LOVE that Charlie only wants to know the truth so that he can know Gretchen, not so he can judge and shame her. UGH.

There were many parts of this story that made me laugh out loud and also made my heart squeeze, an impressive feat by Ms Adler to write a love story with deep heart and sharp humor. This story took many turns I did not anticipate and I loved every single one of them. Looking forward to bringing in HAPPY MEDIUM and featuring on our SUMMER READS shelf.

I really enjoyed this latest from Sarah Adler and was so grateful to receive an ARC, thank you Berkley and NetGalley!

I picked up Mrs. Nash's Ashes on a whim last year and absolutely inhaled it! I was surprised at how much I loved it considering how little I'd been hearing about it, and it's one that I love to recommend now (for fan's of women's fiction/romance). When I saw this one available on NetGalley, I knew I had to get my hands on it to see if Adler could create the same spark that I saw in Nash's Ashes, and I'm happy to say that, yes! I absolutely loved Happy Medium as well.
I'm not really into ghost or paranormal stories, but I loved that this one begins with a fake-psychic and makes it clear that she doesn't actually believe in ghosts. When the actual ghost appears, he is silly and charming and not at all spooky, which helped because I am a big ole weenie! Anyway, there's not much to say because it's a pretty straightforward romance. It's not like...life-changing or anything, but it also didn't fall into the overly-cheesy-unreadable-romance category for me.
Sarah Adler is now one of my must-read authors, and I am so excited to see what she writes next!

A solid rom com set in DC which we don’t see enough!! I loved the supernatural element and the ghost Everett was my favorite part. Just a meddling goof who loves to watch TV! I enjoyed this  grumpy sunshine romance but they are both a little bit of each. Not all of the plotlines were tied up by the end and the middle drags a little bit, but I still enjoyed and would recommend to anyone looking for forced proximity, paranormal romance, and a  slow burn.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sending me an ARC of Happy Medium in exchange for an honest review. The NetGalley description of the book tells you everything you need to know about the setup (which the story gets through pretty quickly), so I’ll move straight to my thoughts.

Happy Medium works because of the charming dynamics of the three main characters. Gretchen is the con artist with a heart of gold, twisted by her father into a petty criminal herself, but living by a code that she’ll only take people’s money “if she’s certain she can leave them better off than she found them.” But it’s a life that’s left her afraid to get close to anyone, even just as friends, because she’s always eventually been exposed and forced to leave. Charlie is the struggling hot farmer with a heart of gold, failing under the weight of family expectations but determined to get Gretchen to admit she’s a fraud so she’ll refund his friend’s money. And then there’s scene-stealing Everett, the 1920s ghost with a heart of gold who’s obsessed with watching television, can’t believe he’s finally being seen, and hopeful that he can protect Charlie from an untimely death and an eternity haunting Gilded Creek. Everett brings a hilarious prohibition-era energy to the story, saying things like “being dead is a real snore,” calling Gretchen a “flimflam artist” and her legs “getaway sticks.” His tv buddy cop relationship with Gretchen—who he comes to think of as his “hot sister”—is the sweetest and probably the best part of the story.

Happy Medium was apparently inspired as a twist on Whoopi Goldberg’s fake medium in the movie Ghost, which makes sense in retrospect. (I’ll admit I didn’t realize the connection. I haven’t seen that movie in probably 30 years). There were a few of parts of the story I was a bit underwhelmed by. Gretchen comes up with a plan late in the story that I think would have caused Charlie to become suspicious of her all over again but didn’t. There’s a late twist that I enjoyed but I thought was a bit too convenient. And I thought the whole subplot involving Gretchen’s father was mishandled—it either needed to be a good bit bigger or smaller. But on the whole, I liked the way the three characters grew and grew together, helping each other heal old wounds. And the story is often quite funny, especially Everett. Happy Medium is a charming, entertaining read. Recommended. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

I thought the premise of this was so wild and fun and different - a con artist pretends to commune with the dead to get money out of rich baddies but when she’s hired to perform an exorcism for a goat farm with an actual ghost that she and interact with, all the bets are off. Especially because the hot farmer sees right through her and there’s a curse? Sounds like the perfect not realistic rom com and sign me up.

I didn’t love it but I did like it! The surprising friendship between Gretchen and the ghost was heartwarming and hilarious. I loved how much the FMC leaned into farm life and Charlie’s character. A man who took over the farm after his grandparents could no longer do the work, who can cook and knit, can hustle at pool and get a little rough, and is incredibly loving? Yes pls.

As wonky and fun as it was, I had a hard time with the FMCs back and forth mentality. She wants to prove she’s good and better than her past but then easily falls back into lying no problem. The ups and downs of the budding romance really left me with whiplash and after the second hot and cold moment I was kinda over it, but it all eventually came together. There was also some side plot with her dad that I felt was under developed.

Overall I think people will like it for the light heartened fun, portrayal of farm life, and the raw romance between the characters.

Thanks to Berkley publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

A surprisingly adorable romcom centered around confidence artists, trickery, and accidentally discovering you actually can talk to the dead after all-- or at least, one particular ghost who also constantly makes tv references new and old.

When Gretchen Acorn, a fake spirit medium, is hired by her wealthiest client to take a trip to a local goat farm and get rid a ghost, she never expects to meet Everett (a real ghost). Everett tells her that Charlie, the farm’s owner, cannot sell his property or he will be cursed, but of course, Charlie does not believe Gretchen or any one her psychic abilities. How can she convince Charlie she is telling the truth?

Paranormal romances are usually a miss for me but after loving Mrs Nash’s Ashes, I had to make an exception for Adler’s sophomore novel, and I’m so glad I did. Everett had such an alluring presence in the story and his charm and wit added a splash of humor and depth to the story. And as for the love interest, Charlie was the perfect grumpy (and hot) farmer who had a real sweet side. All the farm life adventures from goat yoga, to selling soaps at the farmer’s market, and the hands-on manual labor, transported me right to the setting.

Read if you like:
-Paranormal romances
-Spirit mediums
-Grumpy/sunshine
-Witty humor
-Forced proximity
-Saving businesses
-Spicy slow burns
-Goat farm setting


Thank you Berkley for the ARC! Pub 4/30

"Looking vulnerable is great; actually feeling it is a liability."

Gretchen, a conwoman and fraudulent medium is paid $10k by a client to perform an exorcism at a friend's nearby goat farm, as the owner is trying to sell the property. However, Charlie, the owner, is not buying Gretchen's act and is trying to out her fraud. However, when Gretchen starts seeing and talking to a real ghost and learns of a curse on the property - and the hot owner - things get complicated.

This book was just good for my soul (but definitely feels like a fall read!); I adored our friendly ghost, Everett - he was obnoxious, and kind, and just really wanted to experience life in any way he could - like watching Fraser reruns.

As for the romance, it was a nice slow burn but there was some great tension. Charlie was honestly just trying to do his best to save his family's farm, pay for his grandfather's healthcare, and this chaotic girl with witchy vibes shows up and starts babbling. I will say, the actual sex scenes did seem a bit stilted - unsure if the writer was just not confident in writing them, or the way they translated to my brain was just awkward - because the tension and build-up were almost more satisfying than the actual climax.

However, I'm overlooking my small criticism, because I still adored the overall story, characters, and just how delightful our friendly ghost was.

HAPPY MEDIUM is out April 30, and available for preorder now!

CW // dementia; death; fraud; supernatural phenomenon

Cute and fun but still felt like a few things needed to be ironed out - the middle drags quite a bit before Charlie and Gretchen get together/Charlie finally believes her about the ghost and a couple important secondary threads don't really get tied up by the end. Overall though I had a good time reading it, it's got the exact touch of the supernatural that I really enjoy!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. At first, I was a bit skeptical about it since I didn’t know where it was leading when both of the characters distrusted each other from the start. As I kept reading through the chapters, I could just tell that these two characters just have something between them behind all of their sparky yet weird interactions. Trust me, you are going to notice their chemistry between them.
Gretchen and Charlie may not align together, but their chemistry is off the charts. Just from their first interaction, there were sparks between them, even though they distrusted each other so much. And yet, they can’t deny their feelings after all. Trust me, they really tried denying their feelings for each other. You can’t deny your heart, no matter how hard you try.
While Gretchen and Charlie try their best to deny their feelings, Gretchen tries to live her best life. It’s very hard when she grows up to be a con artist, and her father doesn’t help either. She truly wants to be cared for. And it’s something she didn’t realize she needed until she kept spending her time and effort with Charles. It makes her want things that she never admitted to herself.