3.5 rounded down. A lot of this really worked for me, it just didn't quite come together to make a whole. I liked Gretchen and Charlie, I found their dynamic interesting, and as cringe as Everett was at times I also found him charming. For some reason the side characters and the various conflicts felt a bit forced and not fully integrated, which prevented me from feeling totally satisfied by the journey. There are a few too many repetitive beats early on which come at the expense of really fleshing things out when they get more interesting near the end. Some of the scenes/details really stood out to me - the pool hustle, the baby goat, the scene with Charlie's grandpa in the hospital - and I defintely enjoy Sarah Adler's writing. Looking forward to her next one!

Very cute book. There were many moments I actually laughed out loud. I had the opportunity to meet the author and she was wonderful. She is so funny and witty. Her humor definitely comes across well on the page.

Happy Medium was a fun fall read. It dragged a little at the end but overall a good read from Sarah Adler.

This was such a cute book! Our medium is sent to a man's house to scare away his ghost that's making selling his farm impossible, only she's a con and she can't medium anything. Except...maybe she is? The ghost appears and he's got his reasons for scaring away potential buyers, okay? Overall I really enjoyed this second read from Sarah Adler. It flowed nicely and the romance was satisfying. Plus there are goats.

I wanted to love this one as I thought the premise was awesome. However it fell flat for me because the heroine got on my nerves and the sweet hero and his loveable goats could not redeem the story for me. I am however willing to give the author another try.

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler is a charming romantic comedy that blends humor, mystery, and a touch of the supernatural. The story follows Gretchen, a self-proclaimed con artist turned medium, who finds herself on a goat farm where she must convince a skeptical Charlie of her abilities while dealing with a ghost with a message. The chemistry between Gretchen and Charlie is electric, highlighted by sweet moments that will leave readers grinning. With its engaging plot and delightful characters, this book delivers a captivating experience filled with charm and wit​.

This was my first by Sarah Adler and it was cute! I liked the concept and I really liked the setting. I want to move to a goat farm and fall in love with a hot farmer. Because I'm me and I always wish with single POV books for the LI's POV, I wish we could have gotten Charlie's POV. He wasn't super fleshed out and I would've liked to have been in his head for a bit to get to know him more.

This was one of those books, that is quirky and cute.
Which isn't always my vibe.
I liked it enough, it just was to "quirky" for me.
And maybe that doesn't make any sense, lol.

Love this book! The setting was so fun and the romance felt realistic. Just a touch of spooky mixed with awesome family issues. LOVED IT!

A quirky little romcom about a fake medium who can see a very real ghost... and falls for the guy said ghost is haunting. Reminiscent of the sitcom Ghosts in a fun way, though the premise of the haunting/curse was a little convoluted at times, and I'm not always a huge fan of the mis/non-communication trope for plot tension. Overall, an easy and enjoyable read, set around my hometown, with great banter and some emotional and sexual tension between the two MCs that really moved things along. Oh, and goats. Also baby goats.

I requested a galley of Happy Medium because a number of my friends loved Sarah Adler's first novel and the book's premise sounded fun. Unfortunately, Happy Medium really didn't work for me. I found the characters fairly one-note and wasn't able to connect with them or invest in the romance. And I know the ghost was supposed to be funny, but instead I just found him incredibly annoying. Even so, I'm still planning to go back and read Mrs. Nash's Ashes.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this paranormal romance where the ghost wasn’t part of the main couple. I always feel like you are starting from behind on that kind of book. Love the farm setting. Super cute book to read in a few afternoons.

I enjoyed this book a lot! I thought the plot was super engaging and I liked that Gretchen is a con woman. However, I wasn’t totally convinced of her and Charlie’s relationship. He spent nearly the entire book not trusting her and for good reason. As much as I like Gretchen, she isn’t an honest woman and I think the way their relationship started will set them up for heartbreak post the events of the book.

Other than this, I had fun with this book. I really enjoyed Everett and looked forward to seeing him on the page.

My rating: 3/5

wait this was so cute (◡‿◡✿) honestly, it has no direct autumnal references but this felt like an excellent book of the season. i suspended my disbelief to let the author make it not-too-weird that there's a ghostly third-wheel a lot of the time. big +1 to the start of my 2024 september tbh

many thanks to berkley publishing group and netgalley for the advance reader copy.

LOVE Sarah Adler. This one was so cute and so charming. Love the grumpy/sunshine angle and the ghost character.

In this engaging story, we follow Gretchen, a con artist posing as a medium, who is hired by a farmer named Charlie to perform an exorcism on his land. When Charlie dismisses Gretchen as a fraud, something unexpected happens—Gretchen encounters her first ghost. Everett, a distant relative of Charlie, warns her that if Charlie sells the farm, he will die and become trapped in the afterlife. Now, Gretchen must find a way to save the farmer who distrusts her and believes she’s a sham.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between Everett the ghost and Gretchen, as well as the romance with Charlie, which balanced just the right amount of angst with sweetness. While the romance with Charlie was strong, the friendship between Gretchen and Everett was, for me, the highlight of the book. The characters all received meaningful development, which is often lacking in romance novels. Additionally, Mara Wilson’s narration brought the story and its characters vividly to life, enhancing the overall reading experience.

I DNF'd this book at about 50%. I just was not getting into the story and had trouble connecting with the characters. I had a very hard time liking the female main character.

I was into this book until about the last 1/8 of the story. The ending felt quite rushed and written almost in a different style. I feel that it could've been better fleshed out had the author had more time to complete it.

Gretchen Acorn makes her living as a fake medium and she can't say no when one of her clients offers her an obscene amount of money to exorcise a ghost from a friend's farm. But Charlie wants absolutely nothing to do with Gretchen and her scam. Content to take the money and run, Gretchen is left with little choice when she learns the property is actually haunted, she can talk to the ghost there and Charlie's life is on the line.

"Happy Medium" is a quirky rom-com. It's peak grumpy-sunshine trope with really great chemistry between Gretchen and Charlie. The premise is fun, but it's a bit lackluster overall. The pacing is off and everything goes on much longer than needed. The romance between Gretchen and Charlie didn't feel as strong as it should have given the amount of buildup.

Everett the Ghost is my favorite. However, it felt like I was seeing more of him with Gretchen rather than Charlie and Gretchen.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley and Berkley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I truly loved Mrs Nash’s Ashes and I had high hopes for this book. Maybe it was the medium aspect, but I think it was mostly that Gretchen was a scam artist trying to con people. I didn’t think she had any charisma and Charlie is right not to trust her.

Everett was the best part of this book, especially when he was complaining about the television.

Thank you Berkley publishing and Libro.fm for my ALC.