Happy Medium is another delightful story with sweet elements. Paranormal romance is not normally my jam but this wasn’t really that! Everett is such a charming, friendly ghost that is trapped on his family’s farm from a generations old curse. I loved all his antics and the trouble he would get into. Charlie is a tattooed goat farmer and endearing grump and Gretchen is a fake medium turned real medium. I enjoyed much of this story but do wish the storyline with Gretchen’s dad was a bit more resolved. The ending was also convenient but worked well to wrap things up.

Recommend if you enjoy:
▫️Paranormal romances and friendly ghosts
▫️Baby goats and goat yoga
▫️Grumpy / sunshine
▫️Forced proximity
▫️Family curses

I loved Sarah’s debut novel, Mrs. Nash’s Ashes, and couldn’t wait to read this. It was such a great binge read for me, and as a fan of paranormal romance, I loved that it was paired with small town farm life. It was charming and such a delight to both read and listen along with the audiobook. I had so many laugh out loud moments while reading, and will definitely be adding more audiobooks narrated by Mara Wilson.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧
🔮enemies to lovers
⭐️con-artist spirit medium
🐐a haunted goat farm
🌾grumpy farmer
👻a friendly ghost

*many thanks to Berkley Romance, Netgalley and PRH Audio for the gifted copy for review

A con artist with a good streak and a lonely goat farmer with more than a bit of skepticism must come to an understanding if she’s to save him from a not-fake family curse with the aid of his gangster-era family ghost ancestor. Irresistible and humorous paranormal romance from a new to me author with her follow up effort.

Gretchen comes from a long line of family larceny. She doesn’t know anything else so she goes with it, but Gretchen has a Rule about just how far she’ll use her targets. She earns a livelihood in fake medium work, but doesn’t want to drain anyone dry or leave them less than satisfied so she’s making a humble living rather than a fortune.

Then her biggest client asks an eensy, weensy favor as she hands over a honking big check- help her old Bridge partner with an exorcism on his goat farm so he can sell. No biggie, right? Only… two things. The goat farmer is a young, handsome guy who doesn’t buy what she’s selling and wants her gone and that fake psychic bit just got flipped on its head because, Charlie’s distant past cousin, Everett, the family ghost is as visible and audible as can be.

Everett and his gangster slang from the Roaring 20’s means to keep Charlie from the family curse killing him and tying him to the farm like Everett. And, whew, Charlie was resistant making this an enemies to lovers trope, for sure.

Happy Medium is light and funny particularly when Everett is stealing scenes and egging on Gretchen to get through to Charlie in her city gal mucking about in the country sort of way (she’s scared of the goats). But, there are solid layers of deeper emotions as Gretchen has to come out from behind the part she is always playing and be real for herself and Charlie- tell the truth for once- to keep him safe and maybe have a chance at a romance with a great guy. Charlie is just trying to keep the family farm going at his own expense because he’s become lonely and isolated.

I found the element of her dad trying to work on Gretchen more distracting than an added layer of conflict, but his trying to work on her showed her trying to do better than her past, at least.

All in all, this was entertaining, but full of heart. I was mostly taken by Everett and he took over every scene he was in, but I was well-satisfied seeing Gretchen and Charlie find their happy. Recommend this light paranormal romance.

I had a really hard time getting into this one. I'm not sure if it was a mood thing or a book thing, but it took me many days of picking it up and reading a few pages to fully feel invested. I thought maybe this wasn't the book for me. BUT I always keep reading because I'm optimistic with my reading, and sure enough, by the end of this one, I was fully in and invested.

I LOVED Everett. I like Gretchen's growth over the book, and Charlie is just such a good guy, how could you not love him!

I thought the concept of this one was fun and the morally grey, but with a good heart, redemption arc is always going to be a plus for me. I also liked that the author can bring the ghost aspect and make it something different and fun.

This is quite a bit different from Mrs. Nash's Ashes, but I think this one is as deserving of all the love.

Gretchen Acorn is a fake medium, but one that tries to leave her clients in a happier place after each visit. She is a con artist with principles, and I did like her.

Her best client offers her a lot of money to travel to help her friend Charlie exorcise a ghost off his property so he can sell his farm. This farm has been in the family for generations. Gretchen arrives to find that Charlie doesn’t buy her schtick and doesn’t want her around. To her shock, Gretchen can actually see the ghost who is indeed trying to prevent the sale of the farm, claiming that Charlie will die if he sells and leaves because of an old family curse.

I enjoyed parts of Happy Medium, like the adorable goats, Everett the ghost, and Gretchen. I appreciated her positive character growth, but I wish we would’ve had a bit more insight into her past earlier on. I also liked Charlie, and could understand his attitude with Gretchen, but still, he was very prickly, and we didn’t get his side of things until pretty late in the book. The friendship with Yolanda seemed like an afterthought, despite supposedly having such an impact on Gretchen. The whole solution Gretchen came up with so Charlie could go seemed like a ridiculous suggestion made to fuel third act conflict. The romance between Charlie and Gretchen was hard to buy since Charlie viewed Gretchen as a charlatan for most of the story. Plus, the story just felt so long. I think it would’ve benefited by some editing down.

Sarah Adler does it again! This cozy paranormal romance took me on an emotional rollercoaster of will they/won't they and giggling at all the comedy in between. At times, their connection felt a bit whiplash-y as Gretchen and Charlie go from instant attraction to enemies-to-lovers back to instant attraction, all of which took away from spending time getting to know, develop, and enjoy their relationship. However, this book was so fun and clever that it kept me well entertained! I walked away from this book grinning ear to ear, feeling lighter, and warm at heart.

I am no clairvoyant, but I predict you'll love this book!

How can you not? There are baby goats, a friendly ghost, a hot farmer who's cursed, and a (well-meaning) charlatan that has to convince said hot farmer he can't sell his farm at the risk of immediate death. This premise is gold!

I confess that I was a little unsure on how I'd feel about Gretchen and her business of tricking people, but Sara Adler has a way with words, her characters are three-dimensional and her storytelling is like a braid where every section weaves beautifully in place, so I found myself warming up to her from the start. And to me the highlight of this story is her friendship with Ev! The funniest, sweetest ghost, and my favorite character! 👻❤️

As for the romance, it is a slow burn between Gretchen and Charlie, but I liked it that way because it felt more realistic to have this skeptical man slowly falling for the woman he distrusted. The anticipation built delicious tension and I was so here for it!

A romance between a con artist spirit medium with a giving heart and a goat farmer with a ghost problem.

Ok, I'm going to start this off by saying that I adored the ghost in this story, Everett. His unlikely friendship with the spirit medium, Gretchen was one of my absolute favorite aspects of this story. He was hilarious with his television addiction, witty insights and long standing family curse.

Gretchen has grown up a con artist. her father raised her to take advantage of others. I loved that despite her father, she still had a conscience and tried to do right by her marks. Charlie was a disbelieving grump with a heart. Despite him knowing she was a con artist, he couldn't help but feel an attraction towards Gretchen. These two had a great enemies to lovers vibe. I understood Charlie's reluctance and his gruff demeanor towards a woman he knew to be a con artist. Gretchen winning him over and showing him that she was more than what he perceived was crucial to their romance.

If you enjoy humorous books filled with romance and a touch of the paranormal you won't want to miss this one.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for a gifted earc. All thoughts are my own.

The best part of this book was definitely Everett…or the goats! 🐐 It had vibes like the tv show Ghosts and I enjoyed Sarah’s writing style a lot. This story didn’t completely work for me, but I will definitely be checking out Mrs. Nash’s Ashes ASAP!

What mainly didn't work for me was Gretchen's insistence on proving to Charlie that she was a real medium. If she'd been honest from the get-go that she has good intentions and does help people but there really is a ghost, I would've liked this a lot more. I couldn't get past the lying and lackluster chemistry. I am really bummed that this one is a miss for me.

In a word, this book was 𝐟𝐮𝐧. A fake spirit medium, a quirky ghost, and gruff hero, and a whole lotta goats. What’s not to love???

I laughed out loud so much while listening to this book. Ghost Everett supplied a nice comedic counterpoint to some of the heavier topics in this story. I loved Gretchen and Charlie’s dynamic. His grumpy exterior hid a gooey cinnamon roll center, and I gobbled it up!

There were a few heavier themes here (loneliness, dementia, loss of a loved one, parental abuse/abandonment), but they were handled with care and felt true to the characters.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
☝️ Single POV
🐐 Goat farm setting
♥️ Opposites attract
🔥 Forced proximity
👻 A hilarious ghost
🌶️🌶️.5

Thanks to Berkley for an advanced copy of Happy Medium by Sarah Adler which comes out tomorrow - Tuesday, April 30th.

Gretchen grew up with a con-artist father and she's currently a slightly fake medium (but doesn't take advantage of her clients). She knows that her clients mostly want connection and to find peace. When her wealthiest client pays for her to help investigate the unexplained phenomena of her bridge partner's farm. Of course the bridge partner is in his 30s and sees right through Gretchen's cons, until Gretchen really sees a ghost who has been wreaking havoc. Can Gretchen convince Charlie to not sell the farm and fall under the family curse?

I loved Mrs. Nash's Ashes last year so was looking forward to this book. Everett the chatty ghost reminded me of the TV Show Ghosts and that's all I could picture reading this. It was a cute premise but I didn't really see the romance between Gretchen and Charlie, especially only in a month. It was a little too quick for me.

If you like enemies to lovers, forced proximity, found family on a goat farm with a side of ghosts you'll enjoy this book. It was cute overall and a quick fun read!

This book was sooo cute and original!!! I had never read Sarah Adler's work but after finishing this one I immediately purchased her first book. I typically struggle with 3rd person POV but the storyline was so interesting and the writing was so well done that I found myself not super bothered by it. HAPPY MEDIUM had such a sweet balance of humor and vulnerability! I wish some of the details would’ve been tied up with a little more detail and parts of it felt somewhat dragged out but aside from those two things I really really enjoyed this book! I loved the magical realism elements, the opposites attract, and the overall story arch. Highly recommend!

#HappyMedium:⁣
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Thank you @prhaudio @berkleyromance for my gifted copies! #PRHAudioPartner #BerkleyPartner ⁣
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To be fair, if this was titled “I Ain’t Afraid of No Goats” I would have immediately ran and said please I need. But it is Sarah Adler, I LOVED Nash’s Ashes, and I’m a loyal subscriber to her newsletter, so I don’t know if it would have made a difference. (But still, genius thought) ⁣
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The skinny: I loved it. A con person getting instant karma in the fact that her schtick is real and she can talk to (and befriend) a spirit is hilarious. Not to mention, Everett is absolutely snarky and has great television taste. Charlie had the sweetest and kind soul, and I loved how Gretchen brought out the best in both. She was such a unique character and I couldn’t help but cheer for her. I never consider myself a salesperson, but she threw out a “I would hate for it to be gone” and that’s my go-to sales line. 🤭⁣
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There’s so much banter and witty dialogue between all the characters, and I wish it translated more into audio. I didn’t feel like the lines were hitting as snarky or had the intended effect it needed to. Regardless, Mara Wilson is Mara Wilson and it was still amazing on audio and of course I would recommend it.⁣
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Overall, another Sarah Adler hit. I think I like this more than Nash’s Ashes 🫣 I absolutely love how Adler writes and how different her characters are. Different in a good way, because sometimes I feel seen. ⁣
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Anywho, out now. Yes, there is spice. ⁣
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Predict text: The Happy Medium…⁣
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The happy medium is the one that is the most interesting.

A fake medium is tasked with performing an exorcism at a rural farm in order to save its owner, who is in peril due to an old curse. When she arrives, she unexpectedly falls for the owner, who is dubious of her abilities.
I really loved Adler's debut novel, MRS. NASH'S ASHES, last summer and had high hopes for this one. The premise was ambitious and definitely outside of my comfort zone (I probably wouldn't have read it if not for Adler) and I don't think it fully worked -it was VERY quirky, to the point where I found most of it too ridiculous.
Despite this, I found this to be a rather sweet read once we got into the emotional meat of it. The romantic relationship was a tad uneven, but I was rooting for these characters!

I absolutely loved this book!!! It was cute, and charming, and funny! Super entertaining! We also had the author come to our bookstore before and she was a delight!!

Of all of the magical romances coming out this season, this is my favorite so far! A fake medium is hired to exorcise a ghost from a farm. She discovers that not only is the ghost very real but that she might be falling for the owner of the farm, and that she must convince him that he’s in danger. That description might sound scary but this is the friendliest ghost since Casper. This book hooked me from page one and I read it in one sitting. The chemistry between the two main characters was perfect and the ghost was such brilliant comic relief. The book did an impressive job of balancing a fast pace without sacrificing relationship and character development. The writing never felt cheesy and the romance never felt forced (despite the forced proximity 😉). I would love to see more paranormal/magical romance from this author!

I absolutely adored Mrs. Nashes' Ashes, so when I saw Sarah Adler had another book coming out, I knew I had to read it.

In Happy Medium, lifelong con artist Gretchen Acorn, who is now posing as a spirit medium, gets sent to a Maryland goat farm by a wealthy client to perform an exorcism for a family friend. It's not her usual shtick, but she's up for the challenge -- only once she gets there, she finds there's an actual ghost she can see and talk to, and learns there's a family curse putting the cute young goat farmer's life at risk. The only problem is he can see through her for the scam artist that she is, making her job of convincing him of the curse and saving his life all the more difficult.

While billed as a romance novel, this book is much more than that. It's a story of personal growth and shedding the person your parents raised you to be to find your own path in life. It's also a story about loneliness and how hard it can be to let people in (even friends) if you've been hurt. Those storylines add a depth to the story that I did not expect and had me in tears.

This review is based on reading a complimentary advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley.

Sarah Adler brings humor and heart to two lonely people who really do need each other. The unlikely pairing of a woman who grew up as a con artist and a guy who is a recently-inherited goat farmer is a great hook. But what happens when the most unlikely spirit befriends Gretchen? Well, this tired 'medium' takes it in stride and ends up staying at the farm for a month to pitch in with the goats and earn Charlie's trust. There was a fun chemistry between these two and the banter between Gretchen and Everett was delightful. Overall this was a fun read and I was happy that both characters got exactly what they needed and deserved in the end.

Gretchen Acorn is a faux spirit medium, she can’t actually talk to the dead but she tries to help their living relatives move on from the trauma of losing a loved one. One of her clients has a bridge partner who’s having trouble selling his farm,supposedly because of a ghost. Gretchen agrees to go out to the farm to “help” him.

When she arrives, she’s surprised to see that the farmer, Charlie, is a hot younger guy, not the old man she’d pictured. And, for the first time ever, she actually sees and talks to a ghost. He’s Charlie’s ancestor and is stuck there because he sold the farm before his death. If Charlie actually sells, he too will be stuck haunting the farm in the afterlife.

Gretchen tries to convince Charlie that the ghost is real but he doesn’t believe her. She stays and helps with chores, and ends up falling for Charlie and his herd of goats. Can she convince him not to sell?

I loved this sweet and funny opposites attract, paranormal romance. The characters have depth and the love story is very believable. 5 stars.

Happy Medium takes place on a paranormal farm where a clever con woman must pretend to convince a farmer of his property's resident real-life ghost if she's to save them all from a fate worse than death. This is a Paranormal romance with a splash of enemies to lovers, small town, and forced proximity. Sarah Alder's writing is cheeky, cozy and at times deeply humorous.

I found the premise of this book to be extremely intriguing and overall the execution worked pretty well for me! The storytelling and Alder's ability to set the scene of this cozy farm was excellent and reeled me in from the get go.

I absolutely loved given the circumstances how our two leads Charlie and Gretchen got to slowly know each other through friendship before diving in to a romantic relationship, this allowed me as a reader to understand these two characters and overall connect to them more. I thought both of our main characters were intriguing and fun characters to follow, even with Charlie being a grumpier male lead. I also really appreciated the combination of deeper moments and themes to also comedic relief and overall goofy, light hearted banter. To me, this book felt like it pushed the "norm" of romance novels a bit as it felt like nothing I have read before, and I very much appreciate the creativity in the plot.

I do feel like I struggled a little bit with the overall pacing of the book, the first half for me was a breeze but I ran into som lulls in the second half. I think perhaps the overall length could have been cut down to aid in the pacing of the second half. Additionally, I struggled at times to really feel the romantic pull and chemistry between Charlie and Gretchen.

I did have a lovely time with this though and I would recommend this overall if you're looking for a witty, cozy, and magical romance to get wrapped up in!