Thank you to @Netgalley, @sarahadler and @berkleypublishing for my gifted copy! Here is my voluntary review!

Happy Medium is about a phony, psychic medium who gets paid $10k by her client to exorcize a supposed haunted house. Gretchen shows up at the goat farm of her client’s friend, expecting a 75 year old man to answer the doorbell. Instead, young and handsomely hot Charlie, goat farmer, turns her away, seeing her as the fraud she is, As Gretchen walks away, she walks into, literally, her first real ghost and Charlie’s ancestor, Everette. Gretchen is now a true blue medium.

Finding out a family curse exists and death will befall Charlie if he successfully sells his farm and leaves, Gretchen and Everette do everything possible to prevent said sale/convince Charlie of the curse.

This is a cute, supernatural enemies-to-lovers romance that hooks you from the first page! A real PAGE-TURNER, addicting and holy moly, what an AWESOME read! LOVED, no ADORED this book!

Fans of Lucy Score’s ‘The Dead Guy Next Door’, Riley Thorn series will LOVE this!

I loved the idea of a fake psychic who realizes there’s more truth to her powers than she thinks. It was so clever, and a charming follow-up to Adler’s debut Mrs. Nash’s Ashes.

This read was such a DELIGHT!

I really, really, REALLY loved Mrs. Nash’s Ashes and it was one of my favorite reads of 2023 so, when I Saw Happy Medium was being released this year it quickly became one of my most anticipated reads!

Have you ever wanted to or had a tarot card reading? Do you believe in mediums or ghosts? I haven't had a reading but I have always wanted to and I sure do believe in mediums AND ghosts so I knew I was going to be interested in this read and it did not disappoint!

Similarly to Mrs. Nash’s Ashes I was cackling out loud to most of this story while also having heart eyes and a strong desire to work on a farm where I can hang out with some baby goats! This is a contemporary and paranormal romance (who doesn't love that combo) with characters that are fun, a refreshing setting , and a plot that is oh so binegable!

I really can’t wait for you to meet Gretchen and Charlie but even more than that, I can't wait for you to meet Everett. He is one sassy ghost and I loved so many of his one liners. He really made the story for me. I also loved getting to know Gretchen and Charlie and following along while they have to work together. I especially love when they have to birth some goats!

I used to work in a barn and this farm setting really spoke to my soul! It really made me miss the animals I used to work with. I think more and more farms are getting harder to maintain so learning about the process to keep one afloat was interesting.

I read this one in a few days and it feels like the perfect beach read. I really can't wait to see what more Adler writes because she has quickly become an auto-buy author for me!
4.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for access to this arc.

Last year I adored “Mrs. Nash’s Ashes.” I was hoping for a repeat experience with “Happy Medium.” Let me just rip the review Band-Aid off and say, I didn’t get one. For the most part, Everett the ghost is a pervy asshole. He does have some good moments when he pops up to give Gretchen some words of wisdom but they’re few and far between. Although if I were stuck in the same place for 100 years, unable to talk to anyone, maybe I’d begin to get my entertainment by watching people regardless of whether those people were in the bathroom or bedroom. I think he’s supposed to add most of the “quirk” to the book but I disliked him more and more as the book went on.

Gretchen, who in order to justify her actions has changed her con-artistry to only work with clients who she feels she can leave better off than when they first came to her, is so hesitant while at the farm. SO many times Charlie would ask her to do something that needed to be done RIGHT NOW and Gretchen would dither for half a page or more trying to work herself up to it. I would mentally yell “Just do it! The baby goat needs you!” at her. She does, I will admit, have great ideas for ways for Charlie to increase the income the farm makes and does something really nice for Charlie’s grandfather. That was sweet.

Grumpy hero Charlie is barely in the book for the first third. And when he is, he’s simmeringly angry at Gretchen. Like that’s pretty much his only emotion. He does eventually show his good side and after that, I agree with Everett (and it pains me to agree with that asshole about anything) that Charlie is a good egg with a runny yolk. Hmmm, that description sounds better in the book.

Miscommunication is a big part of this story. We’re told that everyone around Gretchen and Charlie can see that they’re falling for each other (even if I didn’t see much chemistry for a long time) but these two won’t give in because Gretchen won’t allow anyone close to her in her life and Charlie thinks she’s a fraud. Then this progresses to martyrish tendencies from them both. Ugh.

The worst thing though is the endless telling instead of showing. We never do get any POV from Charlie but do get endless rounds of everything going on in Gretchen’s head. Plus descriptions. Cut those down and the book could have easily lost 75 pages of nothing. There also wasn’t much tension. Honestly, I was more underwhelmed with it than anything else. I did expect one plot point to be expanded on but that never happened, which is a good thing because I was dreading it, so yay for that. Also the baby goats are cute.

Looking at other reviews, I am definitely an outlier. This book seems to be pleasing a lot of people but most of it just rubbed me the wrong way. Sadly I’ll have to hope that the next book wins me back because this one didn’t do much for me. C-/D

3.5⭐
Genre ~ romantic comedy
Setting ~ Washington DC & Maryland
Publication date ~ April 30, 2024
Page Count ~ 416 (38 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 0 minutes
Narrator ~ Mara Wilson
POV ~ single 3rd
Featuring ~ con-artist, paranormal, small town, farm life, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, opposites attract, slow burn, minimal steamage

Gretchen has perfected cons by 'speaking' to dead people. She's so convincing that her fancy client has hired her to help her bridge playing friend, Charlie, get rid of a suspected ghost that's not making selling the farm easy.

Gretchen's met her match because Charlie is having none of her lies, except this time she's not lying and she really does see the infamous ghost of Gilded Creek Goat Farm and his name is Everett. He agrees to let her stay for one month, but she'll need to help out around the farm every day. Turns out the farm isn't very profitable, but leave it to Gretchen to come up with some great ideas to get it in the black. I enjoyed watching her step into her yellow rain boots and take on every task given to her.

I said in one of my updates that I'm slightly in love with Everett. He's such a fun ghost and I totally would've let him rock my world back in the 1920's. Poor thing is so bored, all he wants to do is watch TV when he's not trying to scare potential buyers. Can you blame him though? He hasn't had anyone to talk to in nearly 100 years and finally someone can see him and listen to him yabber on for ages. You can't help but feel bad for him, but then slightly mad at him towards the end.

I'm normally down with a grump, but Charlie is a little too mean to Gretchen sometimes, which took me an extra minute to warm up to him. But after I heard his backstory, witnessed his sweetness towards his grandfather and read his memories of the times he spent with his grandma, he grew on me, mismatched and long sleeved sweaters and all.

Some downsides for me are that the plot only takes place for about a month, and there's a lot jammed packed in that month, but this felt so long and it took me quite a while to get through (2 weeks!). I don't feel like their relationship progressed realistically either. Their first whomp was really weird. I could have went without the stuff with her father as I don't feel like it was wrapped up nicely at all. A few chapters from Charlies POV would have been helpful.

Overall, there's a good amount of wit and TV show references that kept me entertained.

I was so excited to get approved for this but unfortunately it just did not work for me. I felt zero chemistry between the MC’s and the romance didn’t even start until 70% in which was way too slow of a burn for my taste. I would have loved more cute farm stories or more goats- just something! And there was the plot hole with Gretchen’s dad. By the end, not even Everett the ghost could save this for me. I’m still going to check out Mrs Nash’s Ashes but this one was not for me.

I thought that Happy Medium was delightful. A little goofy but still a really earnest story. Gretchen and Charlie were both great (Everett too I suppose) and the storyline was a lot of fun. I think people will like it and I’d definitely recommend it. It’s like a very light paranormal romance. Just like a little bit of ghosts!

Giving this a semi-generous three stars from me. Did I love the idea of a fun, haunted, goat farm love story featuring a ghost with amazing taste in television???? Absolutely. Was I totally crazy about the execution??? No. I think for many people this book will be the fun hallmark brand romance they were looking for—filled with all the fun tropes, a hot & grumpy farmer who wears homemade sweaters, & a girlie with maximum trust issues & business savvy. For me, it was just a bit difficult to get through. I wanted more from the characters & the story.

I truly thought that our ghost compatriot Everett was the most fun part of the whole story. He was very much giving Disney Sidekick energy in the best & worst ways. I wish there was a bit more about Gretchen’s dad that was covered & even more on Charlie’s grandparents. But the transformation of the barn was cute & fun, & the journey getting there was filled with promise but just a bit lacking. Take all of this with a grain of salt because I am certainly a woman of picky tastes, so if this sounds like your vibe, GO OFF & ENJOY.


Thank you so much to NetGalley & Berkley for the arc!!!

Haunted goat farm anyone?  That's the setting for Happy Medium by Sarah Adler.  I didn't even really read the blurb for this one, I just saw the cover, the words ghost and curse and hot farmer and I was sold.  Charlie and Gretchen were explosive from the minute they met and Everett the TV addicted ghost was absolutely hysterical.

Gretchen tries everything she can to help Charlie break the curse that has plagued his family's farm and Charlie tries to ignore Gretchen at every turn.  Of course the two have chemistry and of course this leads to an explosion of sexy proportions that was worth the slow burn wait of it all.

This book also deals with some heavier topics such as caring for a loved one with dementia so if that is something that could trigger you, please take care.  If you love forced proximity, you will definitely want to check this one out.  Overall, I enjoyed the story though I did find the subplot with Gretchen's father completely unnecessary to the overall book.  Happy Medium comes out on April 30.  Thank you to @berkleyromance and @letstalkbookspromo for the early copy.

I absolutely adored Mrs. Nash's Ashes when I read it last year and was so excited to read Sarah Adler's follow-up, Happy Medium. Gretchen Acorn is a spirit medium - or at least that's the story she sells her highly paying clients. When one of those clients pays her ten grand to do an exorcism at the Gilded Creek Goat Farm so Charlie Waybill can sell the farm, Gretchen packs her stuff and heads to the country. Charlie, of course, is not the elderly gentleman Gretchen expects but rather a strapping farmer who immediately is wise to Gretchen's act.

From the beginning, I was absolutely delighted by this book. The set up was adorable and (like every other review I've seen) I fell hard and fast for Everett the friendly and slightly horny ghost. I loved the development of the relationship between Charlie and Gretchen - seeing them both open up bit by bit was so much fun to read. And the friendship between Everett and Gretchen had me alternatingly laughing and sighing. I was full steam ahead with my five star review until we got to about 80% in the book and we hit the third act conflict which seemed to come pretty out of left field for me and then drug on for a sufficiently long time that I started skimming ahead to get to the resolution. The epilogue wrapped it up really well thankfully, and I landed at about 4.5 stars for this story.

Content flags: Charlie's grandfather has dementia; Gretchen's relationship with her father is strained

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Gretchen Acorn is a spirit medium and also a fake. A seemingly simple “exorcism” on a small goat farm turns out to be way more than she signed up for - a hot farmer who completely sees through her fake persona and an actual ghost that she can see and talk to. This was a super cute romcom and it would be an absolutely lovely fall read!

Short synopsis: Gretchen is a fake medium mostly conning people out of money, until a client asks her to get rid of a ghost on a goat farm.

My thoughts: After reading and really loving Mrs Nash’s Ashes last year i was so excited for Adler’s next novel. This one didnt have quite the same punch as the first but definitely was still enjoyable for the most part.

There was a lot of unexpected character growth. I really liked watching Gretchen let down her walls and open up her past with the reader and with Charlie. Charlie was such a grump, and it took a lot for him to trust Gretchen, which took like the entire book (a little too long in my opinion). Everett was a great (although highly inappropriate) comedic relief.

I’m very curious what snuggling baby goats would be like. Guarantee it’s nothing like snuggling puppies.

Read if you love:
- Funny/inappropriate ghosts
- Farm life and farmers markets
- Baby goats
- Grumpy sunshine
- Character growth

4.5/5

Sarah Adler is one of the best when it comes to crafting incredibly unique yet enticing storylines. Happy Medium is a story about a "bullshit artist," a farmer, a family curse, and a lovable ghost. but it's so much more than that, too. It's a story about loneliness and loss and learning to let people in even after ever fiber of your being tells you not to.

While I think the story started a bit slow—it took me getting about a quarter of the way into it before the story truly began—when it did pick up, I couldn't put it down. The characters have so many layers. Everett is funny, playful, and sweet. He made me laugh and provided levity when the story needed it. Gretchen is clever and strong. She handled adversity and the task at hand much better than I ever would have. Charlie is so kind-hearted. He always saw the best in people even when he easily could have let them go. All three of their interactions were so real and comforting yet also heart-breaking.

Adler showed with Mrs. Nash's Ashes that she can write a unique story filled with strong, multi-layered characters. She added more proof with Happy Medium. And that last-minute twist at the end! I can say for a fact that I didn't see it coming!

Sarah Adler’s Happy Medium is one of the more unique romance books you’ll read this year! In Hapy Medium, a clever con woman must convince a skeptical, sexy farmer of his property's resident real-life ghost if she's to save them all from a fate worse than death.

Hot men! Farms! Con artists! Fake mediums! Ghosts! That is a combination of themes I bet you didn’t see coming together in one book, but this entertaining romance manages to get it all into a cohesive story. The book centers around Gretchen Acorn, who is a self-proclaimed fake medium and honestly a complete fraud. It’s not entirely her fault, she is the daughter of a conman, after all.

Gretchen and her father aren’t speaking since she confronted him about their relationship and he threw a few distasteful comments her way. Gretchen may have followed in her father’s footsteps when it comes to conning people, but she has a code of ethics. No hurting clients who are already grieving their loss. Gretchen doesn’t see her work as conning them, she sees it as helping them to find peace so they can move on with their lives. Gretchen may not be able to hear spirits, but she can make a go at faking the words if it means helping a (paying) client.

Gretchen is profiting off of the pain of others, but she isn’t exactly flush with cash. When her wealthiest client offers a large sum of money if she can help with an exorcism on a farm in Gilded Creek, she feels like she has struck gold. Her client tells her that her friend is in his seventies, but hasn’t been able to sell his farm because, well…it’s haunted. All Gretchen needs to do is head to the farm, pretend to “exorcise” the ghost, and collect her fee.

Of course, this is a romance book so we can all guess what Gretchen definitely did not guess (but does anyone know they are in a romance book when it starts?)—the owner of the property sent his hot and charming grandson to meet her. Charlie Waybill clocks Gretchen from a mile away. He doesn’t respect anything about her, and threatens to call the cops when she says she’s going to perform an exorcism.

The tricky thing is, there actually is a ghost on the farm who has been trapped there for nearly 100 years—Everett Waybill. And what’s more, Gretchen can see him. Everett has no intention of letting Charlie sell the farm—he says it will put the same curse on him that it did to Everett, and ultimately kill him. The curse has plagued their family for generations. Everett needs Gretchen’s help convincing Charlie not to sell the farm.

I think it was clear that Gretchen is going to have a tough time convincing Charlie of anything, other than that he doesn’t like her and thinks she’s a fraud. But Gretchen actually feels compelled to help him be saved from this curse, if only she can figure out a way. Let’s not forget that this book takes place on a farm, so Charlie happily puts her to work while Gretchen tries to formulate a strategy. And of course… she is crazy attracted to him.

This book has a lot of levity and jokes to it. I actually heard someone in my book club say it reminded them of the humor in the tv series Ghosts, and actually I think that is a spot-on description. I found this to be entertaining and a fun story. Romance can get old, but the ghost element of this was something new. And in a refreshing spin, Everett is the best character in the story. He’s funny, as is his relationship with Gretchen.

The love story is a mash up for forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and opposites attract. Charlie and Gretchen are quite different, but they do have chemistry. I’m a wimp with steam so I thought this was a bit much for me, but I don’t think it will be a problem for other more-regular romance readers. The story was a fun premise but I did think that there was a certain something lacking to keep me fully engaged. There may have been a few too many things going on in the subplots to keep the main plot moving along.

Overall a fun and cute read with a great ghostly character and a strong central couple!

📣 Sarah Adler is so funny—I could feel the smile on my face reading this one!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 if you could name a goat right now, what would you name it? Right off the top of my head, I’m thinking Kit or Edie or Flora or any of the other cute 1920s and 30s names that my husband would have never agreed to name our human children 🤣.

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler had me grinning like a lovestruck fool—I love Sarah Adler’s imagination & the sparks of humor that fly everywhere but don’t overbalance the heart of the narrative.

This book is made funnier by the presence of a ghost who died in the 1920s & a narrator—our heroine, Gretchen—who sees the world & the people in it in a way that riveted.

The chemistry between Bullshit Artist Gretchen & “nice guy” Charlie Waybill is gooood & something that my “good girl” fans will appreciate.

On the whole, Happy Medium is winsome & funny & emotionally sharp, & I had such a good time. It was just shy of 5 ⭐️ for me bc some of the aspects of the story don’t quite feel as complete or smooth as I would like—but this book is a delight & a joy.

4.5 ⭐️. Out 04/30.

CWs: grief, memory loss, parental abandonment & estrangement, death, curse.

[ID: Jess’s hand holds the ebook in front of a blooming dogwood tree.]

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler is a paranormal romantic comedy novel. The story in Happy Medium is one of an enemies to lovers romance with a fake medium falling for a skeptical man with a little help from a hundred year old ghost.

Gretchen Acorn was pretty much raised to be a grifter spending her life conning unsuspecting people. Gretchen’s father had taught her the ropes but when he took things a little too far for Gretchen she struck out on her own building up her “fake” medium business.

Gretchen didn’t want to hurt anyone with her con but she still needed to survive the only way she knew how. When Gretchen is approached to “cleanse” a property of it’s spirits how can she say no? After arriving at Charlie Waybill’s property though he quickly runs her off seeing her as the fake she actually is but as Gretchen starts to leave she runs into Everett, an actual ghost, who begs for Gretchen’s help to save Charlie’s life.

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler was a fun story mixing a rom-com with the paranormal of a very pushy ghost. The characters were likable, even Mr. Grumpy himself in Charlie who was quick to push away help but also quick to offer it when Gretchen needed it. My one complaint with this one that brought my rating down from a solid four star fun read to only three and a half stars was that the story did drag here and there and seemed it could have been edited down a bit more with this being a really lengthy read when otherwise it was a really enjoyable read.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you Berkley Romance and PRH Audio for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored Mrs. Nash’s Ashes so this was a highly anticipated read for me.

It took me a little while to get into the story but once I started the audiobook, I was hooked!

Gretchen is a fake medium sent to help Charlie break his farm’s curse. Charlie doesn’t believe her and spots her for who she truly is right away. Everything changes when it turns out she can see and talk to ghosts. She runs into Everett and he tells her the farm is cursed and Charlie will die if he leaves. Gretchen concocts a plan to help out on the farm and convince Charlie of the truth.

I loved so much about this one. Charlie didn’t believe she was a medium but he was such a wonderful man. Gretchen really softened and came into herself living and working for a month on the farm. The friendship she developed with Everett was sweet and of course who doesn’t love baby goats?

Mara Wilson’s narration was fantastic. I can’t wait for more books from Sarah Adler!

Clever book with a lot of heart and a little twist I didn’t see coming. I really liked Gretchen break the mold of her past and what she expected of herself.

I LOVED Mrs. Nash's Ashes, and struggled to reconcile this was the same author. The main characters had zero chemistry, and their first moment was awkward. They didn't work as a couple. Too many loose ends to enjoy.

The best character was Everett, the ghost!

Thank you, Berkley

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler 💜
Standalone

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adult • Romance
ARC Review
416 pages
🗓️ April 30th

🔮 farmer + fake psychic
🐐 ghosts
🔮 close proximity
🐐 dislike to love
🔮 found family
🐐 curse

📌“I’m proud of you and I barely even know you.”“That’s funny. Because it feels like you might know me better than anyone.”

📌“Loving you . . . loving you will always be worth it.”

Okay, hear me out. Fake psychic gets hired to do an exorcism at a farm by a friend of the owner. Only said farmer owner doesn’t believe in any of that and sends her away… in a not very nice manner. As she leaves… she sees… a ghost! A real ghost *cue in freaking out* who asks for her help because that handsome farmer up there is in danger.

Now she just has to convince the non believer that while she is a con artist, she’s actually not lying about the curse. Nor the ghost. 🫣

Oh, and she might have a tiny crush on him. How hard can this be?! 👀

This was seriously fun to read! Even the goats were adorable. But the best part? The ghost. I’m team Ev-deserves-an-happy-ending 😜