I was not a fan of the protagonist and this felt juvenile, I had a hard time getting into it. It was not for me! The characterization felt so off, quite caricature. Overall, the plot was predictable and fell flat.

Overall, this was a really cute read, although I wish I'd had the time to finish it during October as planned. While the ghosts aren't real and we are made aware from the beginning, the podcast sprinklings with local ghost stories made this a fun "Spooky Season" read. Still, there were things I didn't like. The protagonist was borderline petulant when it came to her relationship with her parents, which wasn't ideal. Also, I feel like the third act break up was unfairly placed on her shoulders.

this is the perfect read around spooky season! also as soon as someone works at a bookstore i am immediately loving the vibes. small towns also bring a cozy vibe! highly recommend

An enjoyable read about figuring out life and falling in love. Lex and James were well matched and interesting characters. My one issue was it felt like the relationship development moved too quickly in the beginning. I would have liked a bit more build up before they began dating and feeling a deeper connection. In the second half of the book, though, it was interesting how Lex worked through her personal issues while also figuring out how to deal with falling for James. I would like to try another book from this author.

Haunt Your Heart Out is a cute spooky Christmas tale. A perfect read for the in between of Halloween and Christmas.

Haunt Your Heart Out by Amber Roberts was a fun holiday read Halloween/Christmas with a spooky, cozy feel and a romance that I adored.

Thank you NetGalley for the eCopy

Haunt your heart out is perfect for the spooky season, I felt it was a typical rom com and I enjoyed it (I even bought the paperback). I felt the characters were created well and I really enjoyed the interactions between the characters. I really enjoyed the supernatural elements and felt the storyline was enjoyable.

This started off really promising and I loved the idea of a Zach Bagans MMC visiting a small town to go ghost hunting and that the woman he was pursuing (our FMC) made ghost hunting YouTube videos as a teen and that he used to watch. However, beyond that, this had no substance. It just turned into one boring encounter after the next and even though I loved the ghost hunting flashbacks this plot didn’t really have any point and didn’t make any sense. I didn’t even really enjoy the spice either. This was just very bland and I didn’t feel any chemistry or tension at all. It’s hard to explain what was missing but it just felt very surface level and forced. Side note, this also had terrible formatting for an ebook and that was very distracting as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A movie crew has come to Stowe Vermont to capture haunted places, and hopefully ghosts, on video. Lex McCall loves her town and works at the bookstore, which is where she meets James, a gorgeous guy who’s part of the film crew.

When they were younger, Lex and her best friend created a bunch of videos about “Haunted Stowe”. They made up scary stories about places around town and used special effects to make the videos scarier. She’s shocked when she discovers that James and are using those videos as a guide!

She and James have fallen for each other, but Lex is scared he’s going to leave her like everyone else did. She knows she’s got to tell him but doesn’t want to give him a reason to leave.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Small town 30-something Lex is essentially running a second-hand book store for her absent boss and dreams of buying it but all of her money is going into repairs on her home, which she inherited from her grandparents.

Enter: James, who is in town filming a documentary surrounding local ghost stories that Lex herself helped create years and document years earlier as a vlog.

There is a lot of push and pull with the pacing on this one, as Lex and James have great chemistry and banter, and Lex's best friend Natalie have a fun bestie relationship as well. There is a lot of family drama and tension surrounding money problems and mental health issues as well.

Overall though, this was a really fun read that works perfectly for November into December, as the characters are ghost hunting AND shoveling (plowing) snow, riding in horse-drawn sleighs, and eventually celebrating Christmas!

I enjoyed this Vermont-set romance. It's perfect for spooky season (and also the holidays!) I'm always a sucker for a good ghost hunting setup, and this one didn't disappoint.

This book just didn't hit the way I'd hoped. I had it in my mind it was going a specific place, which seemed awesome....but it never did. It was just boring. The characters were flat, the story was plain and uneventful, it has no flare to it. There wasn't anything about the book that had me holding on.

It wasn't a bad book, but lacked that little bit of spark to make it worth picking up.

As someone who loves small-town stories with quirky characters, "Haunt Your Heart Out" hit a lot of the right notes for me. Lex McCall is a relatable and endearing protagonist—her love for her cozy Vermont bookstore and her determination to stay rooted in a town others have left behind really resonated with me. I couldn’t help but root for her, even when her decisions were questionable (okay, tampering with ghost-hunting research isn’t her best moment).

The romance with James, the ghost-hunter, was sweet and engaging. I appreciated the slow build of their relationship, and it was fun watching Lex’s no-tourists rule crumble as she let her guard down. Their banter and growing connection gave the story its heart.

The ghost-hunting subplot, with its mix of spooky and ridiculous, added a unique layer to the story, even if it occasionally felt a bit far-fetched. I also loved the little nods to Lex’s Haunted Happenings vlog—it’s a clever way to explore the consequences of past actions catching up in unexpected ways.

While there were moments where Lex’s choices frustrated me, they made her feel real—flawed, human, and trying her best. And the ending left me smiling. Fans of flirty romances and cozy, small-town settings will likely enjoy this one as much as I did.

This is a feel-good book where halloween meets hallmark. Fans of Gilmore Girls will enjoy this cozy small town romance. I enjoyed the anxiety rep in Alex, one of the main characters but felt the book was a little slower than I would have liked.

This is a fun book from Amber Roberts!

Overall, I enjoyed it, but there were some parts I was unsure about. I wasn't too keen on the FMC, Lex, knowingly leading the MMC, James, on with respect to his job and the presence (or lack thereof) of ghosts. I just really don't like pranks/jokes that impact on someone's employment.

I did like and appreciate the growth that Lex goes through in the book, of being a misunderstood daughter who desperately needs support and encouragement and just can't find it from her family, to really taking ownership of her life, career, and her place in the community.

This was a fun, cozy read, that gave me Hallmark movie vibes (which works for me).

Thanks to Alcove Press for the eARC; all opinions are my own.

This was such a sweet and spooky book. It was so swooony but also so spooky and the perfect fall read. I am so thankful for the opportunity to read it early!!

I was actually surprised that this ended up feeling very Hallmark to me.
I did expect a bit of generic rom-com vibes going in but the wholesomeness was surprising for sure.
It was a cute, post Halloween, waiting for Christmas read and a good pallet cleanser for sure.

HAUNT YOUR HEART OUT manages to be both an enjoyable cozy holiday read AND a spooky-vibe Halloween read. Great for this time of year!

Bookstore employee and former hobby-vlogger Lex McCall loves living in her small, sleepy Vermont town in the house her grandparent's left her. While facing the costly repairs her home needs and wanting to buy the bookstore from its curmudgeonly owner (who wants to offload the building after hearing it's haunted), Lex meets just-passing-through James, who's in town filming a documentary on haunted happenings in the area. Soon, she's having to confront her fabrications and her attraction to James, and what those truths mean for her future.

I love Amber and I thought this was a really cozy, fun debut.

Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for the e-ARC, and Amber for the finished copy. HAUNT YOUR HEART OUT is out now!

thank you everyone for this copy, really fit the season well and really enjoyed picking it up when i did - gave all the halloween vibes i needed :)

This book was EVERYTHING. It's the perfect fall or Halloween read! I will 100% be buying it physically so I can annotate it!