Ghosts, coffee, and small beach town hijinks aren’t the typical backdrop to romance, but… She needs a new start and he needs to get out of his rut. After seeing rave reviews about Jen DeLuca’s earlier series and loving a good haunting and romance, I was excited to start a new series set in Boneyard Key, Florida.

Grumpy meets cautious when Cassie enters Nick’s coffee shop after second guessing her sudden move from the bright lights of Orlando to tourist schtick town, Boneyard Key. Nick thinks she’s a typical tourist just there to use his wifi and not even buy a cup of coffee so the meet cute starts out rough. But instead of holding a grudge, Cassie laughs and they start over.

I enjoyed getting to know the unique little town of Boneyard Key with Cassie as she realizes the beach cottage she bought resides in the most haunted town. There’s even a ghost tour with her house along the route. At first, she thinks its all for the tourist dollar, but then realizes she’s got a ghostly roomie who isn’t happy she’s taken up residence and then she learns that everyone else is rather laissez faire about ghosts and ghostly roommates. Nick’s got the former owner of his cafe causing cold spots, sending him text messages, and giving advice about the bake goods and his love life. Her own resident ghost has figured out how to use the magnetic words on the fridge to clue Cassie in about things.

Nick’s been burned in the past about transient women who love him and leave him, and Cassie has one foot out the door as she decides whether to stay or head back to Orlando. She came on a snap decision after realizing she was the odd gal out when her friends all got into relationships and started having babies. They are hesitant to act on their attraction and interest. This was a slow burn romance with a lot of sweetness. There is some ghostly interference that was sometimes funny and sometimes mysterious.

I enjoyed the historical research part Cassie did to learn about her ghost and what was wrong. She made friends along the way and slowly fell in love with Boneyard Key and her home as she found purpose and routine and acceptance. Nick slowly opened up and started taking a chance. Occasionally, he’d do an abrupt turn toward the ugly, but then there was that aha moment to explain this.

An exciting spooky climax and then a lovely finish for Nick and Cassie. I was left well-satisfied with this light paranormal romance with a hint of sexy spice and look forward to more spooky romancing in Boneyard Key. Fun and flirty storytelling style and just the right amount of drama for my taste. Definitely recommend to other cozy Paranormal Romance fans.

3.5 stars

This was a fun read that's perfect going into spooky season. It was a little bit of a slow start, but then I found myself enjoying the story more as I read. I would call it a cozy paranormal because the ghosts played a big part in the story, but nothing about it was scary or gory. I did quickly pick up on how future parts of the story would play out, but it didn't make the reading experience less enjoyable.

Overall a solid read and I hope there's more books set in this town!

As someone who always checks out the local Haunted Walking Tours and Candlelight Graveyard Walks when I am planning a vacation, this book just called out to me as soon as I read the summary. And what better time to read this than just at the beginning of Spooky Season because this book will give you all the best of those vibes no matter the temputure around you. This was a great blend of all the little chills and thrills that come from hearing about historical ghosts and hauntings mixed the with best romantic aspects of strangers thrown together for an enemies to lovers romance with the most delightful dusting of comedy to perfectly balance the sweet with the spice. But, what I enjoyed even more was the mystery that was at the heart of this story and that joined all the parts together. Jen De Luca has a great eye for a good a story and with a little more development of this mystery she could have easily marketed this book as a delightful Romantic Comedy Mystery. I can't wait to see what else this author has in store for me, because I will be looking for her blend of comedy and romance in the future.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

• cozy mystery/rom-com
• paranormal vibes + misogynistic ghosts
• fun characters

I read this entire book while sitting on a Florida beach, which made it so much more fun for me! This is a light read. I really enjoyed the characters, their relationship, and the small town setting! Super cute and definitely recommend 😍

🗣 Thank you to netgalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

As a big Jen DeLuca fan and lover of her Ren Faire series, I was excited to learn she had a new book coming out that mixed in some mystery, ghosts, and small-town vibes with her typical romcom style, and Haunted Ever After didn’t disappoint! I appreciated the romantic plot centered around Cassie and Nick, but more than that, I loved the ghosts and their shenanigans even more! They definitely had some stories to tell, and I enjoyed being along for the ride!

An appreciator of small, quaint towns, Boneyard Key appealed to me too. I visited Salem, Mass., for the first time a few years ago, and details from that town often entered my mind as I pictured Boneyard Key. Cassie’s iced hazelnut latte and banana bread habit also rubbed off on me!

If you’re looking for a read to ring in the fall season and get you in the mood for all things Halloween and ghost, look no further!

Boneyard Key, Florida is a tourist town and one of the most haunted towns in the state. Nick runs Hallowed Grounds coffee house and is a life long resident. He embraces the slower way of life, including interacting with the dead. Cassie moves to town to escape the big city. She meets Nick and sparks fly. But before they can move forward she needs to solve the mystery of her house, its history, and why she can’t ever charge her laptop. But what she finds is more than she bargained for and she needs to rely on Nick and some new friends to keep the past in the past.

👻I enjoyed the small town atmosphere, the funny interactions with ghosts, and the side characters. It’s a great choice for spooky season without too much fright. I wanted a little more depth between Nick and Cassie but I definitely will read more in the series to find out what happens next.

This was a cute premise, and overall I enjoyed it, but I felt like the haunting/ghost aspect and the romance aspect of the book were at odds. The romance was fun and mostly light, but the haunting of Cassie’s house was dark enough for it to feel like a weird clashing. And then the conclusion was very rushed and wrapped up extremely neatly. I did really love the haunted, small town vibes, though.

okay so like, the romance in this was terrible. literally nothing about it compelled me. Cassie had the personality of a wet mop and Nick was whiny AF. the only reason I finished this is because I was very invested in the ghosts 😂👻 such a bummer because I loved Well Met (although admittedly didn’t love the rest of the series). still, this was a fun spooky read. thanks to @netgalley for the gifted digital copy ✨

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I read almost all of Jen DeLuca’s Well Met Renaissance Fair series and loved them, and this book was a real departure from this series, in ways that worked and didn’t work. I think DeLuca is good at cozy, sweet contemporary romances, and this one fits that description, but adds in a paranormal aspect her first series was lacking. I saw someone online compare this book to Gilmore Girl Stars Hollow if the town was haunted, and I think that matches the tone of the book, plus it adds a Florida beach vibe. This book was cute and I think got better the further I went into it. To me it was a little slow at the beginning, and sometimes the pacing and mystery element of the book felt a little off. But overall this book had a fun ghost and beach story, which worked for September. Overall, I recommend this book for fans of ghost story romances, beach settings, and DeLucas as a writer.

Marked as DNF @ 20% on 9/5/24 | I was really excited for this one but it was just a too slow for me, and I also really don't enjoy romance in third person. The author really has to make me forget that it's in third person and it just really wasn't happening here. I wasn't getting a lot of personality from either main character and the ghost part of it was just a little off. I probably could finish but eh, this wasn't going to do it for me so I'll pass.

This is the perfect spooky season book! The book follows Cassie who has recently upended her entire life to move to the small beach town of Boneyard Key. She quickly realizes that her house and the town’s haunted history are not as fictional as she had first imagined. While there is a romance in this book, it was (in my opinion) secondary to the story of the ghosts in the town. I actually loved this because the ghosts in this book and how they find ways to communicate with the living were so compelling! I found myself fighting sleep multiple nights trying to stay up for more chapters. This book made me snort laugh and sob cry and left me so happy in the end! I’ve already purchased the audiobook because I loved this so much!

Thank you so much to Berkley and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

I liked this one a lot! Boneyard Key felt very Salem-esque in being a tourist town with supernatural happenings. The vibes were comfortable and strongly small town without being too much of a stereotype.

I enjoyed the romance and characters, but nothing really jumped out. It was all pretty average.

I did however like the ghosts in this book! Sarah Hawkins communicating via magnet poetry was so fun, and the twist was well earned with how it was being teased. I found myself more intrigued with the Hawkins House story than Nick and Cassie’s romance, which at times felt rushed.

Overall, a good read for summer or fall if you want a mix of spooky and beach-y. I’m looking forward to the next in the series!

I loved Jen DeLuca’s Well Met series so I thought this was going to be another hit for me, but unfortunately it was not. I just didn’t care about the romance at all, which I feel is important in a romance novel. I did however like the ghost mystery, so at least there was that.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Berkley for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this if you like: Paranormal romance, cozy feelings, small town, endometriosis representation

This is so quirky and funny. The small town setting with ghost tours and stuff is great. I enjoyed the characters. Cassie was a bit much, at first, but who could blame her. 🤣 I get being skeptical. I highly recommend this read, especially for Spooky season.

4⭐️ 1.5🌶️

Now THIS is the perfect Fall read and let me tell you why!!

There is mystery, ghosts, romance, food and the cutest small beach town. This binge based in Florida was so funny to me because understanding why it was so important to Cassie to have access to a PubSub really did it for me.

This was a very easy and fun read. I was very entertained the whole way and thought it wasn’t hard to realize what was going on and I kept screaming at them how to fix the issue!!!!!! I I’d have a grand time reading this book. It’s so cozy and a great read for any Fall/Halloween TBR.

The characters had good banter and chemistry. The pace could have been a bit faster but it all works out in the end. It is a very slow burn to the point I thought it was gonna be closed doors and boy was I pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t hehehe but it would have been fine without any spice too.

I’m excited to go through Jen DeLuca’s prior works because her writing style is so fun!!

I had such a great time reading this book! As a Florida native who got the heck out of dodge, I was pretty apprehensive. But Jen DeLuca is stellar and so of course I was going to give "Haunted Ever After" a fair shot. And thank God I did!! Cassie and Nick were such fun characters. Their banter was hilarious. Several times I found myself laughing out loud and running to my friends with "you won't believe what Nick just did for Cassie," or "guess what Elmer just said!" Because make no mistake—Elmer was my favorite. The entire cast was well-detailed, and I felt completely immersed while reading. I'll definitely be sticking around for the sequel!

Cassie moves to Boneyard Key to fulfill the American dream of owning her own home. She’s ill prepared for the grump she’s forced to deal with to secure a daily coffee nor the antics of the locals and their claim to fame: ghosts in residence. Her new home is supposedly haunted and the faulty wiring is the least of her problems.
The cozy small town setting is fantastic and I really enjoyed the supporting cast of characters. It feels quaint without being to kitschy, the right amount of spooky balancing the fun. The romance was a bit too insta-love for me and there’s a scene that absolutely made me cringe, but I’m invested and looking forward to more in a spin off or two.
Thank you to Berkley Besties and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

It pains me to rate this book as one star, but, this wasn't a romance novel. I really enjoyed DeLuca's previous series, so I was looking forward to reading this, but it was a complete disappointment for me. I finally had to give up near the end and start skimming because I just didn't care about a single one of the characters. The story had potential, but I think (for me) the ghost aspect overwhelmed everything else, and the book came off as cheesy and tiresome. I don't think I will be continuing this series.

Haunted Ever After is a cozy paranormal rom-com about a woman who moves to a small town where there are almost as many ghosts as people. Of course she moved into the most haunted house in the area, the one even the locals were a little nervous about, and she enlists the help of the local coffee shop owner to help her figure out the story behind her house and its former occupant.

I think there is definitely an audience for this book, but it isn't really me. This is cozy to the extreme, and I need higher stakes and more laughs out of my rom-coms. I was drawn to this book more because of the author since I loved Well Met, but this doesn't quite live up to the other series in my opinion. The romance lacked any tension or chemistry and fell flat for me, since there were no stakes and no hurdles for the couple to overcome. The dialogue wasn't strong, and I was disappointed there just wasn't much to the story. Even the ghost haunting the house, as it turns out (spoiler!) isn't actually malevolent at all.

But this might be great for someone looking for a low stakes read!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

This is the cutest spooky rom-com I’ve ever read!

Cassie makes a big change when she buys a home away from her friends in a place known to be haunted. It’s the biggest tourist attraction in town but when her home also has a resident ghost and she isn’t happy.. Cassie wonders if she made a big mistake!!

Cassie is great! She really puts up with a lot with her new house and because she can’t charge her laptop in her house, she has to go to the local coffee place where she meets the handsome hunk Nick. Sparks fly! I love the chemistry between them! Her house though and her ghost.. seems to have a weird effect on Nick!

I loved the spooky town and all the ghosts! I want to visit. It was my favorite read of August!

Small town romance is the best and this one is perfect for Halloween!

5 stars