This book was so lovely, I genuinely had the best time reading it. I loved the characters, the setting, the humor and banter, and the spice! This was a new to me author and I’ll be looking forward to more work from her in the future!

This book was just what I needed. A fun romcom with a fun and different paranormal twist. There is a bit of a Miscommuncation Trope, which I normally hate but it was wrapped up before it got out of hand and ruined the book for me. The characters do open up to each other and have some touching moments.

Love at First Fright
⭐️/3
🌶/3

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The first thing to note is that the POV is third person. There are multiple views, but all views are in the third person. If you don’t like third person, this may not be the book for you.

Now that the POV is addressed, I did like the book. It was outside of my normal tropes. The blurb and cover are what drew me to reading. The paranormal/horror aspects are not something I normally read (not that I haven’t, I just don’t gravitate to them). And I enjoyed them here. Because the characters were on a film set with limited time, it felt a little rushed. Their development as a couple felt rushed. I loved that Rosemary could see and communicate with ghosts. The dog ghost was by far my favorite. Made me think of my soul dog who passed a few years ago and hope that she crossed knowing she was loved and didn’t need to stick around for me.

I really loved the diversity among the characters. Not just the LGBTQIA+, but also the different races, nationalities, and ethnicities throughout the book. A book with a character for everyone to identify with. Though most are side characters, they are still there and part of the conversation.

The spice was on point. I wasn’t expecting as much as we got and enjoyed it. There were some D/s elements and they were done well.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I took away a star because the POV is not noted anywhere. If it had been I probably wouldn’t have read it. With that missing star it lands on 3 stars.

Blurb:
In this paranormal spicy age gap romance, a successful horror author whose novel is being adapted into a movie clashes with the actor cast as the male lead, all in a cozy mansion filled with ghosts, from the author of Best Hex Ever

Rosemary Shaw’s ability to see the dead has never scared her. In fact, it’s secretly inspired most of her horror novels. Now at twenty-nine and an acclaimed author, Rosemary’s most successful book is about to be a blockbuster movie. Set in a beautiful manor house in the English countryside, it’s no surprise there’s ghosts hanging around the film crew. But ghosts are something Rosemary can handle, she’s not so sure how to deal with her infuriatingly handsome leading man, who is all wrong for the role.

Ellis Finch is a Hollywood heartthrob with a secret. He’s tired of playing the action movie hero and would much rather be gardening with his sweet dog Fig. Frankly, he’s getting too old to maintain the industry’s standards of what a man should look like. Starring in a historical horror movie might be just the ticket for his new image, until he finds out that the author tried to get him kicked off the show.

Amidst filming for the movie and the chemistry-filled feuding between Rosemary and Ellis, Hallowvale manor comes alive, literally. Trying to balance the mayhem of her writing deadlines, an adorable ghostly dog and a pair of Regency-era women who are definitely nothing more than friends, Rosemary is at risk of telling Ellis her secret, or worse – falling for him.

Tropes:
Paranormal Romance
Celebrity Romance
Insta Lust
Age Gap
Dom/Sub
Forced Proximity
LGBTQ+ rep
Third-Act Breakup

Rosemary, a smart, slightly introverted, tatted up screenwriter (who can see ghosts 👻), finds herself thrown into the chaos of Hollywood when her horror novel gets picked up for a film adaptation. Enter Ellis, the unfairly attractive actor playing her brooding male lead.
Rosemary doesn't think he quite fits the role and he's determined to prove her otherwise. Add in ghosts and you got a cute spooky (yet spicy) fall read!

I definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves reading cute paranormal type books during the fall/Halloween season (or really any time of the year 😂).
My only gripes would be the overuse of a pet name and miscommunication trope. But the latter was wrapped up nicely so I'm not that mad at it.
Overall, I loved watching the characters open up to each other. There was some heartwarming parts that had me blinking back tears.

Review posted on Instagram as well :)

This was a really fun read- I love the premise with a horror author that can see ghosts. And I’m also a sucker celebrity romances. The fat & bi sexual rep in the book were also really well done and I enjoyed the Rosemary and Ellis’ banter & how their relationship developed.

While I appreciated the main conflict for Ellis & Rosemary both, I do wish they had focused more on her ability to see ghosts as the conflict than Ellis’ agent situation. At times it felt repetitive and that it could’ve been solved a lot sooner with just one conversation.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the book and it was a fun read! I’ll definitely be trying more from this author.

Ghosts, and kinks, and haters-to-lovers, oh my! This second novel by Nadia El-Fassi has everything you didn't know you wanted in a romance. The two main characters are sweet and their relationship felt magnetic. Rosemary writes horror novels, and Ellis is starring in her first movie adaptation. They bicker on sight but can't seem to keep away from each other. It is such a fun romance between two people I genuinely wanted to find happiness! I am looking forward to Nadia El-Fassi's next book already.

A charming paranormal rom com with ghosts, great banter, and unexpected heart. Perfect for fans of cozy, supernatural love stories. It’s silly in the best way, with sweet romance, ghostly surprises, and funny moments. A fun, feel good read if you like stories with a little magic and a lot of heart.

This book was very cute! I love the age gap. I was surprised with how sweet the romance turned out to be. The side story with her seeing ghosts was fun, but I don’t know if it was super necessary for the story. I understand the parallels between the male main character and the ghosts about coming out and his sexuality, but I didn’t feel like it really added that much to the story. Either way I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely read more by this author.

This is not the book that I thought it would be. I thought it was a mysterious ghost romp with an intriguing plot line. Instead, I read a book that, while it had ghosts, was not for the point of a spooky good book.

I like to see representation in a book, but not every character can represent. This was so full of representation that it was unbelievable.

The dialogue and narration was stiff and long-winded. I once jumped ahead three pages and the character was still talking about the same thing.

A blurb that accurately explains what this book is about would help.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for this advanced copy!

Love at First Fright tells the story of Rosemary, a horror writer, and Ellis, an actor staring in her first ever movie adaptation.

Overall I give it 3.25 stars out of 5. It didn’t quite have the same charm as El-Fassi’s first book. It had too many side plots that didn’t really add to the story. I like the way she handled the kink aspect, but I just wanted more banter between the two interests besides their spicy scenes.

Such a cozy paranormal romance! This is the perfect book to add to your Halloween TBR. Ellis and Rosemary were so sweet together, I loved their bickering at the beginning of the book and watching as the fell in love. The book had a great mix of humor and heart, I was both laughing and crying. I really enjoyed the setting and premise of the book. I loved watching behind the scenes of movies and tv shows, so this was so much fun to read about. This was a really solid read, I highly recommend it!

I read Best Hex Ever last year as apart of a book club and I was so pleasantly surprised. So when I saw Love at First Fright on here and saw that it was Rosemary's story? Oh heck yeah. I was so excited and told everyone at book club about this.

That being said, I felt disappointed and let down by this book. I thought it was going to be a cute, cozy fantasy rom com with serious moments like the first one made me feel. This was not that. This was very social serious issues and I felt like that was not discussed in the description. It felt a little misleading. It was also like extremely sexual in a way I was just not expecting either.

I just think that this book wasn't for me.

This was fun and not at all what I was expecting! Rosemary and Ellis really are made for each other and it’s sweet watching them fall into that. Rosemary is a successful horror author and Ellis is an A-List movie star. She can see ghosts and his manager is blackmailing him, makes perfect sense why they fall in love!

This is enjoyable, steamy, and at times made me laugh out loud.

I’d give it 4.5 stars if I could round, mostly because the third act breakup was so tough. Alas.

Thank you to netgalley and random house for a complimentary arc in exchange for an honest review.

Really liked this one!

I found the plot fun and different. Rosemary is a horror author and can see ghosts. What a fun combo! Even more exciting is that one of her books is being adapted into a movie but, oh no. she can't stand the leading man.

Despite these two not starting off on the right foot, think romcom enemies to lovers, they turned out to be super cute. Their banter was great and the chemistry was good too. Ellis was the perfect person for Rosemary. Plus we get a side plot love story between ghosts. Two romances for the price of one! And the love story between the ghosts was super romantic.

The author's writing is beautiful and engaging. Her writing of Rosemary and her development throughout the book was really amazing. This author has a way of making readers feel at home in her books. I also think the author did a fantastic job with representing bisexuality and grief.

This story was sweet and cozy with a sprinkling of paranormal which made it a lot of fun to read.

Are you looking for your next read? Watch out for Love at First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi. It's available later this summer. This is one you won't want to miss.

dnf @ 11%


Unfortunately, I just did not mesh with the narrative style! The authorial voice reminded me a lot of the past few books I've tried from Ashley Herring Blake, so if you're into her books, this one might work for you. I thought the concept sounded really fun, but alas, not the book for me!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to leave my honest review!

Love at First Fright is a cute, curvy FMC rom-com that I felt had some decent banter and cute little tropes here and there. The horror author writes a book that’s set to go to the big screen but has some issues with the casting choices. Mainly her lead character. Enter Ellis, the hunky Hollywood star that butts heads with her from the get go. It was somewhat difficult to get to know the characters and the romance just started happening too fast imo but it’s still a fun and cute book that would be fun to snuggle up with and giggle at.

This is the second book I’ve read from this author and I have found myself having a fun little time reading their work. 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, Nadia El-Fassi, and Ballantine for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This moved fast. I enjoyed the dynamic with the characters. The comfortable in her skin fmc and the mmc who was trying to be more comfortable with himself. I enjoyed the brass of the ghost whispering aspect.. tjis was a fun easy read

2.5 stars! I received an ARC for Love at First Fright from NetGalley. The premise behind the book was interesting and well thought out. It was extremely spicy, almost to an eyebrow raising point. Please note that the author does a good job of noting trigger points before the story. I (honestly) should have read the triggers better. Overall, the book was good and had a good flow to it. I just think it wasn’t the right book for me. Thank you again for the ARC!

This cover just drew me in! So cute!

I went in expecting more of a rom-com vibe, so the tone caught me off guard, but I still enjoyed this! I really liked the idea behind the story, and the writing was solid, but I had a hard time connecting with the characters and their romance. It felt a bit forced—there wasn’t much buildup, tension, or banter. It went straight into heavy D/S spice, which was nice, but for how long this book was, I would have enjoyed more building on the romance aspect. The mystery and ghost elements in the mansion were actually my favorite part and really added to this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!