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!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! As someone who’s in the process of writing a Halloween romcom I knew this would be a good comp for me and I was so right!

I devoured this book in two days! It's a contemporary romance with a mid-size FMC, witty and hilarious banter, and a touch of paranormal. And in your face, bisexual representation was so refreshing. The ghost subplot was so romantic as well it was like getting two books in one.

Can’t wait til this comes out to the world.

I was really interested in this book based off the description but was slightly let down. I enjoyed the melding ghosts and Rosemary’s interactions. I was really hoping for more banter and build up to her and Ellis’ relationship but it ended up moving pretty quickly. Their dom/sub aspect lacked a little during the spicey scenes for me. I overall found it a quick read and still enjoyable.

This book has everything! Romance (and sex), ghosts, film production, evil agents. It has it all. I could not put this book down (well I did because I needed to sleep and work, both other than that, COULD NOT PUT DOWN). I love that the FMC was a curvy, LGBTQ+, horror author/screenwriter and I related to her in so many ways. Also the (somewhat) enemies to lovers trope is my favorite and this book had it play out in an interesting way. I would recommend it to anyone that likes a good paranormal romance.

This was a fun read. I enjoyed Rosemary's mind and getting to see how it worked creating other stories while also watching the main one come to life. I also liked the ghost aspect. I'm a sucker for a little ghost conflict and resolving it to help the move onto the next side. I immediately liked that Ellis was a misunderstood actor just trying to find something that actually aligned with what he liked. His internal conflict made me sad, the way he felt about things was explained so well I thought I was feeling them too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! All thoughts are my own.

When Rosemary flies to England to work on the film adaptation of her gothic horror novel, she’s disappointed to find out that the lead role of Alfred, a timid, slender Victorian gentleman has been given to Ellis Finch, a perpetually-tanned, muscle-bound Hollywood playboy.

Ellis Finch is determined to prove his acting chops outside of the blockbuster action franchises he’s known for, but he makes a horrible first impression on Rosemary, author and screenwriter for his new film, not to mention the fact that he’s looking more silver fox than heartthrob these days.

Despite being mutually determined to dislike one another, Ellis and Rosemary can’t deny the chemistry blossoming between them, but will a series of hauntings at their filming location and interfering agents keep them from their own happily ever after?

A sweet and sexy age-gap romance full of tension and steamy power dynamics, Love at First Fright releases on September 16, 2025!

#LoveatFirstFright #NetGalley #NadiaEl-Fassi #arc #arcreview #romance #lovestory #agegapromance

Ok this book was so so fun!! I don’t know I needed a sexy, paranormal age gap romance but it is working for me! It’s spooky, it’s cozy, it’s spicy, it’s everything! Rosemary and Ellis were so sexy and swoony, I am obsessed.

Lovely read! Very pleasant, the main characters were a lot of fun. The pets in the story were great as well, I love a man who cares for his pet!

love rosemary and Ellis. love that she can see the dead. I loved that the wanted to make the book to movie the best it could be. Loved that he advocated for the character in certain places and that they fell in love.