This was an absolutely adorable book! This was my first book I've read by Josie Silver and it definitely won't be my last. Great story, great banter, and would definitely recommend.

The women in Melody Bittersweet’s family have a special talent: they can see and speak to ghosts. While this has earned them a certain reputation in their town, it does give them an opportunity to help ghosts finish their unresolved business and move on. In this story, Melody starts her own “ghost-busting” agency to do just that. Her first case is to help a family of three brothers solve the mystery of which brother was a murderer, so that all three could move on. In doing so she has to contend with her ex-boyfriend (who can also talk to ghosts) and her nemesis who is also a potential love interest.

Overall this novel is really different from Josie Silver’s previous novels. This is definitely more of a cozy supernatural mystery than a rom-com. It took a while for me to get into this story, but around the 50% mark, I started to fly through the chapters. I thought that the storyline around the ghosts was the most interesting part of the story, and I was less interested in the agency hijinks and general expository nature of setting this up as a series. The ending was pretty satisfying!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine, Dell, and Josie Silver for providing the ARC of this fun novel!

Josie Silver’s latest book, Crazy Spooky Love, is a delightful and charming read that perfectly blends her signature warmth with a touch of ghostly magic. The story is a delightful mix of cozy and mischievous elements, featuring quirky characters, sweet banter, and a delightful blend of spice and spookiness. It’s the ideal book to curl up with on a crisp autumn night.

As hinted at in the book, Crazy Spooky Love has a Scooby-Doo mystery vibe, complete with hijinks, ghosts, and its own version of the Mystery Machine, Babs. I must admit, I imagined the characters in the animation style of Hotel Transylvania, which added to the book’s overall enjoyment.

This book has the power to make you laugh, swoon, and maybe even crave some Italian cookies. If you’re in the mood for a spooky adventure with a playful twist—and a few ghosts who are more endearing than eerie—then Crazy Spooky Love is a treat, not a trick. 👻

I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley and Ballantine for providing this book for review consideration through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

I'm a sucker for fall and spooky rom coms . This one gave me both as well as a lovable heroine. I can't wait to read more by this author.

To say I am a fan of Josie Silver is an understatement. One Day in December is my every year go to read and I’ve loved all her other books too so I was excited to see this one as it’s out of her normal genre to some degree and yet it isn’t because it’s still got the romcom vibe that I go to Josie for, just with a paranormal twist.
Melody Bittersweet decides to leave the family business of being a medium and become her own boss and set up an all girls “Ghost Busting” agency to help spirits that are stuck move on to the other side. The only problem with that is that there are loads of problems! Chaotic spirits, her ex boyfriend Leo whose back and looking to get famous as someone who can speak to the dead, and of course, the hot local reporter who is skeptical of all of this and Melody can’t stop thinking about.
This was a solid, fun, fresh direction for the author and I definitely recommend it and can’t wait to read whatever she writes next!
Thanks to Dell Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

I think this book is perfect for fall and I’ll probably gift it to a friend for her birthday when it comes out.

I really loved the vibes! I thought the setting and the tone really carried this book. It was the perfect amount of spooky and intriguing

This was a fun, humorous read with real heart at the center. Focusing on Melody Bittersweet and her ragtag team of ghost busters, there's a great mix of humorous scenarios, paranormal prescences and historical mysteries in this novel. There's even a bit of steamy romance to enjoy along the way. Looking forward to the next installment!

This was such a fun and perfect fall spooky read. I absolutely adored the characters.

This band of characters is a lot of fun. You have Melody trying to break out on her own, her fame chasing ex, and a skeptic of a reporter that create an interesting love triangle.

Also, the ghosts in this story were a lot of fun too! The only thing stopping me from giving this more stars was the dialogue.

Thank you for the gifted book!

This is a new to me author and I had so much fun with this one! It’s a Cozy & quirky shmurder mystery. Think Scooby Doo, with all the best 90s references! Enemies to lovers, solving mystery’s by paranormal communication. I can’t wait to see where this series goes, because I am definitely curious to see what mysteries come up next!

Melody Bittersweet isn't your average 27 year old...she can see and communicate with the deceased, as can her mother and grandmother. It's not a trait that she has necessarily embraced, but she needs a change and what better way to use her gift than to start a business that helps ghosts find their way to the other side? Along with her best friend, Marina, and her new assistant, Artie, Melody gets her business off the ground with the case of a haunted mansion. It just so happens that her ex boyfriend, Leo Dark, is also on the case and it quickly becomes a bit of a rivalry between the two, but it's clear who the ghosts favor.

This is such a charming, unique, witty story that has the perfect balance of romance, mystery and humor! Melody is a fun FMC with a no nonsense BFF who always has her back. The story of the ghosts adds a fun magical realism aspect that has a murder mystery at it's core. As we watch Melody and her team try to solve the mystery and get themselves into and out of some sticky situations, it becomes clear just how committed Melody is to her job.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the copy of this ARC!

I received an early digital review copy from NetGalley for an honest review. This book was so fun. And just in time for the fall. Following our FMC, Melody, as she opens up her own ghostbusting business. In a family of mediums, she wanted to do something to help those around her. And of course her first case involves her medium ex-boyfriend and the hot, annoying local reporter. Working to ghostbust a home with three brothers, she has to solve a murder mystery that happened 100 years ago. This book had be giggling the whole time. I wasn’t sure about how spooky it would be, but it really wasn’t. This was a quick, easy, quirky read. And I surely will be ready the next ones.

Sadly this didn’t work for me. I love Josie Silver and this seems like a new exploratory genre for her, so I really wanted to like it, but I just didn’t ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Melody Bittersweet and her family can see ghosts, and her mom and grandmother run a business helping people commune with their dead loved ones. Melody decides to strike out on her own and start a ghost busting business, but of course her first job is much more complicated than it seems. She has to get three dead brothers out of a house with an unsolved murder involved, and her ex, as well as her frenemy, somehow are on the scene too.

I don’t mind kitschy, but maybe this was just a kind of kitschy that didn’t land for me. The plot was interesting enough, but it felt like the characters were extremely one dimensional and caricatures of ~spooky people~. I didn’t buy any of the conflict, except between the three brothers (there should have been more of that). I will say that the spice and sexual tension was very good and fun, and reading this book was a calm experience, so maybe it just wasn’t for me but it will be for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

With a title like Crazy Spooky Love and a blurb that mentions love triangles, I thought I was signing up for a cute paranormal romcom. Don’t be like me. There is no triangle and I don’t want to call what happened here a romance. The one “love interest” we get saddled with (and yes it is just one, the blurb is a liar) spends the whole book calling her and her family frauds, then says things like “let’s lay our hostilities aside for the evening and have crazy sex.” ick. But apparently he’s hot, so it’s fine.

The frustrating part is that the premise had so much potential! A ghostbusting business, a 100-year-old murder mystery, a Scooby-Doo style van, and a cast of quirky side characters (her mom, gran, bestie, and teen hire were all genuinely fun). But the plot spent too much time doing nothing and then resolved almost nothing to leave space for a sequel that feels forced. Oh also, the whole dog subplot should have been cut. Adopting a dog on a whim and then constantly complaining about him made our main character very unlikable. (She definitely kicks that dog off-page)

Fun idea, just not the book I was promised. Thanks Ballantine and Netgalley for the arc!

A medium, her fame chasing ex, a hot skeptical reporter, and ghosts come together in this cute cozy romance! Melody Bittersweet can see dead people and after dealing with her ex boyfriend Leo, dumping her for fame, she's determined to make her ghostbusting agency work... but that means competing against her ex on the newest case. Then there's Fletcher, the very hot reporter who doesn't believe in Melody's abilities but both of them have so much chemistry they definitely can look past it. Can Melody help the ghosts move on, keep her business from crumbling, and sort out whether she wants to get back with her ex or possibly explore the new romance with a guy who doesn't believe in her powers? This was a very cute charming spooky time romance, perfect for autumn. It's the first in the series and I can't wait to see where the next book goes and where Melody's romance leads!

Release Date: September 2, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Ballantine | Dell for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley, Dell New York, and Josie Silver for providing this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s September, so it’s officially spooky season. And what better way to kick it off than with a crazy, spooky (not really a) love story (or maybe the crazy spooky love was the friends we made along the way).

The Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency seems like THE place to work - I hope they’re accepting applications. It certainly appears to be the place to form life-long friendships at the very least. And that’s what this book really seemed to be about; new friends, old friends, ghost friends, etc. The romance really was more of a sub-plot, though I’d expect it to be a more completed arc throughout the following books.

Overall a fun, quick read, perfect for this start to autumn.

Crazy Spooky Love is book #1 in the Melody Bittersweet series by Josie Silver.

This is an entertaining new series. The characters are interesting and I like the family relationships. The series premise drew me in and I really enjoyed it. Getting rid of ghosts isn’t quite as easy as Melody expected. I appreciated the humor. I look forward to reading the next book.

Thank you to the author, Dell, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This one took me a few chapters to get into but once I did, I had a fantastic time. It's funny, and kind of on the cozy side (the mystery isn't too creepy or intense). I was expecting a little more on the romance side, but it taking a back seat to the building of the world and characters works - especially knowing this is first in the series. Already excited for book two!

Josie Silver's talent for writing strong female characters, family dynamics, and romance mixes well with supernatural mystery elements. I loved the ghosts and the supporting characters- it reads like a strong, engaging introduction to a series that will be a delight to read as it develops and the characterization and romance deepens as we delve further into the life of Melody and her gang at .Girl's Ghostbusting Agency. Can't wait.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #Ballantine for the ARC.

I didn’t think I would enjoy this because it was about ghosts but oh I was proved wrong. Melody, her Mom and Grandma all lived in the same big house. Melody’s mom and grandma was into summoning ghosts. Melody decides to be a ghost hunter. I thought the twins that worked for Leo were so well described. Melody had dated Leo before a bad breakup. And, of o course there is a news reporter named Fletcher Gunn that is out to ruin Melody’s business. Grandma also known as Dicey was hilarious.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

ARC Review!!!

This was such a good and fun read. I loved the plot and how Melody was a generation of ghost seers. I loved Artie. Overall the story was good and a good plot. It was a fun read, interesting first case they worked and pulled on the heart strings. Fletch was a character too.
4 Stars.