Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this adorable ARC! I love meeting the Bittersweet family and watching Melody find her way by starting a girls’ ghostbusting business using her ability to see and talk to ghosts. It was lighthearted, funny, and had a TON of excellent secondary characters including two love interests who could not be more different, but also equally perfect for her. This is an excellent first novel to what is already looking like a fun series!

Crazy Spooky Love follows the quirky and engaging adventures of Melody Bittersweet, a third-generation psychic medium determined to step out of her family’s shadow. In a bold move toward independence, Melody launches her own ghost-hunting business—Girls Ghostbusting Agency—with her best friend, Marina. Just as they're preparing to open, Melody is visited by the ghost of Art, who asks her to give his shy, socially awkward son, affectionately known as Little Art, a job. Melody agrees, and their eccentric team is complete.

On the day of their launch, Melody sees her ex-boyfriend—and fellow medium—Leo Dark on television. He’s investigating a haunted estate owned by the Scarborough family for his ghost-hunting reality show. Donovan Scarborough, the current owner, wants to sell the property, but persistent paranormal activity has scared off potential buyers. Melody decides this should be her agency’s first case, setting the stage for a collision with Leo and his crew.

The Scarborough house is haunted by three spirits—Douglas, Isaac, and Lloyd Scarborough. Douglas and Isaac were twins, and after Douglas’s murder at age 21, Isaac was blamed and subsequently ostracized by the family. In order to help the ghosts move on, the mystery of Douglas’s death must be solved. Alongside the unfolding ghost story, Melody has to deal with Leo’s bruised ego and the skeptical journalist Fletcher Gunn, a longtime critic of the Bittersweet family. Despite their clashing personalities, there’s undeniable chemistry between Melody and Fletcher, which slowly evolves throughout the book.

The novel blends elements of mystery, paranormal intrigue, humor, and a touch of romance. The witty banter between Melody and Marina adds a lighthearted charm that feels authentic and relatable—I found myself thinking of my own best friend while reading their scenes. Artie (Little Art) is a particularly endearing character; his awkwardness and sincerity make him an instant favorite.

While Crazy Spooky Love is marketed as a romance, I would describe it more accurately as a cozy paranormal mystery with romantic undertones. The pacing is brisk, the characters are delightfully eccentric, and the plot offers enough twists to keep readers hooked.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine, and Josie Silver for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’ve already requested to review the sequel—I can’t wait to see what Melody and her ghostbusting crew get up to next!

I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn’t click for me. The concept had a fun, quirky vibe, but the execution fell flat. I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, and the pacing felt uneven.

There’s nothing wrong with the writing per se—Josie Silver clearly has a distinctive style—but I think I’ve come to realize it’s just not for me. Sometimes that happens with authors, and that’s okay.

If you’ve enjoyed her previous books, this one might still work for you. But if you’re new to her writing and looking for something with more depth or spark, this might not be the best place to start.

3 stars - I do like author Silvers rom-coms usually, so I thought I would try her new paranormal series "Crazy Spooky Love". Sadly, it was not really my cup of tea, as it were. The ghost-busting heroine, Melody, is fine, the town is quirky and there's even a bit of cozy mystery vibe. However, I just didn't connect with either of the men in the love triangle and the elements of the paranormal just didn't work either & felt forced. Oh well, will still be down for Silver's next big rom-com, as I generally really like her stuff and I do appreciate that she tried something different. My thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for my advance reader's copy - appreciate the opportunity to read/review it.

I’m going to be totally honest I’ve never read a Josie Silver book until this. And sadly I don’t know if I’ll be reading another one. Which is such a bummer to say because I was really looking forward to this. When I first read Crazy Spooky Loves synopsis it immediately reminded me of Lucy Score’s “Riley Thorne series”. Like I’m not a mystery girly by any means but if you throw in romcom elements with a wacky group of side characters I’m sold. Now I got the wacky group of side characters but the rest of it is a solid: NOPE from me.

So I’m going to keep it short and sweet-

The pros: Like I mentioned I’m a sucker for a wacky group of side characters. Let me tell you the friendship dynamic between Melody, Marina and Archie top tier. Like Archie alone is by far one of my favorite adorkable side characters I’ve ever read. But I digress. The friendship between this trio was fabulous and their banter while working together was the only thing that made this book bearable. Plus I also gotta give it to Gran. She’s a hoot and I loved her and wish we got more of her character.

The cons: First off this book was so slow. Like a snail could move faster than this storyline. Now don’t get me wrong I understand the author is trying to pace the mystery elements and give us bread crumbs to work our way up to solving this. But by the end I didn’t even care who did it and I just wanted it to be over. On top of the pacing being a nightmare. The biggest glaring issue for me was our love interests. Like dumpster fire bad. Both men are arrogant narcissists. Neither of these men were worth Melody’s time.

Overall, I honestly can’t recommend this. Which honestly sucks because I was really looking forward to it. And now I’m stuck in a hard place because I already have the next book in the series and I’m struggling with do I continue. So I guess you’ll have to wait and see if I go through this journey with Melody’s team again.

Lastly big thank you to NetGalley & Dell Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was a fun , feel good rom-com. The characters are quite standard, but every guy is supposedly very hot in the book, including the ghosts!

I really enjoyed Crazy Spooky Love by Josie Silver. I feel like this is a departure from Silvers previous novels as it’s more quirky, mysterious, silly and a series. This book gave vibes similar to the Riley Thorn series by Lucy Score. I did find some of the inner dialogue by our main character, Melody, to be cringy and a little too “I’m not like other girls.” I wish the inner thoughts of superheroes and sweets was dialed back 50%. Like we get it. Overall I’m excited to continue this series and see the ghost busting(circus ringmaster?!), relationships with Fletch and Leo pan out (#teamfletch), and keep tabs on the rag tag team at the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency (Babs and Lestat included).

Melody Bittersweet and her entire family can see ghosts and she decides to open up her own business to get rid of them for people. She teams up her best friend and this other guy who can't see them to run the business. This book deals with murder, intrigue and Melody deciding between multiple men who she both hates and finds attractive romantically.

I'm not gonna lie, this book took quite a while to grip me. I actually debated DNFing for a period because I was pretty bored for the first like 40%. BUT it eventually picked up and I found myself intrigued by all the characters and wanting to solve the Scarborough brothers' mystery.

I found Melody's interactions with her best friend Marina and coworker Artie to be very fun to follow and also found her romantic pursuits to be entertaining as well.

I didn't love how parts of the mystery just fell into place so perfectly and they didn't entirely feel earned. None of it was that overly shocking apart from the catalyst. So that part was frustrating.

But overall I found it to be a charming story about some friends who work very well together and a fun family around her who I can't wait to see more of in the future.

Thank you to Random House, Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Cozy mystery with a dash of romance. I loved the characters and witty banter and will continue the series when I need a lighter read with a little laughter. Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine and the author for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine, for the eARC of Crazy Spooky Love! 👻❤️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice level: 🌶️ . 5 / 5

I immediately became interested in this book when I saw the cover and the title! This book was definitely more plot-driven than “spice” or romance-driven and I actually didn’t mind that at all. Don’t get me wrong, the spice/romance was fun, but the plot had me in a chokehold!

There were countless parts that literally made me laugh out loud. This is probably the funniest book I’ve read in awhile but there were some heartfelt moments and great character development too. There were also many pop culture references, which I enjoyed. 🤭

I INSTANTLY fell in love with the characters! They’re all unique in their own ways and several different traits of all of them felt extremely relatable. Although, the FMC had a very *slight* “I’m not like other girls” attitude but to be fair.. she can see ghosts so she definitely isn’t like other girls 😅.

My mind still carries a little bit of confusion around the ghosts aspects of the story and their, erm, functions? Abilities? Mechanics?

All in all, this rom-com was witty (of course), quirky, and entertaining. The “rom” part was slightly lacking, but I still enjoyed the romantic-ish parts, nonetheless. 🥰

Josie Silver is very polarizing for me, her books either make me irate or I love them - this one fell on the latter side! This book was fun and quirky and gave all the spooky vibes I am so desperately missing this time of year. This book is a mystery rom-com with superanatural elements. I enjoyed the friendship between Melody and Marina, the romance in this was not the entire focus which was also nice. Definitely recommend if you want something different!

I decided to take a break from reading my favorite genre, historical fiction, and dive into some romance titles this past week, which led me to reading two of Josie Silver’s latest works. I’d only read one of Josie’s books, One Day in December, and I really enjoyed it, so I was hoping for another entertaining read. I chose Crazy Spooky Love because I live in the south, where we have summer eight months out of the year, and I was in desperate need of something to put me in a cozy fall mood. The premise is spooky, quirky and fun, and it was the quick little escape from summer I needed. I would recommend it, and I look forward to reading more of Josie’s work.

This is such an enjoyable read! Is it a paranormal, a cozy mystery, a Rom-com or a comedy? It's all of them, all at once, intertwined. The character dynamics are fun and leave room for more development in the next installment. Please say there's going to be a continuation!

I enjoyed this more than I anticipated. It was the best combination of quirky, spooky, funny and spicy. The whole concept of the ghost hunters and seeing dead people was something I was totally on board with. I’m a fan of the TV show ghosts and this reminded me of that in a good way. Melody and her family are hilarious and I would totally hang out with them anytime. The supporting cast really made it and I was taken with both Marina and Little Art. I hope the next installment gives more on the background of why Fletcher has the opinion that he does of the Bittersweets but the scenes between he and Melody were exactly what I was looking for. Leo dark is a great ex-boyfriend character and his Darklings are both hilarious and horrifying. I will totally read the second one and would recommend this for a fun spooky read.

A cozy quick spooky read for the fall book line up no doubt.

I enjoyed reading this title but by the end I wanted more. More from the characters, more from the romance. It is undoubtedly well written and I can absolutely see it being a 4.5-5 star for the right reader

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! Crazy Spooky Love by Josie Silver is a charming and whimsical romance with a supernatural twist that makes it perfect for cozy fall reading. Silver blends heart, humor, and a touch of ghostly intrigue as her characters navigate love, loss, and second chances. It’s a delightful blend of rom-com and ghost story that leaves you believing in love beyond the grave.

This was my first Josie Silver book and I really didn't know what to expect. This story follows our main character, Melody Bittersweet as she tackles another mystery for her ghost-busting agency.

While this book has this mysterious element to it, I felt like the humor was balancing out the read.

For me personally, I was hoping Melody and Fletcher were going to get together.

I’m not a Josie Silver expert, I’ve only read One Day In December, but absolutely loved that one. I guess I expected something along those lines, but this wasn’t anywhere near the same.

I found this story kind of quirky and superficial. Not always a bad thing, just wasn’t what I wanted. It was entertaining enough, but I wasn’t fully invested in the characters and certainly didn’t enjoy the love triangle, when one of the guys just sucked.

I also have a much more fun time reading about the supernatural in a serious, thriller way. When it’s a plotline in a zany romance novel, it just seems cheesy.

This was decent but not my favorite.

Josie Silver’s Crazy Spooky Love is a delightful blend of paranormal mayhem, cozy mystery, and slow-burn romance, wrapped up in a whimsical package that’s hard to resist. The novel introduces readers to Melody Bittersweet who is a ghost-whispering, eye-rolling, heart-hiding heroine who brings both sass and sensitivity to her new ghostbusting agency.

Melody decides to carve out her own corner in the family business of ghostly dealings by launching the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency. With her best friend (Marina) and a shy new employee (Artie) at her side, her first case, involving three troublemaking ghost brothers haunting an uninhabitable manor, is equal parts murder mystery and supernatural sitcom.

Where the book truly shines is in its character dynamics. Melody is determined and relatable as she navigates not only the spirit world but the emotional baggage of ex-boyfriend (and ghost-hunting rival) Leo Dark, as well as the maddening presence of skeptical reporter Fletcher Gunn.

Crazy Spooky Love is a departure from Josie’s other work but it’s a silly feel good read that I couldn’t put down. The relationships between Melody, Marina, and Artie are heartwarming and really make this book shine. It’s very light on the romance but lays the groundwork and creates intrigue for the next book. The mystery laced throughout makes it a page turner. It’s perfect for fans of cozy mysteries, quirky heroines, and ghost stories with a rom-com heart.