This story was special to me as I have afro-latina's in my family. I really enjoyed the structure of the story and the Gwendolyn's character growth. This is something I'd love to see on screen

A dark, mysterious, paranormal urban fantasy with interesting characters, a fast pace, and compelling plot. It's ghosty, it's immersed in culture, and some romance mixed in.

The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery was a fast faced urban fantasy with elements of horror and rich cultural influence. This story was an immersive experience which put you in modern day New York in the midst of a paranormal crisis. We follow Gwendolyn and Fonsi as they work to unweave the mystery of a thinning veil between the living world and the world of ghosts. They have to learn to come back together after a disastrous past to put the world back together.



Gwendolyn has been extremely successful in her career, but as the veil between worlds thin, more and more strange things are happening to her, forcing her to face what has happened in her past. Meanwhile, her cousin, Fonsi, who she hasn't seen in years is trying to find his footing after a disastrous relationship and dealing with his own role as a medium. I absolutely enjoyed watching these two develop and then come together.



What you get is a richly developed story that keeps you listening until the very end. And that epilogue!!! I hope we get book two! The audiobook created suspense and both narrators truly captured their characters' voices. I loved reading this and can't wait to read more from this author. If you love mystery, unique stories, and complex characters I would pick this up! Thank you to the publisher for providing an ALC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A very quick read that had me enthralled from the start. It felt fresh and different from the start, giving us a glimpse of every day adults in NYC while slowly weaving in the magic. Tight pacing, allowed for a shorter story which I appreciated because nothing felt dragged out or unnecessarily detailed. The narrators really brough this story to life, giving each character their own infliction.

🎧 Book Review 🎧 Gwendolyn Montgomery is a boss lady of the PR world but something is just not right lately. Strange things keep happening around her and the spiral keeps getting darker and more ominous. Her path collides with a familiar face from her past, Fonsi. His psychic abilities are on full alert that the barrier between the living and the dead is closing in. Clarence A. Haynes writes an absolutely stunning multicultural tale of two worlds that delivers spine-tingling suspense. Brittany Bradford and André Santana bring this audiobook to life in their vivid narration. The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is an experience that unravels in a dark yet delightful psychological journey.

Very intricate and emotional. A great cultural and queer representation. The only part I struggled with was the ghost sex

4/5 Star Review
Ending Leaves Open For Potential Series (Hopefully)
LGBT Ghostbusters/ Strangers Things But Make It
Adult
Clunky Dialogue
Good worldbuilding.
Rambling paragraphs that can be condensed at times.
Would read a second or third installment.

I received an ALC of the audiobook from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very enjoyable ghostly urban fantasy. I loved the focus on Afro-Latinx characters, culture, mythology and religious practices. The family dynamics and the relationship between the two cousins gave it depth as well. I particularly love Fonsi, but Gwendolyn is also a well-developed character.
I'm very glad I listened to the audiobook, because both performers were excellent, and they definitely added to my enjoyment and sense of immersion.

The pacing was a bit off for me. Some of that may be down to expectations - this was described as "fast-paced", and I really didn't think it was, even though it's short. The main characters don't meet until nearly halfway through the book, so the action doesn't fully kick off until then. I think that spending a bit more time on the spiritual worldbuilding and building tension in the second half would have really helped give it more impact.

This having been described as both "sexy" and "sensuous" in the marketing, I also expected the sexual content to be more integrated and relevant to the plot, but for the most part I didn't find it added all that much (there's also not much of it, so if it's not your thing, I don't think you need to be entirely put off).

The ending seems like its setting us up for a sequel and I'm super keen to check it out.

thank you to hachette audio and netgalley for this audio arc. i loved this book. the dual pov really worked well and the character growth was great. the two narrators did a phenomenal job of bringing this characters to llife.

This book started out really strong, and then I think once the horror elements dropped I got lost a little.

Gwendolyn's storyline, I was 100% following, which made a lot of sense since that is what the book is about. And as much as I understand why we needed Fonsi's storyline and how he tied into the plot, some of the sexual elements to the story felt gratuitous. Now, I'm not here to yuck anyones yum or anything like that, because include all the sex you want in your story, but at the beginning when we were first introduced to the characters it didn't always feel natural, and took me out of it.

That and some of the world building parts didn't really land for me, or I didn't fully get them, but I can chalk that up to me being slow. Otherwise it was a really interesting plot, and the characters were fun. Audiobook is a good experience.

Thank you to Hachette Audio, Clarence A Haynes, Legacy Lit and Netgalley for an early copy.

Ａｕｄｉｏｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
🌟🌟🌟
The Ghost of Gwendolyn Montgomery by Clarence A. Haynes. This is my first book by this author, and while the premise sounds amazing and intriguing, unfortunately, this book fell flat for me and was somewhat confusing. I think the pacing was a little weird. I really don't know how to describe it. We have Gwendolyn, a New York publicist with a mysterious glamour, but also a long line of buried secrets. This story is dual POV from Gwendolyn and Fonsi. I just think I wasn't the target audience for this book.

The audiobook is dual narrated by Brittany Bradford and Andre Santana! They did a good job telling the story, and it was easy to understand. Listened at 2x speed.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Hachette Audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is a genre-bending, whip-smart novel that blends supernatural suspense with sharp social commentary, all wrapped in a glamorous New York City setting. At the heart of the story is Gwendolyn Montgomery, a high-powered publicist whose influence gives her clients an almost magical allure. With a glittering career and a seemingly perfect romance, Gwendolyn’s life appears charmed—until a gruesome, unexplained incident at the Brooklyn Museum cracks the polished surface of her world.

From there, the novel spirals into a deliciously eerie mystery, propelled by the reappearance of Fonsi Harewood, a queer Latinx psychic navigating his own complicated love triangle—with a ghost. Fonsi’s warning—that the veil between the living and the dead is thinning—forces Gwendolyn to confront the secrets she’s buried, the trauma she’s avoided, and the spirits that won’t let her move on.

Author [Name] expertly weaves dark humor, urban mysticism, and emotional truth into a story that is as much about personal reckoning as it is about spectral chaos. With vivid prose and biting wit, the novel explores identity, legacy, and the limits of control in a world teetering between the material and the metaphysical.

Equal parts chilling, cheeky, and emotionally resonant, The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is a supernatural tale for the modern age—where confronting ghosts, literal and figurative, may be the only way to find freedom. It’s a spellbinding read that thrills while daring readers to question what haunts them most.

3.75⭐️ rated up 4⭐️

Audiobook Review 🎧 | NetGalley ARC

I was pleasantly surprised by this fast paced paranormal urban fantasy.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I started this book late in the day I would’ve finished it in one sitting!

We follow two POVs, one is Gwendolyn, a New York based publicist at the peak of her career who is juggling work with getting back into the dating scene.
The other is Fonsi, a psychic able to communicate with spirits of the dead stuck in between the living and the after life.

Gwendolyn’s life is shaken upside down when a series of targeted events meant to intimidate her less her to believe that it has everything to do with her past she has been trying to leave behind.

The story is extremely compelling, we have diverse characters with so much potential.
The pacing of the story was great however I wish this book was longer and explored more the duality in being Afro Latinos. There’s a lot of telling and I wish we had more of showing.
I wish the ending was more fleshed out especially when the epilogue suggests a sequel?

Overall it was a fun read and would still recommend!

Narration Overall: 4

Voice: 4
Energy: 4
Pacing: 4
Emotions: 4

Story/Writing Overall: 3.5

Prose: 4
Entertainment: 4
Emotions: 3
Storyline: 3

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for providing an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Was impressed by how immersive and grounded this felt; which doesn't always happen for with books so decidedly set in the modern cosmopolitan world. I also appreciated that the supernatural and realistic elements both felt balanced with each other and well-explored.

3.75/5 stars.

The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is a beautifully layered urban fantasy that blends ancestral magic, identity, and spiritual reckoning into a tight, emotionally resonant story. Listening to this as an audiobook enhanced the experience in some powerful ways — and a few challenging ones.

The narration brings Gwendolyn and Fonsi’s distinct personalities to life, especially Fonsi’s sharp wit and spiritual insight. The vocal performance helps ground the mystical elements and adds texture to the culturally rich dialogue and flashbacks. You can feel the weight of Gwendolyn’s internal conflict, and the tension that builds as spirits begin to seep through the veil is palpable.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its cultural specificity. Drawing from Afro-Caribbean traditions and spiritual practices, the story offers a refreshing and often poignant take on what it means to be haunted — not just by ghosts, but by family, heritage, and the selves we’ve tried to leave behind. That emotional and spiritual layering really hits home in audio, making this more immersive than a standard read.

However, the short runtime (around 7 hours) may work against it for some. The pacing can feel rushed, and certain side characters or magical elements feel under-explored. A bit more time in El Intermedio, the liminal spirit realm, would’ve deepened the world-building even further. Also, because of the introspective tone and dual timelines, it occasionally required some mental rewinding to keep track of past vs. present.

Overall, The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is a standout debut that works especially well in audio for those who enjoy character-driven fantasy with heart, heritage, and haunting. If you’re looking for something that feels personal, spiritual, and a little eerie — this one’s worth listening to.

The line between our world and that of the spirits is weakening. A pair of spirit-sensitives, Gwendolyn and Fonsi, are on the case, whether they like it or not.

I listened to the audiobook, which was absolutely superb. Brittany Bradford was a compelling lead, and André Santana codeswitches like you wouldn't believe. These voice actors' narration truly elevated what was already an intriguing story grounded in Afrocentric spirituality.

That said, I wasn't a fan of the focus on sex and relationships, especially at the beginning. This made the book out to be a different tale than what it ended up being: an epic fantasy battle with two leads coming into their own. And yet ... I kind of dug the love triangle between Fonsi and the "ghosts" of his past. I just wish that the beginning had been less sexytimes and more setup.

Altogether, a thoroughly worthy adventure, especially in audio form.

Author: Clarence A. Haynes

Genres: Romance/YA/Fiction/Latin American Fiction/Mystical/Fantasy/Magical Realism/

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary: Gwendolyn Montgomery is New York’s top publicist that appears to have it all until her first show was sabotaged. She then begins to experience mystical and supernatural situations after her first show was sabotaged. When her cousin, Fonsi, a psychic, appears, Gwendolyn begins to understand the secrets that ties her.

Tropes and Themes: time loop, grief, emotional healing, fate and destiny, revenge, family secrets.

Character: I love the development of Gwendolyn's character. As the story unfolds, she begins to come into her true character and unleash the gift that was hidden.

Thoughts: I listened to this book as an ARC audio. I observed that in the beginning it was very slow paced in building towards the plot. The climax did not appear until about 55% of the book, starting with chapters 10 and it continued to thicken as the story unfolded. Throughout the book, there was a lot of character development, which some of the information was found a bit irrelevant to the book. Other background information was needed in order to help the reader establish the connection with her cousin, Fonsi, whom is a psychic that is able to communicate with spirits. Moreover, the author rooted the book in Latin American cultures as there was Spanish language embedded in the book. The narrators were better towards the end as their tone of voice was more appropriate for the situations occurring in each of chapters. At the beginning, I wasn't really captivated as the book was very slow.

In the end, it was definitely a page turner, and I really love how Gwendolyn was able to accept her place in the mystical order. All those years, she felt like she was to blame for her godmother's demise, but Gwendolyn eventually understood the true reason her godmother was pulled into the spirit world. in short, she was able to manipulate this reason in order to close the breach between the natural and spiritual world. In short, I was glad that she was able to accept her gift and want to be called by her birth name.

This was such a fun, Ghostbusters-esque adventure infused with Afro-Latinx cultural heritage and speculative flair!

We follow two estranged cousins—Gwendolyn, a high-powered NYC publicist, and Fonsi, who can speak to the dead and happens to be caught in a *very* messy love triangle involving a ghost and his terrible ex. When the barrier between the living and the spirit world begins to crack, Gwendolyn and Fonsi are forced to reunite and confront both personal tensions and supernatural chaos.

What follows is a fast-paced, heart-filled journey to mend the breach between worlds, with the help of a dynamic and unforgettable cast. I especially loved how the story wove in deities and Orishas—I loved reading about their significance to their cultural heritage.

Pick this up if you’re into ghost-hunting, family drama, or just love a good speculative adventure!

The narrators did an excellent job of portraying Gwendolyn and Fonsi's relationship and personalities. They made this an enjoyable reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Legacy Lit for the e-ALC in exchange for my honest review.

The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery is an electric urban fantasy that I finished in one sitting. Fonsi, a lovable disaster gay, is trying to balance his day job, his job as a psychic, his overbearing ex, and his ghostly lover. Meanwhile, Gwendolyn, a badass woman making her way as a top publicist in the city, is determined to outrun darkness in her past. Their paths cross as a series of increasingly intense disasters trail Gwendolyn and Fonsi realizes the veil between the mortal world and the afterlife is ripping apart.

I love Fonsi with all my heart. He’s trying his best, making a mess, and coming back stronger than ever. His found family is supportive and wonderful, even if they have their own problems. I would follow this man’s story anywhere. While Gwendolyn doesn’t hit me the same way, she’s pretty bomb too. I appreciate her attitude and willingness to be vulnerable when needed. The quick paced plot and cool magic system round out this great character driven story. This is a perfect summer romp for queer ghost lovers!

This audiobook is well done; I enjoyed the dual narrative.

I found this a bit confusing at first so had to go back to understand what was happening.

I think pacing was an issue - because it’s quite a short book there isn’t really room for any of the events to breathe, no matter how grave.

It was an interesting concept, though I think the ‘spiritual’ world building could have used some attention.

It was an ok read considering the length and plot.