Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.
When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.
For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.
Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.
Romance is most certainly dead… but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.
- Title: The Dead Romantics
- Author: Ashley Poston
- Publisher: Berkley
- Publication Date: June 28, 2022
- Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Fantasy
- Targeted Age Range: Adult
- Content Warnings: cheating, panic attack, grief, death of a parent, bullying, car accident
- Rating: ★★★★.5
I’ve been on the hunt for a good romance for so long, and when my friend Julianne tweeted about how good The Seven Year Slip was, it reminded me that I’ve been meaning to read Ashley Poston’s The Dead Romantics. I completely devoured The Dead Romantics in one sitting, and if I didn’t have to be up early the next day, I would’ve immediately binged The Seven Year Slip right after.
The Dead Romantics follows Florence Day, who has been a ghostwriter for critically acclaimed romance novelist Ann Nichols for the past five years. She’s been contracted to write four books for Ann, and has been struggling to finish the last one ever since a brutal split with her boyfriend, Lee. When her hot new editor, Benji Andor, refuses to give her a deadline, Florence is screwed. She’s got twenty four hours to turn something in before legal’s involved. What most people don’t know about Florence, aside from her secret ghostwriting job, however, is the fact that she can see ghosts. Ever since she was run out of town after her powers were discovered, she hasn’t been back — until she receives a phone call sending her back to her family’s funeral home. Manuscript forgotten, Florence’s left to face the things that haunt her back home, while trying to plan her late father’s funeral. It’s just, she didn’t expect Benji Andor to be one of the things haunting her.
Throughout The Dead Romantics, I had two thoughts that kept popping into my mind. The first, was that I wanted to give Florence a hug, and the second, was that she’d really benefit from listening to Maisie Peters’ The Good Witch. When we first meet her, we know that Florence is struggling with writer’s block due to a breakup, but as the story unfolds, we learn that Lee stole the story of Florence’s life and turned it into a book. I wanted to reach through the pages and deck Lee, personally. Florence going home to face her childhood bullies, facing her demons (and I don’t just mean the ghosts) and going through this journey of self-growth was so lovely to read about. Not only did she have to face her bullies, but Florence also had to reclaim her own story and identity. It’s been a while since I’ve rooted for — or been as invested — a main character this badly.
As far as the romance, I was swept away by Benji and Florence (and it wasn’t until much later that I realized this is yet another Reylo novel — Not a Star Wars girlie, and missed what now feels very obvious “Ben” and “Andor” references). Their banter and camaraderie was just so witty and dynamic, and I couldn’t help but root for them. What I appreciated about The Dead Romantics is that there was this obvious initial attraction from both parties, but it didn’t feel like insta love, and we really got to see their relationship develop. There’s the obvious “But he’s a ghost!” obstacle, as well as several things both of them have to work through (together, and separately), but everything was tied up neatly (and in a predictable manner)!
I genuinely loved The Dead Romantics; loved the banter, the wit, the heart and well, everything about it. If you’re looking for a light and fun fall romance, I couldn’t recommend it more highly!
Links for The Dead Romantics: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop.org
Ashley Poston is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of The Dead Romantics.
After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s in English, she spent the last decade working in the publishing industry before deciding to pursue writing full-time.
When not writing, she likes trying various arts and crafts (she’s currently addicted to building miniature rooms) and taking long walks as an excuse to listen to Dungeons & Dragons podcasts. She bides her time between South Carolina and New York, and all the bookstores between.
This sounds awesome!