The Dead Romantics: A GMA Book Club Pick

Charming and poignant, this ghost story is a little bit romance and a little bit women's fiction. Our hero is a ghost, so that causes plenty of tension, naturally. But as someone who exclusively reads romance novels, I wasn't making an exception for this. There's a sweet and swoony love story wrapped up in the center of a somewhat heavy book about grief and processing loss. Mixing bleak moments with hopeful ones, this intricately weaves together so many important themes in a masterful way. And the ghost puns! SO MANY ghostly references within the text, I loved it. The romance reader in me gobbled up every little bit of the romance; I personally wanted a stronger focus on that, but that's because I'm greedy. One of the best parts of the book is how it balances the light with the dark - there's as much time spent on the pain of death as there is the hope for the future. And that one-of-a-kind feel is what makes this a truly special book - a truly special romance novel - even if this romance reader wanted a stronger focus on that element. The story follows Florence, a woman who ghostwrites for a famous romance author. When her own debut novel failed, Florence was worried that her career was over, but she's found success being the woman behind the scenes. At least she did, until her own love life imploded a year ago. Now Florence is on a tight deadline to produce a happily ever after, and she just doesn't have it in her. She's starting to think that love is dead, and the sudden death of her father certainly doesn't do anything to change her mind. So when Florence's sexy and stern new editor shows up on the funeral home's doorstep - as a ghost - she's not sure what to think. Florence and Ben only met briefly before he became a ghost, and neither one is sure whether Florence is supposed to be helping Ben find peace or whether he's supposed to help Florence wrap up her novel while processing her father's death. Either way, as these two near-strangers spend time together, they begin to wish that they'd gotten closer before Ben crossed to the other side. You're probably still skeptical about whether this is a romance novel or women's fiction, because of the ghost situation. I would call this a romance novel for readers who enjoy elements of women's fiction, because the book is truly Florence's journey, and that doesn't always involve Ben. But... yeah, it's a romance too. While much of the book is emotional and full of grief (not only is Ben grappling with the fact that he's no longer amongst the living, but Florence's father has just passed away), it's also got a funny, uplifting side. It's hopeful. It's a little bit swoony. I loved the opposites attract vibes between Ben and Florence, and how they definitely wouldn't have found their way together if Ben hadn't experienced this time with her. Florence is a chaotic mess of a woman who communicates with ghosts, so that's not something the controlled, workaholic Ben would've been able to handle pre-accident. There are these tiny shifts to the dynamic along the way, and Poston does a masterful job of tying everything together perfectly. That's why this romance reader is willing to round up her rating - while I was greedy for more romance, this is the kind of book that I'm going to be reflecting on for a long time. And it had exactly the kind of ending I wanted. Audio note: The audio was excellent! The story is told exclusively from Florence's point of view, so there is just a single narrator. But she does a great job of differentiating between the characters and giving a stellar vocal performance. I found her voice soothing and easy to listen to, perfect for the many different facets of the story. The runtime was just slightly too long for one day/sitting (10-11 hours), but I was eager to pick the book back up every time I had to set it down. It also makes an awesome workday listen, because there's little to no steam (Florence and Ben literally can't touch), and the romance is an achingly slow burn. I'm sure I would've enjoyed the book in a more traditional format as well, but the audio definitely enhanced the experience.

3.5 stars rounding up to 4 The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston is just the most recent book that made me cry. Florence, the FMC, was a raw, disorganized mess. A bad breakup made her not believe in love, which sucks for her because she’s a ghostwriter for acclaimed romance writer, Ann Nicols. Being in her head was tiring at times, and it just became heartbreaking when she thought about her dead dad. One part of the book that stood out to me was that everything was going on as normal in Florence’s life, except that her dad was gone. Beach Read was still pretty fresh in my mind by this point, and reading about another dead heroine’s dad just made me automatically cry. I understand why this is a polarizing read, but given Florence’s circumstances, her being in that exhausting mind space makes complete sense. However, it does make the reading experience a tad frustrating. Especially since Florence is a passive character who ruminates a lot. There are also plenty of scenes of her complaining to Adam Benji Andor, her ghostly love interest. You would think you’d be more sensitive complaining about life to your recently deceased friend. But there is plenty of good in this book if you can get past the woe is me narrative. Ashley Poston’s writing is lovely as always. The small town setting, especially with the funeral parlor and the cemetery, was plenty immersive to read about. The other characters, like the Day family, were all lovely. Florence’s mom and sister were very memorable. My favorite part was that the Day family has run a funeral home for generations. I watched a lot of Caitlin Doughty on YouTube, plus read two of her books. Reading about death from their perspective, who work so closely with death, was enlightening. Ashley’s take on ghosts was also unique and interesting. She kept everything vague, which is a smart choice, or else I’ll be overthinking everything about the afterlife in this book. The most satisfying part is, hands down, Florence’s character growth. It was a sigh of relief seeing our home girl gaining perspective and the confidence to get out of her rut. And even to fight her man. I love the latter part of the book, where everything is revealed, and plot twists are plot-twisting. Things got a lot more exciting after all the chapters of sadness and gloom. Overall, this was a worthwhile read with beautiful writing from Ashley. I highly recommend it if you love beautiful, descriptive writing and fleshed-out characters and don’t mind a narrator who’s experiencing a low point in her life.

This book absolutely wrecked me—in the gentlest, funniest, most unexpectedly healing way. The Dead Romantics is technically a ghost story, but it’s also a love letter to grief, family, creativity, and believing in love again when life has knocked the wind out of you. From the chapter titles alone, I knew this book was special—witty, clever, and unapologetically heart-forward. Florence Day can see ghosts. She also doesn’t believe in love anymore. Enter Ben—who somehow manages to be both dead and one of the most emotionally alive characters I’ve read in a long time. What follows is a story that balances Addams Family–esque charm with raw, honest grief, layered with humor that made me laugh out loud and moments that quietly broke my heart. What impressed me most is how Ashley Poston doesn’t soften death—but she doesn’t sensationalize it either. Instead, she treats it with warmth, respect, and humanity. Grief isn’t rushed. Healing isn’t linear. Love doesn’t arrive perfectly packaged. And somehow… somewhere between the ghosts, the banter, and the ache, this book did something unexpected. The author didn’t just resurrect Ben. She resurrected Florence’s belief in love. And honestly? She resurrected mine too—along with my love of reading that had quietly died after one too many emotionally numb books. This story is hilarious, sad, tender, weird, romantic, and deeply comforting. If you’ve ever loved the macabre but still want hope… if you grieve deeply but laugh loudly… if you want a book that feels like a warm hug from the other side—read this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ No notes. Just feelings.

I mean, I guessed the plot pretty early on & it was VERY VERY Adam's Family forward. Decent at best.

I made 41 highlights and left 33 notes in this ebook. I would go so far as to say this is probably one of my most annotated first read through of a book. Not all of my notes were very nice, as much as I enjoyed this book, at least half of my feelings for it were hate reading. It has such good reviews and I've seen so many people rave about it on bookstagram and booktok and such, so I just had to read it! It is very good. It is beautifully written, very quotable, and truly a lovely romance. HOWEVER. My curse of hating leading ladies strikes again. Because Florence Day is so utterly unlikable for most of this book. That's not entirely true. She is not unlikable. But holy cow does she make INFURIATING decisions. It's incredible that we learned anything in this book because she is never around other characters enough to know anything of what's going on! She does get some very good character development, and I appreciate that very much. Because man I really was always 5 words from a DNF for the first half of this book. I loved how this book dealt with grieving and death though. You saw it in small doses and large doses. How sometimes grief is just with you every step of your day, and other times you can completely forget about it until the wind changes and all of a sudden you remember. Sometimes you can't even think louder than the sadness, and sometimes it's just a whisper in the back of your mind while you move on with living. The idea that this extremely loving happy family deals in death is kind of a beautiful one. I liked this way this book honored the dead. And of course, the romance is VERY swoony. Florence, despite the way she was described for the first few chapters, is a pretty dreamy chaos goblin once she gets her act in gear. And Benji Andor is a very dreamy hero. Even if he's intangible for much of the book. The biggest love story of this book is between me and the puns though! They were very good!

This is one of those books....you know the ones that redefine your life and stick with you forever. I have a lot of struggles with pre-grieving and existential thoughts, who doesn't, this book gave me comfort, humor and romance that made me feel a tad comfier on this wild plane we live on. Recommend to anyone who comes across it.

A precious and cute Rom-Com with a lot of heart and vulnerability wrapped up in comfortable fanfic-y style of writing! There was so much to love: the characters and their authentic personalities, the relationships between those characters, and the way grief was handled with care and support with small bursts of humour. Reading about the Day family gave me so much happiness and made me wish I was part of their family! Each member was so unapologetically themselves, and I even understood Florence and her decision to leave her hometown to try to find her place in the world where she could be who she was on her own terms and without judgment. This book - Florence and Ben's love story - is an instant Rom-Com classic with a gothic twist and a refreshing acceptance of grief and loss. "Because ghost stories were just love stories about here and then and now and when, about pockets of happiness and moments that resonated in places long after their era. They were stories that taught you that love was never a matter of time, but a matter of timing."

Florence Day is ghostwriter. She's been writing for a very famous and prolific romance novelist and her books are hit. All's been going well until she stops believing in love. Her craptastic boyfriend breaks up with her and "steals her memories" to use as plot for his own book. You see, Florence has had an interesting life: growing up in a funeral home run by her parents, she literally "sees dead people" ... and they talk to her. Her boyfriend betrays her trust and uses her story for his book. Not cool. When she tries to get an extension on her deadline, she's not prepared to find a too handsome editor on their meeting. He ends up not giving her extension and she gets the worst call of her life: she has to return to the hometown she hates to busy her father. The town has mocked her for her gift and she hates coming back. She just wants to get on with the funeral and leave. But a very handsome ghost shows up to haunt her - her editor! Too bad that he's even more attractive now, even in spectral form. I was immediately drawn by the premise of this book! A ghostwriter falling for a ghost? Sign me up! The story is fun, sweet, and it really pulls you in. However, by the middle I had already guessed what was going on and it dragged a little. Fortunately, it picks up again and you get a wonderful HEA. Don't worry! Narration: Kudos to Eileen Stevens (new narrator to me), who carries the story in a stellar solo narration! When I was a little bored in the middle there, it was her narration that kept me going. Excellent job and I will be on the lookout for her work!

Well. What can I say. Ashley Poston has done it again - I’m not sure I was ready for a book with a squatty potty reference 😂 - but I’m here for it (it’s good for the digestion!). I am a huge fan of Ashley’s YA Geekerella series which uses fandom as a backdrop to her romances. Now with this foray into adult fiction we have publishing as our backdrop but with some additional supernatural goings on. This makes this a perfect spooky season read. This is the second book recently I’ve read where I can reference Ghost Whisperer as a comparison (see my review of middle grade book The Whisperling) and I’m not at all mad about that - what with it being one of my favourite shows. Florence Day has grown up around death - literally. Her family run Days Gone Funeral Home (excellent name) and both her father and her see dead people walking around like regular people! Hounded out of her small town because of this gift, Florence headed to the big smoke and tried to turn her love of writing smutty X-Files fan fic into a career in romance fiction. After her first novel doesn’t take off in quite the way she’d hoped she ends up ghostwriting (lol) for a hugely successful romance writer. We meet her as the last book on that contract is due - but the thing is she has writer’s block. How can you write romance when you’ve had your heart smashed? Florence’s ex is a despicable piece of work who deserves much worse than he gets in my opinion. Seriously he makes my blood boil. Pulled back to her home after a family tragedy she finds a ghost on the doorstep of her family home but this ghost is very out of place and unwelcome. After all he didn’t give her an extension on her novel! Rude. It’s her very hot editor Benji Andor who on first meeting him the words “climb him” were screamed by her inner voice - although sadly that turns out not to be possible when you can’t touch a ghost. But is it possible for the spirit of romance to be reignited? No spoilers here but I was satisfied with the journey Florence went on. I will say that this was perhaps a slightly slower start than we’ve grown used to but the payoff makes it worth it and Ashley’s writing is easy to read and comforting. This mixes the best echoes of Christmas Hallmark movies (but with Halloween vibes in April - and not Christmas), Sweet Home Alabama and A million funerals and a wedding! I loved this exploration of complex family relationships, small town gossip and an incorporeal romance. Poston brings her humour and pop culture references naturally across into the adult sphere where she can be a little more spicy (although only in small doses - we don’t actually get any of the X-Files smut on the page! More’s the pity). The small town of Mairmont with its doggie Mayor (this needs to become a thing - the world would be so much kinder) becomes a character itself and I fell in love with it too. I loved the incidental non binary and queer characters because there was no negative focus on this - they just were and this is what the world should be. If the Reader Discussion questions are anything to go by keep your fingers crossed for a sequel and more Mairmont. I’d equally be happy with other books following some of our side characters. Although grief is a big theme in this story the book itself is hopeful and not macabre and focuses very much on death as part of life. In the author’s note Ashley Poston talks about her fear of death which I very much share - so to write such a book must have been a therapy session as much as it was reading it. A huge thank you to Ashley for this piece of magic and to HQ Stories for the gifted copy for the purposes of an honest review. Do check out what everyone else on the tour thought.

Cette édition reliée est superbe ! Cela met davantage en valeur cette lecture incroyable. Où l’on évoque le deuil, la famille, la confiance en soi, les sentiments amoureux et les secondes chances. C’est superbe. Ashley Poston est l’une de mes autrices fétiches. Je ne suis jamais déçue par ses histoires.

The beautiful story reminiscent of a film I have seen but with its own twist made this a most enjoyable read. It’s the characters, all of them. The are likeable, vulnerable and above all so normal but who are part of something a little paranormal. Normal in the sense of questioning, uncertainty, not always doing the right thing with the best intention and mostly very good people. People who make the unreal believable although that is also part of the author’s charm and ability to write. No spoilers. just read it and enjoy and look for the scene at the end where the play on words is a dictionary delight. Loved it and can’t wait for the next book.

lovely book

Perfect! (A reminder to all my book fellas to not rate the books on Amazon. It’s not their problem if you thought the book was bad)