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catsandmetaphors's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual content
rickireadss's review against another edition
5.0
this was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. i laughed out loud SEVERAL times, but i also cried like a baby throughout. the story of grief was near and dear to my heart, and i think poston did a great job at writing florence's experience with it and making it easily relatable. i related to florence a lot and connected with her in both her position in the family (eldest sister) and her personality and struggle with anxiety & grief. i had such a great time with this book, so much so that i will definitely be picking up poston's other books. i think the part i loved most about this book, outside of how it made me cry and laugh, is that there were moments and plot points that were predictable, yet i was STILL thrown for a loop at the overall "plot twist".
⚠️: grief, death, death of parent (heart attack), bullying, panic attacks/disorder, car accident, murder, child abuse, child death, toxic relationship, infidelity
⚠️: grief, death, death of parent (heart attack), bullying, panic attacks/disorder, car accident, murder, child abuse, child death, toxic relationship, infidelity
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Bullying
Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Murder, and Child death
Minor: Toxic relationship and Infidelity
carla20's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Florence Day finds herself in the most ultimate rut. She's dealing with a severe case of writer's block, her ex-boyfriend is turning her life story into a cheap novel that's sure to be an instant bestseller, her annoyingly handsome new book editor will not give her extension on the book she's ghostwriting for, and her beloved father is dead. When she comes back to her hometown of Mairmont for the funeral, she finds her annoyingly handsome new book editor, Benji Andor, as a ghost, an ability she has tried to ignore ever since she left Mairmont a decade ago. Now tasked with figuring why Ben is with her, Florence finds herself getting a new outlook on love.
I've been wanting to read The Dead Romantics ever since it came out last year and I was so excited to finally see it in my public library. However, I didn't love every single aspect of the book.
For starters, I didn't necessarily liked the two MCs. Florence made me somewhat sorry for her, but also had me questioning her suddenly pessimistic outlook on romance after one bad break-up and along with a string of mediocre relationships (though, Lee was a major jerk, no doubt about it). Ben was fine, but he felt flat. I mean, I guess I should expect that since he's a ghost, but you don't really get to understand him in-depth compared to Florence until near the end of the book. All I'm going to say is that it's not necessarily a good sign when the side characters seem to be more interesting than the two MCs. Though, Florence and Ben's character developments do get better near the end of the book.
As for the romance, I know there are some people complaining how this book is barely a romance. I disagree with that since you can see the chemistry between Florence and Ben, it's just not the same with your other everyday contemporary romance novel or rom-com. Mainly because Ben is a ghost. That being said, I think Poston did a good job with getting portraying that closeness between Florence and Ben.
While this book didn't fully live up to my expectations, I did found enjoyment in reading The Dead Romantics. I love the small town feel of Mairmont and the residents that live there and Poston's does provide a solid writing style with telling Florence's story. That being said, take at this review what you will but I recommend reading The Dead Romantics to form an opinion for yourselves.
I've been wanting to read The Dead Romantics ever since it came out last year and I was so excited to finally see it in my public library. However, I didn't love every single aspect of the book.
For starters, I didn't necessarily liked the two MCs. Florence made me somewhat sorry for her, but also had me questioning her suddenly pessimistic outlook on romance after one bad break-up and along with a string of mediocre relationships (though, Lee was a major jerk, no doubt about it). Ben was fine, but he felt flat. I mean, I guess I should expect that since he's a ghost, but you don't really get to understand him in-depth compared to Florence until near the end of the book. All I'm going to say is that it's not necessarily a good sign when the side characters seem to be more interesting than the two MCs. Though, Florence and Ben's character developments do get better near the end of the book.
As for the romance, I know there are some people complaining how this book is barely a romance. I disagree with that since you can see the chemistry between Florence and Ben, it's just not the same with your other everyday contemporary romance novel or rom-com. Mainly because Ben is a ghost. That being said, I think Poston did a good job with getting portraying that closeness between Florence and Ben.
While this book didn't fully live up to my expectations, I did found enjoyment in reading The Dead Romantics. I love the small town feel of Mairmont and the residents that live there and Poston's does provide a solid writing style with telling Florence's story. That being said, take at this review what you will but I recommend reading The Dead Romantics to form an opinion for yourselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Bullying
Minor: Murder
chloelj27's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Car accident, and Infidelity
onthesamepage's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Tropes: paranormal romance, big man tiny girl, Reylo fanfic
Steam level: 🌶
I feel really conflicted about this book. On the one hand, I had a good time while I was reading this (for the most part). On the other, once I got to the end, all I could see were the inconsistencies, and the way the entire story falls apart if you apply a modicum of logic.
While I wouldn't say that Benji and Florence will stick out in my mind as characters, I did really like the way their relationship developed. There were a lot of sweet moments, and also a few heavier ones as they dealt with loss and grief. I think there was a pretty good balance between the two. However, even aside from the lack of logic, there were things that struck me as weird. For example, on the morning of her father's funeral, as Florence is starting to get dressed, she stops midway to engage in some kind of weird foreplay with Ben. This felt like such a wrong moment for the scene, I honestly didn't know what to do with it.
Dealing with the death of her father is a large part of the book. The family dynamics were well-written. The way Florence acted around and reacted to her family made sense, as did the way the relationships grew and changed.
I know this is an exaggeration, but I am starting to feel like every other romance I pick up is inspired by Reylo, and I am so over it. As soon as Ben was described as, "He was . . . enormous. So tall I felt like I’d suddenly been transported into a retelling of “Jack and the Beanstalk” where he was a very hunky beanstalk that I really, really wanted to climb—", I highlighted it with the note, "not again". I didn't actually think this was once Reylo fanfic, though, but I saw another review mention it, and then I Googled, and I guess it did start its life as Reylo fanfic.
There are some repetitive phrases and circling around the same themes, and I lost count of the number of authors that get name dropped. I thought the last 20% dragged, too, which is a strange feeling, because usually that's where the story reaches its climax. The ending is wrapped very neatly, without a single crease in the paper, and with a beautiful, big, red bow on top. It was so over-the-top squeaky clean that it bugged me.
With regard to the plot holes:I guessed that Ben was in a coma instead of dead at about 40% in, but here's the thing: the way she wrote this doesn't make sense. His hair and beard changed while he was a ghost, most likely to reflect his hair growing, since he was still alive. But she always saw him in regular clothes. If his ghost state reflected his actual state, he should've been in a hospital gown, but then the jig would've been up right away, and we can't have that.
She goes to see him at the hospital, but chickens out of talking to him because she hears his ex with him in the room, and he was laughing. So she just made the assumption he didn't want her, and left. He ends up thinking that everything that happened between them was a dream, and only realizes later that it was all real. It's not quite the amnesia trope, but I hated all of this anyway, thanks.
Also, him now being able to see ghosts? Too much, too neat, please stop.
Steam level: 🌶
I feel really conflicted about this book. On the one hand, I had a good time while I was reading this (for the most part). On the other, once I got to the end, all I could see were the inconsistencies, and the way the entire story falls apart if you apply a modicum of logic.
While I wouldn't say that Benji and Florence will stick out in my mind as characters, I did really like the way their relationship developed. There were a lot of sweet moments, and also a few heavier ones as they dealt with loss and grief. I think there was a pretty good balance between the two. However, even aside from the lack of logic, there were things that struck me as weird. For example, on the morning of her father's funeral, as Florence is starting to get dressed, she stops midway to engage in some kind of weird foreplay with Ben. This felt like such a wrong moment for the scene, I honestly didn't know what to do with it.
Dealing with the death of her father is a large part of the book. The family dynamics were well-written. The way Florence acted around and reacted to her family made sense, as did the way the relationships grew and changed.
I know this is an exaggeration, but I am starting to feel like every other romance I pick up is inspired by Reylo, and I am so over it. As soon as Ben was described as, "He was . . . enormous. So tall I felt like I’d suddenly been transported into a retelling of “Jack and the Beanstalk” where he was a very hunky beanstalk that I really, really wanted to climb—", I highlighted it with the note, "not again". I didn't actually think this was once Reylo fanfic, though, but I saw another review mention it, and then I Googled, and I guess it did start its life as Reylo fanfic.
There are some repetitive phrases and circling around the same themes, and I lost count of the number of authors that get name dropped. I thought the last 20% dragged, too, which is a strange feeling, because usually that's where the story reaches its climax. The ending is wrapped very neatly, without a single crease in the paper, and with a beautiful, big, red bow on top. It was so over-the-top squeaky clean that it bugged me.
With regard to the plot holes:
She goes to see him at the hospital, but chickens out of talking to him because she hears his ex with him in the room, and he was laughing. So she just made the assumption he didn't want her, and left. He ends up thinking that everything that happened between them was a dream, and only realizes later that it was all real. It's not quite the amnesia trope, but I hated all of this anyway, thanks.
Also, him now being able to see ghosts? Too much, too neat, please stop.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Infidelity
katrinaward's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Infidelity and Injury/Injury detail
wilybooklover's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
This had such an interesting premise, but sadly didn’t live up to my expectations. There was so much potential here for fun ghost interactions and swoony romance, but it seemed to get overshadowed by the family/ex drama, funeral plans, and lots of talk about grief. The setup was so delightfully weird, and I just wish it had delved into the seeing ghosts aspect more. I would’ve loved more detail around the murder that Florence solved as a teen, for example. The plot seemed very chaotic and bounced from one thing to the other without giving the characters time to breathe, and despite being labelled a romcom, I thought it was more cringe than funny. I think the scene where she forgives her former bully is supposed to show growth and maturity or whatever but it honestly just made my soul leave my body in second-hand mortification. Not to mention that she calls coffee zoom zoom juice. Zoom zoom juice.
I did really like Ben, he was very sweet (to the extent that I didn’t understand Florence’s initial antagonism towards him). Loved the pining when he’s a ghost and they can’t touch no matter how much they want to. Their first kiss scene before he becomes a ghost did bother me; you can’t just go around suddenly kissing people who have expressed zero indication of interest without asking or at least giving them time to pull away first, especially if you work with them. It’s one thing if they had been flirting or something first but it literally came out of nowhere and it’s never mentioned again in the rest of the book. And it was so odd and unbelievable that Florence just went off to finish writing the book for three months before going to see Ben after he woke up from his coma.
Oh, and they’re not gauges — they’re plugs, or tunnels. Gauge is a measurement of the thickness, not a type of jewellery. A minor pet peeve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Car accident, and Gaslighting
Minor: Medical content and Infidelity
meat_muffin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A solid 3, because while I love romance and dig a tall, broody marshmallow who can’t get enough of his girl, the FMC was annoying as hell in this novel and I couldn’t get over how awful she was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Murder, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing
martapsalvado's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I FINISHED IT!!
This was almost a dnf. The premise was interesting, the execution not so much. I don't think I would have finished it if I didn't start skimming through the overly repetitive and unnecessary descriptions.
Besides that, my main problem with The Dead Romantics was its sense of humour. It was constantly trying to be funny and I just didn't laugh a single time. It was like watching a Two and a Half Men (I don't like Two and a Half Men). Come on, zoom-zoom juice??? Meaning coffe?? 😭
The writing was nothing special and neither was the chemistry between Florence and Ben. I feel like they didn't even knew each other that well, Florence was just constantly comparing Ben to her ex and that's it.
The two stars are for the premise and for the few pages that I was actually curious about what would happen next.
This was almost a dnf. The premise was interesting, the execution not so much. I don't think I would have finished it if I didn't start skimming through the overly repetitive and unnecessary descriptions.
Besides that, my main problem with The Dead Romantics was its sense of humour. It was constantly trying to be funny and I just didn't laugh a single time. It was like watching a Two and a Half Men (I don't like Two and a Half Men). Come on, zoom-zoom juice??? Meaning coffe?? 😭
The writing was nothing special and neither was the chemistry between Florence and Ben. I feel like they didn't even knew each other that well, Florence was just constantly comparing Ben to her ex and that's it.
The two stars are for the premise and for the few pages that I was actually curious about what would happen next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, and Bullying