Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Dead Romantics

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

45 reviews

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.

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dinipandareads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy granola, when my bookish friends told me they thought I would like this book, I don't think they could've even anticipated just how much emotional it would make me and just how much I would fall in love with the words, characters, and romance. Everything about this resonated and it was wonderful. I think I've discovered another new favourite this year! I'm an emotional reader as it is but I love when a book can reel me in and get me so deeply in my feelings. I don't know if it's the things that have been going on with me personally over the last year (plus+), but the discussions of loss, grief and healing, finding hope, and rediscovering love, just hit me so hard and I found myself constantly crying, laughing, and swooning as I read. Honestly, it was a fantastic combination of feelings that simply made me love this book even more! I can't even apologise for how messy this review is gonna be (because you know the drill when it comes to books I love to bits) but long story short, I'm so glad I read this and I highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed Poston's writing. The combination of wit, humour, and heartfelt made for an enjoyable, albeit very emotional, read that had me speeding through the pages because I was invested in our MC's character growth and the steady, swoontastic romance. To be honest, I don't even know if I would classify this strictly as a romance because although it was a big part of Florence's character arc, it felt rather "minor" in comparison to the themes of loss, grief and healing. Clearly, that didn't make me love this book any less but for those who pick this up expecting a typical contemporary romance, you might be disappointed to not find it so straightforward here. Though that's definitely not to say that the romance wasn't wonderful because it absolutely was and I ship these two so hard! 😍

I loved Florence. She's a bit messy but completely relatable, although that didn't mean that there weren't times that I wanted to give her a good long shake. But I loved how well Poston wrote about her growth. She's been through a lot, especially in the heartbreak department courtesy of the latest douchecanoe she dated over a year ago. She no longer believes in love despite being a ghostwriter for a prolific romance author and now in addition to the stress of being unable to write happy endings, she also has to deal with the devasting passing of her father. The loss and grief were palpable and hit like a sledgehammer to the chest but because of that, I also found it more uplifting and hopeful as she goes through the healing journey and starts to bring down her walls and learn to let people back in again. Again, the emotions really hit me hard with this one and I felt for her so much!

Benji Andor was an intriguing MMC who gave me strong 2005 Mr Darcy/Lee Pace vibes and I was entirely here for it. He's Florence's new editor who is stoic and formal but has a soft hopeless romantic heart. I absolutely adored him. He was incredibly swoony and some of the moments between them really had me MELTING—squealing in "it was so good"! 🤣 Despite their romance being pretty unconventional, what with him being a ghost and her being very much alive, I liked that it gave them the space to be more vulnerable with each other and gave them room to grow. The more time they spent getting to know each other, the stronger their chemistry became and I loved the heightened romantic tension and mutual pining! I loved how they both were avid romance readers and appreciators (even despite Florence's "romance is dead" stance at the beginning) and I thought their opposites attract/chaotic romance ghostwriter x refined romance editor vibe was perfect. It was also a matter of simply accepting each other as they are and that always melts my heart! Their romance was so soft and sweet and incredibly wholesome. Ah, I loved it (if you can't tell, lol)!

I can honestly go on about how much I loved this book and how it so unexpectedly got me in my feels but I'll stop while I'm ahead and just say READ IT! Please!

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rachaelreadsalot's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.75

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lj_sophia's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This was a fun read. I loved it for what it is and that's a lighthearted, cliche-filled, ghost-story romance.

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erandle's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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nikkijeanreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

"𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬. 𝐈𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐬."

If there was ever a moment for me to stumble upon a book I knew nothing about...this was it.
It was unexpected and unique, and I completed got lost in it.

The way that Ashley Poston handled grief was so comforting, and it brought a bit of peace to my heart in the wake of a recent loss.

Florence and Ben are such a delight-their corny jokes, their heartfelt chats...I just couldn't put this book down.

I am sure there are people who won't connect this way. People who find the plot too out there, but I think if it is the right fit for you, you will feel like this book sought you out and gave you something you didn't know you needed.

Content Warnings