Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Dead Romantics

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

51 reviews

dalek_caan's review

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This book was a nice, light read. I particularly enjoyed the queer representation in some of the side characters, and the dynamic way all the characters in the book were written.

Content Warnings

heytherekaity's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

fuchsiarascal's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

Okay, I'm gonna say it: this isn't a romance book. If you're looking for a fluffy romance, this probably isn't it. There's romance in it, sure, but that's not really the focus. But what it is is great: a story about a woman coming to terms with her father's death, as well as her unique skills that have brought her a lot of trouble in her life, as she's going through a tumultuous year and rethinking everything she thought she knew (can we say Saturn return?). And yes, as someone who has Dead Dad Issues (tm), the focus on her father's death, and all the feelings that come along with that, made me tear up a lot. Even the good moments.

There are plenty of things that don't make sense and are just "quirky", sure. Like this town "ran her out" because she was a teenager who helped solve a murder and said a ghost helped her... but then that same town has a freaking dog as a mayor? (And really, it just seems like it was the "popular kids" who had an issue with it, but... teenagers are awful, no reason to say the whole town ran you out.) Towns that elect dogs, three elections running, as mayor are way more likely to be accepting of someone talking to ghosts, in my opinion.

There's romance. It's not light, it's not fluffy, it's with a ghost who is leaving this world behind faster than most, faster than she'd like. It's romance in the old tragic tales, and it's beautiful.

(And here be spoilers.)

And on that note... honestly, I'd been spoiled on the twist, but I was pretty disappointed with the actual ending. The ending at 84%, when Benji leaves for the last time, was beautiful and tragic and wonderful. It hit all the right notes of those tragic romance Merthur fanfics I used to read. It's probably just me, but I would've liked the story better if the author had committed to Benji being dead and not just in a coma that he woke up from. Even in the context of the character's development, Benji being dead but her believing in love again because of him and their ghostly connection would've made a ton of sense. But romances need their happy endings, I guess. (I definitely read very different fanfic lol.)

Even aside from that, the last couple chapters

when she goes home for her brother's wedding

run the problem of continuing after the story was done, wanting to tie everything up with a nice little bow. I was listening to the audiobook and thought the book was over a couple times before it actually ended. They weren't terrible chapters, but they were extremely superfluous and left nothing to the readers' imagination about the future. They weren't even labeled as an epilogue, I could've seen that (although still unnecessary), but... yeah, I think the book should've ended before it did.

Still, it was a very enjoyable read, it hit a lot of emotions for me, and I'd recommend it as long as people aren't expecting a fluffy romance.

Content Warnings

cor_luz's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

quiet_reader's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

hdunscombe's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

hushedreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

mi_chlo's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

h4ppycupcake's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A sweet book that looks a little closer at death and how it fits into our lives. The romance was quirky in a charming way, once it got off the ground. Initially the interaction between the two main characters didn’t make a ton of sense to me (kissing for no reason in an alley???) but once the FMC went to her hometown the relationship made much more sense. Overall I liked it a lot.

Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.5

Finished reading: October 30th 2023

"I began to realize that love wasn't dead, but it wasn't forever, either. It was something in between, a moment in time where two people existed at the exact same moment in the exact same place in the universe."

I kept hearing fantastic things about this story, and I decided to finally give in and read it myself. The fact that the story includes ghosts also makes it a perfect Halloween read right? Either way, I definitely understand the love for this story now! The Dead Romantics is without doubt one of my romance highlights of the year, and I'm already looking forward to read more of this author. I'm not always a big fan of paranormal romance stories, but in this case it turned out to be a big hit. I simply loved how the ghost element was woven into the story, and it really took the story to the next level for me. A lot of this also has to do with its cast of characters as well; they were extremely easy to warm up to, but then again I do love a quirky character. The slowburn romance was spot on for me, although there are some more steamy scenes included towards the ending. I wasn't even bothered by those, because by then I was way too invested in the rest of the story. The Dead Romantics isn't just about a ghostly romance, as it includes a wide range of topics including family, death, bullying and all things bookish of course. There is so much to love about this story, and I can highly recommend it to anyone looking for a well written, engaging and spooky romance.

Content Warnings

More...