Scan barcode
alyssajp's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Car accident
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Gaslighting, Car accident, Alcohol, Bullying, Sexual content, Grief, Infidelity, Death, Emotional abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
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
lizzye33's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cursing, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Stalking, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Medical content, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
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
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
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
I was on my library’s waitlist for this book for what felt like forever and now I know why.
A sweet and romantic ghost story about a ghost writer with a predictable plot twist that I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed to the last word. This book made me laugh, cry, and smile while crying and placing my hand over my heart.
The Day family was perfectly written with the eldest, middle, and youngest siblings with all their different roles and personalities.
There were multiple love stories woven into this book and all but one were beautiful to read.
To the next 27 people waiting to borrow this book from my local library: it’s worth the wait. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
A sweet and romantic ghost story about a ghost writer with a predictable plot twist that I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed to the last word. This book made me laugh, cry, and smile while crying and placing my hand over my heart.
The Day family was perfectly written with the eldest, middle, and youngest siblings with all their different roles and personalities.
There were multiple love stories woven into this book and all but one were beautiful to read.
To the next 27 people waiting to borrow this book from my local library: it’s worth the wait. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Sexism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Violence, Cursing, and Car accident
nevs_library12's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.25
A very sweet and—despite being about ghosts—realistic look at loss, love, and life events. This isn’t strictly a romance, but the romance found within the pages is tender and charming and at times, a little sad and a little bleak. But that’s what makes it feel so real. The writing reminded me of Beth O’Leary meets Sally Thorne.
In a word, this story was unexpected. I was expecting more of a cute paranormal romance, but that’s not really what it was. I was expecting it to go in many different directions than it did. In the end, I really loved where it went.
I would also say this book is like (the family drama of) The Haunting of Hill House mixed with a touch of Sixth Sense meets Ghosts (UK version all the way) with a little Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Just Like Heaven and Six Feet Under. If that gives you any idea at all of the genres this novel encompasses. In other words, a great book for the season that isn’t scary!
AND great LGBTQ+ rep in this one!!
In a word, this story was unexpected. I was expecting more of a cute paranormal romance, but that’s not really what it was. I was expecting it to go in many different directions than it did. In the end, I really loved where it went.
I would also say this book is like (the family drama of) The Haunting of Hill House mixed with a touch of Sixth Sense meets Ghosts (UK version all the way) with a little Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Just Like Heaven and Six Feet Under. If that gives you any idea at all of the genres this novel encompasses. In other words, a great book for the season that isn’t scary!
AND great LGBTQ+ rep in this one!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Car accident, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Cancer, Alcohol, Drug use, Gore, Bullying, and Domestic abuse