A review by bookishvicky
Happy Medium by Sarah Adler

funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Rating: ★ 4.5
Pub Date: 30 Apr 2024

Synopsis: Gretchen Acorn is a professional bullshitter, pretending to communicate with the departed souls of her clients for a quick buck. But when a client offers her a check too good to be true in exchange for an exorcism of her friend’s goat farm in preparation to sell it, she’s more than happy to accept– until that friend turns out to be the very hot and very skeptical Charlie Waybill, who doesn’t believe her for a second. 

That all changes when the farm’s resident ghost gives Gretchen a chilling dilemma: due to a family curse, Charlie Waybill will die if he sells the farm. Can Gretchen convince him she isn’t a con artist? Or is the biggest con of all making him fall in love with her and stay on the farm?

Review:

“Loving you will always be worth it.”

If you hear a loud noise, that’s me screaming over how adorable this book is. I mean, come on, a con artist medium moving onto a goat farm with a grumpy goat farmer who has a BABY GOAT tattoo? And there’s ghosts? AND spice? Sign me up, respectfully. 

Gretchen and Charlie are both well-developed characters who grow as the story progresses, and they really play off each other well. I do think Gretchen’s B-plot of her father and background was sort of overshadowed by the main plot, but I do think it helped flesh out her avoidance toward relationships of any kind. 

The banter. Oh my goodness the banter:

“‘God knows the lengths you’ll go to fuck me over.’”
“‘I have no intention of fucking you over.’” 

Also, Everett the ghost? So fun. It was a refreshing twist on the meddling best friend trope in romance books, and his quips genuinely made me laugh out loud. I do think he got a little annoying at times, however, and some of his banters with Gretchen didn’t add much but more humor to the plot. 

The romance was a delightful slow burn, and I love how genuine we see Gretchen become with Charlie. I didn’t think a story about goats and ghosts would win me over, but I absolutely recommend Happy Medium to anyone wanting a romcom with a light supernatural twist. I just wouldn’t go into it expecting anything too deep.