A review by katieohara
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It’s a great concept, but I think the book overall suffers from trying to include too much quirkiness. I think it distracts from the core original concept with the girl who can see ghosts.  I also cringe whenever I read any references to the real world like “Uber” or “TikTok” which are all references here. It just breaks my ability to immerse myself. I think the dialogue also needed work, especially when the main character talked about how great she is of a writer and how she could write a New York Times bestseller. Even if she was that good, it’s poor form. Moreover, the author seem to skip opportunities to show off her writing skills, such as highlighting her ability to switch voice. For example, the book hypes of this letter from her dad that we don’t really get to actually read, and while we get some snippets of the romance she’s writing as a ghost writer we never get to actually have any text from her first book before she was a ghost writer. Even though that book is influential in the emotional connection between two characters. Lastly, I said “it’s complicated” for having diverse characters while she may have a nonbinary innkeeper, an Asian bisexual roommate, and a gay brother, these characters weren’t really fleshed out.
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