The Dead Romantics (edició 2022)

I have to say that this is not my usual type of book to read. I generally go for an action packed adventure story. Or a good mystery that will keep you guessing till the end. At my age(no I am not going to tell you what it is), I don’t always feel comfortable taking new directions. Well, this time I was pleasantly surprised upon reading, The Dead Romantics by Ashley Posten. I found this book thoroughly enjoyable. Miss Posten has hit all the right keys in her tale of a young woman, Florence Day, who has lost the spark that has allowed her to ghost write a number of hit novels for a very well known author of romance books. All the books Florence has ghost written end happily ever after as all romances should. After she is betrayed by her latest boyfriend, she has lost the spark. Florence is convinced that she can never again write a happy ending. With a deadline rapidly approaching for her latest novel, the words and feelings are just not there. Her life is further complicated by two major events. She has to find a way to tell a new so hot, hunky editor she has never seen before that she can’t meet the book dead line. Making things exponentially worse is the news that her father has passed away . Florence was very close to her father in that they both could see and communicate with ghosts. While this was handy thing for her father, who was a mortician, it doesn’t always work out so well for Florence. Witness the arrival at the funeral parlor of the ghost of her hunky editor who has just been hit by a van. The author finds all the right words for all the most improbable situations proving that all romances do end happily after all. This book was provided for review by @BerkleyRomance, Penguin Random House. ( )

This reminded me very much of the Reese Witherspoon movie "Just like Heaven." I adored this! Lovable and complicated characters and an amazing family circle. Plus, they own their own funeral home! ( )

This was a fast, fun, and different read altogether! I got it because it was a GMA pick for July and I'm happy I did. I will take it to my monthly book group, not to have any spoilers, there will be a discussion on part of the content. Like I said I loved it for its quirkiness, and only hold a star back from 5 because at one point I felt like the author was trying to check off too many boxes to stay forward with todays society. ( )

Florence Day is a ghostwriter for an immensely popular romance author who has to deal with some ghosts of her own, both figurative and literal. After a betrayal by her lover, Florence no longer believes in romance and is having trouble finishing her current romance, the last in her contract, despite a number of contract extensions.

When she meets Benji Andor who is her new editor after the previous editor's retirement, she is told that there will be no more extensions and the book is due almost immediately. However, a phone call from her mother telling her that her beloved father has died from a sudden heart attack, sends her rushing back home to the town she fled right after high school graduation. She's stayed away for ten years.

Dealing with her own grief and that of her mother, brother and sister would be hard enough, but then the ghost of Benji Andor appears with issues of his own. Florence has seen ghosts since she was a child. In fact, seeing ghosts and helping one find his killer when she was thirteen and the harassment and bullying that followed, were the main reasons she left home never to return.

This was an engaging story about grief which was also a romance. The love between her parents and their love for their children infuse this book. I enjoyed watching Florence's attitude about love and romance evolve through the course of this story.

People looking for a unique sort of romance with wonderful, quirky characters will greatly enjoy this book. ( )

I received a free copy of this e-book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

What would you do if your book publisher is demanding you deliver a finished romance novel tomorrow, and you think romance is dead? And what would you do if he turns up as a ghost on your doorstep the next day?

This was un-putdownable. I may or may not have been reading my kindle at red lights. I just had to see what happened. Ben is a certifiable cinnamon roll, and I love him. I wouldn't necessarily categorize this as a romance novel. Yes, there's the relationship between Florence and Ben, but it is so much more than that! It is about family and death, reconciliation and creativity, stress and the supernatural. I loved all of it. I wouldn't even call this steamy. It is pretty tame, as far as most romances seem to go. But I'm not mad about it. Due to the somewhat tame romance, I'd recommend this to most anyone. ( )