You'll Be the Death of Me by Holly Michelle

 

5*

You’ll Be the Death of Me is very reminiscent of the movie Just Like Heaven but with an MMC who is dead and a FMC who is in limbo between real life and the afterlife. When Cole accidentally transitions the wrong Verdella Rogers from life to death, he is tasked with going down to Earth for just 3 days to correct his mistake. All he has to do is follow the rule book. However, Dell has other ideas which break one rule after another. What will it cost them when the spirited higher-ups have had enough of the hi-jinx?

Early in the book is one of the funniest scenes I have ever read as Dell decides to haunt her ex-fiancé. There are many more humorous scenes but they’re balanced with adventure and a number of very poignant passages. Their brief time together gives them both the opportunity to reflect on their life’s choices and consider what they would do if given a second chance. You’ll have to read this delightful romance to find out if they are rewarded with a happy ending.

As a fan of ghostly romances, I was so excited to read Holly Michelle’s novel, and I am happy to recommend it to readers, especially fans of Ashley Poston and Sarah Ready.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Avon through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Haunted Ever After (Boneyard Key #1) by Jen DeLuca

 

 4*

I always enjoy a good ghost story, and this book has them in spades. In a haunted Florida village called Boneyard Key, founded after The Great Storm of 1897, many members of the original families decided to stick around, and until Cassie came to town, there were only a select few who could sense their presence. I find it interesting how DeLuca imbues her spectral guests with different characteristics, no one-size-fits-all. Although none of them can be seen, they make their presence known in other ways. Cassie’s resident ghost, Sarah, communicates using magnetic poetry on the refrigerator and Nick’s ghost, Elmer, through text messages and, for lack of a better description, brainwaves. There is also the beach bum who accepts the open beer bottles and follows on silent footsteps. For the most part, they’re all benevolent, but there’s a bit of a mystery whenever Nick tries to enter Cassie’s house.

The romance between Cassie and Nick is a very slow burn, mostly thanks to nosy ghosts. Eventually, there’s a bit of spice, but I found the chemistry between them a little tepid. Thankfully, there’s very little baggage and angst, and it’s a refreshing change to have two MCs who don’t really fight the attraction. If you’re looking for a lighthearted, low stakes, small town romance with a heavy helping of the paranormal, you’ll enjoy Haunted Ever After. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

 

5*

A delightful, heartwarming romance that’s both an homage to the genre featuring plenty of tropes and a ghost story with a liberal serving of magical realism.

After an adolescence full of bullying by her peers (including her former best friend) and neglect and abandonment by both of her parents post-divorce, Delphie (age 27) purposely made her life small, avoiding any relationships (platonic or otherwise) for fear of letting in love which would further harm her. So, when she dies after choking on a hamburger, there’s little she regrets leaving behind. When she is awakened by Merritt, her quirky Afterlife Therapist, she finds herself in a launderette, a version of heaven called Evermore. When a handsome new arrival appears, there’s an instant attraction, but realizing that he’s just sedated not dead, Merritt zaps him back to Earth, leaving Delphie feeling like she’s lost a potential soulmate. Due to a clause in the Evermore Handbook, which hopeless romantic Merritt makes unsanctioned use of to satisfy her craving for a real-time epic love story, she allows Delphine to return home for 10 days to find him and get a kiss so she can stay.

What follows is a series of missed opportunities, zany adventures that pull Delphie far out of her comfort zone, and startling revelations concerning her colleagues and neighbors (especially the grumpy, handsome womanizer Cooper and the elderly, mute Mr. Yoon). Although it’s mostly lighthearted, there are some tearful moments related to grieving the death of a loved one, but it’s ultimately a redemptive story of Delphie’s breaking the chains of the trauma that left her in a joyless, loveless, self-imposed prison. The pacing is perfect, the angst is minimal, the characters are all fully formed, and it’s set in my favorite city, London. I highly recommend this hidden gem, and hope it finds a large readership in the U.S. market. Highly recommend to fans of Ashley Poston, Katherine Center, and Sarah Ready.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Ghosted by Sarah Ready

 

5*

If you’re a fan of the movie Just Like Heaven, you’ll love this ghostly love story.

Jillian Nijat can’t talk with men, so it’s the height of irony that she’s a love and relationship columnist for The Daily Exposé. However, minutes after she moves into her new NYC apartment, she’s startled by the appearance of a shirtless, gorgeous man named Daniel who insists that they know each other and that he isn’t dead. After the initial shock wears off, she suddenly realizes that she can speak with him. Although neither knows why he’s literally ghosting her, it’s clear that they can help each other out. He'll coach her on her dates (in a twisted Cyrano way) and with relationship advice that will help her keep her job, and she’ll figure out how to help him move on. What neither expects is that they’ll fall in love.

Like all Sarah Ready books, this romance is far from the norm. The dialogue is often poetic, the heartbreak is real, the narrative is full of twists you don’t see coming, and the message is that love transcends space and time. The main characters are fully fleshed-out (no pun intended), the secondary characters, including unsuccessful but heartfelt matchmaker Fran and Jillian’s co-workers at the paper, are perfect foils, and Daniel is a swoonworthy book boyfriend (except, you know, he’s dead). This one will keep you guessing right to the end, but it’s a journey you’ll want to take. The biggest bonus? Book 2, Switched, featuring Jillian’s best friend Serena, is available now, and Book 3, Fated, featuring Daniel’s half-sister Fiona, will be out in July. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Swift & Lewis through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Happy Medium by Sarah Adler

 

5*

Sarah Adler’s 2nd book, Happy Medium, is a delightful enemies-to-lovers romance and ghost story featuring a fake medium with her own moral code, a reluctant goat farmer, and a charming (but somewhat sexist) 100-year-old ghost with a TV addiction.

When Gretchen Acorn is asked by her most important client to help an old friend exorcise a ghost on his family’s goat farm who has been driving away potential buyers, she reluctantly agrees because, even though the $10,000 would really come in handy, she doesn’t have any prior knowledge that would help her with her scam. So, imagine her surprise when the old farmer, Charles Waybill, turns out to be a handsome man about her age who knows she’s a scammer and promptly boots her off his property and the ghost she doesn’t believe in not only blocks her exit but can talk with her as well. Now she just has to convince Charlie that the ghost, Everett Waybill, is real and his reasons for the haunting are a matter of life and death. Can Gretchen learn to trust love and can Charlie learn to trust her before it’s too late?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am now going to go back and read her debut novel, Mrs. Nash’s Ashes. Adler does a wonderful job creating characters whose honesty, kindness, and compassion reel us in and balancing the romance between Charlie and Gretchen with her relationship with Everett which is full of laughter and aggravation (just like a sibling relationship). Bonus: you get to learn a bit about goat farming and who doesn’t love the little goat kids. Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

One Moment by Becky Hunter

 

3*

I struggled to get into this story, due to the content rather than the writing style. Hunter did a good job of creating characters with depth and navigating a story from two perspectives: the ghost of Scarlett and a third-person narrator of Evie’s life post-Scarlett. I guess I’m just not in the headspace to be able to handle a story that starts with a tragic death and has a main character who is trying to come to grips with a devastating health diagnosis while still in her 20s as well as the loss of her best friend.

Usually when a ghost features heavily in a book, it’s because they have unfinished business and can somehow influence outcomes. In this case, Scarlett was simply an observer and commentator who couldn’t be seen, couldn’t move objects, and had no way of communicating with the living. So, other than her witnessing how her loved ones are coping with the grief, we don’t know until the end what conclusion she draws for her lingering presence, and it’s rather frustrating that she can’t “show herself.”

I enjoyed the romance between Evie and Nate, especially how thoughtful, supportive, and even-keeled he is (really a perfect book boyfriend). In his non-judgmental, non-pitying way, he helps Evie realize that life doesn’t end with a diagnosis; it just means she has to adapt to her new, unpredictable normal. Likewise, she helps him see that slowing down his itinerant lifestyle as a travel journalist to form a connection won’t have negative consequences.

If I could separate my own feelings from the narrative, I’d give it 4*, but since I struggled to get into it, I’ve dropped it to 3*. However, for readers who don’t mind depressing topics combined a very slow burn, closed door romance, it would be worth checking this out.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Forever through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

 

The Last Phone Booth in Manhattan by Beth Merlin and Danielle Modafferi

 

5*

The Last Phone Booth in Manhattan is part love story, part magical realism, part platonic friendship and, at its heart, the story of a woman who lost her way but, with the help of a couple of ghosts, a rusty old phone booth, and the immortal words of Charles Dickens, gets a second chance at pursuing her dreams and putting herself first. 

 

Avery Lawrence seemingly has it all: Adam, her gorgeous, generous boyfriend of 6 years who provides her with everything her heart desires including a star-studded wedding proposal under the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree…until it all comes crashing down when he’s arrested for fraud. Finding herself outside the prison with no money, she accepts the help and advice of a security guard who directs her to a phone booth to call the number she’s been given. When the call goes through, she’s given an address that leads her to her former boyfriend Gabe’s front door. Thus begins her do-over, but is it really a restart if she falls right back where she was before becoming a ghost of her former self by sacrificing her own dreams of a life in the theater for a man to take care of her?

 

After what turns out to be a ghostly encounter that guides her from a past she’s eager to put behind her, she begins to audition again while rekindling her relationship with Gabe. However, it’ll take another spectral presence to give her a glimpse of the future she might have if she’s willing to let go of her fears and insecurities, focus on her passions, and not let anything or anyone get in her way. This includes having to decide which path she’ll take so that she has no regrets in the future. A quote from Dickens keeps popping up as a reminder: No space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused.

 

This isn’t a Christmas story, although it begins and ends on the holiday. However, the themes from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol are featured heavily throughout. It’s all about Avery listening to her heart and the voice inside her head so that she’s finally set on a redemptive path that brings her joy and causes as little emotional hurt as possible to herself and the people she loves. The authors have written a beautiful story that leaves you guessing until the very end about which path Avery will choose. Fans of Broadway musicals will thoroughly enjoy how infused the book is with performances at Mimi’s Shooting Star Diner where Avery and other Broadway hopefuls work between auditions and gigs. Highly recommended.

 

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Montlake through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

5*

Unique premise from Ashley Poston, the author of the highly successful YA series Once Upon a Con. With a nod to the movie, Just Like Heaven, Poston deftly weaves a nearly tragic love story between grieving ghostwriter  (and begrudging ghost whisperer) Florence and her spectral editor, Ben. Between romantic betrayals, the tragic death of a loved one, and the pressure to finish a long-overdue romance novel (the last in a 4 book deal made by the author Florence ghost writes for), we are left to wonder if the ghosts of the past can be exorcised to make room for a forever kind of love. 

It’s so refreshing to read about a heroine who, with the help of loved ones, is able to see that her nasty betrayal and breakup is in no way her fault and a hero who is the epitome of the charming and sensitive book boyfriend. It’s a very slow burn with no steamy sex scenes, but you won’t miss them because the trajectory of their relationship is something you’ve never seen the likes of. Add in an off-beat, loving, misunderstood family of undertakers, and you have a winning ghost/love story for the ages. Highly recommend.