Review: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
CW: death, grief, death of a parent, funeral imagery, funeral home
I have been pretty open with my experience with grief with all of you. Almost five years ago, I lost my mom very suddenly and unexpectedly. I’ve been in therapy ever since and am currently going through trauma therapy (EMDR) for right now. So, when I was asked to read this book and review it for a blog tour, I was extremely hesitant. The synopsis talks about a funeral parlor and the title literally has the word “Dead” in it. But it was advertised as a rom com so I was curious enough to give it a chance, and I am so glad I did! The Dead Romantics published on Tuesday June 28, 2022 from Berkley Romance and is available now!
Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.
When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.
For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.
Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is. Romance is most certainly dead . . . but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.
This book was such a surprise and delight! It kept me guessing throughout the story. The way that the characters handled death and grief was refreshing and it somehow didn’t make the novel feel as heavy as I anticipated. There were unexpected twists and turns, and a whole lot of heart. I didn’t find the book to be triggering for me, but please be sure to check the content warnings above before you read this one, just in case! This book reminded me of the important of celebrating life while we can, and I am grateful that I took a chance on reading it!
