Name: samantha lias's review of The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Item: The Dead Romantics
Rating: 4
Author: samantha lias

Ashley Poston

Ghost meets The Bold Type in this sparkling adult debut about a disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, from national bestselling author Ashley Poston. 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.

The Dead Romantics

karina

‘Love is a celebration… of life and death. It stays with you. It lingers, my darlings, long after I’m gone. Listen for me when the wind rushes through the trees. I love you.’

hannah 

Standing there in the middle of the dandelion field, looking up into Ben‘s soft ocher eyes, I began to realize that love wasn’t dead, but it wasn’t forever, either. 

I wanted to walk into a ballroom dancing club and meet the love of my life. 

I couldn’t believe that I was swooning over the bare minimum – decency. 

let’s hope this fall read lives up to its hype 🤭🫧💫👻🏵️🍯🍂💭

aleecia 🫧🫖🪻

Victoria Justice

Love was putting up with someone for fifty years so you'd have someone to bury you when you died.

Olivia 

“Fervently. Zealously. Keenly. Passionately yours.” 

“Everything that dies never really goes. In little ways, it all stays.” 

“Why’s it about me at all? Why not just you? You are worthy of that.” 

“I give my heart to everyone I meet and I put it in everything I do.” 

“Believing in grand romantic gestures and happily ever afters. Those weren’t written for me.“ 

Marz

raia – inactive

“Florence—” he began, and winced again. He clutched his chest. “I—I want to stay but I . . .”

He couldn’t. He was begging me to let him go.

“I’m sorry I have to go,” he said softly, guiltily, “but I promise that not all of your companions will be ghosts, darling.”

Dad said I wouldn’t keep ghosts as companions my whole life—but what if there was one I wanted to keep?

“Everything that dies never really goes. In little ways, it all stays.”

Because people always left. If they had a choice—they left.

“I would drive you crazy,” I commented.

“Why’s it about me at all? Why not just you? You are worthy of that.”

As if in some other universe he was here, real, alive, sitting on the couch, waiting for my sister and me to finish the dishes so we could go home.

“Strong words coming from someone whose highest card is a ten of puppy-toes.”

samantha lias

Ghost meets The Bold Type in this sparkling adult debut about a disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, from national bestselling author Ashley Poston. 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.

unfortunately for all of you the reylos have won once again

cee 

˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

This was kind of heavy, not in a bad way though. I like the idea that death isn’t the end and how life needs to be celebrated 🫶🏻

Kass

Another book that I would give infinite stars. This author is going to the top of the “will read anything she writes” list. I can’t put into words what this book made me feel but it was heartbreakingly beautiful and for a book with supernatural elements, it felt so raw and real. I loved every second of it and the ending made my heart soarrrr. Romances are beautiful and this book did an amazing job at showing why that is.

Jordan Leatherdale

This was not what I expected in the best way

Annabella

Not normally a romance reader but I needed something light to cleanse my reading palate and hopefully break a slump I've found myself in and this absolutely did the job. It was nice to turn my brain off for a bit and read something different, but I also appreciated how this wasn't entirely a romance between two people; it's a romance featuring Florence and her family, Florence and New York vs Florence and South Carolina, Florence and her best friend, Florence and writing, and in the end, yes, Florence and Benji. It's about rediscovering your love for your craft and your home and your belief that love exists, and can exist, in everything and everyone. Sure, there were some moments where I pulled faces at the prose and the references, I think having books that are silly, light even in the dark moments they feature, and fun are important, and overall this book had all of that. Definitely looking forward to reading Ashley Poston's other books at some point, perhaps as a new palate cleanser author (which I promise is a good thing in my life).

big ab

this was fine?? i loved the setting a lot and the general vibe of this book. a quirky addams family living in sunny small town south carolina. love. but like the romance fell flat for me?? like it was whatever. and the big twists were predictable. but i loved her family, she was really boring though.

I love Ashley Poston’s writing. The magic realism in this book is fun to read. I totally guessed that ending and I loved how it ended. I will be honest though, the romance in this book at first was not really there. I definitely felt more of a friendship with the two main characters at first. But as the book progressed they did as well. This book is heavy on grief and healing. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. 

Lauren R

most of it was rambly/cringey. i predicted the twist and then it was somewhat enjoyable enough to finish. meh

Carmen Malca

radhika dhawan

i thought it was a little too slow in the beginning and was going to knock off a few stars for that but by the end i had laughed and gasped and cried and hoped with all my being that the characters would be okay. and isn’t that the whole point of reading a book? definitely loved the seven year slip more than this but will continue to recommend this to people as well ❤️

Very cute, emotional and fun read. We love a good rom-com.

Lili V Guba

Very cute, emotional and fun read. We love a good rom-com.



I LOVED AND ENJOYED THIS BOOK MORE THAN I EXPECTED. GHOST STORIES MAY BE THE OLDEST PLOT IN BOOKS BUT WHAT MADE THIS DIFFERENT WERE THE CHARACTERS. THEY WERE SO LOVEABLE. BENJI ANDOR WAS HOT WHEN HE'S ALIVE BUT SO MUCH HOTTER WHEN HE WAS A GHOST 😍❤️

Elisavet Rozaki 

300 pages of millennial slang that made me want to ~throw~ myself in traffic. One star for the title and the cover bc they're cute.

Parker Landry

** spoiler alert **
           3.75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was meant to be a quick little read, that sounded good to read during my book slump. I really enjoyed the plot of the story, because I’ve never read anything like it. I thought it was good. I didn’t really connect to the characters as much as I like to, but they were both cute characters. Idk there wasn’t a whole lot there, I feel like nothing happened except for her dads funeral… idk wouldn’t read again but it was a cute, simple read.

sani

my heart has literally swelled. how can a book be so good? i swear ashely poston is so close to becoming a favourite now bc just read this book? florence, my babygirl. i can protect her with my life. and ben? god, what's up with ash creating the bestest mmcs. i feel so lighthearted rn sobbing for a perfect dead romance like that.

buny

** spoiler alert **
           soft, gentle and as warm as a hug ❤️‍🩹 

ok i sat w it and found lots of things i didnt like abt it and it is now a 3 star ! sry ap i still think this was solid but the bland ass love interest and the inconsistencies w ben not being dead and flo still being able to see him and him seeing ghosts later was ????? not to mention the ignorant behaviour florence had towards every single problem in her life and w her siblings Despite her being the eldest sister hit too close to home alright... 🥂😴 to selfish elder sisters who dngaf abt their younger sibs and the trauma they might inflict on them w their drastic decisions!!!!

aleksandra

3/5

Ah, it was okay. 


  
    "No one had ever thanked me for that before. For trying."

"She told me that you don’t ever lose the sadness, but you learn to love it because it becomes a part of you, and bit by bit, it fades. And, eventually, you’ll pick yourself back up and you’ll find that you’re okay."

"Dad always said it was never about the place, but the people you shared it with."

gabby

FERVENTLY. ZEALOUSLY. KEENLY. PASSIONATELY YOURS😭😭

Awful… was really excited about it. Had a great premise, which was the only reason I stayed til the end but it was cringy and badly written. Listening to it read as an audiobook made it even worse I think…

Jordan

Mel 

This was adorable.
Did I see everything coming? Yes 
Did I still eat it up? Absolutely

Had all the right elements of a cheesy romance book but was suprisingly a great description of what going through grief is like.

Jess 

West Shah

** spoiler alert **
           Most beautiful story ever written. Florence doesn’t believe in love but found love again with Ben.

oh they really got me <3 i shed some tears with this one...i absolutely adored the amount of puns in this book. the whole plot was strange but they really made it work for me. the only thing i kinda hated is that miss florence doesn't really has a character development but overall it was a nice light read

guess i should have assumed i was going to cry at some point during this book but alas i was not ready the chunk of back to back sobbing 😭

samantha lias &
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

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The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston