Review: The Dead Romantics | Ashley Poston

3.5⭐️/5

You know, despite being titled The Dead Romantics, I didn’t expect the love interest to be a ghost. This book gave me everything I wanted: small town, handsome main male, a disaster ghostwriting main female, banter with sibling. Yet. Yes, yet. I wasn’t sold.

This book was heavy. Another thing I wasn’t ready for was the main plot device being the father’s death. Every page. You never move beyond it because every. Single. Page it’s mentioned. I’m a sap when it comes to the mortality of my family, but this family…..I didn’t really feel or see the close bonds I was told about after the patriarch of the family died. The mom’s response to her husbands death was also a bit out of character in my opinion.

Ben seemed flat to me. She didn’t get along with him, then she’s kissing him in a back alley, and then she’s annoyed because his ghost is following her….next thing you know, “I love you don’t go.” -_- I didn’t feel the pining the love the angst. I just didn’t feel.

This is marketed as adult romance but it has the flowery prose of an old 1900s classic or even older. I love the classics but this was no pride and prejudice. Lastly, the twist. I saw the twist coming from the first time we met benji.

Oh wait. One more. Heather. Her redemption was sooooooooo flip of a switch. Regina George mean girl one night and she gets a talking to from Florence and the next morning “omg I’m so sorry I am a horrible person”

Enough complaints. The idea behind this was fun. Neat. Family has a funeral home, daughter can see ghosts, the ghostwriter bit, romance is dead. I liked the bed and breakfast. Dana was an interesting character (minus the fact that the author used the wrong pronouns for their own character at one point.), I wanted more backstory on Rose, I wished Benji could have gone and haunted Lee or sabotaged his release of his book.

As for spice 🌶 one lowly pepper. My friend. You had options here that could have been worthy of many peppers…as Florence would say, you watched the opportunity sail by you like a ship.