In recent years, Ashley Poston released multiple successful books for adults. Beforehand, she released a number of young adult novels, and although these are quite successful too, it seems like she has found a wider audience with her romance novels with a hint of magical realism. Although I was pretty hesitant at first, The Seven Year Slip totally caught me by surprise last summer. However, I didn’t notice the same buzz for The Dead Romantics, so I was pushing that one further back on the TBR. Until this year, it’s in fact on my list of backlist books I hope to read in 2026. Was this book still able to surprise me somehow?

About the book

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Published by Berkley on June 28, 2022
Pages: 344
ISBN: 9780593336489
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, General fiction, Literary fiction, Romance
Rating: 3,5/5

A disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut 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.

My review

Before reading

As I already said in my introduction, it felt like there was much less buzz for this book than for The Seven Year Slip. I’m always pretty sensitive to hype or buzz, so this is pretty influencial to my reading choices. I know I know, I also want to read as diverse as possible and that definitely means straying away from the masses a little bit, but it still makes me quite nervous, wary even. What if the book isn’t for me? Magical realism is not something I thoroughly enjoy, because it’s just there and I just can’t do anything with it. Furthermore, it has been eons since I read paranormal romances, although these weren’t involving ghosts. In fact, those are my least favorite creatures. Alas, several ingredients which made me pretty hesitant to pick up this novel. I therefore went into this reading experience with little to no expectations, so I couldn’t be disappointed too much if this book indeed happens not to be for me. Plus, my previous reading experience was still fresh in mind.

Characters

When I started this book, I was indeed afraid that this was going to be a disappointing reading experience. I didn’t like our main character Florence Day at first, she seems pretty superficial. Gradually, we learn what’s behind this façade, and I was able to empathize with her more. Benji neither was a character I enjoyed to read about, he is such a jerk in the beginning. This all changes when he appears as ghost to Florence and they develop a bond. 

Florence hasn’t had it easy in her hometown. Due to her gift to see ghosts and communicate with them, she often was bullied. Even to that extend that she felt forced to leave her hometown and never look back. That is until now, as she has to return home for her beloved dad’s funeral. The self-chosen distance took its toll on her relationship with her family members, especially with her younger sister. Florence acts like she doesn’t need anybody around her, but again, this is all a façade. Due to her conversations with Benji, she learns a lot about herself and how to turn the tide. She grows significantly, with her being a strong female protagonist as a result. Our male protagonist seems to grow less, but supports Florence every step of the way.

Writing

Poston has an accessible writing style. It’s not spectacular or outstanding, but it still makes her books pretty legible. The themes in this novel are pretty tense and heavy, I will get back to this shortly. However, the smooth writing doesn’t make this book feel heavy at all. It’s easy to just turn one more page or read one more chapter. It’s never too complicated. This story is solely told through Florence’s point of view, which makes it easier too. I certainly prefer a multiple point of view narrative in romance, but for this book a single one works really well.

Plot

In nearly all romances, the plot is subordinate to the characters. That’s no different here. Although it unfolds pretty predictably, it’s still intriguing. The relationship between a living and dead person is pretty captivating. There is no tension in terms of chemistry, because it’s hard to get physically attracted to a ghost. Or to share a bed for that matter. However, it’s the interactions that make the connection between Florence and Benji palpable. They happen to have a lot of common ground, which deepens their connection. Throughout their conversations, themes such as grief, loss and finding your place in the world are addressed. Both characters learn from one another, which leads to aforementioned character growth. It still isn’t a happy Chappy feelgood romance, but all these themes add deeper layers to the story. The ending unfortunately feels rushed, which left me quite disappointed. This definitely costs the book half a star. 

Final thoughts

Although The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston didn’t have the same effect on me The Seven Year Slip had, I still had an enjoyable enough time with it. I know it’s unfair to compare these two books as they are totally different stories, but I simply can’t help it since that other book got the full 5-star treatment. However, this book has lots of potential to get the same rating, but the ending fumbled it for me. The characters are written well and even though they weren’t captivating from the start, they slowly but surely redeemed themselves towards the end. The character growth was pretty palpable, so was the chemistry between Florence and Benji. Their connection runs deeper than just love and lust, which is proven by the themes the author addresses. Although these are heavy ones, the book never feels like a heavy read and this is merely due to the smooth writing. In the end, this book has more deeper layers than the blurb initially suggests, which is a bonus for me. Are characters and their growth something you cherish in your books? Then this might be what your are looking for. The ending is a bit rushed though, hence why this book lost half a star.