The Dead Romantics

I really enjoyed this book! When I picked it up at the library I figured I wouldn't but I was pleasantly surprised. I would definitely read again. I like how the author built a world with beauty and love in death. The love story was sweet and (not having read any ghost romances before) different therefore captured my attention. I found myself wanting to play spades with Florence's family. Highly recommended the book

Dit was charmant, maar een stuk zwaarder dan verwacht.

“I'd always written how grief was hollow. How it was a vast cavern of nothing.But I was wrong.Grief was the exact opposite. It was full and heavy and drowning because it wasn't the absence of everything you lost—it was the culmination of it all, your love, your happiness, your bittersweets, wound tight like a knotted ball of yarn.”

In plaats van een schattige romance kreeg ik een diepgaander verhaal over de dood, verdriet en terugblikken. Ik vond het best leuk en vond dat het veel lastige onderwerpen op een gracieuze en welbespraakte manier behandelde.

“I'm not great with surprises. I don't—didn't—take chances. I didn't take risks. On anything—or anyone.”

Het romantische gedeelte was echter niet echt succesvol voor mij. Ik vond het eerlijk gezegd nogal saai en eigenlijk ook onnodig gezien de rest van het verhaal, wat nogal raar is om te zeggen over een boek dat aan de man gebracht wordt als zijnde een romance.

“I couldn't believe that I was swooning over the bare minimum—decency.”

Ik vond het verhaal veel interessanter als het zich concentreerde op de familie en de eigenzinnige manier waarop ze het uitvaartcentrum runden, of op het zelfonderzoek van onze hoofdpersonen.

“Buying books always made me feel better, even if I never read them.”

Een leuke en doordacht boek, maar dat een beetje te lijden had onder de verkeerde marketing, waardoor onnodige verwachtingen ontstonden die niet werden waargemaakt.

This book was such a wild ride for me because it made me realize a book didn't make me feel so many emotions in a very long time. I cried, I laughed, it fucking turned me on haha, this book had me in the fictional palm of its hand I swear. I finished last night in maybe 2 sittings¿ I just couldn't stop reading because I had to make sure there was a happy ever after. I felt and still feel so connected to all of the characters, I felt like I was part of the Day's family, like I lived in that town even if it was just for a couple of hours and I'll never forget how magical it felt to experience that so thank you Ashley Poston because this book was hug I didn't know I needed, because it gave words to the feelings I didn't know how to express, because I didn't know if I really believed in love until I experienced the connection between Florence and Benji, so.. thank you!

3/5

This book presents a nuanced narrative that may appeal to some readers, but it left me wanting more.
It initially struggles with a slow pace, only hitting its stride in the third act. I also found the thorough detailing quite excessive, occasionally dulling the overall experience. More akin to a family drama than a traditional romance, the book somewhat resembles the atmosphere of a Lifetime movie.

It was overall an okay story that demands a slower reading pace compared to other novels.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. I've heard great things about it, but the whole ghost thing doesn't appeal to me. But what better romance to read during October, right?

Well, this book really took me by surprise. By the last few chapters I was screaming and reading while standing up because the ending was just so good! No spoilers here, but this is a very sweet and emotional love story with a very compelling female main character and a family that feels like they jump out of the page. It's cheesy, but honestly by the end of it I was all in.

The thing about human/ghost romances (it's got to be it's own genre) is there really is no "will they/won't they" tension, unless there's a twist, and I won't spoil for you whether there is or not. The "dead boyfriend" is often a convenient way to tell a story about saying goodbye. Author Ashley Boston took an interesting angle in this book by making the protagonist's family run the town mortuary, and the examples of how the Day family has supported so many people in the town through the worst time in their lives makes an interesting backdrop. The story started a little slowly for me but pace picked up dramatically when it is revealed how Florence's ex-boyfriend betrayed her. He was such an SOB that I would have added an extra half-star to this review if his comeuppance had been more satisfying. Overall an interesting story and a quick read/listen.

3.25 stars

I feel like I just read a supernatural episode of Full House. Beyond the magical elements, this book was exactly like every other romcom, starting with the dialogue and ending with the cookie-cutter plot: family tragedy brings woman living in (city) back home to (small southern town) and she can't be with (man she grew to love after knowing him a week) because of (reason) until the end of the book, when they are able to finally be together because of (reason). It was exactly what I dis