Honest Book Review of The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
This is my honest summary of my most recent romance read, The Dead Romantics, as a big fan of Ashley Poston, magic realism, and romance in general. There was both positives and negatives to the book, but overall an interesting read. If you’re a romance reader like me, you’ll want to keep reading below.
Here’s a short synopsis of the book:
“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.”
Full Book Review Without Spoilers
As a romance reader, I loved Ashley Poston’s book The Seven Year Slip, so I was pretty excited to read this one. And right off the bat, this book had a lot of things going for it like the unique premise of the plot, the likable characters, and even the setting. I immediately felt drawn to Florence because she’s very real and complex, but relatable in a lot of ways– especially feeling like you don’t have your life together the way you thought.
The best part about this book is definitely Ashley Poston’s writing. I feel this way about her other books as well, but she has such a beautiful way of writing not only romance, but also hard topics like grief and loss. She portrays emotions in different ways through the various characters that is just so satisfying to read about.
The way that Florence’s struggles are woven into this contemporary romance makes the overall story rich and endearing. I felt pulled into the story on an emotional level because of Florence’s family situation and just her as the main character.
The part of the book that fell a little flat for me was the actual romance. Benji Andor as a character was good, but the actual romantic love was lacking. I think I needed more of them interacting, or just more in some way. Because while I felt attached to Florence and wanted a happy ending for her, I didn’t feel that same attachment to their relationship.
This was not as good as Poston’s other books as far as romances go, but her writing is just so good I would still recommend it if you’re a fan of her or this type of book.
Characters
The characters in this book are truly what made the story worth reading. Florence is such a great character to read about as she tries to get through struggles that a lot of us have also struggled with at one time or another.
Plot
For a love story, this is a very unique plot that really pulls you in. Parts of it do move a little slow, but I think that’s because there’s chunks without much romance which is what I was looking for. Otherwise, I really liked the plot and the pace of the book.
Writing
I’m probably biased because I loved some of Ashley Poston’s books before reading this one, but I think she has an amazing writing style. It’s so easy to read yet engaging that I fly through her books. She has a way of writing very relatable, contemporary romance in the real world that also feel a little bit like a fairy tale.
Full Book Review With Spoilers
You’ve been warned that from here on out there will be spoilers. Continue on to the conclusion section to avoid them.
Coming off The Seven Year Slip, I did go into this book with high expectations and ended up feeling a little let down. It took me longer to finish this one because it felt slower. And the reason it felt slower was because there wasn’t enough romance between Florence and Benji.
What spurs me to devour romance books is the interaction, banter, back-and-forth, subtle gestures–really anything–between the two main characters. But there just wasn’t enough between these two.
However, there was still a lot of aspects I liked about the book including the writing, the setting, and the concept of Florence seeing ghosts. It did give me a Charlie St. Cloud vibe, but I liked that book, too.
One of the my favorite parts of the whole book was the ‘twist’ that Florence got to be a romance ghost writer because of an actual ghost. Florence is avoiding ghosts during her time in NYC because of everything that happened before, but it’s actually a ghost that offers her the job. That job also leads to Benji–oh the irony.
The story really came together when the twist came in, and it gave me that happy, butterflies feeling when everything finally works out at the end of a romance. I thought this may have been one of the rare romance books that didn’t have a happy ending, but I was happily mistaken,
Pros of the Book
My favorite part of the book was how Florence was such a relatable character. I liked reading about her and her life even without the romance part. That also leads to my second favorite part which is the writing in general like I said above.
Another big pro of the book was the ‘twist’ or the shocking part that came at the end that really tied it all together. I thought Poston was genius for including that part that I go into more in the section above.
Cons of the Book
The biggest con of the book was that there wasn’t enough romance, especially since this was a romance book. I needed more of a connection the main character and the love interest to be invested in their relationship.
Conclusion
Overall, this book was good-really solid, a lot of positives- but not the best romance book out there. If you’ve never read an Ashley Poston book, I recommend starting with a different one first. If you are a big romance fan, it’s still worth the read.
Rating-4 Star Out of 5
This book has a lot of positive aspects going for it, and the writing really is way above average. I loved the characters and the plot while I was reading it, but haven’t thought much about it since. I’m glad I read it, but wouldn’t read it again unlike Poston’s other books.
Who Would Enjoy Reading?
For romance book lovers or fans of Poston, this is still a good read. As far as romance novels go, it still has everything you’re probably looking for just a lot more dead people (but not in a bad way). Add this one to your TBR, but no need to bump it all the way to top.
What to Read After The Dead Romantics
If you liked this book as much as I did, either because of the characters or the writing style, check out more of my recommendations below.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
If you liked the writing the writing in this book or how unique it was, read my favorite book by Poston. The writing is just as good with another intriguing concept, but the romance is even better!
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
Another romance book where an unlikely romance is trying to happen amidst family drama, distance, and grief. This book has a lot of the same topics as The Dead Romantics if you liked those. I also have a full review and summary of this one.
