Reviewed by Kristin
Florence Day escaped her small hometown of Mairmont, South
Carolina, after years of being known as the funeral home director’s daughter
who solved a murder at age thirteen with help from the victim’s ghost. Most of
the adults in town and her fellow students thought that she was downright
weird, or a liar. Florence ran to New York City and became a ghostwriter for
famous romance author Ann Nichols. Her writing was respected and admired, even
with another name on the cover. Florence was good at writing these love stories, until she was dumped and could
no longer believe in love.
With a looming deadline, Florence goes to meet her new editor
Ben Andor. Or shall we say, her extremely hot and sexy new editor. She goes
into the meeting under the guise of being Ann Nichols’ assistant, and lacks the
courage to ask if Ben knows that she is the actual author of Ann’s last several
bestsellers. She leaves with a “message for Ann” that she has one more day to
submit her latest manuscript, because promotion and printing schedules wait for
no one.
Florence is in despair about her ability to finish the last
scenes of the romance. Nothing rings true, but then tragedy interrupts and she
is called home to Mairmont to bury her father. Suddenly, her deadline falls
into the background.
Florence has a strict policy of ignoring ghosts, but once back
at her family’s funeral home she sees a familiar shape. No, it’s not her
father. That actually would be a bit of a relief while she is under the weight
of grief missing him. It’s Ben Andor. Her editor is ghostly, and no longer in
New York City, but in Florence’s southern hometown.
No spoilers here. All of this is pretty much covered in the
jacket copy or the first chapters. Florence has several friends and family
members who might be seen as a bit stereotypical, but mostly likeable. Reconnecting
with her family and trying to carry out her father’s final wishes keep Florence
busy, from breakfasts at Waffle House to the cemetery where she is definitely
not supposed to be walking at night. And then there is Ben, who fades in and
out of her vision with stunning regularity, who is turning out to be much
kinder and relatable than he appeared in his New York office. Could it be that
Florence is starting to believe in love again, with a ghost?
Before starting this review of The Dead Romantics, I
made the mistake of checking Goodreads. It seems that readers either love this
book, or hate it with a fiery passion. The first negative review was funny
though, if you like the sort of review that rips every chapter apart with the
kind of detail that tells you the reviewer paid a whole lot of attention to a
book that they then claimed not to like.
I have enjoyed several of Ashley Poston’s books. She has
written the Once Upon a Con young
adult series, including Geekerella, The Princess and the Fangirl,
and Bookish and the Beast. Also The Seven Year Slip, which I reviewed
a few months ago. The Dead Romantics was Poston’s first foray into adult
fiction. You definitely have to suspend your disbelief to fully enjoy Poston’s
writing, but I have found it fun and worth my reading time.
P.S. I do have one issue with this book that cannot be
overlooked. At one point in the days before the father’s funeral, the family
goes out to the cemetery and takes great joy in scrubbing and power washing the
headstones. If that was any kind of historic cemetery—which was implied—power
washing would likely disintegrate the older stones. The proper tools and
cleaning supplies, maybe. But not a power washer. Also, while you’re grieving
and preparing a family member’s funeral? That was just a bit beyond my ability
to believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment