The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
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.
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REVIEW
Oh boy, I am almost 1 month later trying to write a review on this gem. I knew that from the moment ghosts were introduced here I'd cry. Call it my experience with the movie Ghost (with Patrick Swayze) or in general something consistently eerie that tugs my heart, this book had it all.
But let us backtrack a little because this IS A ROMANCE.
Florence is a ghostwriter for one of the most famous authors in the industry. Of course, all are fictional characters but the way she describes the workings of the industry, you can hear Ashley Poston murmuring in your ear that YES THOSE THINGS HAPPEN. And not only that Florence fears that she has lost the will and motive to write as for her...romance is dead.
Meeting with Benji her new editor-in-chief is not an experience she was expecting...neither was the call she got much later about the death of her father.
Who had a funeral home.
Who also had the ability to see ghosts.
Like Florence.
Yup. And so Florence travels back to her hometown not only to confront her family issues...but also to help an unexpected ghost who appears when she least expects it to.
I can not write spoilers on this. This was so good! Funny, emotional with the touch of the supernatural! Ashley Poston was known for her YA titles but this Adult one? I loved it so much! What I can advise is to go into this book blind and let the surprises carry you.
Oh yes, I bawled like a baby towards the end (like how Patrick Swayze was leaving at the end of Ghost? Yes that crying.) but there was a subtle bittersweet knowledge here. That love can overcome death, that those who love us never are truly gone because we are left behind to remember them and maybe just maybe we can see them again.
I think as of now this is the best book Ashley wrote and it is definitely recommended.
About the author:
Ashley Poston’s is a part-time author and full-time fangirl. She was born in rural South Carolina, where you can see the stars impossibly well...
Nalia
I've made quite a few mistakes in my life. Agreeing to go into outer space in the first place, waking up surrounded by aliens, running from said aliens and crash landing on a gladiator planet where I'm not asked to compete, oh no, but where I'm the prize.
And I won't make another mistake – I won't trust him, no matter how how good his silver skin tastes.
Herannathon
I've made just a few mistakes these past solars. I probably shouldn't have opened the human's cage prematurely, or followed her across the cosmos, or let her get captured by that psychopath bounty hunter...
But I'm drawn to her...and I follow her to Evernor where there's no shroving way I won't compete against the other gladiators to win her. But there are others who are just as drawn to humans as I am. Others, who'd do terrible things to her if they got their claws on her.
So, I won't make another mistake – I'll win her and her trust, no matter the stakes.
Taken to Evernor is a full-length (90k words) SciFi gladiator romance featuring a four-armed alien and his human heroine mate. This is an enemies-to-lovers romance with fantastical world-building, action, steam and an HEA. Set in the Xiveri Mates universe, this book can be read as a standalone, but will be better enjoyed after reading Taken to Lemora.
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REVIEW
I received an e-ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this new book! This amazing world Elizabeth has created full of different alien species and galactic politics is thrilling wild and violent. Nadia and Herannathon were a great couple to read...and very very smutty.
I do recommend going into this with an open mind? Because, boy was it hot. I also recommend reading first the other books of the series or else you will not understand half of the alien words spoken or some characters who make cameos here.
I liked Nadia; despite everything that happened to her she embraced her new life, unbothered by human norms as she had to adapt to the new world she found herself in. And Herannathon the wild space pirate, tried to redeem himself since he should have not done...what he did :P
I can not wait for the next book because I know the next couple and I am very curious to see how all their banter-hate-will turn to love relationship began.
About the author:
Elizabeth Stephens writes romance of the SciFi, paranormal and suspenseful varieties. Her favorite trope is enemies-to-lovers and she loves to world-build so much so that she sometimes gets lost in places that don't exist.
One year into her author journey, she's been shocked to see her books listed among Amazon's bestsellers in their categories. Still, her favorite pieces of fanmail are from BIPOC women expressing surprise and gratitude that they've found an author who looks like them and (does her very best!) to write books that make them feel included.
When she isn't tip-tap-typing away, you might find her getting her hands dirty on a pottery wheel, traveling as much as she can, or learning a new language. A Seattle native, after over 15 years spent in Johannesburg, Cairo, Beirut, Geneva, Addis Ababa, and Berlin, she's made her way back home with her loving husband and doggo, King Louis.
To find out more about her projects and upcoming releases visit her website at booksbyelizabeth.com.
With humor and heart, debut author Cristina Fernandez tells a wholly original origin story, proving that you don’t need a superpower to be the hero in this romantic coming-of-age story about growing up, falling in love, and surviving life—all set in the world of superheroes.
Falling for a superhero is dangerous. You have to trust that they’ll catch you.
Astrid isn’t a superhero, not like the ones she sees on the news, but she has something she thinks of as a small superpower: she has a perfect sense of time. And she’s not going to waste a single second.
Her plan for college is clear—friends, classes, and extracurriculars all carefully selected to get her into medical school.
Until Max Martin, a nerdy boy from her high school, crashes back into her life. Things with Max were never simple, and he doesn’t keep to her schedule. He disappears in the middle of dates and cancels at the last minute with stupid excuses.
When a supervillain breaks into her bedroom one night, Astrid has to face the facts: her boyfriend, Max Martin, is a superhero. Double-majoring as a premed was hard, but now Astrid will have to balance a double life. This wasn’t part of her plan.
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REVIEW
I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the premise of the book. And the fact that I got it from Edelweiss as also the new (at the time when I got this e-copy) had to do with the upcoming The Boys series.
Astrid is dedicated, to the point of obsession, an overachiever who tries to be the perfect college student. And she has a good boyfriend Max. But when she discovers that Max is a superhero she will be thrust to the super world with all its ups and downs and the drama and danger that comes with it.
I have some mixed feelings. True I liked the plot and some nods to other mainstream superhero-related content but it was slightly off in the development. Christina as an author does a great job trying to write a character whose whole world crashes down literally as she has to deal with the consequences of dating a superhero but overall there were some fun moments and some serious moments.
Best quote of the book? This one: "give it three months and if they don't turn up alive again, then start to worry"
If you like superheroes then this is for you, it just didn't quite work well for me as a person but that does not stop you from enjoying this good debut.
About the author:
Cristina Fernandez is a recent graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where she studied creative writing and film and media studies. This is her debut novel.
Wishtress by Nadine Brandes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
She didn’t ask to be the Wishtress.
Myrthe was born with the ability to turn her tears into wishes. It’s a big secret to keep. When a granted wish goes wrong, a curse is placed on her: the next tear she sheds will kill her. She needs to journey to the Well and break the curse before it claims her life—and before the king’s militairen track her down. But in order to survive the journey, she must harden her heart to keep herself from crying even a single tear.
He can stop time with a snap of his fingers.
Bastiaan’s powerful—and rare—Talent came in handy when he kidnapped the old king. Now the new king has a job for him: find and capture the Wishtress and deliver her to the schloss. But Bastiaan needs a wish of his own. When he locates Myrthe, he agrees to take her to the Well in exchange for a wish. Once she’s fulfilled her end of the deal, he’ll turn her in. As long as his growing feelings for the girl with a stone heart don’t compromise his job.
They are on a journey that can only end one way: with her death.
Everyone seems to need a wish—the king, Myrthe’s cousin, the boy she thinks she loves. And they’re ready to bully, beg, and even betray her for it. No one knows that to grant even one of them, Myrthe would have to die. And if she tells them about her curse . . . they’ll just kill her anyway.
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REVIEW
I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a beautifully written book! A girl with the power to turn her tears to wishes, beautiful descriptions, and teary moments! I really enjoyed it!
I loved the magic system! Somehow the author still managed to add so much depth and detail to it even though the story was already full of other elements and the characters fitted right in. This is also a book I'd prefer you go in without reading the summary so you can discover how beautiful it is!
About the author:
NADINE BRANDES once spent four days as a sea cook in the name of book research. She is the award-winning author of FAWKES, ROMANOV, and the Out of Time Series. Her inner fangirl perks up at the mention of soul-talk, Quidditch, bookstagram, and Oreos. When she's not busy writing novels about bold living, she's adventuring through Middle Earth or taste-testing a new chai. Nadine, her Auror husband, and their Halfling children are building a Tiny House on wheels. Current mission: paint the world in shalom.
(See her dorkiness on fully display on her Instagram and her YouTube)
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