The Dead Romantics

Florence Day is a romance novel ghostwriter with a major case of writer’s block at the worst time – when she’s on deadline and she’s already asked for multiple extensions. After her last relationship ended badly, she feels like she doesn’t know how to write romance anymore, so she can just kiss her career and life in New York City goodbye. But everything changes when she returns to her hometown of Mairmont, North Carolina for her father’s funeral.

This book is so much fun. Fun, and full of deep cuts. Or maybe just cultural allusions. Either way, if it can be referenced, it’s probably in here. And that’s what made it laugh-out-loud funny. Ashley Poston knows which references to use and where to put them for maximum reader enjoyment.

Florence is definitely a relatable character. Writer’s block is never fun to deal with anyway, but risking the loss of a job over it? That’s scary. But sometimes it can’t be helped. Someone has writer’s block, they know they should be writing, maybe they even want to write, but they just can’t. Other people pointing out the writer’s block doesn’t help either; that just adds to it.

Romance as a genre might have a reputation for being sappy, but this isn’t. It’s warm, fuzzy, even somewhat realistic. It’s substantial with just the right amount of falling in love. Definitely a nice change from something like Bridgerton, where the whole series is about who’s falling in love with who, and all the gossip that comes with it. That’s not saying Bridgerton is bad, just kind of predictable.

It would be nice if The Dead Romantics got a sequel, but even if that doesn’t happen, Ashley Poston is definitely an author worth following.