Small Florida coastal towns often find themselves scrambling for the tourism dollars that the Orlando theme parks leave behind. And within the town limits of Boneyard Key, the residents decided long ago to lean into its ghostliness. Nick Royer, owner of the Hallowed Grounds coffee shop, embraces the ghost tourism that keeps the local economy afloat, as well as his spectral roommate. At least he doesn’t have to run air-conditioning.
Cassie Rutherford possibly overreacted to all her friends getting married and having kids by leaving Orlando and buying a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key. Though there’s something unusual with her new home (her laptop won’t charge in any outlets, and the poetry magnets on her fridge definitely didn’t read “WRONG” and “MY HOUSE” when she put them up), she’s charmed by the colorful history surrounding her. And she's catching a certain vibe from the grumpy coffee shop owner whenever he slips her a free slice of banana bread along with her coffee order.
As Nick takes her on a ghost tour, sharing town gossip that tourists don't get to hear, and they spend nights side-by-side looking into the former owners of her haunted cottage, their connection solidifies into something very real and enticing. But Cassie's worried she’s in too deep with this whole (haunted) home ownership thing…and Nick's afraid to get too close in case Cassie gets scared away for good. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)
After loving Jen DeLuca's Well Met series (all focused on a Renaissance Faire), I was looking forward to checking out her latest novel, Haunted Ever After. This had a completely different premise from Jen's previous novels, but I knew it would be good because she was the one writing it. I was not wrong!
I had such a fun time reading this novel and was intrigued by the way ghosts could communicate with the living. I think you need a suspension of disbelief for this, but it was definitely entertaining. It made me want to check out the TV series Ghosts (which I've already started watching). There's definitely drama in this story which is actually relevant to current situations. There's even a steamy bedroom scene, which Jen is always great at writing! The ghosts had some interesting personalities and I loved how they found ways to interact with Cassie and Nick.
The novel took a few chapters to pick up speed, but then it went cruising the rest of the way. It definitely held my interest!
Funny side note: I had a random name in my head (this happens a lot as I come up with character names even though I don't write any books) and shortly after, the name showed up in the book. (It wasn't a common name either.) Spooky...
This is the start to a new series and I'm excited to revisit these characters. I think it would also be cool to have a prequel about the ghosts' lives from before they died. If you're looking for a different kind of rom-com, give this one a try. You will not be disappointed (and you may be inclined to start watching Ghosts too)!
(Trigger warning at the bottom of this post.)
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