Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

36 reviews

supermormongirl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of the best books I’ve ever read- excellent plot twists, charming setting, strong characters, incredible main characters with amazing witty banter, LGBT+ representation (supporting characters), iconic Bestiehood, insightful, inspiring, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at once! 
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amateur_bookworm's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My summary: Florence is the ghostwriter for a popular romance novelist and she’s on a deadline for her newest book. The problem is that she no longer believes in love and can’t finish her manuscript with a happy ending. Her new editor won’t give her another extension, leaving her in a predicament that no longer is very important once she receives the news that her father has died. After having left her hometown for being ostracized for her ability to see and talk with ghosts, this will be her first trip back since leaving. To her surprise, the ghost that appears on her doorstep is not her father—it’s her new editor. As she grapples with regrets and what is really important in life, this unexpected ghost may just convince her that love can exist. 
My thoughts: Overall, I liked it. It was cute but also pretty slow. I thought it touched on some difficult topics really well: grief, love, loss, infidelity, broken trust, self-confidence, being unique, family drama, self-fulfillment. My initial reaction to the paranormal/ghost element was annoyance but it actually all pulled together well. I enjoyed the narrator and thought she did a great job with it. I do feel like I lost some bits of the story as it went along because I’m terrible with focusing on audiobooks, so I may ultimately read this one as well. 
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burnourhistory's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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marinable_books's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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hdunscombe's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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h4ppycupcake's review

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dark funny hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A sweet book that looks a little closer at death and how it fits into our lives. The romance was quirky in a charming way, once it got off the ground. Initially the interaction between the two main characters didn’t make a ton of sense to me (kissing for no reason in an alley???) but once the FMC went to her hometown the relationship made much more sense. Overall I liked it a lot. 
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paumat's review

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medium-paced

3.0

It was slow at the beginning but once it took of i was unable to put it down. Lovely story and idea, but it just missed something for me. Everything came too easy to a solution… which I am okay with, but in this case the possibilities and the build up were so high that it kind of left me a bit disappointed. Still, overall a good read. Trigger warning lots of talk about death and lots of grievance. 
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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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4.5

 Finished reading: October 30th 2023


"I began to realize that love wasn't dead, but it wasn't forever, either. It was something in between, a moment in time where two people existed at the exact same moment in the exact same place in the universe."

I kept hearing fantastic things about this story, and I decided to finally give in and read it myself. The fact that the story includes ghosts also makes it a perfect Halloween read right? Either way, I definitely understand the love for this story now! The Dead Romantics is without doubt one of my romance highlights of the year, and I'm already looking forward to read more of this author. I'm not always a big fan of paranormal romance stories, but in this case it turned out to be a big hit. I simply loved how the ghost element was woven into the story, and it really took the story to the next level for me. A lot of this also has to do with its cast of characters as well; they were extremely easy to warm up to, but then again I do love a quirky character. The slowburn romance was spot on for me, although there are some more steamy scenes included towards the ending. I wasn't even bothered by those, because by then I was way too invested in the rest of the story. The Dead Romantics isn't just about a ghostly romance, as it includes a wide range of topics including family, death, bullying and all things bookish of course. There is so much to love about this story, and I can highly recommend it to anyone looking for a well written, engaging and spooky romance. 
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takarakei's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

  • paranormal romance
    • Florence can see ghosts
    • her family owns a funeral home
  • small town setting
  • it's fairly slow burn due to the... circumstances
  • family dynamics are a big focus
  • diverse, queer side characters

This book deals heavily with grief and the death of a parent, so it should be approached in the right headspace. Florence's Ex is a POS. I think for a romance this was a bit light on the romance and more focus on Florence's past, her family and like what's going on with her career.

3/5🌶️
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emilywemily6's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book hit me in the feels. There was so much discussion about grief and living your life, and it made the romance into a slightly smaller plot in comparison. I love these characters and while I wish there was more to the romance, it was written very “show don’t tell” which still connected with me. I am all on board for Florence and Benji! I anticipated the plot twist early on and kept reading hoping and praying that I was right lol. So much meaning in how these characters navigated grief and learned to love.
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