A review by girlgetsbook
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

medium-paced

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

2.75

This book's plot and supernatural elements are fun but unfortunately I couldn't ignore the fact that the prose was very basic, it read like a first draft. Most of the characters were pretty bland with the only thing standing out about them was the fact that they were "quirky" which honestly only made it worse. Somehow it felt like the book was emphasizing the supernatural and quirky elements so people wouldn't notice the bland prose and characters (this book is like that Jughead quote whilst also being a bad imitation of those quirky movies that were popular in the 2010s), but somehow having those elements only served to enhance the already amateur writing. The structure of an interesting and charming story was there, but it was also buried under heavy layers of puns and corny jokes. The romance could've been cuter if it wasn't interrupted by what felt like six hundred family memories that were all the same and contributed nothing to my understanding of these characters or even (especially) the character of her father. He seemed to get the same treatment as the rest of them, he had no discernible personality, made blanket statements about life and was only shown to us in flashbacks that could be in a margarine commercial, and the only thing about him that stood out was the fact that he saw ghosts and ran a funeral home, how quirky, but doesn't make for a good character.