Series Name: Boneyard Key #1
Nan was waiting in the living room, with Libby and Sophie behind her in the kitchen like acolytes in casual summer wear flanking their track-suited high priestess. Sophie chewed on a fingernail, her eyes darting around, while LIbby kept her eyes on her grandmother. But Nan only had eyes for Nick and Cassie.
Haunted Ever After is the most perfect mix of cozy, small town romance with the quirk of a colourful cast of ghosts who are in everyone’s business.
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.
This book is a delight. Jen DeLuca has been on my to-read list for a while and when I read the synopsis for Haunted Ever After, I couldn’t say no. I love a small-town romance and Haunted Ever After gives me all the small town vibes. The twist? The small town happens to be very haunted and set in Florida. I love Florida, and you don’t find too many small town books set there. I enjoy the ones I do find because Florida has such an interesting history and such friction between the tourists and the people who call the state home.
The main characters of rHaunted Ever After, Nick and Cassie are such a delight. Nick is a local boy who loves his hometown. He can talk with ghosts and it’s just an everyday occurrence to him, especially Elmer, the ghost he lives with who, as a past owner of the coffee shop, also micromanages Nick on how he runs his business. Elmer is a total delight. Cassie is new in town. She’s moved there after feeling stuck in her life in Orlando. She has to get used to small town living, and then also has the shock of learning that all the stories about Boneyard Key are actually the truth. I find so many paranormal romances have the lead heroine as the one involved in paranormal and it’s normal the guy who has to catch up. The reversal was really fun to watch. Nick and Cassie have a slow burn romance. There’s, obviously, a lot going on in their lives, and I liked the slow pace they took, even though they were clearly really feeling each other. There’s miscommunication in this story, but ghosts are kind of to blame for it, which makes it work so well. The ghosts are also main characters in the story. I don’t want to give anything away, but I may have developed a little crush on Elmer.
Haunted Ever After is a quirky, funny and charming contemporary romance with the perfect addition of paranormal activity.
Thank you Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
