The Dead Romantics, Ashley Poston

Synopsis:
Florence Day is a ghostwriter for one of the most famous romance authors in the world but after a devastating breakup, she no longer believes in love. Which is a problem when you write about it for a living.

When her new editor refuses to grant her an extension on her deadline, Florence thinks her career is over. Then she gets a phone call that changes everything: her father has died, and she must return to her small hometown, a place she thought she’d left behind for good.

Oh and she can see ghosts. Always has.

Back home, struggling with grief, unfinished family business, and a complicated past, Florence is shocked when the ghost of her infuriatingly handsome editor shows up… very much dead, very much standing in her family’s funeral home, and very much stuck.

What follows is a story of grief, healing, and rediscovering the spark—of love, of life, of believing in happy endings again.

Main Tropes & Themes:

• Grumpy x sunshine

• Ghost romance

• Small town nostalgia

• Found family and sibling bonds

• Healing after grief

• Writer main character

• Magical realism meets romcom

• Second chance at belief in love

Why We Chose It at The Book Muse:
We’re obsessed with books that play with genre, and The Dead Romantics is the perfect blend of heartache, humour, and just a little haunt. It’s romantic, yes but also about grief, creativity, and learning to love again when everything feels lost.

Florence is the kind of messy, lovable main character we root for hard, and the ghost romance? Weirdly perfect. This is for the romantics who’ve been through it, for the ones still figuring it out, and for anyone who needs a reminder that sometimes the most unexpected stories bring us back to life.