by Ashley Poston

A Romance, 2022 by Berkley, 368 Pages 

What I Didn’t Like:

• Some of the details come across as cliche or gimmicky. They’re intended, I think, to be character quirks but they don’t land. Instead, they make the characters almost feel like caricatures with exaggerated quirks.
• Predictable. I know romance isn’t exactly supposed to shock you but this one delivers a few things that seem like they’re intended to be surprises and they’re absolutely not. I had the entire plot figured out from the first 50 pages or so. 
• The romance is odd at best. The MC is supposed to be learning to believe in love again and yet this didn’t feel like it was realistic. 

What I Did Like:

• Well written grief. This one attacks grief on multiple fronts and does a solid job of showing how that affects different people differently. I appreciated that. In fact, the grief is the MOST well-written part of this entire book and absolutely the reason for someone to pick this up and read it. 
• Ghosts. The way they were written with the little details that are kept up (with one plot hole exception) is original and interesting. They brought something fresh to the story.
• The small town life is captured well. Everyone knows everyone and things move at their own pace. 

Who Should Read This One:

• Readers who want a cutesy sort of love story on the side of their story about grief. 

My Rating: 3 Stars