Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca is a contemporary romance with paranormal elements and the first book in the new Boneyard Key series (3/5 stars)

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca is a contemporary romance with paranormal elements and the first book in the new Boneyard Key series.

After all of her friends got married and started having kids, Cassie left Orlando and bought a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key, Florida. Something’s weird about her home, though, she can’t seem to get her laptop to keep a charge. Nick owns the local coffee shop, Hallowed Grounds, and suggests she check out one of the town ghost tours to learn more about her house and the whole town.

This was my first book by the author She seems to dip into my topics of interest (I love ghost stories and the Renn Faire) so I figured Haunted Ever After would be a good way for me to try her out.

Unfortunately, this book dragged a bit for me and I mostly pushed through to the end thanks to reading sprints for the Trick or Treatathon. I didn’t really feel the chemistry between the MCs here; it felt like the author was telling me they were into each other instead of showing me. While it is kind of a slow burn, once it got going their relationship progression went much faster than I typically enjoy in romances.

However, I did really fall in love with the town of Boneyard Key! I also appreciated the lightheartedness of the whole read. And the two folks who seem to be hinted to be the MCs of the next book in the series sound cute (a bookstore owner and the person who runs the town ghost tour).

If you’re looking for a paranormal romance set in a small town, you should try this one out!

Tropes in this book include: small town, slow burn

CW: discussion about infertility, mentions of abuse (historical, prior to book)

I received a complimentary review copy from NetGalley and Berkley. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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