Haunted After Ever

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca
Narrator: Jeannie Sheneman
Series: Boneyard Key #1
Published by Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin Random House Audio on August 13, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Paranormal / General
Length: 10 hours 51 minutes
Pages: 352
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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"[A] wonderfully spooky supernatural rom-com."—People

Cassie thought Boneyard Key’s ghosts were tourist schtick, until her new home came with one—but can the attentions of the sexy coffee shop owner convince her to stay, instead of ghosting the town?

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 was a fun and somewhat spooky romance! When Cassie buys a house in a small coastal town in Florida, she has no idea it is haunted. In fact, the whole town, including Nick’s coffee shop, is known for being haunted. In Boneyard Key, the residents have just learned to live with the ghosts. All Cassie really wants is to be able to charge her laptop so she can get some work done, which leads her to Nick’s coffee shop.

It was entertaining to watch Cassie learn to navigate her ghostly roommate. Nick is used to dealing with Elmer, the deceased owner of the coffee shop. I enjoyed getting to know some of the town residents and loved watching Cassie and Nick grow closer as they spent time together. I liked them as a pair and thought that they had great chemistry with each other.

Jeannie Sheneman did a great job narrating this book. This is the first time that I have had the opportunity to listen to her narration, and I was impressed. I liked the different voices she used for the cast of characters. She added just enough emotion to her reading to bring this story to life. I found her voice to be very pleasant and had no problem listening to this book for hours at a time. I am certain that her performance added to my overall enjoyment.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was the perfect romance for this spooky season. I enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on with the ghosts right along with these characters. I look forward to reading more books set in Boneyard Key.

I received a review copy of this book from Penguin Random House Audio.

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