ARC Review: "Haunted Ever After" by Jen DeLuca ★★★★

ARC Review: Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

This cosy small-town contemporary grumpy meets sunshine romance with magical realism and mystery is unique, cute, quirky and hauntingly beautiful! This is a tale I will be sure to pick up again and again because ahh I love it so, so much! 🧡 If you love puns as much as I do, you will simply die for (sorry not sorry) all the puns in here. Seriously, do read this. It is full of relatable self-discovery, humour, love – and of course a ghost or two. Perfect for the upcoming spooky season!

“Cassie. I want to be with you.” She blinked up at him in surprise. “What happened to ‘no pressure, no strings’?” “You happened.” He reached for that lock of hair that always fell out of her messy bun, catching it to twirl it between his fingers. “Give me all the pressure. All the strings. Lay it on me.”

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY
31-year-old copywriter Cassie Rutherford lives in Orlando and is tired of being the single one in her group of friends: everyone else is either dating someone, married, or having children. Her landlord decides to sell the house she is renting, forcing her to search for somewhere else. Fun times.

After ages of looking and being rejected from several offers, she finds a renovated cottage Hawkins House by the beach in Boneyard Key (a small-town tourist attraction, renowned for being haunted) and is delighted to get it. Little does she know, nobody has actually resided there in years – not since the 1940s, when there was a woman there called Sarah Hawkins, also known as Mean Mrs Hawkins.

All is not well: from being unable to charge up her laptop at home despite the electrics working to threatening messages appearing on the fridge like my house, Cassie is officially spooked. She even considers moving back to Orlando.

She finds refuge in the form of handsome but grumpy 29-year-old Nick Royer who owns the café Hallowed Grounds, across from Hawkins House. Not only does he have amazing coffee and a charging socket she can use, but he has lived here all his life so you might say he “ain’t afraid of no ghost”, and has a ghost roommate called Elmer. Nick decides to give her a tour of the place and show her the finer things about being a ghost town.

As the months change from April to June so too do their feelings, developing into something tender and lovely. Anyone Nick has ever loved has left him, and he knows Cassie is not staying for long, so they decide to have a fling. But there is a dark and scary side to Nick when they get too close. And as new information comes to light, what if things with Sarah are not what they seem?

This is told from the third-person past-tense dual POV of Cassie and Nick.

OVERALL OPINIONS
I have not read anything of Jen DeLuca yet nor have I read anything for ages that has a ghost story or is suited to Halloween so this was refreshing! I really enjoyed this and I am sure I will pick up more of DeLuca’s stories. I ultimately would give this one a 4.75 out of 5.

Wow, this whole story has really unique concepts! I mean, a ghost being able to text message to criticise your work, and another ghost that can use fridge magnets to say they want to watch your TV program? Ingenious idea! It had a decent amount of mystery that kept me turning the pages, which I was able to solve before the big reveal – but the fact I worked it out did not detract from the reveal at all, in fact I was all too pleased. I like that Sarah is not as evil as people think she is and is actually trying to protect them. I actually nearly teared up thinking she was gone!

The plot twist I saw coming was a little odd as an idea but I like it because it serves as a great reminder that there is nothing scarier than misogyny. Unfortunately, some men still treat women like it is the 1900s and this really should not be a thing. Justice for Sarah and all the women who are Sarah. You are seen, you are heard, you are loved.

Though I am not in my thirties yet, I can relate an awful lot to the problems of having friends but not only finding it difficult to arrange to see them because of them being busy but also feeling like we are at different stages in life. I am Cassie, I am the single friend, I want to brag about my accomplishments but fear they will fall on deaf ears, just like that group chat of hers. DeLuca captured the problems of outgrown friendships so well here!

DeLuca mentions in her Acknowledgements section that this is essentially her love letter for and revisit of Florida after living there around 30 years ago. This is really beautiful and the way she wrote this story made me fall in love with Boneyard Key:

In the midnineties, my then-fiancé and I moved to Florida, intending to stay only a year or two. We stayed almost exactly twenty-five years. It was hard saying goodbye to our favorite places... Getting to return to Florida, if only in my mind, while getting to know these characters in Boneyard Key has been such a joy, and I hope you enjoyed the trip with me.

This is the first book of the Boneyard Key series. I assume this will be a trilogy because there are three women covered: Cassie Rutherford, Sophie, and Libby Simpson. I don’t think Sophie has a surname. All the romance storylines have been introduced here and set up nicely for standalones.

👻 Cassie and Nick – this is their story.
📖 Sophie and Theo – I am certain this will be the next book. Sophie hosts the ghost tour in the town, Theo is a historian who runs the local bookshop Boneyard Books which also harbours a museum. He once joined the ghost tour and scoffed at its historical inaccuracy. He is not the only one: when Sarah overhears Sophie’s ghost tour, she is annoyed that Sophie has been inaccurate with the history of Hawkins House and Sophie wants to make this right. Sophie cares very much about the history of the place and does not wish to tarnish it. Reluctantly, Sophie accepts the help of Theo in looking at Sarah’s history for Cassie’s sake. In the epilogue, it is revealed Sophie and Theo are working on a more historically accurate book of Boneyard Key so I assume this will be the plot of the next book. I enjoyed their tension so I am looking forward to hopefully reading their story soon.
🎃 Libby and Ramon – Libby is the granddaughter of Mrs “Nan” Simpson. Nan can communicate with ghosts and Libby helps to run a ghost-hunting business with her called Simpson Investigatons. Ramon was hired by the previous owner as a chef for Hallowed Grounds, so Nick has kept him on as he cooks better. It is revealed through Nick that Ramon has a crush on Libby, and has had since the eighth grade. They are really cute, though their interaction is brief.

This really felt like a Hallmark film and I lowkey hope they make it into one!

<< Positives >>
🠚The cover is adorable! The moment depicted where both of them are on either side of the fence is something that happens a few times in the book. I really love whenever covers depict a scene from within the story. It’s also cute that there are two versions of this cover: the one from Berkley is set in the daytime and the one from Penguin is set at nighttime. I received the Penguin edition but I actually prefer the daytime one. True, Penguin gives far more of the spooky vibes but Berkley’s version is just far more autumnal and cosier.
🠚Cassie and Nick’s relationship is so gorgeous ahh! I can see why some people would have preferred more of an initial tension but I like that Cassie admits they got off to the wrong start and she would like them to start again haha. It was nice. And I like that they secretly admit the other is gorgeous but not in a sexual way. The way Nick goes out of his way to get her the food she misses to apologise was so moving I loved that. And opening up to each other too. Their communication is excellent, very mature. Green flags. I also love the parallel that they both find watching the sunset is not the same without each other. Oh and when Cassie throws that sugar packet at him, I laughed so much!
🠚I like that when the only conflict Cassie and Nick has is because of Mr Hawkins taking over Nick’s mind, and not Nick himself. Because when I tell you my jaw dropped at the same time as Cassie!
🠚I really loved Sarah and Cassie’s friendship and their parallels. They are both in their own ways alone (“Cassie felt like she was fading away, like she’d become a ghost herself”), but the beauty is they find company in each other. Sarah is finally able to communicate with the living world, using Cassie’s magnetic poetry. Cassie goes from being terrified to trying to understand Sarah (shoutout to that one Etsy store for producing more magnets for Cassie to use), amending the house via redecoration and eventually helping Sarah confront her past (or, more specifically, trauma and her husband). Sarah being their wing woman was so sweet – leaving the kiss her message on the fridge for Nick! And I love that at the end, Cassie has grown the cabbage roses for Sarah to tend to. 🠚Also love Cassie’s friendship with Libby and Sophie. Very funny, very wholesome.
🠚The final paragraphs at the end of 3 chapters has that Mrs H pop a message on the fridge. As opposed to the first two sound threating (though actually mean well), the third time is so sweet! She says welcome home. Aww!
🠚Elmer’s concept is interesting, having him able to text Nick or use telepathy to communicate with him. The way he says goodbye is rather amusing and heartwarming “Of course I stuck around for you. You think I really give that much of a sh*t about banana bread”.
🠚I really like all the characters in this town, especially Nan: she was so iconic and hilarious. Do not mess with grandma, for she has a water gun and is not afraid to squirt holy water on you!
🠚The whole mystery element was well constructed. I like that everyone in the town serves a purpose in the story, as this is not easy to do.
🠚The spice is such a finally moment! Dayum, I wished there was more.
🠚Bonus for having a character called Sophie haha! She’s even my height – barely over 5ft!

<< Negatives >>
🠚It was a little confusing at the beginning with a lot of names and lack of information about them.
🠚I wish there had been more to some of Cassie and Nick’s relationship. We go from the “no strings attached” phase to being together quite quickly. It would have been nice if this had been fleshed out some more, or if the “no strings attached” phase happened earlier.
🠚Their first time was where they had done the exorcism. Really, Jen? Haha. I guess it is symbolic but nope.
🠚Cassie’s family is not mentioned much, and I feel like it would have been nice to have somehow included them in the story more. Perhaps a chapter of meeting both Cassie’s and Nick’s family would have worked for this rather than a brief summary paragraph.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Cassie꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ She likes order, just like me. Has cold hands, also like me. She listens to lo-fi music when she works, LIKE MEEE! I like how she goes from being afraid of everything to adapting to the place and even being welcoming of ghosts and their intentions. I think I ended up being like this by the end of the story.
🠚Cassie distancing herself from Nick was done wonderfully well, and setting boundaries because she distrusts him. I like that she does not forgive him very easily, that is rather realistic.
🠚I appreciated that moment where Cassie’s hand “lingered on his cheek, her fingertips tracing his cheekbone” because I’m so used to men doing this to women, it is nice to see it the other way around.
🠚I like that she gets the bravery to stay with Nick, and also to remove herself from the group chat as she now has better friends. Bless!

“I can’t think of a way that my life hasn’t changed recently. What’s one more?”

-ˋˏ ꒰ Nick꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ I love this man with everything I got. Dating apps are not working so I’ll pretend to be lost in his shop– oh wait, he hates tourists, dang it! Can I at least get the banana bread (“hell yeah!”)? Okay but seriously. I love his humour, his blue eyes, his laugh.
🠚Ramon being his therapist was so funny! We love a self-aware man when he says he was picking a stupid fight haha. Thank goodness that was not actually him, or I’d have had problems.
🠚The way Cassie says “If you don’t touch me soon I think I’m gonna scream” and he says “Oh you’re gonna scream no matter what” – with a smirk – excuse meeee!

“There’s nothing defective about you. Not a damn thing.”

FAV QUOTES
• She smiled, and it was like the sun coming out. He wanted to bend toward that smile like a sunflower. It was that smile that made him bold.
• Ghosts were real. Nick was a damn good kisser. She wasn’t sure which one was scarier. Or more exciting.
• “Thanks,” she said, grasping his hand. “For everything.” | He squeezed her hand. “It’s what I’m here for.” It wasn’t until he said the words out loud that Nick realized it was the truest thing he’d ever said. She’d needed his help, and he hadn’t hesitated. He wouldn’t hesitate to do the same thing again.
• “That’s the spirit. No pun intended.”
• Sarah Hawkins hadn’t had a voice for a very long time now, and Cassie was going to do her damnedest to let her use it.
• “The sunsets look so much better with you.” The words were little more than breath, stirring her hair. | “I couldn’t agree more.” Her voice was an answering murmur. She could live the rest of her life in this one moment and be perfectly content.
• She wasn’t supposed to be part of his routine. No pressure, no strings, remember? Yet his favorite thing in the morning was her smile when she walked through his door. And his favorite thing in the evening was the way the sunset threw golden light in her hair, and the way she nestled into the hollow of his shoulder, fitting like a piece of him he hadn’t realized was missing.
• That moment, where it was just her and him there at her front gate, felt like one of those moments you needed to pause, to remember every detail, because it was a moment you were going to remember for the rest of your life. The way Nick’s hands felt, cupping her face. The way his eyelashes were a little spiky as they framed those clear blue eyes of his. The way he smelled faintly of lemon sugar, carried on the light breeze that surrounded them. His voice, his words, the way he talked so fast it was like his mouth was trying to keep up with his brain. Cassie wanted to hold him close and live in this moment for the rest of her life.
• He held her like she was something to be treasured. He kissed her like he was o ering her his entire soul.
• She looked at him with wonder, as though she couldn’t believe he was there. Nick knew the feeling.

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I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Jen DeLuca, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

“Haunted Ever After” is out August 13th