A review by patelyne
Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

5.0

I knew before I was even finished this would end up another one of my favorite comfort reread books 

Not truly surprising, because the Well Met series is already that for me even though my previous Ren Faire knowledge was … well, none? And my paranormal fiction interest had been off the charts for yeeears. 

Boneyard Key is a small coastal town in Florida known in tourism circles for its ghosts. It’s not just punny shop names and decorative ghost banners though - the late residents are still very active and interested in the towns daily goings on. Just ask Elmer, decades gone, but who is not going let that stop him from making it clear to the current coffee shop owner what the thinks about him adding cinnamon to his banana bread recipe. 

Being a local for life, sharing his life with the no longer living is normal for Nick. He loves this town, feels deeply connected to it, and he even (mostly) doesn’t mind Elmer as a roommate. For newcomer Cassie it’s going to take some more adjustment. Especially as the existing ghostly resident of her new home isn’t coming off as nearly as welcoming. 

Nick’s going to do his best to change her way of thinking before she gets scared off, starting with showing her the nicer side of being haunted everywhere you go. 

If only her house didn’t feel so hostile towards him…

This *is* a romance, but I think it almost leans just as much into the community side of the story - both living and dead - as it does the relationship between Nick and Cassie. And this isn’t a complaint, it absolutely worked for me! 

The townspeople balancing tourism draws with respecting their history and the lingering spirits

Those spirits connecting with them creatively - cold spots might be expected, but there’s also texting, magnetic poetry, bonding over bad tv

I was absolutely charmed by Boneyard Key and all its residents

(Except one. Boo on him.)