This guest review is from Danielle Fritz. Danielle is a former librarian who has a special affection for children’s lit and books about the funeral industry. She first cut her criticism teeth as a fanfic writer. A resident of the upper midwest, she’s learned to love beer and tater tot casserole and tolerate long winters. Most nights will find her cuddled up with her pups and wearing out her wrists with yet another crochet project.
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Discussion of infertility, plus misogyny and verbal abuse.
When Jen DeLuca burst onto the contemporary romance scene with her Renaissance festival-centric series, she became one of my auto-preorder authors. The concept spoke to my soul as a big ren faire nerd and each book was a thorough examination of the myriad of positions one can hold at a faire, from tavern wench to tarot card reader. When it was announced her next series was going to be centered around a haunted Floridian tourist hotspot? Take my money now.
Nothing insults Cassie Rutherford more than being mistaken for a tourist. A native Floridian, she loves her home state for all of its quirks. But when she moves from Orlando to the tiny coastal Boneyard Key, the local obsession with all things paranormal isn’t to her taste. Especially when it becomes clear the beautiful historic home she’s purchased from a flipper has a ghostly reputation. So much of a reputation in fact, ghost tours make a stop by her front gate nightly to recount the legend of Mean Mrs. Hawkins, the home’s former occupant. Cassie left Orlando after feeling isolated and alienated by her friends, who are all new moms. She doesn’t need the reputation of living in a haunted house to prevent her from building relationships in her new town.
But her new town loves all things paranormal. And everyone is excited to meet Hawkins House’s new owner. It turns out Boneyard Key isn’t just spinning up spooky stories just for tourism hype. Many citizens remain a part of the community long after death. Locals reside peacefully by their departed neighbors, and brushing up against spirits is simply a part of life in Boneyard Key. As a reader I was charmed by this unique status quo. There’s clearly respect between the dead and the living, with most residents regarding their less-than-alive community members warmly. The living residents sport a fierce loyalty to their unique circumstances. I mean, each business really leans in with themed names: Hallowed Grounds, the coffee shop. The Haunt. Poltergeist Pizza. Spooky Brew. The Cold Spot. You get the idea.
The small town and its eccentric residents were what ultimately made the book for me. Small town settings are not normally my jam. Having grown up in one, a small community for me brings up memories chafing under a homogenous lifestyle. However the combination of touristy setting, paranormal themes, and quirky Floridian characters made this the exception. I reached the last page wanting to spend more time in Boneyard Key.
When inexplicable electrical issues in her new home force Cassie to rush to a cafe down the street and snag a table just in time for a work meeting, she meets the curmudgeonly shop owner, Nick Royer. He’s not keen on tourist types mooching his wifi without at least buying a coffee first, but soon warms to his newest regular’s wry humor and sparkling brown eyes. Cassie isn’t the type to let some grouch cow her and she gives as good as she gets.
He jerked his head in a nod towards the table she’d just vacated. “You’ve been sitting there for almost an hour, using my Wi-Fi, without even so much as ordering a cup of coffee. This isn’t a coworking space, you know. It’s a business.”
“Really? Damn.” Cassie looked pointedly around the place. Empty. “Sorry to occupy your fanciest table.”
Soon, Nick is determined to show her what makes Boneyard Key worth sticking around. With deep roots in Boneyard Key going back to its founding, Nick has a strong affection for his ghostly neighbors — especially his “roommate” Elmer. He was the cafe’s first owner, and he’s been dead since Y2K, but he still inexplicably blasts Nick with texts daily complaining about his updates to the baked goods case (Which brings up the question: do ghosts have data plans?)
The creepy incidents at the Hawkins House begin to ramp up, making Cassie uncomfortable with the idea of staying in town much longer. It’s soon clear Cassie’s electrical problems stem from something other than shoddy wiring. Something — or someone — isn’t happy she’s taken up residence. With the assistance of local medium and the ingenious use of a magnetic poetry set, Cassie’s soon communing with the other side.
Just as Cassie starts to fall for her new life there’s a twist to the paranormal activity taking over Hawkins House, the worst being abrupt changes to Nick’s personality when he’s on the property. The gentle-but-grouchy coffee shop owner transforms into an aggressive, controlling, misogynist.
(FYI: With his sudden switch there comes some fertility-related insults that trigger memories of trauma for Cassie who has endometriosis and told by her doctors she’s unable to reproduce, so CW friends.)
“See how it goes?” His voice was harsh in his ears, and he didn’t like how it sounded.
“Yeah. I mean, I still have work to consider.” She gestured to her laptop setup, and the sight of it made him even angrier. Cassie’s overly patient tone felt condescending. Dismissive. It all made the buzzing in his head louder. “How am I going to keep my job if I have to come down to the café every day just to power up my laptop?”
“You’re welcome there anytime. You know that.” It was like his electricity wasn’t good enough for her or something.
“I know that.” Her calm voice just made him angrier. Why was she placating him? “But it’s not exactly convenient, is it?”
“So you’re saying you don’t want to see me?” He was picking a stupid fight. There was a part of his mind that was fully aware of that. But the rest was filled with buzzing, growing even louder now. The buzzing said that she was wrong. That he had to put her in her place.
What? said the sane part of his mind. But that part wasn’t in charge anymore.
“No, I get it,” he said, even as Cassie opened her mouth to answer him. “Work comes first for you, right? What’s going to happen when you get married? Aren’t you going to want to give your husband children? Shouldn’t that be the priority, not a career?”
“When I what?” Cassie looked stricken and she fell back a step, away from him. “Who the hell is talking about having kids?”
“Are you saying you don’t want a family? What the hell is wrong with women these days?”
What the hell was wrong with him? Why had he just said that? He didn’t mean that.
Yes, he did.
No, he didn’t.
The situation comes to a head with Cassie breaking off their tentative relationship, hurt and scared. There’s something hiding behind the more amiable spirits, a darker force. And this problem isn’t going to be resolved with magnets.
My biggest gripe with this book is the lack of chemistry between Cassie and Nick, particularly on Cassie’s side. I never believed her connection ever leveled with Nick’s — she clearly liked him once they got to know one another but her attraction felt much more subdued. I felt more of a spark than a blaze on her end. I could see from Nick’s POV chapters that he is a good guy, who is gentle and cares about others in his orbit deeply, who feels immediately connected to Cassie. It’s this connection that ultimately kept me rooting for Nick even in the moments where the plot hits turbulence.
When the third-act break-up crops up, Nick effortlessly recognizes the mistake he’s made and works to make appropriate amends. Yet despite all of this, after Nick has his flash of misogyny, I wouldn’t have been too sad if Cassie elected to permanently step back from the relationship. Rest assured, readers can be comforted to know that there’s more to Nick’s outburst than classic “nice guy” masquerade. Eventually I was drawn back to “Team Nick,” but I wasn’t necessarily ready to wave pom-poms for “Team Nick and Cassie” until the last few chapters.
This feeling of mismatched attraction might be attributed to the places each character was at in their lives, with Cassie in a big transitional period, unsettled and looking for “home,” whereas Nick is incredibly rooted to the town. Ultimately this kind of conflict usually resolved with the characters finding what they are missing in one another.
Cassie gains some tentative friendships, she invests in her home, and Nick sort of reconciles his attachment issues, but the solutions don’t feel like they are totally tied together. Of course it’s healthy to find fulfillment outside of a significant other, but because so much of what Cassie gains is outside of her relationship with Nick. I can see that while she cares for him, she doesn’t need him in the same way he needs her.
I walked away thinking Nick put in a lot more work and focus on Cassie to bring the relationship into fruition, while Cassie’s focus is much more centered on getting her life in order with this big transition.
But Haunted Ever After wasn’t a bust by any means. I still itched to return to my Kindle during the hours I was forced to tend to mundane life stuff like folding laundry and earning money. There’s a good balance of suspense and eerieness that drew me back in, though just enough to be “creepy” rather than “scary” (which is great for someone like me, who loves ghostly lore yet gets freaked out way too easily). Even if the romance had less heat than I’d hoped, I enjoyed the protagonist’s overall dynamics, quippy dialogue, and the world they inhabited.
There’s a sheer coziness to this story that made me want to cuddle beneath a hand-crocheted throw with a cup of tea while wearing my fuzziest socks. I love stories centering in on the micro, zooming in on the behind-the-scenes lives of those who live and work outside the norm. While life in a perpetually haunted town isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, imagining life as a regular at a mom-and-pop cafe in a tiny walkable community honestly sounds like the dream to me.
Even with its chemistry issues, I was eager to immerse myself in Boneyard Key. Because of the way Haunted Ever After kept me engaged, engulfed me in a feeling of nostalgic warm, and left me wanting more, I give this story a solid B. If you’re looking for something sweet to go with your spooky this Halloween season, reach for this cute romance.
