Category Archives: Grumpy Sunshine

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.

Add to Goodreads

Purchase on Amazon

MY REVIEW

All of Cassie’s friends are moving forward with their lives, either having babies or getting married. This turn of events makes Cassie do something completely out of the ordinary, which is how she finds herself buying a home on Boneyard Key. When strange and unusual things start to happen, Cassie starts to wonder if she made the wrong decision….

I absolutely adored Haunted Ever After. It was fun, and entertaining, with just the right amount of romance. I loved the spooky, yet humorous feel to it. Instead of being afraid of their town’s history, the residents immersed themselves in it and just went with the flow. I don’t know if I could be so chill about real haunted houses or unexplained events.

Now let’s discuss characters. While Cassie may have initially overreacted to the changes in her friends and her own life, I think that made her character more relatable as a lot of people find themselves stuck or at a standstill and desperately in need of a change. Cassie took a risk and embraced Boneyard Key. And when she meets Nick, she’s unsure what to make of the grumpy coffee shop owner. I, on the other hand, loved grumpy Nick!! His interactions with Cassie were so entertaining. I couldn’t wait to see how he would stick his foot in his mouth next. I loved all of the will they/won’t they moments between Nick and Cassie. And even though Nick made me a little crazy sometimes, I couldn’t help but root for him and Cassie.

Overall, I thought Haunted Ever After was a great summer read. This story had just the right amount of mystery and romance. I loved the spooky, paranormal vibes. After finishing this book, I find myself wanting to go the keys and see what haunts I can discover!

Haunted Ever After is my first book by this author and I can not wait to read more from her in the future.

*Thank you so much to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book*