Haunted Ever After

By: Jen DeLuca

Narrated by: Jeannie Sheneman

"[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.

©2024 Jen DeLuca (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Jen DeLuca does it again! Like your favorite iced latte from the hot barista who totally hates you (but not really), Haunted Ever After is the most delicious mix of chilling haunts and sweetened kisses to perk you right up. It’s the perfect read for all the October girls who have to suffer through summer at the beach. A spirited, sexy read!”—Ashley Poston, New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics

"I, too, want a ghost roommate (and Nick's banana bread and hazelnut lattes) in a charming beach town where the dead linger and the living locals know all the best secret spots. Haunted Ever After is so much fun, with characters that feel real, spooky vibes mixed with small-town sweetness, and an intriguing dash of mystery. Just like its invisible residents, I never want to leave Boneyard Key."—Sarah Hogle, author of Old Flame and New Fortunes

"Jen DeLuca brings her signature wit and warmth to a town where even ghosts can believe in true love. Featuring a charming, swoonworthy romance, Haunted Ever After is a sheer pleasure to read and has established Boneyard Key as my new favorite spooky vacation spot."—Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Mr. & Mrs. Witch

Love the characters and the adventure

This story is a great little adventure about a haunted house and two characters brought together through some fun mishaps.

Pleasantly surprised!

I listen to a lot of cozy mystery/romance but this is much better written than most. The two characters have actual chemistry and when problems spring up between the two, they don’t feel contrived and manufactured, they feel completely relevant to the plot. I really like the authors way of describing how difficult it is to share a chat with people that you are starting to relate to less and less, something very poignant about that. The way that the ghosts play into the story is fun, and it feels like there’s a lot of potential for some of the side characters to get their own books. I thought the dialogue was very believable and while I did figure out the mystery itself pretty early on it didn’t annoy me as much as it can sometimes that the main character hadn’t put it together yet. The way a particular antagonist is done away with made me LOL.

If Hallmark Channel had some spice.

I love this book. It had some of the cheesy small town tropes I love about Hallmark movies, the elements of Halloween/spooky things I love, and a little bit of spice to make it interesting for those of us who prefer more than a closed door romance. I hope there’s more to come from Boneyard Key!

Fun and spooky

Concept is very fun, can't wait to read the next installment when it comes out.

This was uber cute!

Oh this story was a hoot! Living in a town where spirits of those who have passed tend to linger is just great. I loved everything about this story.

4.25 stars

Loved this!!

I loved the story!! The climax was great and the turns were good! Only slightly predictable at times but there were definitely still some surprises. Their love story was sweet. I’m also a Floridian so I loved all the central Florida references. Really a good story to cuddle up with.

For all the millennial out there

This romcom hits all the high points: sassy best friends, love interests willing to get over their shit so they can be together, and ghosts interfering at every turn!
I think every romcom loving millennial will relate to our lead female in so many ways you'll be left feeling called out in the best ways!

Spooky small town romance that give a warm hum… or hug

I cannot explain how much I love this book. It’s hitting me at the right time in my life of being 31 and dealing with all the life (minus the house). It’s the perfect mix of grumpy coffee guy (who gives Gilmore Girl’s Luke), small town envy, romance, and SPOOOKY. I am so passionately in love with every character - it’s like reading Jen Deluca’s first series Well Met. Oh, and it’s a slow burn.

Narrator: fantastic as always! Definitely gives 30-year-old voice, which I appreciate.

Fun and sweet!

What a pleasant surprise! A bit of mystery, great writing, and unexpectedly sweet. Great narrator too!

Too basic

This book was a total and complete miss for me.

So the romance was extremely basic. New girl moves to town and meets the owner of a bakery/coffee shop who has abandonment issues. Neither of their personalities were that great either. The FMC was pretty judgmental and pretty weepy in terms of like "oh no, my old friends don't care about me" when it sounds like she didn't really TRY that hard with them when she lived there. She has her own personal past issues... which aren't really handled in the way I would have liked. The MMC was...honestly I have nothing much to say about him because he was basic. hahaha. A nice guy, typical romantic love interest.

The ghost story was the reason I continued listening to this book and I was satisfied with it, but also, I predicted it. It was TOO obvious and also, too.... BASIC??? Like, this whole book was just NOT SPECIAL.

What I wish we had gotten more of was the mystery / past situation. I REALLY wish we had gotten more focus on the ghosts and the ghost tour and learning the real truth of the town's past. I think those sections were the most interesting to me. This should have been a mystery with a side of romance instead of the reverse.

(I also liked the guy from the history library/museum place WAY more than the MMC and he was in the book for like all of 30 minutes maybe hahahaha.... Maybe he'll get a book later?)