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A review by analenegrace
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Dead Romantics captures grief, it's process, and its everlastingness so perfectly in this book while also giving us a gorgeously written romance that only had me wanting one thing: Ben's POV because I could tell he was yearning for her in an indescribable way.
As someone who has lost a father, Florence's experience in this book stuck out to me as one of the best expressions of grief in relation to the loss of a father I've ever read. I knew going in this might be a hard read for me, but because of how it is written, so joyful in its hardest moments, it wasn't. Instead, even as it made me cry, I felt so connected to the character's emotions, remembering someone who died and how hard but cathartic it can be. The scene where the family dances following the Wake made me cry the hardest because joy after grief is so important and often so lost in literature.
The romance, although for me playing second fiddle to the story of grief, was so beautiful! I loved Ben and Florence both so much, and I love a book where both characters help each other improve and find themselves more. Florence was such a well-written narrator, and while at times frustrating, her internal monologue stuck out to me as one that just felt so realistic in both her struggles and joy.
Poston pulls no punches with this book or with her more recent release, and all I can say is that I need more of this magical writing!
As someone who has lost a father, Florence's experience in this book stuck out to me as one of the best expressions of grief in relation to the loss of a father I've ever read. I knew going in this might be a hard read for me, but because of how it is written, so joyful in its hardest moments, it wasn't. Instead, even as it made me cry, I felt so connected to the character's emotions, remembering someone who died and how hard but cathartic it can be. The scene where the family dances following the Wake made me cry the hardest because joy after grief is so important and often so lost in literature.
The romance, although for me playing second fiddle to the story of grief, was so beautiful! I loved Ben and Florence both so much, and I love a book where both characters help each other improve and find themselves more. Florence was such a well-written narrator, and while at times frustrating, her internal monologue stuck out to me as one that just felt so realistic in both her struggles and joy.
Poston pulls no punches with this book or with her more recent release, and all I can say is that I need more of this magical writing!