ghost business – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Jen DeLuca
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 9th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Clashing ghost tours lead to a sizzling romantic rivalry in the second romance in the new series from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Boneyard Key, Florida, is the only home Sophie has ever known. Her love for its supernatural history has flourished into a career, as she guides the one and only ghost tour through the town’s can’t-miss haunted spots. And while her bank account isn’t full by any means, her heart is. Or at least, it was.

But there’s a newcomer in town. The son of a Fortune 500 businessman, former theater kid Tristan has grown his tours from a fraternity fundraiser to a multicity ghost tour conglomerate. It’s doing well, but not well enough—if he can’t prove that he’s solidly in the black by the fall, Dad’s going to pull his funding, spelling the end of his career. Boneyard Key, with its haunted reputation, seems like the perfect place to boost his bottom line.

When the two ghost tours clash, Sophie’s expletive-filled rant goes viral, and the rivals strike up a deal. Whoever has the most successful business by summer’s end stays, while the loser must ghost. But the more Tristan comes to appreciate Boneyard Key, the more Sophie comes to appreciate Tristan, and what starts as begrudging respect becomes something spicier. Can they put their feuding businesses aside to make room for a chance at love, or is Boneyard Key too small for two ghost tours?

LACKED SOMETHING.

I feel like the magic is missing in this series. Another book in and I am not feeling the CLICK. That little bit of something that makes me swoon an fall in love with the romance. It was perfectly fine and ended well enough (third act wasn’t a total anger inducing event).

I do enjoy the small town and paranormal aspects. They are woven in well and the side characters are a charming inclusion to the story. I did like the job aspect of a walking ghost tour and the hurricane was something I haven’t read [at least recently in my mind] which was another layer that fit the Florida setting well.

I know I’ll find myself reading the next book and hoping for the best!

Overall audience notes: