If You've Got It, Haunt It: The new, funny and heart warming romance for spooky season 2026

by Lana Wren

Death is calling, and he’s not one to be ghosted… 'Perfect for the spooky season' Heidi Swain ★

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Madame Viola Starbloom is an internet sensation. With a devoted online following, she offers palm readings, tarot-card deciphering and, of course, the ability to contact loved ones passed. She is also a fraud.

But on Halloween night, when a haunting online comment and strange apparition pull Thomas Croft, her first love, back into her life, the carefully constructed world she's painstakingly built unravels.

Tethered by a mysterious silver thread, the two have seven days to unearth the secret that binds them — or else be tied together always.

Can she lay the ghosts of her past to rest, or will she remain haunted forever?

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THE

👻Second-chance romance

👻Slow burn

👻Lovers reunited

👻Forced proximity

👻Grumpy / sunshine

👻Haunted by the past … literally

Genres: Paranormal

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 27, 2026

Reviews

[Ginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cozy, fun read, perfect for the starting spooky season.

Violet is working as a medium online. She is quite successful (despite her not believing in the supernatural). During her Halloween livestream something goes terribly wrong and she finds herself bound to the ghost of her recently deceased first love. Thomas broke her heart when she was eighteen. They haven’t been in contact for years but now they have one week to find a way for Thomas to move on or be bound together for all eternity.

This is a beautiful story about finding yourself and facing the ghosts of your past.
Violets journey and character growth was so beautiful to read. She cares so deeply for her best friend Suki and her fans, while also having to lie to them. Her wounds from the past are deep. Thomas is such an intriguing character. I didn’t want to like him but as the story went on I couldn’t help but root for him as well.

“But who am I? Violet wondered, as she adjusted her clip-mic.
Until the night of the Halloween livestream she could have answered that question. Now, she couldn't say. Violet Simmonds: failed YouTube livestreamer, pretend psychic and now the unwitting minder of the grumpiest ghost of her ex while he worked his way over to the Other Side...”

Absolutely captivating writing that kept me guessing how it’s going to end.
I loved the small town setting. The author created such a cozy and warm atmosphere.
Bonus points for the cat!

[Tea Leaves and Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

If You've Got It, Haunt It is such a fun read, with a blurb that absolutely doesn't do it justice (although it certainly sells the book anyway). As well as being witty, charming and perfect for Summerween reading as we ease towards Autumn, it has real depth. Beneath the humour lies an emotional story that explores love, grief, loss and the often complicated realities of adulthood.

Lana Wren handles these themes with warmth, sensitivity and a light touch, balancing heavier moments with just the right amount of humour and tenderness. The result is a novel that is both comforting and uplifting, with characters you'll quickly find yourself rooting for and an easy storyline.

It's delightfully spooky without ever being frightening, making it the perfect bridge between late summer and autumn reading. If you're looking for a story that will make you laugh, tug at your heartstrings and leave you feeling just a little bit lighter, this is one to add to your reading pile.

[Josephine (Jo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you very much to NetGalley and to HarperNorth for gifting me the Kindle copy of this book.

Violet Simmonds is a retiring sort of person; she always feels that whatever decision she makes will be the wrong one, and so she hides behind her internet persona of Madame Viola Starbloom, who is so sure of everything. Madame Starbloom is a clairvoyant, a fortune teller, palm reader, and medium; she is adored by her ardent followers, her “StarBloomers”, but Madame Starbloom is also a complete fraud!

It all goes horribly wrong on All Hallows' Eve when Viola does a livestream for her fans. When she tries to contact the “other side,” she gets more than she bargained for; without even actually trying, she summons up the ghost of her first love, Thomas Croft. It is such a shock to Violet that she shuts down the live stream, much to the chagrin of her fans, and the channel goes silent. Violet then finds herself tethered by a cord of light around her wrist, which is attached at the other end to Thomas, her high school sweetheart who broke her heart and never told her why he “ghosted” her all those years ago.

This delightful story tells the story of the week which is allotted to the couple to sort out their problems, or Thom will never rest in peace and Violet will join him wandering forever. They are both angry at the situation and have to come to terms with it before they can find the reason that Thom has been sent to Violet.

Violet's best friend and her devoted employee, Suki Dai has no idea that Violet is not a genuine medium. She will do anything for Violet, but Violet can’t tell her that Thom is there, which leads to some very awkward and at times funny conversations. There is also a bonus character, Gekkou, a beautiful cloud-grey cat, who could ask for more? Suki and Violet spend a lot of time at Spinnaker’s cosy café, owned by the lovely Ben, who Violet would love to talk to, but around whom she becomes completely tongue-tied.

The couple have such an up-and-down week trying to find their way out of this quandary, and your heart will break for them along the way. You are on the edge of your seat, waiting to see if they will sort out their problems and make the right choices to release them both from a sad eternity.

There are so many themes in this story: hauntings, humour, longing, sadness, joy, wry humour, cosiness, with a sprinkling of romance but not too much. Just perfect. My rating for the story would be four and a half stars, if possible, and I would recommend it to anyone as a well-written and captivating read.

[Hayley Thorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I opted to listen to If you’ve got it, haunt it and what an experience it was. I instantly loved Viola and I found all the characters interesting and intriguing. This is a totally new premise for me to read and it hit the spot, I was captivated from start to finish.

I can’t lie I’m a sucker for a grumpy protagonist and many of my favourite bookish men are just that. In meeting Thomas Croft it made me think all of us ladies have met a guy like him in our lives at some point. At first he was just plain grumpy but as the journey progressed he became the boy he once was. Realising the pain he had not only caused our leading lady but many people who were once close in his lifetime. The assignment they were set was heartfelt and humorous, on a number of occasions I honestly thought I had worked it out but when the penny dropped I was like awww.

The later stages of the novel had it all friendships, lost love, potential love and how tying up lose ends aren’t always easy.

A gorgeous novel to take into the autumnal months with a dose of supernatural alongside love stories old and new. I really did enjoy every single second with this book. I have to also mention the female friendship the love they shared was just as good as any love story. I’ve said it before and I’m not ashamed to say again as I age I’m more and more grateful for the ladies in my life.

[Keighley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such a lovely, unexpected read. After seeing some great reviews, I had to request it on NetGalley - and I’m so glad I did!

I kept thinking the story was going to go in completely different directions, so I was pleasantly surprised by how it ended. It wasn’t at all how I expected things to play out, and I really enjoyed the direction the author took.

I loved the dynamic between Violet and Thomas. You could really see how they were both stuck with unresolved feelings, and I also really enjoyed Violet and Suki’s friendship. Suki is such a supportive friend - the kind every girl needs in her life! 💕

This was such a fun read, with some great characters that you can’t help but root for. There’s a really slow-burn romance, but one that I think was definitely worth waiting for.

There’s also a cat. You can’t go wrong with me if there’s a cat 😂

I’m hoping this is the start of a series, as I can see so many different avenues the author could explore with Violet!

✨ A must-read for fans of cosy supernatural fiction. This really was a delightful read!

[Louise · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

A really fun and cosy spooky read! 👻🎃
We follow Violet, who makes a living pretending to be a psychic online, despite actually being a complete fraud 😂. That all changes when, during a Halloween livestream, she comes face-to-face with a real ghost… and it's Thomas, her first love who broke her heart years ago!
Now Thomas is back, only he's dead, and Violet has seven days to help him figure out why he's still around and what unfinished business is keeping him there.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Violet and Thomas. There's plenty of history, hurt and unresolved feelings between them, and I loved watching them slowly work through their past. I also loved Violet's friendship with Suki and all the little supernatural touches throughout the story.
This was more cosy and funny than scary, with a lovely mix of ghosts, romance, friendship, second chances and a little mystery. 👻❤️
A perfect spooky-season read if you want something fun and light rather than full-on horror. 📚🎃

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

I had a fabulous time reading this. I love a supernatural romance, but sometimes I feel like there aren’t enough ghosts. There were plenty in this book! We follow Violet (working as Viola) who runs a successful medium personality online. However disaster strikes during a crucial Halloween livestream. She finds herself tethered to the ghost of the man who broke her heart at age eighteen and who has stopped her from maintaining a relationship since. He may only recently be a ghost, but he’s been haunting her for years. She has to find a way to help him move on.

I liked Violet, she was very wounded and guarded emotionally but she still had a glimmer of hopefulness and she did genuinely care about other people. She agonises when she feels she’s hurt people and she particularly hates feeling like she’s deceiving her best friend and business partner. The guy… I thought he was challenging. He’s supposed to be as he needs to go through a journey of self discovery for the sake of the narrative, but I still went through a lot of this book really thinking Violet deserved better! Trust the author though.

There’s some cute and cosy elements to this, a pet cat, a cafe with detailed baked goods. But there’s still enough supernatural stuff to stop this feeling saccharine. The author gets the balance right.

[dee (zuko’s girlfriend) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broke my heart! I was hoping for a miracle till the very last page. It’s a beautiful book, and carries the fall imagery amazingly.

Some parts do tend to be repetitive. Nonetheless, it brought my interest back to the conventional romance (without the overdose of smut). Loved every bit, and crushed hard on Thomas.

[Maisie Webster]

Review of an advance copy from netgalley

Unfortunately DNFed at 26%. I didn't find the story to be very compelling and the dialogue between characters never felt like something someone would actually say. It's a shame because the concept was interesting.

[Red Hot Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a 10/10 read.

I may have cried a little near the end of the book.

This book will break your heart and put it back together.

Definitely recommend giving this book a read.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what I expected from this book but it was an absolute joy of a read. Lana Wren/Miranda Dickinson/MJ White, you are a marvel!

[Mel Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute mystical story, loved the premise of it and the characters.