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Happily Ever Afterlife
Win a free print copy of this book!
1 day and 03:02:06
10 copies available
U.S. only
A hauntingly good sapphic paranormal romance from USA Today bestselling author Emma R. Alban.
A struggling writer falls for the hot ghost mom she meets in the iconic Dakota Building in a romance perfect for fans of The Dead Romantics.
Frannie's awful boss, celebrated literary novelist Henry L. Olsen, just told her that her latest manuscript is a dud—again. Frustrated and lonely, Frannie stomps around the ninth floor of the famously haunted Dakota Building in Manhattan, desperate for something to change. And then, something does.
Bridgette, the ghost of a little girl from 1889, appears out of nowhere and asks Frannie to play catch. Shocked, and wildly curious, Frannie says yes to the ghostly invitation, and soon meets Bridgette's ghost-brother, Michael . . . and the children's exceedingly attractive and aloof 1960s ghost mom, Elsa.
Fascinated, and more than a little flustered, Frannie starts secretly writing a book about Elsa (a.k.a. Hot Ghost Mom). And while her boss is on book tour, through a mutual affection for musicals, banter, and the ghost children, Frannie and Elsa slowly become friends, until Frannie finds herself tumbling head over heels in love with a ghost tied to a building she couldn't afford to live in over four lifetimes.
Now, Frannie either has to give up her ambitions of becoming a novelist to remain Henry's assistant in the Dakota forever, or somehow free her ghost family from their immortal home. With her career, future, and heart on the line, can Frannie find a way to write them all a happily ever after . . . life?
Emma R. Alban brings her signature swoon-worthy writing to another gorgeous sapphic love story that will have every reader yearning for their own Hot Ghost Mom.
A struggling writer falls for the hot ghost mom she meets in the iconic Dakota Building in a romance perfect for fans of The Dead Romantics.
Frannie's awful boss, celebrated literary novelist Henry L. Olsen, just told her that her latest manuscript is a dud—again. Frustrated and lonely, Frannie stomps around the ninth floor of the famously haunted Dakota Building in Manhattan, desperate for something to change. And then, something does.
Bridgette, the ghost of a little girl from 1889, appears out of nowhere and asks Frannie to play catch. Shocked, and wildly curious, Frannie says yes to the ghostly invitation, and soon meets Bridgette's ghost-brother, Michael . . . and the children's exceedingly attractive and aloof 1960s ghost mom, Elsa.
Fascinated, and more than a little flustered, Frannie starts secretly writing a book about Elsa (a.k.a. Hot Ghost Mom). And while her boss is on book tour, through a mutual affection for musicals, banter, and the ghost children, Frannie and Elsa slowly become friends, until Frannie finds herself tumbling head over heels in love with a ghost tied to a building she couldn't afford to live in over four lifetimes.
Now, Frannie either has to give up her ambitions of becoming a novelist to remain Henry's assistant in the Dakota forever, or somehow free her ghost family from their immortal home. With her career, future, and heart on the line, can Frannie find a way to write them all a happily ever after . . . life?
Emma R. Alban brings her signature swoon-worthy writing to another gorgeous sapphic love story that will have every reader yearning for their own Hot Ghost Mom.
336 pages, Paperback
Published September 29, 2026
About the author
Emma R. Alban
5 books957 followersRaised in the Hudson Valley, Emma now lives in Los Angeles, enjoying the eternal sunshine, ocean, and mountains. When she isn't writing books or screenplays, she can usually be found stress baking with the AC on full blast, skiing late into the spring, singing showtunes at the top of her lungs on the freeway, and reading anywhere there’s somewhere to lean.
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review ♡
There is something so unbelievably funny to me about the fact that I walked (ran) into this book expecting exactly one thing: haha hot ghost mom. That was the pitch that sold me and I ran. Not walked, RAN. You see, you cannot tell a sapphic audience “there’s a hot ghost mother living in the Dakota Building” and expect us to behave rationally. You simply cannot. I came in fully prepared for a campy paranormal romance with some flirting, a few ghostly shenanigans, maybe a couple of emotional moments sprinkled in for seasoning, and then I’d clock out, happily entertained. Instead, I’m here having to unpack grief, ambition, endings, love, family, the passage of time, what it means to hold on, what it means to let go, and whether happiness is defined by forever or merely by the time we were lucky enough to have.
Which is honestly a little rude of Emma R. Alban, if you ask me.
This book is, at its core, about death. But somehow it is even more about living. It is about time and the strange ways it stretches and collapses depending on who is experiencing it. It is about family, both the one you’re born into and the one you accidentally assemble because an eight-year-old Victorian ghost decided you looked lonely enough to throw a ball with. It is about dreams that ask impossible things of you. It is about choosing between the future you’ve spent years chasing and the present that unexpectedly becomes everything you’ve ever wanted.
This book is a romance, yes, but it is also a story about stories. It is a book about writers, about creating narratives, about the impossible pressure of writing endings worthy of the lives that came before them. Frannie spends so much of this novel trying to understand Elsa, trying to write her, trying to make sense of another person’s existence through fiction, while simultaneously trying to figure out her own. The novel keeps returning to this idea that every ending is also an interpretation and I found myself thinking about that a lot after I’d finished reading.
Well speaking of Frannie, she was such an easy protagonist to root for. She has that wonderfully awkward energy where she somehow manages to be endearing, embarrassing, funny, emotionally intelligent, and just a little bit of a disaster all at once. She overthinks everything, develops a hopeless crush on a woman who has technically died long ago, writes what is essentially glorified real person fanfiction about said hot ghost, and somehow I spent the entire novel thinking, “same.” I believed her insecurities, I believed her ambition, and most importantly, I believed why she fell so hard for Elsa.
Sigh. Elsa. I get it, Frannie. I really, truly get it. She is beautiful, guarded, intelligent, intimidating in that incredibly attractive way where someone seems perpetually two seconds away from judging your entire existence, and yet underneath all of that is someone who has spent decades protecting herself from inevitable loss. I really enjoyed watching that emotional armor crack open.
Their chemistry felt wonderfully effortless because so much of it wasn’t built on grand declarations, but on conversations, on watching movies together, on debating books, on existing beside each other. Sometimes love really is just finding someone who understands every niche reference your brain insists on making.
Speaking of conversations, I think one of my absolute favorite parts of the entire novel was how much these characters simply... talk. Like this books is just so…nerdy. Affectionately. Lovingly. Relatablely (that’s not a word, is it?). Everyone is constantly talking about books, movies, musicals, social media, pop culture, writing, storytelling, media, ghosts, and whatever bizarre rabbit hole their brains decide to sprint toward next, and I ate every single conversation up. These characters genuinely sound like people who consume stories because they love stories, and as someone whose personality has unfortunately become approximately 70% books and 30% talking about books, I felt extremely seen. Their banter never felt like references for the sake of references. It felt like the language these people naturally speak. It was playful, witty, sometimes delightfully dorky, and it made the relationships feel lived in. There was one discussion in particular about the infamous miscommunication trope and I have never felt so aggressively represented in my entire life. As a proud lifelong defender of miscommunication /when done well/, I felt incredibly seen. Thank you, Frannie, for fighting the good fight. Shakespeare walked so romance authors could continue refusing to let two people simply have one normal conversation.
The ghost mechanics were also surprisingly fascinating. I expected the paranormal elements to exist mostly as aesthetic dressing for the romance, but it actually puts a lot of thought into how ghosts function, what they can and cannot do (wink wonk), and how immortality becomes less magical and more...exhausting. The rules felt internally consistent, and more importantly, emotionally meaningful. Every supernatural limitation reinforced the central themes instead of distracting from them. I always appreciate speculative fiction that remembers its fantastical elements should serve the emotional heart of the story rather than simply exist because they’re cool. Although, to be fair, ghosts are pretty cool.
And then of course, Bridgette and Michael. They brought so much warmth, humor, innocence, and emotional weight to the story that I honestly cannot imagine the book without them. The found family aspect ended up becoming just as compelling to me as the romance itself. Watching Frannie slowly become part of this strange little household made every joyful moment sweeter because the entire time there was that awful little voice in the back of my head whispering, “nothing this beautiful can possibly last forever.”
If I do have one major criticism, it would probably be the pacing of the romance. I actually wanted MORE. Which, admittedly, is a nice problem to have. I loved Frannie and Elsa together enough that I found myself wishing the book lingered a little longer in their relationship before moving forward. I think a slower burn would’ve made the emotional payoff even stronger because every interaction between them was already so charming. I simply wanted more excuses to watch them exist together.
OKAY. This is where the spoilers (i think?) start. Tread carefully.
Unfortunately...I have very complicated feelings about the ending. Throughout the novel, there are so many conversations about endings. Happy endings. Sad endings. The importance of closure. Whether every story needs resolution. Whether love is worth pursuing even when you already know it cannot last forever. Because of that, I honestly believed the book was building toward an ending that would confidently commit to one emotional truth or another. I genuinely didn’t care whether it ended happily or heartbreakingly because I trusted the book and the author enough to make either choice feel earned. But instead, it chooses uncertainty with an open ending. Is that poetic? Yeah. Does it fit the themes? Honestly, yes. Did it still leave me staring at the final page like someone had unplugged my Wi-Fi halfway through the last episode of a 10 season TV show? Also yes. I think that’s what disappointed me the most and it’s not that I need every story tied up with a perfect little bow I SWEAR but because the novel spends so much time reflecting on the significance of endings that I found myself craving one with a little more certainty. I wanted to grieve something concrete or celebrate something concrete. JUST GIVE ME CONCRETE. Instead, I was left suspended somewhere between hope and heartbreak, and while I understand why that works artistically, emotionally I couldn’t help wanting just...a little more.
Maybe the real happily ever afterlife is the friends we made along the wa-*gunshots*
Even so, I don’t want that criticism to overshadow everything this novel accomplished because there is so much to love here. It’s funny, heartfelt, romantic, sexy, quietly devastating, endlessly charming, and surprisingly thoughtful. It made me laugh. It made me smile. It made me think about ambition, mortality, storytelling, and the impossible mathematics of loving people we cannot keep forever.
If there’s one thing this book reminded me of, it’s that I believe love isn’t only measured by permanence and that sometimes the bravest thing a story can say is that something was worth experiencing even if it couldn’t last forever. And while I may still be side-eyeing that ending just a little, I closed this book feeling grateful that I got to spend time with Frannie, Elsa, Bridgette, and Michael. They haunted me in the best way possible.
There is something so unbelievably funny to me about the fact that I walked (ran) into this book expecting exactly one thing: haha hot ghost mom. That was the pitch that sold me and I ran. Not walked, RAN. You see, you cannot tell a sapphic audience “there’s a hot ghost mother living in the Dakota Building” and expect us to behave rationally. You simply cannot. I came in fully prepared for a campy paranormal romance with some flirting, a few ghostly shenanigans, maybe a couple of emotional moments sprinkled in for seasoning, and then I’d clock out, happily entertained. Instead, I’m here having to unpack grief, ambition, endings, love, family, the passage of time, what it means to hold on, what it means to let go, and whether happiness is defined by forever or merely by the time we were lucky enough to have.
Which is honestly a little rude of Emma R. Alban, if you ask me.
This book is, at its core, about death. But somehow it is even more about living. It is about time and the strange ways it stretches and collapses depending on who is experiencing it. It is about family, both the one you’re born into and the one you accidentally assemble because an eight-year-old Victorian ghost decided you looked lonely enough to throw a ball with. It is about dreams that ask impossible things of you. It is about choosing between the future you’ve spent years chasing and the present that unexpectedly becomes everything you’ve ever wanted.
This book is a romance, yes, but it is also a story about stories. It is a book about writers, about creating narratives, about the impossible pressure of writing endings worthy of the lives that came before them. Frannie spends so much of this novel trying to understand Elsa, trying to write her, trying to make sense of another person’s existence through fiction, while simultaneously trying to figure out her own. The novel keeps returning to this idea that every ending is also an interpretation and I found myself thinking about that a lot after I’d finished reading.
Well speaking of Frannie, she was such an easy protagonist to root for. She has that wonderfully awkward energy where she somehow manages to be endearing, embarrassing, funny, emotionally intelligent, and just a little bit of a disaster all at once. She overthinks everything, develops a hopeless crush on a woman who has technically died long ago, writes what is essentially glorified real person fanfiction about said hot ghost, and somehow I spent the entire novel thinking, “same.” I believed her insecurities, I believed her ambition, and most importantly, I believed why she fell so hard for Elsa.
Sigh. Elsa. I get it, Frannie. I really, truly get it. She is beautiful, guarded, intelligent, intimidating in that incredibly attractive way where someone seems perpetually two seconds away from judging your entire existence, and yet underneath all of that is someone who has spent decades protecting herself from inevitable loss. I really enjoyed watching that emotional armor crack open.
Their chemistry felt wonderfully effortless because so much of it wasn’t built on grand declarations, but on conversations, on watching movies together, on debating books, on existing beside each other. Sometimes love really is just finding someone who understands every niche reference your brain insists on making.
Speaking of conversations, I think one of my absolute favorite parts of the entire novel was how much these characters simply... talk. Like this books is just so…nerdy. Affectionately. Lovingly. Relatablely (that’s not a word, is it?). Everyone is constantly talking about books, movies, musicals, social media, pop culture, writing, storytelling, media, ghosts, and whatever bizarre rabbit hole their brains decide to sprint toward next, and I ate every single conversation up. These characters genuinely sound like people who consume stories because they love stories, and as someone whose personality has unfortunately become approximately 70% books and 30% talking about books, I felt extremely seen. Their banter never felt like references for the sake of references. It felt like the language these people naturally speak. It was playful, witty, sometimes delightfully dorky, and it made the relationships feel lived in. There was one discussion in particular about the infamous miscommunication trope and I have never felt so aggressively represented in my entire life. As a proud lifelong defender of miscommunication /when done well/, I felt incredibly seen. Thank you, Frannie, for fighting the good fight. Shakespeare walked so romance authors could continue refusing to let two people simply have one normal conversation.
The ghost mechanics were also surprisingly fascinating. I expected the paranormal elements to exist mostly as aesthetic dressing for the romance, but it actually puts a lot of thought into how ghosts function, what they can and cannot do (wink wonk), and how immortality becomes less magical and more...exhausting. The rules felt internally consistent, and more importantly, emotionally meaningful. Every supernatural limitation reinforced the central themes instead of distracting from them. I always appreciate speculative fiction that remembers its fantastical elements should serve the emotional heart of the story rather than simply exist because they’re cool. Although, to be fair, ghosts are pretty cool.
And then of course, Bridgette and Michael. They brought so much warmth, humor, innocence, and emotional weight to the story that I honestly cannot imagine the book without them. The found family aspect ended up becoming just as compelling to me as the romance itself. Watching Frannie slowly become part of this strange little household made every joyful moment sweeter because the entire time there was that awful little voice in the back of my head whispering, “nothing this beautiful can possibly last forever.”
If I do have one major criticism, it would probably be the pacing of the romance. I actually wanted MORE. Which, admittedly, is a nice problem to have. I loved Frannie and Elsa together enough that I found myself wishing the book lingered a little longer in their relationship before moving forward. I think a slower burn would’ve made the emotional payoff even stronger because every interaction between them was already so charming. I simply wanted more excuses to watch them exist together.
OKAY. This is where the spoilers (i think?) start. Tread carefully.
Unfortunately...I have very complicated feelings about the ending. Throughout the novel, there are so many conversations about endings. Happy endings. Sad endings. The importance of closure. Whether every story needs resolution. Whether love is worth pursuing even when you already know it cannot last forever. Because of that, I honestly believed the book was building toward an ending that would confidently commit to one emotional truth or another. I genuinely didn’t care whether it ended happily or heartbreakingly because I trusted the book and the author enough to make either choice feel earned. But instead, it chooses uncertainty with an open ending. Is that poetic? Yeah. Does it fit the themes? Honestly, yes. Did it still leave me staring at the final page like someone had unplugged my Wi-Fi halfway through the last episode of a 10 season TV show? Also yes. I think that’s what disappointed me the most and it’s not that I need every story tied up with a perfect little bow I SWEAR but because the novel spends so much time reflecting on the significance of endings that I found myself craving one with a little more certainty. I wanted to grieve something concrete or celebrate something concrete. JUST GIVE ME CONCRETE. Instead, I was left suspended somewhere between hope and heartbreak, and while I understand why that works artistically, emotionally I couldn’t help wanting just...a little more.
Maybe the real happily ever afterlife is the friends we made along the wa-*gunshots*
Even so, I don’t want that criticism to overshadow everything this novel accomplished because there is so much to love here. It’s funny, heartfelt, romantic, sexy, quietly devastating, endlessly charming, and surprisingly thoughtful. It made me laugh. It made me smile. It made me think about ambition, mortality, storytelling, and the impossible mathematics of loving people we cannot keep forever.
If there’s one thing this book reminded me of, it’s that I believe love isn’t only measured by permanence and that sometimes the bravest thing a story can say is that something was worth experiencing even if it couldn’t last forever. And while I may still be side-eyeing that ending just a little, I closed this book feeling grateful that I got to spend time with Frannie, Elsa, Bridgette, and Michael. They haunted me in the best way possible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Rating: 3.25 stars
I can't review this book without spoilers, so caution ahead.
rep: single pov bi fmc | sapphic love interest
I can't review this book without spoilers, so caution ahead.
rep: single pov bi fmc | sapphic love interest
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.25 ⭐
Okay, this was such a complicated novel for me to rate because there were things about it that I truly appreciated, especially the message behind the story, but emotionally, I can't say I found the reading experience particularly satisfying. And truthfully, that feeling wasn't caused only by the way this wrapped up. I had quite a few mixed emotions throughout the entire thing.
I won't lie, for about the first 40% of this, I had a really hard time getting into it. The early chapters felt like they were just looping through the same situations, and without any real forward momentum, it felt like I was reading the same pages over and over. Thankfully, somewhere around the halfway mark, something finally clicked for me, and I started enjoying the story much more. From there, I was much more locked into the plot.
The absolute highlight for me was the found family dynamic between Frannie and the children. I loved how naturally their relationship developed instead of having them instantly become this perfect little family. Bridgette and Michael were both such sweet kids, and knowing what they had already been through made their circumstances especially heartbreaking. Seeing Frannie slowly bring some happiness into their lives and wanting to give them the kind of life they deserved genuinely warmed my heart. Her desire to build a family with them was also incredibly touching, and those scenes were easily the ones that made me the most emotional.
As for Frannie and Elsa? Yeah, that’s where things get a bit tricky for me, mostly because I didn't feel that initial spark between them. Frannie's fascination with Elsa seemed to be almost entirely based on her appearance, and the sudden intensity of her emotions made me step back and wonder how she was already that attached. It took some time before I started believing in the emotional side of their connection.
Fortunately, their relationship gradually became more layered as the plot progressed. I began noticing the moments where Frannie was in fact getting to know Elsa and developing feelings that went beyond physical attraction. Somewhere along the way, I realized I had started rooting for them, which was in all honesty a little surprising considering how skeptical I was at the beginning.
But I have to talk about the phrase "hot ghost mom" because PLEASE... It was repeated so often that it became almost impossible for me not to notice it every time it came up. And because it constantly emphasized Elsa's looks, it made that initial impression of Frannie's infatuation even stronger. Thankfully, the novel eventually showed that Frannie's feelings had grown into something much deeper. She began to view Elsa differently, developing a real, genuine care for her, which gave their bond the emotional weight I was looking for.
Something else that really stood out to me was Emma’s writing style here. The prose was just so beautiful and full of feeling, and the specific atmosphere she created was a major standout compared to her other books. There was a certain intensity running underneath the entire story, but given the themes it focused on, I could understand why it was written that way.
My biggest issue, however, is how this book was marketed. It was presented as a "paranormal romance," and if I'm being totally real, I found that description very misleading. but I don't think calling this a romance gives readers an accurate idea of what they're getting.
Honestly, I think I would have approached it very differently if it had been marketed as speculative fiction with a romance subplot instead. I don't normally pick up tragedies or speculative fiction because they're simply not what I look for when choosing my next read, but I really wish I had known what kind of story I was getting into from the beginning.
Instead, I finished the book feeling like I had somehow ended up almost exactly where I started. And if you're going to build this much tension around a star-crossed relationship, I need some kind of conclusion to make all those stakes feel worthwhile. Without that resolution, the whole thing felt unnecessarily frustrating, especially because I don't think the ambiguity only affects the romance. It also takes away from Frannie's growth.
but the metafictional nature of the finale means we don't really get to understand how she got there. Was it an internal change? Something external? Did she personally go through a specific shift? We're left to interpret it, and sadly, that kind of ambiguity just doesn't work for me.
Overall, Happily Ever Afterlife is a thoughtful and introspective story about loneliness, connection, and self-discovery, and I absolutely understand the appeal of its message. There really are some sweet and wonderful ideas scattered throughout, especially the found family plotline which I just loved.
At the same time, this simply wasn't the kind of love story I personally wanted. That's ultimately a matter of taste because I tend to gravitate toward certain genres and this falls outside the ones I normally read. But I can totally see other readers connecting with it much more strongly than I did, particularly if they enjoy unconventional storytelling and endings that leave room for interpretation.
So, if you're looking for something different, don't mind a romance without a traditional HEA, and you’re cool with being left to figure out the exact meaning of the ending on your own, this could definitely be a story worth picking up. For me, though, I think I needed something a little more emotionally conclusive.
Okay, this was such a complicated novel for me to rate because there were things about it that I truly appreciated, especially the message behind the story, but emotionally, I can't say I found the reading experience particularly satisfying. And truthfully, that feeling wasn't caused only by the way this wrapped up. I had quite a few mixed emotions throughout the entire thing.
I won't lie, for about the first 40% of this, I had a really hard time getting into it. The early chapters felt like they were just looping through the same situations, and without any real forward momentum, it felt like I was reading the same pages over and over. Thankfully, somewhere around the halfway mark, something finally clicked for me, and I started enjoying the story much more. From there, I was much more locked into the plot.
The absolute highlight for me was the found family dynamic between Frannie and the children. I loved how naturally their relationship developed instead of having them instantly become this perfect little family. Bridgette and Michael were both such sweet kids, and knowing what they had already been through made their circumstances especially heartbreaking. Seeing Frannie slowly bring some happiness into their lives and wanting to give them the kind of life they deserved genuinely warmed my heart. Her desire to build a family with them was also incredibly touching, and those scenes were easily the ones that made me the most emotional.
As for Frannie and Elsa? Yeah, that’s where things get a bit tricky for me, mostly because I didn't feel that initial spark between them. Frannie's fascination with Elsa seemed to be almost entirely based on her appearance, and the sudden intensity of her emotions made me step back and wonder how she was already that attached. It took some time before I started believing in the emotional side of their connection.
Fortunately, their relationship gradually became more layered as the plot progressed. I began noticing the moments where Frannie was in fact getting to know Elsa and developing feelings that went beyond physical attraction. Somewhere along the way, I realized I had started rooting for them, which was in all honesty a little surprising considering how skeptical I was at the beginning.
But I have to talk about the phrase "hot ghost mom" because PLEASE... It was repeated so often that it became almost impossible for me not to notice it every time it came up. And because it constantly emphasized Elsa's looks, it made that initial impression of Frannie's infatuation even stronger. Thankfully, the novel eventually showed that Frannie's feelings had grown into something much deeper. She began to view Elsa differently, developing a real, genuine care for her, which gave their bond the emotional weight I was looking for.
Something else that really stood out to me was Emma’s writing style here. The prose was just so beautiful and full of feeling, and the specific atmosphere she created was a major standout compared to her other books. There was a certain intensity running underneath the entire story, but given the themes it focused on, I could understand why it was written that way.
My biggest issue, however, is how this book was marketed. It was presented as a "paranormal romance," and if I'm being totally real, I found that description very misleading. but I don't think calling this a romance gives readers an accurate idea of what they're getting.
Honestly, I think I would have approached it very differently if it had been marketed as speculative fiction with a romance subplot instead. I don't normally pick up tragedies or speculative fiction because they're simply not what I look for when choosing my next read, but I really wish I had known what kind of story I was getting into from the beginning.
Instead, I finished the book feeling like I had somehow ended up almost exactly where I started. And if you're going to build this much tension around a star-crossed relationship, I need some kind of conclusion to make all those stakes feel worthwhile. Without that resolution, the whole thing felt unnecessarily frustrating, especially because I don't think the ambiguity only affects the romance. It also takes away from Frannie's growth.
but the metafictional nature of the finale means we don't really get to understand how she got there. Was it an internal change? Something external? Did she personally go through a specific shift? We're left to interpret it, and sadly, that kind of ambiguity just doesn't work for me.
Overall, Happily Ever Afterlife is a thoughtful and introspective story about loneliness, connection, and self-discovery, and I absolutely understand the appeal of its message. There really are some sweet and wonderful ideas scattered throughout, especially the found family plotline which I just loved.
At the same time, this simply wasn't the kind of love story I personally wanted. That's ultimately a matter of taste because I tend to gravitate toward certain genres and this falls outside the ones I normally read. But I can totally see other readers connecting with it much more strongly than I did, particularly if they enjoy unconventional storytelling and endings that leave room for interpretation.
So, if you're looking for something different, don't mind a romance without a traditional HEA, and you’re cool with being left to figure out the exact meaning of the ending on your own, this could definitely be a story worth picking up. For me, though, I think I needed something a little more emotionally conclusive.
July 24, 2026
this kinda pissed me off. “hot ghost mom” is repeated 100x and nothing hot or honestly particularly ghostly happens. any plot holes are immediately solved by the convenient ghost lore. the sex was very fade to black which not every romance book needs to have smut but come on … say less about the fictional supposedly amazing meta-book that the main character is writing and write this romance !!! also why do these dead kids even need a mom?
September 8, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I really like the way the author created the world. For example, having the ghosts be able to be seen when they want to be seen and that they can make someone alive, invisible as well.
The author does an amazing job at the sapphic yearning and yearning in general. I found myself feeling what Frannie was feeling. Because let’s be real, my dumbass would fall in love with a hot ghost MILF and her ghost kids. And the implications that come with that? The not being able to tell anyone, her debating on staying an assistant forever to be with Elsa? 100% some sh*t I would do lol.
I get it. Okay? I get the ending. Stop reading if you don’t want spoilers. Frannie even says it herself, you want those HEA in books even if it’s not realistic. This leads me to believe that Elsa and the kids didn’t make it over to the brownstone apartment. I get that it’s “unknown”. I get that it’s a way to see, “hey, she thought she couldn’t go on if they were gone, but she did.” aspect of it. But I’m petty and just want to KNOW!
Overall, this was a beautiful and somewhat tragic story. It was so much more than a romance. This definitely pulled on my heart strings. 4.5 stars.
I really like the way the author created the world. For example, having the ghosts be able to be seen when they want to be seen and that they can make someone alive, invisible as well.
The author does an amazing job at the sapphic yearning and yearning in general. I found myself feeling what Frannie was feeling. Because let’s be real, my dumbass would fall in love with a hot ghost MILF and her ghost kids. And the implications that come with that? The not being able to tell anyone, her debating on staying an assistant forever to be with Elsa? 100% some sh*t I would do lol.
I get it. Okay? I get the ending. Stop reading if you don’t want spoilers. Frannie even says it herself, you want those HEA in books even if it’s not realistic. This leads me to believe that Elsa and the kids didn’t make it over to the brownstone apartment. I get that it’s “unknown”. I get that it’s a way to see, “hey, she thought she couldn’t go on if they were gone, but she did.” aspect of it. But I’m petty and just want to KNOW!
Overall, this was a beautiful and somewhat tragic story. It was so much more than a romance. This definitely pulled on my heart strings. 4.5 stars.
October 11, 2026
i enjoyed this one quite a bit! emma r. alban has become a must read for me, as i've enjoyed all of her historical sapphic romances so far. this was (as far as i know?) her first foray into a modern story and i had a good time. i might be able to use this one for the afterlife prompt for r/fantasy bingo! i do tend to prefer dual povs in romances, so i would have liked to have gotten elsa's pov as well, but it makes sense with the ghostly lore and such. i liked frannie as a progatonist, the ghost children were adorable, and the romance between elsa and frannie was a lot of fun.
October 6, 2026
Take a shot every time the phrase, 'hot ghost mom' was said even though there was nothing hot about this and both characters were so fucking bland. I've intentionally avoided this author because her most popular books being Taylor Swift lyrics is a dead giveaway of the contents of the books and I knew that I'd hate them. However I saw the blurb of this on insta and decided to take a chance only to have my initial aversion proven right.
Taylor Swift references all over the fucking book, every single remotely interesting ghost plot hole/question being conveniently solved the very next chapter and don't even get me started on the main character writing a book and it being the greatest thing to ever grace publishing. I can suspend disbelief but come on, don't spit in my face now.
I got an arc from Alcove Press.
Taylor Swift references all over the fucking book, every single remotely interesting ghost plot hole/question being conveniently solved the very next chapter and don't even get me started on the main character writing a book and it being the greatest thing to ever grace publishing. I can suspend disbelief but come on, don't spit in my face now.
I got an arc from Alcove Press.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was sent this book as an advance copy by the publisher via NetGalley for reviewing purposes, but all opinions are my own.
3.5 stars
This was one of those books I really enjoy while reading because it's objectively really cute, but sort of fall flat once I am away from the cuteness of it all and actually think about the execution. There were some things that didn't work for me, starting from the several real world movie/music/etc references that either you get or you don't (I mostly didn't) and that seemed to be the only actual topic of conversation between our protagonist and the Hot Ghost Mom (a phrasing I hope never to read again as often as I did in the first 20-30% of the book) (even though I get it, she's hot and she's a ghost. and a mom). If you really care about ghost mechanics, there's quite a bit of it here, but it might not be satisfying to some readers. I personally didn't care that much if things made sense or not because, I'll admit, the lesbian ghost and her kids distracted me. I also found the book-within-a-book stuff to be a bit much, especially going towards the end. I would have preferred more page time seeing some chemistry between the main characters. But as I said, the book has enough elements (the kids especially) to distract you from the details and what might not work, making this an enjoyable, even if not always light-hearted, read.
3.5 stars
This was one of those books I really enjoy while reading because it's objectively really cute, but sort of fall flat once I am away from the cuteness of it all and actually think about the execution. There were some things that didn't work for me, starting from the several real world movie/music/etc references that either you get or you don't (I mostly didn't) and that seemed to be the only actual topic of conversation between our protagonist and the Hot Ghost Mom (a phrasing I hope never to read again as often as I did in the first 20-30% of the book) (even though I get it, she's hot and she's a ghost. and a mom). If you really care about ghost mechanics, there's quite a bit of it here, but it might not be satisfying to some readers. I personally didn't care that much if things made sense or not because, I'll admit, the lesbian ghost and her kids distracted me. I also found the book-within-a-book stuff to be a bit much, especially going towards the end. I would have preferred more page time seeing some chemistry between the main characters. But as I said, the book has enough elements (the kids especially) to distract you from the details and what might not work, making this an enjoyable, even if not always light-hearted, read.
October 8, 2026
1.75 stars. I'm afraid I didn't particularly like this. I spent most of my time feeling bored and vaguely embarrassed. I think the story is meant to have a sort of fairytale-ish quality, but it falls flat, and just feels unbelievable and a little silly. I really did not care for the main character very much, which in turn made me feel bad, but ah well. The writing was not great. And I do agree with most other reviewers: this might have landed better if the author had chosen a firm ending and stuck with it.
Review to come, maybe? Or maybe not. I'm looking at my notes, and they're all pretty sarcastic and mean, which, again, makes me feel kinda bad. But wow, I really didn't care for this. A shame; I remember thinking the author's debut was really cute.
The audiobook, as read by Sarah Beth Goer, was pretty great, though. I liked her voice, especially for Elsa.
Review to come, maybe? Or maybe not. I'm looking at my notes, and they're all pretty sarcastic and mean, which, again, makes me feel kinda bad. But wow, I really didn't care for this. A shame; I remember thinking the author's debut was really cute.
The audiobook, as read by Sarah Beth Goer, was pretty great, though. I liked her voice, especially for Elsa.
Read
July 5, 2026👻💕 Happily Ever Afterlife 💕👻
📖 Bookish Thoughts
My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.
✨ What to Expect
• Sapphic Romance
• Ghost Romance
• Found Family
• Writer FMC
• Haunted Building
• Paranormal Romance
_ _ _ _
📅 Pub Date: September 29, 2026
Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
📖 Bookish Thoughts
My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.
✨ What to Expect
• Sapphic Romance
• Ghost Romance
• Found Family
• Writer FMC
• Haunted Building
• Paranormal Romance
_ _ _ _
📅 Pub Date: September 29, 2026
Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
2.5⭐
(+) :
- More sapphic ghosts in the future, publishing industry, thank you.
- My favorite aspect of the actual story was the lore about the different types of ghosts and I could have done with way more of that exploration and detailing.
- The kids were the best part. And the building. I had a really clear understanding of who they were and how it felt to be in that building, the energy that it gave off.
- There’s something really nice here but it's just buried under pretense. Someone also said in their respective review that it’s more women's lit and I agree. While that’s not a bad thing, it shouldn’t be marketed the way it is.
- This cover is fine. I think it would have been better if the two kids were on it too, and I’m not really a big fan of the pale yellow in this instance, but it’s fine.
(-) :
- I get that there is a different happiness in letting go but I have biigggg hatred for this ending. It's ambiguity is frankly cowardice and goes against the fundamentals of the romance genre. It also just ends up being a Bury your Gays. Seriously?? Absolutely wild. WILD.
- I found both leads a bit annoying. Frannie for her naivety and Elsa for her lack of any character once she lets up being rigid.
- This book spends WAY too much time talking about other media. I love musicals but they talk about it for so much and it barely does anything for the character development. Yes it’s a shared love between them and Elsa having been there for the golden age is interesting, but it can’t just be multiple pages of name dropping.
- There is SO much product placement in this book: Google chrome, Samsung tablet, Nissan Altima. Just to name a few.
- Toooo much book within a book and it feels like a crutch.
- This book did that annoying "see? Look at all the alphabet I can mention! Pride 4ever!'. I’m all for representation, but it can’t just be to be representative. As a queer person it drives me absolutely bonkers.
- ‘In the Meanwhile’ is a WAY better title. Especially with what the epilogue does for this book. Uh uh. Change it back.
(?) :
- So she's just cool with Henry after the book deal? What?
- So we just don't get to learn what happens to Gretchen and Brad? Why. Gretchen was great.
- Why would this book of all things (book within the book) go to auction for a quarter mil? No. Wholly unbelievable.
WILL I READ THE NEXT ONE? : This book has honestly burned me.
*Thank you to Alcove Press & Netgalley for providing this ARC!
SIMILAR BOOKS :
- 'One Last Stop' by Casey McQuiston
- 'You're the One That I Haunt' by Katie Jung
- 'Every Step She Takes' by Alison Cochrun
- 'The Devil She Knows' by Alexandria Bellefleur
- 'Happy Medium' by Sarah Adler
(+) :
- More sapphic ghosts in the future, publishing industry, thank you.
- My favorite aspect of the actual story was the lore about the different types of ghosts and I could have done with way more of that exploration and detailing.
- The kids were the best part. And the building. I had a really clear understanding of who they were and how it felt to be in that building, the energy that it gave off.
- There’s something really nice here but it's just buried under pretense. Someone also said in their respective review that it’s more women's lit and I agree. While that’s not a bad thing, it shouldn’t be marketed the way it is.
- This cover is fine. I think it would have been better if the two kids were on it too, and I’m not really a big fan of the pale yellow in this instance, but it’s fine.
(-) :
- I get that there is a different happiness in letting go but I have biigggg hatred for this ending. It's ambiguity is frankly cowardice and goes against the fundamentals of the romance genre. It also just ends up being a Bury your Gays. Seriously?? Absolutely wild. WILD.
- I found both leads a bit annoying. Frannie for her naivety and Elsa for her lack of any character once she lets up being rigid.
- This book spends WAY too much time talking about other media. I love musicals but they talk about it for so much and it barely does anything for the character development. Yes it’s a shared love between them and Elsa having been there for the golden age is interesting, but it can’t just be multiple pages of name dropping.
- There is SO much product placement in this book: Google chrome, Samsung tablet, Nissan Altima. Just to name a few.
- Toooo much book within a book and it feels like a crutch.
- This book did that annoying "see? Look at all the alphabet I can mention! Pride 4ever!'. I’m all for representation, but it can’t just be to be representative. As a queer person it drives me absolutely bonkers.
- ‘In the Meanwhile’ is a WAY better title. Especially with what the epilogue does for this book. Uh uh. Change it back.
(?) :
- So she's just cool with Henry after the book deal? What?
- So we just don't get to learn what happens to Gretchen and Brad? Why. Gretchen was great.
- Why would this book of all things (book within the book) go to auction for a quarter mil? No. Wholly unbelievable.
WILL I READ THE NEXT ONE? : This book has honestly burned me.
*Thank you to Alcove Press & Netgalley for providing this ARC!
SIMILAR BOOKS :
- 'One Last Stop' by Casey McQuiston
- 'You're the One That I Haunt' by Katie Jung
- 'Every Step She Takes' by Alison Cochrun
- 'The Devil She Knows' by Alexandria Bellefleur
- 'Happy Medium' by Sarah Adler
September 27, 2026
09/24/2026-09/26/2026
Thank you Alcove Press for the gifted widget of “Happily Ever Afterlife” by Emma R. Alban 👻
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(Coming September 29th, 2026!)
I love a good paranormal romance.
I love a good sapphic romance.
I love a book that makes me sob uncontrollably at the end and question life itself.
Most importantly I love a book that inspires me!
But seriously Emma you did NOT need to twist the knife with that ending! 😩
- thank you though it was really humbling for me! 😂
Thank you Alcove Press for the gifted widget of “Happily Ever Afterlife” by Emma R. Alban 👻
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(Coming September 29th, 2026!)
I love a good paranormal romance.
I love a good sapphic romance.
I love a book that makes me sob uncontrollably at the end and question life itself.
Most importantly I love a book that inspires me!
But seriously Emma you did NOT need to twist the knife with that ending! 😩
- thank you though it was really humbling for me! 😂
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I tried guys, I seriously tried. I picked it up more times than I could count and never could get past the first few pages. My final reading I got stuck on the extremely repetitive hot ghost mom. I think they were going for a cozy paranormal romance but it was just stuck on telling vs showing.
This was obviously not a good read for me,but I’m sure there will be people who find it more to their taste.
I received an ARC from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
This was obviously not a good read for me,but I’m sure there will be people who find it more to their taste.
I received an ARC from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
October 2, 2026
fine but that ending was some of the most unsatisfying shit I‘ve ever read
a generous 2.5/5 stars
a generous 2.5/5 stars
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What a feat to withhold the love interest's name for seven chapters! In "Happily Ever Afterlife," Alban proves that she understands the pact romance authors make with their readers. So it is ... disconcerting ... that she chooses to break that pact? There's a meta element at play (the heroine is writing a version of Alban's book) and much of the story's emotional core revolves around discussions of whether one can actually believe in/hope for a HEA in the story of their own life. I appreciate Alban's ambition here—she tries to draw on the meta element to have her cake & eat it too, HEA-speaking. Alas, she does not succeed. As one character says about Alban's heroine's own book: the sadder ending is the better fit for this narrative. Alban's refusal to commit to a true HFN or HEA is ITSELF a breaking of the romance pact, which makes this whole project feel ... emotionally incoherent. This novel should have been marketed as commercial/women's fiction, and it should have committed to its inevitable bittersweet ending. I fear this book won't reach its ideal readers, at least not in its current form and packaging.
This is Alban's first contemporary novel and my first time reading one of her books. It seems like this novel is a significant departure from her other romances, so I must withhold my full assessment of Alban as a Romance Novelist until I read one of her historicals.
This is Alban's first contemporary novel and my first time reading one of her books. It seems like this novel is a significant departure from her other romances, so I must withhold my full assessment of Alban as a Romance Novelist until I read one of her historicals.
September 29, 2026
I'm torn on this one as I really wanted to love it and truly loved some aspects of the story, but overall I felt that it was lacking.
What I love most about romance is that we get the HEA/HFN - we get that clear concise ending with the gooey feelings and just the overall knowing where it goes from here. With this book that wasn't the case really and I feel like this book would have been better in a different genre with a romance subplot because to call it a romance just feels misleading (speculative fiction with a romance subplot? Yes).
I absolutely adored the found family aspect - the way that Elsa stepped in to help and take care of the kids as they both needed that was beautiful. And the way that Bridgette met Frannie was just adorable. She and Michael were both such sweet kids and I adored the way that they got close to Frannie and how eager she was to really help improve their lives - she catered to their interests, supported them, and really loved them. It was sweet and made for the cutest little found family. Frannie and Elsa took some more time - aside from the "hot ghost mom" aspect it took 30% (or more) to really see more depth there. The emotions felt a bit off at first but they did slowly develop - again was it something that could have lead into a HEA? Not sure I'm convinced of that. I will say that for sure if I never read the words hot ghost mom again.... that'll be just fine with me as it was overused in this book!
Overall, I really enjoyed the messaging about grief and love. I loved the insight into loneliness and what that can do to a person. I enjoyed the found family, and also enjoyed the friendships outside of the main plot point! Seeing them grow and expand really was heartwarming.
Pick this one up if you're okay with it not being a traditional HEA romance, and if you want to read about a sweet little ghost family!
Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
What I love most about romance is that we get the HEA/HFN - we get that clear concise ending with the gooey feelings and just the overall knowing where it goes from here. With this book that wasn't the case really and I feel like this book would have been better in a different genre with a romance subplot because to call it a romance just feels misleading (speculative fiction with a romance subplot? Yes).
I absolutely adored the found family aspect - the way that Elsa stepped in to help and take care of the kids as they both needed that was beautiful. And the way that Bridgette met Frannie was just adorable. She and Michael were both such sweet kids and I adored the way that they got close to Frannie and how eager she was to really help improve their lives - she catered to their interests, supported them, and really loved them. It was sweet and made for the cutest little found family. Frannie and Elsa took some more time - aside from the "hot ghost mom" aspect it took 30% (or more) to really see more depth there. The emotions felt a bit off at first but they did slowly develop - again was it something that could have lead into a HEA? Not sure I'm convinced of that. I will say that for sure if I never read the words hot ghost mom again.... that'll be just fine with me as it was overused in this book!
Overall, I really enjoyed the messaging about grief and love. I loved the insight into loneliness and what that can do to a person. I enjoyed the found family, and also enjoyed the friendships outside of the main plot point! Seeing them grow and expand really was heartwarming.
Pick this one up if you're okay with it not being a traditional HEA romance, and if you want to read about a sweet little ghost family!
Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
October 8, 2026
I’d like to preface this by saying I usually really enjoy Emma Alban’s books. This one, however, was painful. Maybe it was the protagonist who clearly needed to work out her priorities. Like please… don’t throw a fit when you get everything you were wishing for 30 pages earlier.
Also the language was absolutely unbearable. Maybe I’m a Scrooge or whatever but no 8 year old girl (an 8 year old girl who died in the 1800s mind you) should have a paragraph explaining how she’s going to love her stuffed genderfluid axolotl toy because it doesn’t matter if it wants to be a girl or a boy or something in between. 1. It’s an inanimate object 2. It’s an axolotl, gender expression doesn’t matter to animals. UGHHHH I just wanted to scream.
Plus the page long rants about musical theater. I get it we can be fans, a sentence here or there about Sondheim is perfectly reasonable. But no. I was held hostage to these completely unnecessary conversations. It felt like torture. I’d try to skip through and a page later they’d STILL BE TALKING ABOUT FUCKING INTO THE WOODS!!!!
Finally, she used the phrase twitter pated” at least twice, and arguably that’s a one time use kind of word.
I’m hoping Alban’s return to the Victorian/regency era on her next book will free me from the torture that was this book.
Also the language was absolutely unbearable. Maybe I’m a Scrooge or whatever but no 8 year old girl (an 8 year old girl who died in the 1800s mind you) should have a paragraph explaining how she’s going to love her stuffed genderfluid axolotl toy because it doesn’t matter if it wants to be a girl or a boy or something in between. 1. It’s an inanimate object 2. It’s an axolotl, gender expression doesn’t matter to animals. UGHHHH I just wanted to scream.
Plus the page long rants about musical theater. I get it we can be fans, a sentence here or there about Sondheim is perfectly reasonable. But no. I was held hostage to these completely unnecessary conversations. It felt like torture. I’d try to skip through and a page later they’d STILL BE TALKING ABOUT FUCKING INTO THE WOODS!!!!
Finally, she used the phrase twitter pated” at least twice, and arguably that’s a one time use kind of word.
I’m hoping Alban’s return to the Victorian/regency era on her next book will free me from the torture that was this book.
September 26, 2026
A Sapphic Paranormal love story. Frannie works for Henry in an Old Haunted Building, The Dakota Building. There she befriended 2 cute children, Bridgette and Michael. And she then fell for their mom, Elsa. The only catch is, Elsa, Bridgette and Michael are ghosts and they are stuck in the Dakota Building. Frannie can never afford to live in The Dakota Building. Does that mean she has to be Henry’s assistant forever just so she could be with her new ghost family?
This is a rather odd story for me. I have personally never read a story as such. It is light hearted and I really do like the MCs. The kids are great too as are Frannie’s friends. I really like the dynamics between the different characters, not just Frannie and Elsa’s. But I guess I did have some difficulty with believing that a relationship with ghosts as such can happen and also how the book ends.
I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
This is a rather odd story for me. I have personally never read a story as such. It is light hearted and I really do like the MCs. The kids are great too as are Frannie’s friends. I really like the dynamics between the different characters, not just Frannie and Elsa’s. But I guess I did have some difficulty with believing that a relationship with ghosts as such can happen and also how the book ends.
I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
October 4, 2026
I'm still processing that end, and I need to put my thoughts on words, but let me tell you that's just wow!
Sapphic paranormal romance, a beautiful book about grieving, growing and becoming all tied up with music, books and sweet romance
I was a little excited to get this book, I love paranormal/magic romance and It surprise me how smoothly we got into it
Franie just went into follow a little victorian girl ghost and accepted everything the way someone who's feeling lonely and conflicted and need a friend would do
And since that she just becomes one of them, the chemistry, the laughs all was like they're already existed between them. So I got to enjoy it and then I was struck with the end. I mean the end is in my head and my only loves Heas so...
Is my first book by this author but I have to dig more books from my tbr soon
Thanks to Emma R Alban and her team for give me a copy of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion
Sapphic paranormal romance, a beautiful book about grieving, growing and becoming all tied up with music, books and sweet romance
I was a little excited to get this book, I love paranormal/magic romance and It surprise me how smoothly we got into it
Franie just went into follow a little victorian girl ghost and accepted everything the way someone who's feeling lonely and conflicted and need a friend would do
And since that she just becomes one of them, the chemistry, the laughs all was like they're already existed between them. So I got to enjoy it and then I was struck with the end. I mean the end is in my head and my only loves Heas so...
Is my first book by this author but I have to dig more books from my tbr soon
Thanks to Emma R Alban and her team for give me a copy of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!
A fun and emotional romance!
Not gonna lie, the romance is a little instalovey, with Frannie immediately falling for Elsa at their first meeting. But after Elsa's initial animosity towards her, I really liked their dynamic and banter. I know nothing about musicals, but I liked their back and forth and playful arguments about musicals. This might just be a me thing, but I love reading pages and pages of characters just hanging out and talking about whatever, and this book definitely provides that.
The central conflict to their relationship is that Frannie desperately wants to be with Elsa for the rest of her life, even if it means giving up on her dreams, while Elsa wants Frannie to put herself first and fulfill her dreams, even if it means not being able to be together.
I loved this conflict, because I can fully understand why each of them feels the way they do. While we only get Frannie's PoV and not Elsa's, Elsa's concerns make sense and are totally valid. Frannie also feels some self-doubt about whether she's really able to commit the rest of her life to being with Elsa, which I appreciate the realism of. (As realistic as it can be to be a relationship with a ghost.)
While Frannie's character feels properly fleshed out, Elsa feels like a generic one-dimensional love interest. I wish we could have seen more from her, because I can't see why Frannie would feel so strongly about her enough to want to spend the rest of her life with her. It also bothered me that Elsa crossed Frannie's boundaries in a pretty big way, and it's never properly addressed. I was hoping that Frannie would have a proper conversation with her, or that Elsa would at least show some remorse about it, but that never happens.
From what I've written it may seem that I dislike this romance, but honestly, I was pretty emotionally invested! The combination of Frannie's and Elsa's seemingly doomed relationship plus the high stakes of Frannie's plan to keep them together made for an engaging plot that kept me reading to find out the ending.
Also, I've seen some other reviews address this, so I shall also chime in: you really cannot take the ghost lore seriously if you want to enjoy this book. Some reviewers seem bothered by the technicalities of the ghost science, but personally I'm not invested in how ghosts operate so this wasn't a problem for me.
A fun and emotional romance!
Not gonna lie, the romance is a little instalovey, with Frannie immediately falling for Elsa at their first meeting. But after Elsa's initial animosity towards her, I really liked their dynamic and banter. I know nothing about musicals, but I liked their back and forth and playful arguments about musicals. This might just be a me thing, but I love reading pages and pages of characters just hanging out and talking about whatever, and this book definitely provides that.
The central conflict to their relationship is that Frannie desperately wants to be with Elsa for the rest of her life, even if it means giving up on her dreams, while Elsa wants Frannie to put herself first and fulfill her dreams, even if it means not being able to be together.
I loved this conflict, because I can fully understand why each of them feels the way they do. While we only get Frannie's PoV and not Elsa's, Elsa's concerns make sense and are totally valid. Frannie also feels some self-doubt about whether she's really able to commit the rest of her life to being with Elsa, which I appreciate the realism of. (As realistic as it can be to be a relationship with a ghost.)
While Frannie's character feels properly fleshed out, Elsa feels like a generic one-dimensional love interest. I wish we could have seen more from her, because I can't see why Frannie would feel so strongly about her enough to want to spend the rest of her life with her. It also bothered me that Elsa crossed Frannie's boundaries in a pretty big way, and it's never properly addressed. I was hoping that Frannie would have a proper conversation with her, or that Elsa would at least show some remorse about it, but that never happens.
From what I've written it may seem that I dislike this romance, but honestly, I was pretty emotionally invested! The combination of Frannie's and Elsa's seemingly doomed relationship plus the high stakes of Frannie's plan to keep them together made for an engaging plot that kept me reading to find out the ending.
Also, I've seen some other reviews address this, so I shall also chime in: you really cannot take the ghost lore seriously if you want to enjoy this book. Some reviewers seem bothered by the technicalities of the ghost science, but personally I'm not invested in how ghosts operate so this wasn't a problem for me.
October 6, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was overall a fairly enjoyable read although it did take me a little while to get into. The set-up is that of, Frannie, an aspiring romance writer who is stuck with her own writer's block while doing menial tasks for a self-absorbed big-name published author. Then we have the entrance of 'hot ghost mom' who inspires Frannie to write her novel and in the process falls for her and embarks on, what would think, is a presumably ultimately doomed relationship.
I think herein lies the problem in that I'm not sure what Alban is aiming for - is this a romance? a tragic love story? or a meta piece on writing, loneliness and relationships in the modern world? I think it's got laudable ambitions but I'm not sure it pulls all of that off.
I wasn't a huge fan of the ending at the time but I do like it more on reflection and I think it was the right way to end the book. Not your standard sapphic romance but worth a read.
This was overall a fairly enjoyable read although it did take me a little while to get into. The set-up is that of, Frannie, an aspiring romance writer who is stuck with her own writer's block while doing menial tasks for a self-absorbed big-name published author. Then we have the entrance of 'hot ghost mom' who inspires Frannie to write her novel and in the process falls for her and embarks on, what would think, is a presumably ultimately doomed relationship.
I think herein lies the problem in that I'm not sure what Alban is aiming for - is this a romance? a tragic love story? or a meta piece on writing, loneliness and relationships in the modern world? I think it's got laudable ambitions but I'm not sure it pulls all of that off.
I wasn't a huge fan of the ending at the time but I do like it more on reflection and I think it was the right way to end the book. Not your standard sapphic romance but worth a read.
October 15, 2026
Happily Ever Afterlife is about a professional author's assistant / aspiring writer who meets a ghost family in a fancy NYC high-rise. I would say it is a bit of a paranormal sapphic romance, but that would be oversimplifying it. Alban successfully tackles the topics of ghost science, what it means to have a happily ever after, family, and forever love.
I found myself enamored with the main characters of Frannie, Bridgette, Michael, and Elsa (Hot Ghost Mom!) from the start. There were so many moments of humor, tenderness, and hope, that reading this was like a much needed hug from a loved one. I really enjoyed how the storyline played out and I had a hard time putting the eBook down.
Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.
I found myself enamored with the main characters of Frannie, Bridgette, Michael, and Elsa (Hot Ghost Mom!) from the start. There were so many moments of humor, tenderness, and hope, that reading this was like a much needed hug from a loved one. I really enjoyed how the storyline played out and I had a hard time putting the eBook down.
Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.
October 6, 2026
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I liked this one. I liked the concept of the writer assistant stuck in a fancy building and somehow there's ghosts and whoops, you've fallen for the whole family. I just thought it was fun and I couldn't stop reading. I also liked the whole storyline about the job and the writing. That worked better for me than the romance if I'm being honest. i just didn't really get the main character nor her decisions. But I liked the whole ghost family and the roommate and a lot of the little side plots. Overall, I just thought it really worked and I also really liked the ending.
I liked this one. I liked the concept of the writer assistant stuck in a fancy building and somehow there's ghosts and whoops, you've fallen for the whole family. I just thought it was fun and I couldn't stop reading. I also liked the whole storyline about the job and the writing. That worked better for me than the romance if I'm being honest. i just didn't really get the main character nor her decisions. But I liked the whole ghost family and the roommate and a lot of the little side plots. Overall, I just thought it really worked and I also really liked the ending.
October 1, 2026
Happily Ever Afterlife, as the title suggests, is a paranormal romance novel about an aspiring author, Frannie, and the hot ghost, Elsa, whose haunting her. It took me a while to get into the story and to get invested with the relationship between the two characters but then I needed to know how Alban would wrap it up. The romance does not end in a traditional HEA or HFN, the ending is somewhat open, which is unusual yet worked wonderful for this story.
Did Not Finish
September 23, 2026Nope, not for me. I DNFed. If the main character says “ got ghost, Mom” one more time, I am going to scream. Please give the character a name.
Did Not Finish
August 30, 2026I unfortunately decided to dnf this book at 26% I didn't care enough and wasn't interested enough in the storyline to continue and I didn't believe my thoughts would change. I therefore thought it more fair to dnf the book and give it no rating rather than pushing through and finishing it and end up giving it a low rating.
Right at the beginning it bothered me how we were thrown into the story without any introduction. Our mc met a ghost right at the beginning and she barely blinked an eye, she was seeing a ghost for the first time and her reaction was just "oh wow that's a ghost, that's strange, didn't know they existed, oh well let's just befriend that ghost". It felt unrealistic to a point that bothered me. It also bothered me that she calls our love interest "hot ghost mom" about 20 times per page (a little exaggeration but you get the gist).
I also just didn't care enough about the plot for that first 26% I thought the plot surrounding the book she is editing took too big of a space in the plot, I truly did not care about that book or the plot of it. I felt like the romance was too insta-lovey, our mc literally fell in love with a ghost after seeing her for two minutes and exchanging five words, again it's just unrealistic. I also don't like in books when we follow along a conversation between two people for a period of time that has no impact on the plot, it's just the characters making simple conversation that fills up a few pages. This is simply a personal preference for me that I didn't like in this book.
I think that my complaints and reasons for dnf-ing this book are mainly me not personally enjoying or connecting with the writing style rather than the book not being good enough or it being badly written. So if you are truly interested in this book, or if you have enjoyed the author's previous books, then I recommend you giving this book a try.
Thank you Alcove Press and Netgalley for the arc copy which i received in exchange for an honest review.
Right at the beginning it bothered me how we were thrown into the story without any introduction. Our mc met a ghost right at the beginning and she barely blinked an eye, she was seeing a ghost for the first time and her reaction was just "oh wow that's a ghost, that's strange, didn't know they existed, oh well let's just befriend that ghost". It felt unrealistic to a point that bothered me. It also bothered me that she calls our love interest "hot ghost mom" about 20 times per page (a little exaggeration but you get the gist).
I also just didn't care enough about the plot for that first 26% I thought the plot surrounding the book she is editing took too big of a space in the plot, I truly did not care about that book or the plot of it. I felt like the romance was too insta-lovey, our mc literally fell in love with a ghost after seeing her for two minutes and exchanging five words, again it's just unrealistic. I also don't like in books when we follow along a conversation between two people for a period of time that has no impact on the plot, it's just the characters making simple conversation that fills up a few pages. This is simply a personal preference for me that I didn't like in this book.
I think that my complaints and reasons for dnf-ing this book are mainly me not personally enjoying or connecting with the writing style rather than the book not being good enough or it being badly written. So if you are truly interested in this book, or if you have enjoyed the author's previous books, then I recommend you giving this book a try.
Thank you Alcove Press and Netgalley for the arc copy which i received in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Alcove Publishing. Thanks to both for giving me the opportunity to read this one early.
First off, I love the cover. I also love the concept. I've enjoyed Emma R. Alban's period romances, especially the most recent one, so when I heard she was doing something contemporary I was interested, especially because I'm also always up for a good supernatural romance. There's something about someone falling for a dead person that's got the potential for some excellent angst, and there is indeed plenty of that.
Frannie is the assistant/editor to a Straight Middle Aged White Man author who overworks her (although he pays her well enough), but is also encouraging her to write her own novel. She's written several, and he's rejected all of them as not having enough of HER in them. They work in one of those insanely expensive Central Park West apartment co-ops where the apartments cost millions and have killer views of the park. One day, she runs into a ghost child, and this leads to her meeting the rest of the kid's found family (a brother and a Hot Ghost Mom).
Hot Ghost Mom is also a great character (and honestly, it's very believable that a twentysomething lesbian who works too much and isn't into socializing would fall for her lol). She died in the 60s and lived in the building back then with her girlfriend (or, back then, her "good friend" and "roommate"). The two of them initially clash, but eventually fall in love.
One of the harder parts of this kind of romance is making it believable, and I think the author did a good job of making Frannie the type of person who would a) pretty immediately accept the existence of ghosts and b) fall for a Hot Ghost Mom. (I do sort of wish they'd gone into the previous lives of the two kids, but considering they died at ages 8 (in the 1890s) and 10 (in the 1920s), they probably weren't that uplifting; haunting a building would probably be a step up from whatever it was they were doing when they died)
I thought the love story was very sweet, and Frannie's author struggles were obviously drawn from personal experience.
The big roadblock isn't necessarily that Hot Ghost Mom (aka Elsa) is dead, it's that she's trapped in a building where the apartments are so far out of Frannie's price range that she won't be able to stay with them once she leaves her job as White Guy Author's assistant (which she eventually has to because she sells her own book for an insane amount of money and is going to go on her own publishing journey). Frannie thinks she can transport the ghosts across the street to a (slightly less insanely expensive) apartment she can actually afford, but Elsa is reluctant because she doesn't want Frannie to waste her life being in love with someone who can never leave her apartment building and so can't accompany her anywhere, can't meet her parents in their home, etc.
(It was funny that one of the big roadblocks was the price of real estate in Central Park West, but that's the modern world for ya.)
I won't reveal what eventually happens, but the ending is probably the only reason I didn't give this five stars, so make of that what you will. It was going really well up until then. Oh, one other gripe, I sort of wish White Guy Author had gotten a bit more pushback about his behavior towards Frannie, or at least would have acknowledged that he overworked her and took her for granted. He's self-absorbed and clueless rather than malicious, but that doesn't really make having Frannie work 12 hour days and pick up his groceries any less irritating.
Anyway, I still recommend this book. It's a cute romance with a relatively novel spin on the ghost love story, and the author's writing is just as clever and entertaining as it is in her Regency romances. I read it in a single day, which is something I'm hardly ever able to do anymore (my ADHD only gets worse as I get older), so I was that excited about finding out what happened next. I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it early. If you want to know what my biggest issue is, I'll include it below.
SPOILERS
Here's the thing, when I pick up a romance, I want a happy ending. That's one of the big reasons I read romances. Even if their circumstances might not be perfect or 100% assured, a romance to me should end with the main couple unambiguously together. They may still need to go to therapy to work through their issues, or figure out a way to move closer to one another, but they'll be together...
If I'm reading literary fiction, I'm fine with some ambiguity. If you want to end it with a fadeaway as someone is staring up at an apartment building, or someone walking towards a train station to board a train that will possibly take them to their lover, it's fine because the expectation isn't the same. (Example: While reading the Safekeep, I had no idea what was going to happen to the two women in the end, and as long as it made sense for the story, I was prepared for them either to reconcile or not)
All that to say, this book has an incredibly ambiguous ending. Now, for a large part of the book, the characters debate whether a romance needs to have a happy ending, or whether a bittersweet ending is somehow more poetic, so I feel like that's part of why the author did it, to sort of reinforce that theme and allow the reader to walk away with whatever they wanted. So, I understand why the author did it, and obviously it's her book so it doesn't really matter what I think... (I personally choose to interpret the ending as "why yes they did live happily ever after" and it can absolutely be taken that way.)
But sometimes I need things to be spelled out for me so I can definitively say "YES THEY'RE SO HAPPY TOGETHER". Maybe pre-2016 I wouldn't care as much, but man, I need all the good vibes I can get, and having to write a whole Note in my phone with reasons Frannie and Elsa definitely were happy together forever... that's not as much fun as just knowing lol.
(And yes I understand this may not bother everyone, and that on the scale of things, it's a pretty minor gripe, which is why the book still gets 4 stars and a totally unambiguous recommendation from me, I just had to put it out there in the world.)
First off, I love the cover. I also love the concept. I've enjoyed Emma R. Alban's period romances, especially the most recent one, so when I heard she was doing something contemporary I was interested, especially because I'm also always up for a good supernatural romance. There's something about someone falling for a dead person that's got the potential for some excellent angst, and there is indeed plenty of that.
Frannie is the assistant/editor to a Straight Middle Aged White Man author who overworks her (although he pays her well enough), but is also encouraging her to write her own novel. She's written several, and he's rejected all of them as not having enough of HER in them. They work in one of those insanely expensive Central Park West apartment co-ops where the apartments cost millions and have killer views of the park. One day, she runs into a ghost child, and this leads to her meeting the rest of the kid's found family (a brother and a Hot Ghost Mom).
Hot Ghost Mom is also a great character (and honestly, it's very believable that a twentysomething lesbian who works too much and isn't into socializing would fall for her lol). She died in the 60s and lived in the building back then with her girlfriend (or, back then, her "good friend" and "roommate"). The two of them initially clash, but eventually fall in love.
One of the harder parts of this kind of romance is making it believable, and I think the author did a good job of making Frannie the type of person who would a) pretty immediately accept the existence of ghosts and b) fall for a Hot Ghost Mom. (I do sort of wish they'd gone into the previous lives of the two kids, but considering they died at ages 8 (in the 1890s) and 10 (in the 1920s), they probably weren't that uplifting; haunting a building would probably be a step up from whatever it was they were doing when they died)
I thought the love story was very sweet, and Frannie's author struggles were obviously drawn from personal experience.
The big roadblock isn't necessarily that Hot Ghost Mom (aka Elsa) is dead, it's that she's trapped in a building where the apartments are so far out of Frannie's price range that she won't be able to stay with them once she leaves her job as White Guy Author's assistant (which she eventually has to because she sells her own book for an insane amount of money and is going to go on her own publishing journey). Frannie thinks she can transport the ghosts across the street to a (slightly less insanely expensive) apartment she can actually afford, but Elsa is reluctant because she doesn't want Frannie to waste her life being in love with someone who can never leave her apartment building and so can't accompany her anywhere, can't meet her parents in their home, etc.
(It was funny that one of the big roadblocks was the price of real estate in Central Park West, but that's the modern world for ya.)
I won't reveal what eventually happens, but the ending is probably the only reason I didn't give this five stars, so make of that what you will. It was going really well up until then. Oh, one other gripe, I sort of wish White Guy Author had gotten a bit more pushback about his behavior towards Frannie, or at least would have acknowledged that he overworked her and took her for granted. He's self-absorbed and clueless rather than malicious, but that doesn't really make having Frannie work 12 hour days and pick up his groceries any less irritating.
Anyway, I still recommend this book. It's a cute romance with a relatively novel spin on the ghost love story, and the author's writing is just as clever and entertaining as it is in her Regency romances. I read it in a single day, which is something I'm hardly ever able to do anymore (my ADHD only gets worse as I get older), so I was that excited about finding out what happened next. I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it early. If you want to know what my biggest issue is, I'll include it below.
SPOILERS
Here's the thing, when I pick up a romance, I want a happy ending. That's one of the big reasons I read romances. Even if their circumstances might not be perfect or 100% assured, a romance to me should end with the main couple unambiguously together. They may still need to go to therapy to work through their issues, or figure out a way to move closer to one another, but they'll be together...
If I'm reading literary fiction, I'm fine with some ambiguity. If you want to end it with a fadeaway as someone is staring up at an apartment building, or someone walking towards a train station to board a train that will possibly take them to their lover, it's fine because the expectation isn't the same. (Example: While reading the Safekeep, I had no idea what was going to happen to the two women in the end, and as long as it made sense for the story, I was prepared for them either to reconcile or not)
All that to say, this book has an incredibly ambiguous ending. Now, for a large part of the book, the characters debate whether a romance needs to have a happy ending, or whether a bittersweet ending is somehow more poetic, so I feel like that's part of why the author did it, to sort of reinforce that theme and allow the reader to walk away with whatever they wanted. So, I understand why the author did it, and obviously it's her book so it doesn't really matter what I think... (I personally choose to interpret the ending as "why yes they did live happily ever after" and it can absolutely be taken that way.)
But sometimes I need things to be spelled out for me so I can definitively say "YES THEY'RE SO HAPPY TOGETHER". Maybe pre-2016 I wouldn't care as much, but man, I need all the good vibes I can get, and having to write a whole Note in my phone with reasons Frannie and Elsa definitely were happy together forever... that's not as much fun as just knowing lol.
(And yes I understand this may not bother everyone, and that on the scale of things, it's a pretty minor gripe, which is why the book still gets 4 stars and a totally unambiguous recommendation from me, I just had to put it out there in the world.)
July 26, 2026
👻💗🎭📖 Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for my review!
• • • • • • • •
I read my first book by Emma R. Alban just last month and was instantly hooked, so when I was approved for this arc, I knew I wanted to read it immediately! This book was such a breath of fresh air for me. The concept was enticing, the characters lovable, and the story well written. I instantly fell in love with Bridgette and Michael, and, of course, the hot ghost mom, Elsa. The found family aspect is one of my favorite tropes when it comes to an LGBTQ+ book, and it certainly checks all of the boxes. I simply loved this book and can’t wait to read more of Alban’s future works!
• • • • • • • •
I read my first book by Emma R. Alban just last month and was instantly hooked, so when I was approved for this arc, I knew I wanted to read it immediately! This book was such a breath of fresh air for me. The concept was enticing, the characters lovable, and the story well written. I instantly fell in love with Bridgette and Michael, and, of course, the hot ghost mom, Elsa. The found family aspect is one of my favorite tropes when it comes to an LGBTQ+ book, and it certainly checks all of the boxes. I simply loved this book and can’t wait to read more of Alban’s future works!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I wanted to love this one, really.
The premise sounded like something absolutely down my line, I mean: sapphic ghost romance and haunted house? I immediately imagined American Horror Story: Murder House, but make it lighter to the point of being a rom-com and with two women. Yes, please.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me and despite the fact, that there were parts that I liked, I can't make myself rate this book higher.
Let's start with the things I liked, since that part will be pretty short compared to the ones I didn't enjoy.
Humorous parts were a big hit or miss for me, but since we all have a different sense of humor, it's normal. Some jokes made me smile a bit and others didn't land to the point of making me want to roll my eyes, but I do enjoyed the ones that hit the mark. Definitely liked the Doctor Who reference and since I adore the show, it was a nice easter egg.
Now, onto the things that I didn't really enjoy.
The amount of repetition here was insane, or maybe it's just me feeling like I did lose my mind. The exact phrasing "Hot Ghost Mom" first appeared in chapter two and was with us till the very end of chapter seven and during that time it was used almost 180 times (yes, I counted). One. Hundred. Eighty. Chapter seven marked around... 1/3 of the book? I think it was roughly 30% in. After that, we finally learned her name: Elsa. Before you ask how many times the name appeared since the end of chapter seven till the end of the book... I tried, alright? I gave up when I got to around 200 and realized that I'm not even halfway. Yet... I did count how many times it did appear in chapther thirty. Why that specific chapter you might ask? It was 19 pages long (at least in my copy) and during reading it felt as if the name was popping too often, so I decided to check. It appeared almost 80 times. EIGHTY. I honestly have no idea if anything else was repeated as many times, because at some point in the story the only things my mind could think of were: Hot Ghost Mom & Elsa because of how many times it was mentioned and it just stayed with me until the end.
Remember when I mentioned American Horror Story? In a way, they're more similar than you could have guessed. I won't point all of them out, because it's not really important beside the major one being: the ghosts can decide if they want to be seen or not. I feel like we almost completely ignored the possibilities it could have given. I also feel like everything about the ghosts in this novel happened because... well just because. It simply could, so it did. Ghosts appeared to side characters without any problems (not to mention that almost everyone in this novel was so chill with the fact that they just seen a ghost, almost as if it was completely normal in the universe they live in?). That made me realize, that any time when any of the ghosts did something paranormal, it was almost always, if not always just because of Frannie.
We did get a bit of lore when Frannie talked with the paranormal investigator, but that part gave me even more questions than answers and I don't even want to get started about it. I think I could summarise their talk with a single sentence: source? trust me bro, I do this for living (the pun wasn't intended and I realized what I just did after I wrote it lmao). I just found the whole explanation on why and how the ghost appear not convincing, especially with all the holes it had.
At first, this part about the relationship betweem Hot Ghost Mom also known as Elsa and our main character, Frannie was suppoused to go into the parts I liked, but as I was writing the review I realized that... there wasn't really any relationship between them? Well, there was, just not one that convinced me. It seemed rushed and it was moving so fast, that I genuinely have no idea when something changed and they started to actually get closer. It was more on the insta-love side and while I don't mind that trope, I simply didn't buy it here. I definitely wished for something more, any build-up between the characters and I feel like there was almost nothing starting at point A being: oh my god, a Hot Ghost Mom and point B: I care about you/I love you. I think like we talked and focused more on Frannie's book than the actual romance.
Another part that I had a problem with were the ghosts itself... in a way and no, I don't mean to talk about their powers again. We have three main ghosts in the story being Elsa and two kids (that she takes care of, since they're kids and forever will be). All of them died during different time, so we have, respectfully going by the times: 1880s, 1930s and 1960s. Compared to the current times, I feel like it's a huge gap and you could expect that they would act/talk like people from that times, right? No, they didn't and while it's not something that I have a big problem with, my biggest problem would be the lack of any explaining. I missed any backstory/talk about the past. No one there is confused by anything modern and they're using it as if they were born in our era. I can only guess/assume, that they're familiar with the current times because they sort of... adapted? Watched the world as it changed and since they didn't have anything better to do, they learned as everything progressed?
I really feel like we needed more explanation in many aspects of the story, because it left me with more questions than answers.
I wanted to love this one, really.
The premise sounded like something absolutely down my line, I mean: sapphic ghost romance and haunted house? I immediately imagined American Horror Story: Murder House, but make it lighter to the point of being a rom-com and with two women. Yes, please.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me and despite the fact, that there were parts that I liked, I can't make myself rate this book higher.
Let's start with the things I liked, since that part will be pretty short compared to the ones I didn't enjoy.
Humorous parts were a big hit or miss for me, but since we all have a different sense of humor, it's normal. Some jokes made me smile a bit and others didn't land to the point of making me want to roll my eyes, but I do enjoyed the ones that hit the mark. Definitely liked the Doctor Who reference and since I adore the show, it was a nice easter egg.
Now, onto the things that I didn't really enjoy.
The amount of repetition here was insane, or maybe it's just me feeling like I did lose my mind. The exact phrasing "Hot Ghost Mom" first appeared in chapter two and was with us till the very end of chapter seven and during that time it was used almost 180 times (yes, I counted). One. Hundred. Eighty. Chapter seven marked around... 1/3 of the book? I think it was roughly 30% in. After that, we finally learned her name: Elsa. Before you ask how many times the name appeared since the end of chapter seven till the end of the book... I tried, alright? I gave up when I got to around 200 and realized that I'm not even halfway. Yet... I did count how many times it did appear in chapther thirty. Why that specific chapter you might ask? It was 19 pages long (at least in my copy) and during reading it felt as if the name was popping too often, so I decided to check. It appeared almost 80 times. EIGHTY. I honestly have no idea if anything else was repeated as many times, because at some point in the story the only things my mind could think of were: Hot Ghost Mom & Elsa because of how many times it was mentioned and it just stayed with me until the end.
Remember when I mentioned American Horror Story? In a way, they're more similar than you could have guessed. I won't point all of them out, because it's not really important beside the major one being: the ghosts can decide if they want to be seen or not. I feel like we almost completely ignored the possibilities it could have given. I also feel like everything about the ghosts in this novel happened because... well just because. It simply could, so it did. Ghosts appeared to side characters without any problems (not to mention that almost everyone in this novel was so chill with the fact that they just seen a ghost, almost as if it was completely normal in the universe they live in?). That made me realize, that any time when any of the ghosts did something paranormal, it was almost always, if not always just because of Frannie.
We did get a bit of lore when Frannie talked with the paranormal investigator, but that part gave me even more questions than answers and I don't even want to get started about it. I think I could summarise their talk with a single sentence: source? trust me bro, I do this for living (the pun wasn't intended and I realized what I just did after I wrote it lmao). I just found the whole explanation on why and how the ghost appear not convincing, especially with all the holes it had.
At first, this part about the relationship betweem Hot Ghost Mom also known as Elsa and our main character, Frannie was suppoused to go into the parts I liked, but as I was writing the review I realized that... there wasn't really any relationship between them? Well, there was, just not one that convinced me. It seemed rushed and it was moving so fast, that I genuinely have no idea when something changed and they started to actually get closer. It was more on the insta-love side and while I don't mind that trope, I simply didn't buy it here. I definitely wished for something more, any build-up between the characters and I feel like there was almost nothing starting at point A being: oh my god, a Hot Ghost Mom and point B: I care about you/I love you. I think like we talked and focused more on Frannie's book than the actual romance.
Another part that I had a problem with were the ghosts itself... in a way and no, I don't mean to talk about their powers again. We have three main ghosts in the story being Elsa and two kids (that she takes care of, since they're kids and forever will be). All of them died during different time, so we have, respectfully going by the times: 1880s, 1930s and 1960s. Compared to the current times, I feel like it's a huge gap and you could expect that they would act/talk like people from that times, right? No, they didn't and while it's not something that I have a big problem with, my biggest problem would be the lack of any explaining. I missed any backstory/talk about the past. No one there is confused by anything modern and they're using it as if they were born in our era. I can only guess/assume, that they're familiar with the current times because they sort of... adapted? Watched the world as it changed and since they didn't have anything better to do, they learned as everything progressed?
I really feel like we needed more explanation in many aspects of the story, because it left me with more questions than answers.
October 2, 2026
Many thanks to NetGalley, Alcove Press and author Emma R. Alban for this ARC copy. I am thrilled to share my honest review.
I was so excited to get my hands on an early copy of Emma Alban’s next book as she has jumped to the top of my preferred authors list. I was captivated by the super cute book cover and the summary blurb totally hooked me! I am sort of new to paranormal romances and have never ever read a book where a live woman falls in love with a ghost woman! The idea is just crazy enough to be incredibly compelling. Happily Ever Afterlife is an incredibly charming, inventive, funny and unexpectedly tender sapphic romance that is unlike anything else I’ve ever read. I was at first amused by the premise but became very quickly quite smitten with this sweet love story.
We meet Frannie who is a very sweet and super kind woman that is struggling career wise. She is an aspiring writer but is constantly rejected and criticized by her boss. She is starting to question her talent and worth as a writer. I immediately connected to Franie and could most totally commiserate with the sense of flailing professionally. She is ambitious and stymied…by herself mostly. She is such a relatable and realistic character and I liked her a lot. She comes to meet a handful of ghosts at the haunted Dakota building and everything changes for the better. She meets Bridgette and Michael, two adorable ghost children who melted my heart and their mother of sorts. While Elsa may not be the kids’ bio mom she most certainly is in every way that matters. The entire story was quite moving and I grew to love this sweet found family and kind of forgot they were ghosts because they were so real. What Frannie finds with them is so incredibly profound and is everything she's been missing in her life, family, love, inspiration and purpose.
The romance between Frannie and Elsa is everything. There is a lot to like in this book but the sweet love story was the most important for me. They just connect on a real and emotional level and it's refreshing to read about. They bond over books and movies and everyday real stuff that made me smile and moved me. There's no leaving the Dakota for Elsa and so they are kind of just spending quality time together without distraction. Frannie writes about Elsa and it opens up her creativity and for the first time, she is writing about something or rather someone, she is passionate about. Sure, that later became a central dilemma but worry not because Alban is able to remedy everything so that our girls get the happiest ever after possible. I was worried about how the love story would succeed given that Elsa is a ghost but Alban makes it work in a way that is both satisfying and emotionally resonant.
I greatly enjoyed Alban’s writing and found it to be just so entertaining and easy to read. There is a careful balance between humor and emotion that I found just worked so well. The premise of a live woman falling in love with a ghost is just such a unique and creative one but the writing is what sold everything for me. The characters were written with such depth and complexity and I felt like I just grew to love them. Elsa and Frannie nestled their way into my heart and Bridgette and Michael were wonderful additions. The humor adds a certain levity to this entire story that makes everything fun and whimsical. The tenderness of the romance is never lost, however, and I felt the emotion in so many sweet moments of sincerity. The worldbuilding was done to perfection and the atmosphere came alive.
I usually avoid ghost stories because they are scary or morbid but this one was so different. Alban has created such a wonderul blend of sweet and a little spooky but mostly incredibly endearing. I highly recommend this unique sapphic romance which posits a truly engaging love story between a woman and a pretty hot ghost mom! This book is charming and humorous but will definitely make you think about life and love and make you feel something. It was a delightful read!
I was so excited to get my hands on an early copy of Emma Alban’s next book as she has jumped to the top of my preferred authors list. I was captivated by the super cute book cover and the summary blurb totally hooked me! I am sort of new to paranormal romances and have never ever read a book where a live woman falls in love with a ghost woman! The idea is just crazy enough to be incredibly compelling. Happily Ever Afterlife is an incredibly charming, inventive, funny and unexpectedly tender sapphic romance that is unlike anything else I’ve ever read. I was at first amused by the premise but became very quickly quite smitten with this sweet love story.
We meet Frannie who is a very sweet and super kind woman that is struggling career wise. She is an aspiring writer but is constantly rejected and criticized by her boss. She is starting to question her talent and worth as a writer. I immediately connected to Franie and could most totally commiserate with the sense of flailing professionally. She is ambitious and stymied…by herself mostly. She is such a relatable and realistic character and I liked her a lot. She comes to meet a handful of ghosts at the haunted Dakota building and everything changes for the better. She meets Bridgette and Michael, two adorable ghost children who melted my heart and their mother of sorts. While Elsa may not be the kids’ bio mom she most certainly is in every way that matters. The entire story was quite moving and I grew to love this sweet found family and kind of forgot they were ghosts because they were so real. What Frannie finds with them is so incredibly profound and is everything she's been missing in her life, family, love, inspiration and purpose.
The romance between Frannie and Elsa is everything. There is a lot to like in this book but the sweet love story was the most important for me. They just connect on a real and emotional level and it's refreshing to read about. They bond over books and movies and everyday real stuff that made me smile and moved me. There's no leaving the Dakota for Elsa and so they are kind of just spending quality time together without distraction. Frannie writes about Elsa and it opens up her creativity and for the first time, she is writing about something or rather someone, she is passionate about. Sure, that later became a central dilemma but worry not because Alban is able to remedy everything so that our girls get the happiest ever after possible. I was worried about how the love story would succeed given that Elsa is a ghost but Alban makes it work in a way that is both satisfying and emotionally resonant.
I greatly enjoyed Alban’s writing and found it to be just so entertaining and easy to read. There is a careful balance between humor and emotion that I found just worked so well. The premise of a live woman falling in love with a ghost is just such a unique and creative one but the writing is what sold everything for me. The characters were written with such depth and complexity and I felt like I just grew to love them. Elsa and Frannie nestled their way into my heart and Bridgette and Michael were wonderful additions. The humor adds a certain levity to this entire story that makes everything fun and whimsical. The tenderness of the romance is never lost, however, and I felt the emotion in so many sweet moments of sincerity. The worldbuilding was done to perfection and the atmosphere came alive.
I usually avoid ghost stories because they are scary or morbid but this one was so different. Alban has created such a wonderul blend of sweet and a little spooky but mostly incredibly endearing. I highly recommend this unique sapphic romance which posits a truly engaging love story between a woman and a pretty hot ghost mom! This book is charming and humorous but will definitely make you think about life and love and make you feel something. It was a delightful read!
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