Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what.
But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel…
Because it is.
This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.
Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending.
Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place—a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book.
Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.
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Blending contemporary romance with subtle elements of magical realism and paranormal fantasy, speculative romance novels have gained wide popularity through stories where love transcends ordinary rules of time and reality. Bestselling author Ashley Poston achieved major success with The Dead Romantics, a novel combining ghost stories, publishing culture, and heartfelt romance, establishing her signature mix of emotional depth and uncanny narrative twists.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 20, 1985, Poston grew up in the rural South immersed in fanfiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction. She attended the University of South Carolina, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Before writing full-time, she gained broad experience across the book trade, working as a barista, hotelier, clerk, and freelance cover designer before taking a position in the publishing industry designing and implementing marketing strategies for novels. Poston initially built her career in young adult fiction, debuting Geekerella in 2017 and publishing the space opera Heart of Iron in 2018. After writing over half a dozen YA titles, she made a successful transition into adult romance. Today, she writes full-time from her small grey house in South Carolina while dividing her time with New York.
Poston writes stories centered on love, friendship, and ever afters, frequently incorporating fantasy-adjacent elements into contemporary settings. Heavily influenced by her background reading and writing fanfiction, her adult romances feature high-concept premises—such as a book publicist whose apartment connects her to a roommate living seven years in the past, or a romance writer confronting a literal ghost—without shifting into full high fantasy. Her narrative approach combines humor, pop-culture and fandom homage, and thoughtful explorations of grief, identity, and emotional healing.
