Book review: Haunt Your Heart Out by Amber Roberts [blog tour]

Cosy season is here! 🍂🎃🍁 I'm thrilled that small town, autumnal reads have taken over the book community because it's been my personality for the past few decades (yikes, that's making me sound – and feel – old!). From witchy reads like Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood and Spell Bound by Gretchen Rue to cosy crime and even cosy fantasy (I'm looking at you, Travis Baldree) – I'm loving all of it. And now I've discovered another type of book that falls into this category that has stolen my heart: the spooky season romance.  

About Haunt Your Heart Out

Lex lives in Stowe, a quiet Vermont town, in the house her granddad build and she grew up in. She loves the familiarity of her home, having her childhood best friend living nearby, and taking care of the bookshop she'd been working in for most of her adult life. She is very content with her small-town life and, in fact, has abandonment anxiety as her parents, sister, and even former partner left Stowe – and her. 

So Lex definitely isn't interested in any of the tourists that pass through the town for just a short period of time... until she meets James. He is visiting with his friend to uncover Stowe's ghost stories for their documentary about haunted locations. While Lex tries to keep him at arm's length, James' investigations get tangled with Lex's past as she used to vlog about the town's haunted history.

But there's more to the ghost stories than Lex is letting on and she has to decide between staying anonymous in her comfortable but mundane life, or taking a risk and opening her heart – and secrets – to James... 

My review

I cannot get over how flippin' adorable this novel was; absolutely perfect for spooky season. I read it in just two days, only taking a break because I was spending time away with friends (but even then I kept thinking about the book and told them all about it!). I was in the mood to be transported to a cosy small-town, and Haunt Your Heart Out delivered and then some. 

Stowe was the perfect chilly setting. While, technically, most of the story takes place in December (with the odd reference to November in flashbacks) – it had that crisp autumnal feel to it due to its focus on ghost huntings and spooky tales, interspersed with lots of snowy adventures and even going all the way to Christmas (my second-favourite time of year). 

And while the book is about haunted locations, there's actually nothing scary or supernatural about it, which I was very happy about. I did wonder if there would be actual ghosts in the novel, but thankfully the only spooky happening within the pages were very much man-made. This means that as a reader you can still get those seasonal vibes, without the scare-factor. 

I also loved how genuine the characterisation of Lex was throughout the story. She kept her world so small at first to try and avoid being hurt, and on top of that she struggled with grown-up issues like exploding house repair costs and work challenges. We've all been there and it made her so very relatable. The swoony romance perhaps less so, but one can certainly dream. And, my goodness me, James is worth dreaming about. 😍

Haunt Your Heart Out very much feels like a spooky Hallmark story. Although that doesn't do the book justice as the storytelling (with its strong characterisation and surprising, dramatic plot twists) is a lot stronger than the average cheesy romance flick. That said, it does leave readers with that same satisfying, heartwarming feeling after turning the final page. It's an utterly cosy and delightful novel that has set the bar very high for other seasonal reads!

Haunt Your Heart Out by Amber Roberts is published by Penguin and you can now buy your copy from your favourite local book shop!

Blog tour stops for Haunt Your Heart Out by Amber Roberts

This review for Storybook Ending is part of the blog tour for the launch of the book. Make sure to check out the other stops too!

Disclaimer: This book was gifted to me, but this has not impacted this honest review.