THE MOST UNUSUAL HAUNTING OF EDGAR LOVEJOY

Can a professional haunter and someone who’s been haunted all his life escape the ghosts of their pasts?

Edgar Lovejoy sees ghosts. He’s been tormented by the grotesque faces of dead people lingering on Earth since he was a little boy. He works part time for a cocktail business and a cat café, and then he goes home. It’s safer and less scary that way. When he meets Jamie Wendon-Dale, a genderqueer burlesque performer and haunted-house designer, they challenge him to step outside his comfort zone. Jamie loves their life and the pockets of comfort they have found in queer and spooky communities. Predictably, their choices cause their traditional family—their mother is a politician—to bristle. Their sister, Emma, asks Jamie to be her maid of honor (despite the very gendered term), and to step up and help out with wedding plans that coincide with Halloween—Jamie’s busiest time of year, professionally. After Edgar opens up to Jamie about seeing ghosts, he’s able to let Jamie coax him out of his comfort zone and back into the world. And when he has a panic attack at Emma’s rehearsal dinner, it emboldens Jamie to stand up for themself for the first time with their family. Edgar’s own family is only marginally less complicated. His parents aren’t really in the picture anymore, and no one really talks to the crazy aunt who sees ghosts, but his sister’s impending pregnancy might just be enough to bring their absentee brother back into Edgar and his sister’s lives. There’s as much hurt and comfort passing between Parrish’s two very likable love interests as there is scorching chemistry and hot sex. The supporting characters are well-written and nuanced enough to have their own spinoffs, and the book is every bit as cozy as it is steamy.

Somehow both adorably wholesome and unbelievably hot.