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Before You Ghost

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It’s hard to miss your boyfriend when he’s standing right next to you being a sarcastic nimrod. I have a temper and he has an attitude. Our antics inside and outside the bedroom are off the charts. Half the time we’re giving each other a hard time just to get to the good times.

Things get more complicated when he’s all those things and dead as well.
Evan’s a newly formed ghost, and I’m Sammi, the girlfriend whose lady bits are accused of being so strong they shot him off a cliff.

Our new life is tinged with pirates, mermaids, undead carjackers who look like they should be on the set of a horror movie, and a nefarious ghost that has it out for me.
The worst part? We have to figure it all out before Evan goes ghost. For good this time.

79 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 18, 2020

193 people are currently reading
989 people want to read

About the author

Debra Anastasia

42 books3,806 followers
USA Today Bestselling Author Debra Anastasia creates pretend people in her head and paints them on the giant, beautiful canvas of your imagination.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree in political science but writes new adult angst and romantic comedies. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two amazing children. She is always surrounded by her shelter kitties who listen to all the scenes she's writing as she acts them out.

Become a Daredevil reader today.

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5 stars
187 (24%)
4 stars
215 (28%)
3 stars
202 (26%)
2 stars
104 (13%)
1 star
47 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
Profile Image for ⭐Toonasa⭐ •Romance Book Lovers' Haven•.
1,572 reviews295 followers
November 4, 2022
"It's not easy to die. Harder to be a ghost."

This is a little, exciting (& a tad emotional) story, fun to read around Halloween if you intent to only enjoy & not nitpick! Completed this in 1•30 hrs.

I'd wanted to read it at Halloween, but oh well, a few days late...but better late than never :-D Plus when two of my fav authors release a story together, I will read!

"Cliff fighting was a bad idea. Cliff sex was worse."

Sammi & Evan were amusing. Evan died during their adventurous sex, and in this novella, we explore the rules of being a ghost, enemy & friend ghosts, pirates & boss battles too, along with the investigation of how Evan TRULY died!

S+E's relationship is sweet, included a lot of make-up sex (a bit harder now, duh). This story has a HEA which was a pleasant surprise (considering Evan's a ghost).

I did have a few questions about Evan's parents & the lore, but oh well we can't have everything in a short lil story.

Definitely give this a shot!
___

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Profile Image for Sarah Pie.
401 reviews12 followers
October 21, 2020
What a fun, sexy, and hilarious Halloween treat. Absolutely perfect for this time of the year and a quick read that will have you laughing until it hurts but also packs a punch with the feels.
Profile Image for Yesmina.
634 reviews34 followers
March 24, 2025
Very weird story but kinda creative!

The premise was fire, the middle gave me feels and the end infuriated me (it was the wrong one all along).

The book opens on a funny note when FMC is being questioned by police whether orgasming so hard while her boyfriend fucks her on the edge of the cliff resulted in her pushing him. And that's how the MMC died and yet he's here as a ghost and he fallows the FMC around barely being capable to touch her but loving her just the same.

The plot is funny in its eccentric way. I just hated how they resolved the issue of: MMC would he really disappear and move to the pearly gates? FMC is ready to live without him and possibly love again? If MMC stayed as a ghost how could they consummate their love if he can't touch her?

To all those dilemmas, the authors gave the absolute worst solutions.
Profile Image for Keri Loves Books.
1,247 reviews203 followers
October 28, 2020
A fun and silly Halloween romance that will definitely make you laugh out loud!

An unfortunate accident, while in the throes of passion at Lover’s Peak, leaves Evan a ghost. Sammi and Evan are now forced to navigate life with him being intanglible.

A short story with lots of comic relief and just the right amount of heartfelt moments that make this the perfect holiday read. 3.5 stars
Profile Image for rosie.
201 reviews24 followers
October 20, 2020
i actually really enjoyed this novella. it was obviously very different to the books that i normally read but it was so funny and just easy, especially when i was falling into a slump. i wasn’t really sure what i was expecting when i started this book and it definitely wasn’t this, but i had so much fun reading it, there were so many twists and turns i didn’t want to stop.

even though it’s a funny, entertaining story it still made my heart sad. even when he was slowly fading away and she was losing him for good, they knew that all they could do was be together until the very end, no matter how that may look.

i would definitely recommend this to anymore who enjoys light-hearted stories and is in a halloween mood. also the evan & sammi ghosts on the epilogue was so cute my heart melted.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Varya.
768 reviews100 followers
October 25, 2020
Loved it!!! This book was everything I could expect from a romantic comedy PNR. It was hilarious, quirky and just overall awesome. It had a really cute storyline, mixed in with all those funny dialogues and monologues and a very sweet ghost hero who made my heart hurt as much as he made me laugh.
You guys really need to read Evans and Sammi's story😍❣️❣️ It's silly, crazy, cheesy and everything incredible. An amazing Halloween treat ;)
Profile Image for Marsha.
1,227 reviews31 followers
October 22, 2020
As you can tell, this is a paranormal read. It is a shorter read. About 80 pages, so it's perfect for between novels or when you only have an hour or so free. This is more of a silly read, so if you are the kind of person to roll your eyes at the ridiculous, you may not enjoy this book, but if you are familiar with these authors, you probably know how silly they can get. (They act like 12 year old boys!) ;) While it is filled with goofiness, there is romance involved. While one is a ghost, and there ain't no coming back from that, they do get their happy ending. (Or at least as happy as one can get considering their circumstances.) So, if you are looking for a dark, angsty read filled with all the emotion, you are barking up the wrong tree, but if you want a crazy little off the wall diddy just in time for the Halloween season, then this may just be your jam. And before you ask, yes there is some sexual content and again, that 12 yo boy humor including farts and peeing your pants. You've been warned.
Profile Image for B-Books Review.
621 reviews27 followers
October 25, 2020
“𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙤. 𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮, 𝙪𝙢… 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝, 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙨𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙣.”
💀
Let’s talk about “Before You Ghost by Debra Anastasia and Helena Hunting”.
👻
This.Book.Is.So.Crazy! I could end my review here, but I obviously won’t. While I was reading this book I honestly thought this so many times: what the hell the authors took so they could manage to write this story?!? It was so crazily good, I laugh a lot and I was so into the story and the main couple that I even got emotional! Tell you the truth, a tear or another even spill out my face. So who is the crazy one here right now?

Sammy and Evan are boyfriend and girlfriend for some time now, they fight a lot mostly so they have the most amazing makeup sex ever. So during a hike things got a little deadly and suddenly Evan is a ghost. Now they have to find a way to be together before he goes ghost for good.

I don’t want to say a lot because this book is a short one and even with the small amount of pages there’s a lot going on. But here is what you should expect: a lot of chemistry, Evan trying to fit in the ghost world (even making ghostly friends), rabid raccoons, pirate, lightings, psychic cop, mermaid (???), disco ball relation and a lot of mischief!

I seriously enjoyed this book a lot and I could read about them a lot more! I would change a thing or two at the ending but apart from that, this is what you should read if you want to have some fun. But please don’t take this so seriously, because there’s nothing you can relate to your life, it is supposed to be cray cray! I’ll definitely read this book again.
189 reviews10 followers
September 7, 2021
It’s hard to miss your boyfriend when he’s standing right next to you being a sarcastic nimrod. I have a temper and he has an attitude. Our antics inside and outside the bedroom are off the charts. Half the time we’re giving each other a hard time just to get to the good times.
Things get more complicated when he’s all those things and dead as well.
Evan’s a newly formed ghost, and I’m Sammi, the girlfriend whose lady bits are accused of being so strong they shot him off a cliff.
Our new life is tinged with pirates, mermaids, undead carjackers who look like they should be on the set of a horror movie, and a nefarious ghost that has it out for me.
The worst part? We have to figure it all out before Evan goes ghost. For good this time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Mel.
803 reviews66 followers
October 21, 2020
4.5 ghostly stars!

Before You Ghost is a spooky novella that will make you laugh until you cry and have you believing that love is stronger than death. Though short in pages, it is not short on the feels and fun, and I loved it!

It is hilariously funny with the sweetest romance. Sammi and Evan love to fight and make up and that’s true even now that Evan is no longer living. They won’t let death keep them apart though, and I loved as they navigated their new normal with the same fire they’ve always had. I enjoyed all the moments they were together and was rooting for them to make it work despite the circumstances.

The whole story is over-the-top but oh, so good! There are crazy ghosts and crazier creatures, and it’s 100% fun even when it’s spooky. Add in a sweet epilogue and it’s a fantastic Halloween treat!!

*ARC generously provided by the authors*


Profile Image for R Rais.
1,552 reviews43 followers
October 20, 2020
This little book had me laughing from the blurb!

Omg I know this authors duet is gonna be crazy but I'm still suprise of how crazy they can be!

This book plot is over the top crazy out of your mind! So be prepare..lol

Imagine you're doing your kink with your boyfriend. A hot angry sexy public time when you hit that big O you accidently catapult your boyfriend over the cliff and he died.

Yep this duet authors go there.

Before You Ghost is creepy yet hilarious until your stomach hurt laughing so hard yet romanticly sweet and sad at the same time.

Sammy and Evan give me all the chills. Even in this small book, the authors provide you with so many feelings.

The characters chemistry are amazing. Sammy and Evan love story definitly goes beyond life and death.

The steamy scenes are WOW! cause, hello... Doin it with a ghost??!!! Yeah, I got teary and lusty at the same time over that scene. So yeah, score for the authors!

The side characters? Vengeance ghost, pirate ghost, car hijacker ghost, even the cops with all the crazy that happened on that hill? EPIC!
Profile Image for Preet.
3,381 reviews233 followers
November 10, 2020
3.5 stars

This story is a hard one to rate. The emotional parts are amazing. The rest of it is just over the top humor that is so far fetched I often didn't find it funny. But it was a nice escape.

I'd love to see Helena and Debra write something together, like this, but with humor tamed way back. I think it'd be amazing.
Profile Image for Lisa Mandina.
2,305 reviews494 followers
October 27, 2020
Okay, I have to start out by saying that the beginning of this is probably one of the most hilarious ways to start a book I have ever read! And the story just keeps getting more hilarious and out there and had me laughing so much all the way through. It was a very quick read, I mean it’s only 79 pages. But not only is it short, it just was a page-turner for the story itself. Being a ghost, the sexy parts, the dangerous ghosts, rabid raccoons, lightning strikes, and even birds that like to curse. And oh my gosh, the things those birds said had me rolling with laughter! Because really they were kind of insults, not just cursing, such as “Shart toolbag” and “Poison cooter.” And those are just the milder ones!

I’ll make my review short and sweet like this book itself and finish up by saying if you want a perfect book to make you laugh with the perfect ghostly atmosphere for Halloween, this one is for you!

Review first appeared on Lisa Loves Literature.
Profile Image for The Romantic Rush Blog.
2,639 reviews965 followers
October 21, 2020
Oh my- this mini novella is just the kind of silly, light hearted and bizarre fun you need for the Halloween season! 🎃

It all begins with Sammi orgasming her boyfriend right over the Lover’s Lane cliff. Only she can’t seem to be sad because Ryan is not gone. Though he’s not longer corporeal, his ghost lingers. With a hook like that what are you waiting for?!! What ensues is tons of giddily weird and eccentric shenanigans with a menagerie of other supernatural and magical creatures and ghoulies. It’s funny and and goofy, truly unique, slightly bizarre, irreverent but also sweet and heart warming- the perfect marriage of all the elements that I love from the writing of two much adored authors. Debra and Helena are clearly having a ball - so get your BOO on this season and escape from the bleak 2020 October with a little ghostly fun.
Profile Image for Denise Hoover.
812 reviews
October 24, 2020
A Humorous Halloweenie Boo-k

What a quick, quirky, Halloween read! I found myself chuckling at the crazy things that happened throughout this story. You must go in with a clear head and an open mind. Paranormal isn’t my normal genre but this was fun. A book that you can quickly read in one sitting that I think you’ll be pleased with the ending when you get there. Ghosts, rabid raccoons, urine bolts, and crazy talking birds are just a glimpse into this humorous boo-k.
Profile Image for Lori R..
1,409 reviews71 followers
October 25, 2020
If you don’t take this book too seriously, it can be enjoyable. It was over the top silly and cheesy and that’s exactly how it was meant to be. Ghosts and pirates and beer-and-brownies, oh my. A perfectly corny & quick Halloween story.
Profile Image for Jeeves Reads Romance.
1,683 reviews795 followers
October 28, 2020
More trick than treat

Make no bones about it, this Halloween treat is, shall we say... not good. I have no idea where this writing duo even came up with half the stuff in here. It WAS semi-entertaining, and I DID stick around til the end, but that was purely out of my need to see how this all played out. I'm a big fan of Hunting's work and I typically love quirky comedy, but this humor took a nose dive off a cliff (much like our hero) very early on in the story. If you're in the mood for something zany and festive, then this crazy little novella might just put a smile on your face... though more in a "what did I just read?" than in a "that was awesome" kind of way.

The story follows Evan and Sammi, a couple who have had a volatile relationship for the last few years. They fight constantly but use it as their own kind of foreplay, and neither one truly appreciates what they've got together. That is... until Evan dies. After his unexpected death, Evan follows Sammi around as a ghost while they both try to figure out what happens next. What they once took for granted now feels a lot more special, but it's all slipping through their fingers.

I actually really did like some of the concepts here, like not realizing what you have until it's gone and cherishing every moment. It's all just buried beneath so much other STUFF that it gets lost in the shuffle. The humor is way, WAY over the top and really not respectful of death in any way. I set this aside no less than three times before finishing, and it's a pretty quick read. But I strangely wanted to know how things worked out for these two. Hunting has written some of my favorite books of the year and while this is definitely not among them, it is 100% unique. If you're in just the right mood for this, it may bring you a lot of laughs, but... no guarantees on that.
Profile Image for Hayley.
1,018 reviews36 followers
October 24, 2020
This surprise Halloween story by Romancelandia's favorite besties: Helena Hunting and Debra Anastasia, is a hilarious and unique story. What I could tell immediately is that it is obvious that Helena and Debra has an absolute blast writing this novella! I can imagine them hysterical trying to one up each other with ridiculousness, maybe trying to see if that could make the other do spit takes.

I haven't read very many ghost paranormal romance but this one had me laughing out loud. The struggles of a couple where one is corporeal and one isn't was real and really funny. One of the side characters, a ghost pirate, described as a ghost Captain Jack Sparrow was a kick in the pants. Though I imagined him more like the lego pirate from The Lego Movie. The story was a little outrageous at times, but a really enjoyable and entertaining.

I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily give my review.
Profile Image for Fallen Star Book Reviews.
588 reviews40 followers
January 25, 2021
Evan and Sammi

This was a very cute and funny novella! I enjoyed it and it made me laugh and smile throughout. The authors did an excellent job at giving us a complete story. I loved Evan and Sammi! They were out enjoying a hike one beautiful day but something terrible happened on that fateful day!

It’s definitely worth a read it wasn’t very long but it was complete and no cliffhangers. Overall very enjoyable and gives the reader a bunch of laughs!
Profile Image for Steffi De Ceuster  ♥.
1,389 reviews125 followers
October 29, 2020
At first I thought this is funny.
Then when it went a bit further it was more serious.
I can't imagine if my boyfriend passes and is a ghost beside me. I would be happy to have not lost him at all, but this just makes it all the more clear.
I did enjoy it because it had lost of funny parts in it, but the ghost part made me just sad, because that I did take serious.

Good halloween read!
Profile Image for Lauren.
1,334 reviews2 followers
October 20, 2020
Before You Ghost is a delightful, spooky treat from authors Debra Anastasia and Helena Hunting.

Sammi and Evan have always run hot… both inside and outside the bedroom. So when some particularly steamy antics land Evan on the other side of alive, they have to work together to figure out exactly what happened, and Evan has to figure out how to keep Sammi safe from the nefarious forces that were involved in his untimely demise.

Anastasia and Hunting bring all of the humor and over-the-top story telling in this novella, and I’m here for all of it. There are pirates, mermaids, rabid raccoons, and swearing birds. Amid all of the fun, there’s a sweet love story between two people who had started to take each other for granted but who are determined to make it work, despite their unique circumstances.

It’s the perfect dose of escapism for the season, with a surprisingly sweet conclusion.
Profile Image for Athena D..
977 reviews59 followers
October 24, 2020
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 STARS

This book was hilarious. The characters were quite hauntingly entertaining! 👻 I love Debra Anastasia and Helena Hunting’s special brand of humour. Before You Ghost by Debra Anastasia and Helena Hunting is a MUST read that will join the ranks of the BIBLIO-ELITE!!!
Profile Image for ✰  BJ's Book Blog ✰Janeane ✰.
3,028 reviews12 followers
October 28, 2020
This book had me laughing at the ridiculousness of events. It was silly and puerile and fun.

However it was also more touching and emotional than I was expecting it to be.

An enjoyable quick Halloween read f 45om two wonderful authors
Profile Image for fulano.
1,172 reviews76 followers
November 27, 2020
Really funny at moments but depressing as hell at the end. The writing is really bad but it’s still really quick to get through. NOT A ROMACE! DEFINITELY NOT A ROMANCE in the end but I think that’s a given, what with the premise. I read it after Halloween but it’s a one that fits that theme if you don’t mind feeling a bit dissatisfied.
Profile Image for Sandra R.
3,345 reviews46 followers
November 3, 2020
Yeah, sorry - not quite for me... LOL for any reader who likes wacky ghost stories with a bit of erotic romance thrown in. Well written.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews

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