Genre 📚: YA Paranormal Romance, Mystery, Thriller
Tropes 💁♀️: (Ghost) Rivals to lovers, Forced proximity, Haunted mansion, Murder mystery
Rep ✔️: Hispanic main character, BIPOC side characters
CW ⚠️: Loss of a loved one, grief, murder, stalking, divorce
Rating ⭐️: 3.5/5
One minute, two high school rivals are partying it up before graduation — the next, they’re dead. And they’re left haunting the same estate. It’s a total nightmare, having their lives ripped away so suddenly, having no one else but the person they’ve hated since the sixth grade. They bicker just the same as when they were alive, but they eventually realize they’ll have to work together if they want to uncover the truth about their deaths.
There were so many cool elements to this story — the creepy mansion, the lingering spirits, and the ticking clock to not only solve their murders, but prevent another. My favorite aspect had to be Tessa and Reed learning and improving their ghosty abilities. Using those abilities to fight against their enemy. Though Tessa and Reed would still get snappy with each other (like a couple of nipping puppies), they really made a solid team.
Of course, things did get heavy, with the characters navigating their grief. I was already pretty attached to the MCs and their friends and family before the murders, so I was truly feeling for them in the after. These were great characters, great relationships. Great debut. I look forward to Gwenyth Reitz’s next project~
**Much thanks to NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. You’re Dead to Me, Reed Walker will be released on May 12, 2026.
Sara Bechtol 