DRC Review: Entities to Lovers by Mallory Marlowe
Release date: 13 October 2026
Rating: 3.75/5
Synopsis: A connection that’s more than supernatural emerges between two rival tour guides who wish they could ghost each other in this sparkling romantic comedy from USA Today bestselling author Mallory Marlowe.
Paranormal medium Rory Woods spends her days offering psychic readings at Ye Olde Spirit Shop and nights haunting the streets of Boston as a ghost-tour guide. Sure, business could be better, but she’s proud of the shop she runs with her mom. Enter Ezra adjunct history professor, noted thorn in Rory’s side, and—though she’d only admit it under threat of medieval torture he surely knows too much about—a distractingly handsome, charismatic coworker.
Rory can’t stand Ezra’s know-it-all, show-offy behavior. Ezra loves to tease the gorgeous, brilliant medium at the shop. And when the two are forced to host a tour together? It’s no wonder they end up hexed after disturbing a matchmaking ghost.
Saddled with perpetual bad luck unless they’re physically near each other, Rory and Ezra will try anything, from séances to kissing, to stop the jinx from wreaking havoc on both their lives. But in their quest to appease the spirit, they realize that growing closer might not be the curse they once thought it was.
Review
As my first read of Marlowe's, Entities to Lovers wasn't a bad introduction. The characters have pretty solid back stories and a good build-up of rapport before falling in love. While I know any type of supernatural/fantastic world building by nature negates standard logic, the in-story logic mostly made sense but could have used a bit of bolstering in some places. Ultimately, while I know this type story appeals to many readers, I'm not sure it's for me, but with the caveat that it's not a poorly developed narrative.
When I find myself more interested in the backstory and side characters more than the main characters and their story, it usually means there is a disconnect between me and them. Rory is a medium who keeps her abilities close to her chest out of self-preservation, and she has a particular problem with one being she encountered in childhood that has never stopped tormenting her. She works for her mother's shop, which is full of interesting artifacts, and around Halloween, she gets to let loose and be more herself. It's all a pretty run-of-the-mill, standard backstory (of course, with detail variation), and though it doesn't necessarily stand out among other books, it's not a particularly boring one. I feel I wanted a bit more personality, however, in terms of the secondary characters (or entities) from Rory's world.
Ezra, the adjunct love interest, is about the same. The part-time academia hustle and string-along is entirely relatable but also could be pitiable had Marlowe not given him a flair that makes him more sympathetic and appealing instead. Ezra and Rory have an attraction because of his personality and looks that appeal to Rory but I couldn't find an appeal from Ezra other than Rory is the standard "beautiful and smart" and he spends a lot of time with her. Instead of choosing one another out of many because the two are independently extraordinary in some way, it feels more like they settled for each other but there's a silver lining because neither person is overly unattractive or dull.
While it sounds like I have more negative than positive things to say about the book, I did enjoy it. I got through it in a day, and that's an indicator for me that a book is compelling. I do like a plot that stands out among the populous crowd of literary options nowadays, and I just don't think Entities to Lovers does that to any degree. As it is, a 3.75/5 feels about right because it's not quite a 4 in terms of great, but it's too much better than 3 to rate it that low.
My thanks to Berkley for the DRC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.
Comments