Erica Devon’s The One Who Ghosted Me drops me into a second-chance collision: Amelia Preston, still raw from being abruptly cut off by Jonathan five years earlier, is rebuilding a life in Rainmere, Washington, juggling contract geology work and a strange, high-security assistant gig for an unseen employer (WJ7 Inc.) at a looming estate. Then Jonathan reappears as the lead on a high-stakes merger asset project, and the past isn’t just unresolved, it’s booby-trapped, with old loyalties, new pressures, and a secret that finally explains why he vanished.

That old-school, can’t-look-away tension Devon builds when two people know each other’s soft spots and still choose each other’s bruises is enthralling. Amelia’s voice has a flinty, self-protective edge that feels earned (she’s not “guarded” in the decorative way; she’s done), and Jonathan is written with a believable burden, competent, loyal, and quietly wrecked by the consequences of doing the right thing. When the book finally lays out the whistleblower/protective-custody truth behind the ghosting, it doesn’t erase the damage, but it does sharpen the moral dilemma into something you can bite into.

I came for the romance reparations and stayed for the atmosphere. The story keeps slipping little splinters of mystery under the skin. An old journal, a tucked-away map, a chapel with a digital lockbox, and those recurring “that’s odd” sensations (the metallic smell, the forest’s almost-guiding presence, the too-perfect feeling of rightness) add a faintly uncanny undertow without tipping the book into full paranormal. And when the external world punches in, merger fallout, professional brinkmanship, and the Brazil transfer that lands like a guillotine, the love story doesn’t float above “real life”; it gets dragged through it.

If you like contemporary romance, second-chance romance, workplace romance, slow-burn, and a dash of romantic suspense / gothic-leaning mystery, this is aimed squarely at you, especially if you enjoy heroines who insist on stability and still risk tenderness, and heroes who have to choose integrity over the neat, impressive life-plan. The late-book glow-up (including wedding plans and the found-family warmth) lands like sunlight finally hitting a cold room. If you’ve ever devoured a Nora Roberts romance for its grounded emotion plus a low, steady hum of secrets, Devon’s approach will feel like a close cousin, modern, outdoorsy, and just a little haunted. The One Who Ghosted Me is a story about the cost of silence, and the fierce, stubborn relief of being chosen out loud.

Pages: 488 | ASIN : B0GDSKD3LS