Dearly Departed
A delightfully hot and swoony Hades-inspired queer romance
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Dearly Departed
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Narrated by:
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By:
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Chip Pons
'THE romance book of 2026' Sara Cate, New York Times bestselling author of the Salacious Players' Club
From the beloved author of Winging It With You, comes a deliciously sexy Hades-inspired gay rom-com perfect for fans of Heated Rivalry and The Entanglement of Rival Wizards.
Hope is a dangerous thing for gods. Even former ones.
Hayden Harlow, once the mighty Hades, has spent centuries quietly resenting his fall from immortality. Stripped of his godhood, he now runs Harlow and Sons Funeral Home - a front for his eternal sentencing among mortals, and a bleak reminder of the purpose he's lost. Still, he's determined to claw his way back . . . if only the Fates at City Hall would stop toying with him.
Enter Levi Wilder: a florist with an artist's heart, an infectious smile, and a gift for finding beauty in life's messiest moments. When Hayden storms into Levi's shop to complain about a bouquet of sunflowers, their worlds collide. Hayden is all restraint and shadows; Levi is all sunshine and charm. But beneath the clash lies an undeniable spark neither can ignore.
As their connection blossoms, Hayden finds himself caught between the life he once knew and the bright future Levi dares him to imagine. But trusting Levi means risking the walls he's kept in place all these years . . . and one choice can change everything.
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Critic reviews
One of GoodReads' Most Anticipated Romantasies for 2026
One of Nerd Daily's Most Anticipated Book Releases for 2026
One of Nerd Daily's Most Anticipated Book Releases for 2026
Chip Pons is delivering a love story to die for. . . . The author puts queer love on full display.
This supernatural take on the opposites-attract trope is unexpectedly sweet, spicy, and touching. While the primary couple is incredible, the secondary characters are just as nuanced and lovable, and Pons handles heavy subjects with a light and subtle hand. The queer joy is as profoundly well handled as the loneliness and grief, and both factors work together to help Hayden and Levi find connection and comfort amid the chaos surrounding them. Tender and sexy; readers will want to return to this world and these characters over and over again.
The book is chock full of steamy scenes and squeal-worthy romance, but Pons also spends plenty of time exploring the complicated, tangled lives of his lovingly crafted lead characters. . . Readers will likely seek out this book for the sensual paranormal romance, but the affecting story will stick with them long after the final page. A sexy, romantic, and heartfelt twist on a familiar myth.
Listen, I'm always sat for a Shadow Daddy, but Hayden Harlow took that chair out and had me on my knees with one effortless shadow flick - and I'm not really complaining here. With the freshest voice and chemistry that leaps off the page, Dearly Departed hits every mark a paranormal romance obsessionado like me could ever wish for. A small-town setting, a God of the Underworld living in disguise, and the utmost deliciousness of seeing him find his opposite and then irrevocably falling for him. Pons writes romance that burns with heart, humor, and spectacular heat. I'm obsessed with this!
Shadow Daddy is the love interest you didn't know you needed! Not only is Dearly Departed sexy as sin, funny as hell, and so goddamn charming, it's also incredibly heartfelt and one of the most genuine portrayals of grief I have seen in a romance novel. I need everyone to read this book immediately, and I'll be screaming from the rooftops that this is THE romance book of 2026.
Fresh, poignant, and sexy as hell - Dearly Departed is a fun new take on a classic tale. Chip weaves a beautiful story full of lessons on loving, letting go, and all the good that can find us when we're not even looking. This one is really special!
Funny, sexy, poignant . . . Dearly Departed is all of these things! Chip Pons's latest is a swoony, spicy romance with the broodiest of grumps and the sunniest of sunshines that made me laugh out loud at the romcom banter and also gave me tears with its on-point depiction of long-term grief. I'll be thinking about Hayden and Levi for a long, long time.
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