Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a cute book to curl up and read this spooky season. I thought it was enjoyable to read and I loved the romance. I would definitely read more books by Ivy Fairbanks in the future!
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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Rom coms all do the same thing, makes us smile as we root for two people to overcome an obstacle to fall in love.
But how they do it and why differs.
And rom coms also come with a perfect set of circumstances we don’t get handed in real life. Real life sucks, so let’s read rom coms instead!
I love both characters and I appreciate how they help the other deal with their current postion in life instead of an arrogant book boyfriend who tries to sweep everything under the rug.

Morbidly Yours was such a unique concept for a rom com, but it worked. And in it's quirkiness, Fairbanks hit the all the right notes. A hopeful, tender (albeit VERY steamy) story about life and death, finding your person and taking another chance.
Thanks to #NetGalley and PenguinGroup Putnam for the ARC.

REVIEW: Morbidly Yours

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book, but I loved it so much! Morbidly Yours gave me many laughs, smiles, swoons, and spicy scenes. I also enjoyed the small-town Ireland setting.

First of all, I love the two main characters, Callum (Cal) and Lark. Both characters are unique and have their backstories. I also like that they had unique jobs, Cal being a mortician and Lark being an animator, which you don’t always read about in a romance book. They both have different past traumas that still affect them. Cal speaks a lot of Irish, which is fun in the book (and hot, too ;-) ). Plus, demisexuality and stuttering are represented in this book through Cal, and they are handled so well. I especially loved that Morbidly Yours was written in a dual POV to see both sides of the story.

The chemistry between Lark and Cal is delightful. Morbidly Yours is perfect for fans of opposites attract and friends-to-lovers tropes. Cal and Lark have some funny banter, adorable and romantic moments, and spicy ones together.

Overall, I loved reading Morbidly Yours. It was a great romance with good depth regarding grief. I saw that there will be a second book in this series, and I can’t wait to check it out!

Thank you, Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

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I loved this sweet story and match between a girl from Texas and her Irish opposite. Their love story felt honest and I loved that they were able to resolve conflicts without compromising themselves.

This book made me smile, laugh, gasp, and feel sorrow for the characters. Well written with great dialogue. Great read!

"𝘎𝘳á 𝘮𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰í. 𝘔𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰í.” 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘗𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵.

This book was everything to me! I loved Callum and Lark so much. The writing was also fairly good, for a romance book. So definitely a plus there!

What do you get when a Texan moves to Ireland and ends up with a box of body bags on accident? This book.

I'm normally not the biggest fan of the whole opposites attract trope, but it was done so well.

I will forever love my Barbie and Mortician couple 🩷🖤

Morbidly Yours is Ivy Fairbanks debut novel. It is a sweet cozy friend to lover’s trope that I truly enjoyed.

Shy and quiet thirty-four year old Callum Flannelly, has the perfect job, he is the mortician at Willow Haven but he is in quite the quandary. Granda’s will has left the family funeral home in trust with a deadline; Callum needs to be married by his thirty-fifth birthday otherwise Callum’s dad will take ownership. He has eight months to not only meet, fall in love an marry but to wait three-months for the marriage license. Oh, what a mess Callum is in!

Lark Thompson just moved into an apartment across the street from Willow Haven. She is looking to start a new chapter in her life to get far away from the bad memories of her late husband. When she got the Art Director position at Kineticolor, this Texan pack her bags and move all the way Galway .. Ireland.

So, it was inevitable that these two become friends. Lark jumps at the chance to help Callum find a wife. What Lark was not expecting was to fall in love with Callum … and every woman that Callum dated was not Lark.

You just know there will be a HEA for these two. Predictable – yes, but to get there they both needed to deal with their past and the baggage it carries. Lark with grief and guilt surrounding the death of her husband that she has promise herself never to marry; Callum has been bullied all his life – he stutters and has social anxieties now let’s make him more anxious to have to find a wife I a very short period of time. Morbidly Yours is a story about letting go of your past and forgiving yourself in order to move forward and find happiness. I cannot wait for the next book in this series.

Thank you, Ivy Fairbanks, G.P.Putnam, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy Fairbanks needs to put out 5 more of these. The FMC, Lark, was so fierce and so gentle I just wanted to hug her like girl you deserve the world. This couple was so cute, such an adorable friends to lovers. The ACE/Demi representation was everything I didn't know I needed, thank you. I loved Callum and will forever be dreaming of my own Irish mortician.

It is not very often that I'm left stumped on how to proceed with a book review. I usually either really like a book, or I really dislike a book. But Morbidly Yours... I really don't have a strong feeling either way.
The concept of this book really drew me in. And the overall book was fine. I just wasn't intrigued by really any of it. The book didn't keep me hooked. It was easy to put down, and there was no urgency to pick it back up and find out what happens next. (Which is why it took me so long to read.)
The characters were very bland. I expected that of Callum due to him being your stereotypical recluse funeral director. But Lark, even with her brightly colored outfits and sunshiney persona, was rather drab.
I enjoyed their friendship a lot more than their relationship. There just wasn't any heat or feeling. It was rather odd that after they met, they immediately couldn't stop thinking about the other. After all of Lark's mental admonishments, you'd think she'd have more self control. In the end, I wasn't really rooting for them, but I also wasn't rooting against them. It didn't particularly matter to me if they ended up together or not.
The pacing was very off. Some times the book moved along swimmingly. Other times, the story line became so dull that I literally fell asleep while reading. Which is a very rare occurrence.
Side note: Whoever gave this author a thesaurus, please take it back. So many of the word choices were cringy. Lark using the term "jubilation" instead of "joy" or some such word was weird. (I highlighted at least 30 terms that stood out to me as odd when a synonym of theirs would have flowed much better.)
The secrecy around Reese and his passing was a strange choice. The way in which the truth around the accident was revealed was disjointed, and it didn't make a big impact on me. Also, the irony in her being afraid to tell an undertaker that her husband was dead was kind of funny.
Overall, the book was okay. Okay characters. Okay story line. Okay writing.

3/5 stars.

Ivy Fairbank’s slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance novel Morbidly Yours is the first installment in the “Love in Galway” series. The novel includes a pronunciation guide for Gaelic words and names at the front and a glossary at the back, detailing sexual expressions.

Twenty-nine-year-old Lark Thompson relocates from Texas to Galway, Ireland, following the untimely death of her husband, Reese. Overwhelmed with grief and guilt, Lark takes a position as the art director at KineticColor, an animation company. A mix-up with a package leads her to Willow Haven, the mortuary home of thirty-four-year-old Callum Flannelly.

Callum, an introverted demisexual, has become a recluse due to a slight stutter with words beginning with "d" and occasional "b" sounds. He is struggling to save his family's mortuary, which he will lose if he does not marry by the age of thirty-five, according to a stipulation in the will. If he fails, the mortuary will pass to his estranged father, who intends to sell it.

Lark, burdened by guilt over her past and a vow to Reese that she would never remarry, finds herself entangled in Callum's predicament. When she learns of his deadline to find a wife, she decides to set him up on dates as a distraction from her own grief.

Simultaneously, Lark faces challenges at work. As the new boss on her animation team, she endures harassment from a senior employee, Séan, who targets her because of her gender and U.S. citizenship. Lark, a people pleaser, allows her confidence to wane with each interaction with Séan. She must find her voice and address the harassment before it jeopardizes her job.

Fairbank’s novel, while intended as a slow-burn romance, lacks the necessary tension to sustain this type of story. Lark’s decision to mislead Callum by presenting herself as a divorcee rather than a widow undermines the emotional depth of the narrative. Though the exploration of grief is poignant and well-developed, Lark’s character often appears overly passive. She only begins to advocate for herself in the final chapters, and her failure to report Séan’s unethical behavior perpetuates a troubling message about the treatment of women in the workplace.

The novel's romantic subplot is marred by Lark's erratic behavior. Her indecisiveness—refusing to date Callum, then opting for a “friends with benefits” arrangement, and fluctuating between accepting and rejecting proposals—creates a frustratingly cyclical narrative. This back-and-forth behavior, more characteristic of teenagers than adults in their thirties, renders the novel's under-350-page length a tedious read.

A well written debut novel with a great title. The setting is Galway, Ireland, and after reading this book I would love to go. I have been to Dublin and Belfast and really enjoyed it,. I would love to listen to the audio book just to hear the accents.
Lark has come from Texas to work in a new animation studio. She is a young widow with a guilt complex, blaming herself for her husbands car accident. Though it's 2 years on, she believes she does not deserve happiness.
After she moves into her rental, she opens a delivery and finds 6 body bags and realizes they are for the bed and breakfast next door. When she takes them over, she discovers her rent is reasonable because it is actually a mortuary. When she meets Callum the handsome undertaker, the story begins.
Callum is grieving also. His grandfather has died and in his will Callum must Mary by the end of the year or his estranged father will inherit the mortuary.
Callum has a stutter and is basically a social recluse, so his search for a wife is difficult. Once he meets Lark it is even more difficult because he likes her but she has made it clear they can only be friends.
On top of all that, Lark has a work associate who is out to undermine her, which adds another layer.
Also, an aside, I was reading this on Kindle as I was reading the new Rhys Bowen book, The Rose arbor. A character named Lark appeared and my brain got momentarily confused.
Also, a fun part of this book is the use of Irish Gaelic, with a glossary of sex words that Callum teaches Lark. I attempted to learn some Scottish Gaelic before a trip to Scotland and I just wonder why it isn't spelled more like it is pronounced. Fun to learn though.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest review.

Cute friends to lovers story with not so typical characters. Very easy and quick read. Thank you, NetGalley.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. NetGalley

Morbidly yours was a beautiful story about grief, acceptance, and moving on to find new love. This was definitely a book about opposites attracting set in Ireland.Lark is a woman to try to find herself as well as let go of some of things remaining in her past. Callum is a shy man who is trying to save his family‘s business. They meet in an unusual way and slowly build a friendship that turns into love. I would definitely recommend this book. It has a lot of interesting takes on processing grief, forgiveness and living life again.

This was such a good book! I’ve read quite a few books lately where an American goes to Ireland and they’ve all been slightly cringy (the cluelessness was so overdone) but this was done so well!
Lark is from Texas, an animator who gets a job in Galway and moves in next to Callum, a local mortician fighting to keep his business in the family. Lark’s painful past keeps her from allowing herself to completely fall for Callum, who has hang ups of his own - he needs to marry in order to inherit the family business. So she agrees to help him find “the one”, and as you can imagine, it becomes way more complicated than that.
It’s full of heart and grief and love after loss, set amid a beautiful backdrop of Galway. I highly recommend this one!

There were good and bad things about this book for me. It had a lot of potential but wasn’t quite great for me. The good was that I loved Lark and Callum’s relationship and chemistry. They were like a version of grumpy/sunshine but more light and dark. The spicy scenes were good (and I’m guessing why this got so TikTok popular).

That being said, this was an incredibly slow read for me. There just wasn’t enough happening. There were big things and big stories happening, but the day-to-day felt slow and awkward. The Sean storyline felt genuine but it didn’t make me want to keep reading.

I would recommend this with some hesitation… maybe only to big fans of spice who are OK with a slow story.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In Morbidly Yours, a grieving American woman moves to Ireland for a job opportunity and her neighbor is a mortician who needs to be married by age 35 or he will lose his funeral home. This is what close proximity dreams are made of - hunky Irish neighbor always coming to her rescue. It was a sweet story about the two of them learning to trust again and to love again, but with some spicy scenes mixed in. I loved both of these characters so much. Perfect for transitioning into the fall books.

It's hard to rate this book because of how long it took me to finish it. I soft DNF'd early into it and then decided to try again. The first half just did nothing for me. It was a lot of introducing characters that weren't sticking with me. The book's second half had me wanting to sneak in time to pick it up and finish it. Overall it was a cute read. It had too many tropes and some plots were rushed to finish at the end.

Such a lovely and touching story of a growing love with odds stacked against it.
Lark relocated to Ireland to release her mind of the memories of her deceased husband. In Ireland, she meets her neighbor Callum, a mortician with complex problems. Her delightful bubbly personality is opposite to his reticent nature. They somehow blend well together and have definite chemistry but she is very reluctant to pursue anything with him. Together their bonding creates this wonderful story,
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was enjoyable. Read it pretty quickly; kept my attention. I appreciated the different topics and settings (undertaker heartthrob, female animator from Texas, Irish setting). But I found the characters a little less than believable. They weren’t too remarkable, exactly; just kind of random and felt thrown together without a fully believable, or fleshed out connection.

Thank you for the ARC.

A southern widow moves to Irland to escape her grief and makes friends with the neighboring funeral director. Obviously, they have great chemistry and develop feelings. Classic romance, right? Right. But what this book does brilliantly is deal with grief, self-esteem, and friendship- all within the confines of a traditional romance novel. This is romance at it's best- it's not insta-love or some overdone trope. This is two very different people who grow to become friends before realizing they might want more. This is two people finally believing that they are worthy of love and friendship, and it's beautiful! And bonus points for the "spicy" translation guide at the end. <3