3.5 🌟 I genuinely enjoyed this book so much. The characters were impossible not to love, I loved the quirks and the small details that made this book so interesting and unique, especially compared to other books I’ve read in the past. I love that the MMC ran a morgue, I found the details of his job so fascinating. I typically hate the miscommunication trope, but this one was done so well! Can’t wait to read more by Ivy! Thanks NetGalley for the copy!

This debut novel by Ivy Fairbanks is a little bit quirky, but adorable. Being a Texan that also happens to love Ireland and visited Ireland recently, it was perfect for me. An excellent rom-com. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Ivy Fairbanks.

When Lark moves across the Atlantic, she doesn’t expect to become friendly with the mortician next door– who happens to need a marriage of convenience to save his family business.

I loved this slow-burn romance! Callum’s demisexuality was characterized so well and it was fun to see his feelings toward Lark unfurl. As someone who spent a lot of time in a mortuary as a kid, I enjoyed the quirky setting. The side characters were well-rounded and added a lot of humor to what could have been an angsty tale.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC!

Thank you Putnam Books, and Ivy Fairbanks fro this ARC copy.
This rom-com is Fairbanks debut novel including a very unique set of characters and plot. The MMC is a mortician who owns a funeral home in Ireland. The American FMC traveled to Ireland for a job opportunity, and ended up living next door. Filled with laughs, this novel also includes deep topics about mortality and grief. I loved the juxtaposition between the lightheartedness and the emotional plot. The lovable main characters and side characters make it feel like you're with them. I knew this was a 5 star throughout the novel. I would definitely read another novel by Ivy Fairbanks.

Sunshine Texan meets broody Irish morticain, YES PLEASE 😍
"We would cherish the light and honor the darkness together."

I knew I was going to like this one just from the cover alone but I didnt know I would love it as much as I did! Its was so sweet and cute but definitely got me in my feels a lot. I felt the topic of grief and loss were handled with so much care and actually helped me a bit in dealing with my own. and the was Lark made callum comfortable enough to come out of his shell, it was just SO sweet❤
10/10 Highly reccomend this read!!

A very sweet strangers to friends to lovers story.
Lark runs away from her home country, after the passing of her husband to try to start fresh. She lands a job in Ireland and a flat next to a funeral home. Her new neighbor, Callum, the Undertaker, is quiet and unsure how to deal with this bright bubbly personality at his door with his mail. Callum needs to find someone to marry to keep his funeral home, Lark who has vowed to never marry again decides to help Callum find his bride. While their friendship grows, other more serious feeling are also developing.
The overcoming of grief was a large part of this book, I found it a lovely story, but some might find it delicate subject.
This book does have a slower burn romance but does hit spicy when they finally, fully connect.

This book was so cute! I loved the banter. I loved Callum so much. He was such a a grump but in the best way. I want more of them!!

» 3 stars ᯓ★

➞ the blurb sounded a whole lot more interesting than this actually was. but it's fine. it's fine! not like i was expecting a five star or anything. nope. i'm fine really!

🧸┊the plot: uhhh basically girl moves to new place and falls in love with neighbor who also happens to be a mortician (is that the right word?). and then they .. well yeah. do things and fall in love.

💐┊my thoughts: maybe this would've been better as a fall read? maybe this is a me problem? but i was so bored for a good part of this. i loved loved loved the mental health rep and the characters that are so different from most contemporary romance. the real issue here is that i felt no chemistry between the two. i really liked them as friends, in a very platonic way, no kissing no sex, that sorta thing. the second they stepped into a romantic relationship i stopped enjoying the book bc it felt like it took away all the good parts of them if that makes sense?

i also wasn't the biggest fan of the writing but i'm not suuuuper picky about that so that didn't really play into my rating. the pacing felt off in some parts though.

➞ tldr? the concept was better than the execution. and my expectations may have been slightly high which tends to lead to disappointment but u know! would def recommend for a spooky season palette cleanser but otherwise it was meh.

🏷️┊tw: anxiety, grief, death (mentioned). keep in mind there may be more that i forgot here! ur mental health matters <3

Morbidly Yours is a delightful rom-com following a grieving animator and widow who moves from Texas to Ireland- right next door to a mortuary.

This grumpy/sunshine story has likable characters, a beautiful setting, and ultimately forgiveness.

It's sweet, a little grumpy, and incredibly enjoyable.

First of all, Morbidly Yours is a book that feels like a gift *specifically* for me. It has everything that I love: a grumpy sunshine slow burn that is not just grumpy and sunshine, but truly gloomy and somber grump and an absolutely sparkling, glittering delight of sunshine. Callum, a serious undertaker with fantastic dark puns, and Lark, an effervescent social butterfly covering the grief of her past, have my whole heart from the first moment of each of their POVs. The premise here is both tropey and fresh; he needs to marry by his birthday to inherit his mortuary; she has sworn never to marry again after her husband dies and she relocates to Ireland for a fresh start. They become friends by proximity, grow close because of chemistry, and endure heartfelt shenanigans in their attempts to help each other while ignoring their growing feelings. Also, I think I may have died of swooning when we get to the murmured intimate affections in Gaeilge. It’s possible that I am writing this review as an actual ghost now that I have read that. I found myself pouring over the pronunciation guide at the beginning and the one at the end with all the best bits, just falling in love with Callum all over again.

This is the first book that actually made me wish for a moment that I was back working retail in college because I once worked in a story that sold fancy wool sweaters and I would give anything to be close to a sweater that reminded me even a little bit of Callum Flannelly, my new favorite book boyfriend. It’s probably a good thing that I don’t work there anymore so that I’m not caught softly whispering words mispronounced in Gaeilge to a sweater, but still. If I ever go to Ireland I am going to be extremely annoying to my traveling party about taking a copy of this book with me and visiting some of the places in the book. In fact, maybe I should go to Ireland for this express purpose.

Truly this is one of my favorite books not just of this year, but of all time. It’s fantastic, and I am so happy that it is the first in a series. Romtraumcom, or romantic dramedy, as I have seen the author call this, is such a special and perfect genre blend that takes care to include those of us who read romcom and know grief, and need both to exist together so we remember that our grief exists side by side with the humor and joy that makes it possible to carry on. Also, prepare to weep, as I did, at the end of chapter 35. No need to even remember that number; you’ll know when you get there.

Thank you to Netgalley, Putnam, and Ivy Fairbanks for this eARC. This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was pretty good and it’s a debut. I will absolutely check out more by this author.

Update: this delightful story was picked up for traditional publishing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
This was a fun, romcom read! The flow of the writing & pacing of the story was done well, and made me want to continue reading. There are some graphic bodily descriptions within the mortuary that occur & discussions of death and grief throughout the book, so be sure to take that into consideration. A bit too much focus on steamy physical intimacy for my liking, but that just is my own preference! Overall an enjoyable read!

3.5/5 stars

I loved that so much. I saw stuff about the book on insta a couple months ago and looked to see if my library had it which it obviously didn't but then I saw scrolling here and saw it and got so excited and did absolutely lived up to my expectations. Demisexual undertaker love interest and artist mc? Sign me up. I loved both of them. And the character development? Damn good. I read the pronunciation guide like 3 times and was still saying all those Irish words and names wrong lol. Maeve. I heart old lesbian side characters. 11/10 (old lesbian side characters and the book as a whole) I also loved the bit with Rachel at the end. There was also a good balance of smut and story, some books definitely get rid of some story to fit in more smut (cough Icebreaker cough) but this one definitely didn't. I also liked that there was an epilougue from both povs. 2nd book with Cielo and aiden??? Would 100% read just saying

I originally read the KU version awhile back and jumped at the chance to read the newest version. I loved this slow burn romance between Callum and Lark. Callum is in need of a wife in order to keep his family's mortuary and Lark is trying to move past her grief from losing her spouse. Featuring one of the best meet cutes I have seen in ages. These two have fantastic banter and Callum is so romantic. I loved reading their story and look forward to any of the side characters getting heir own story.

thank you Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this back when Ivy independently published this book and I JUMPED at the opportunity to read it again as an ARC for her traditionally published version. And let me tell you, I loved it just as much the second time. This book is truly a grumpy sunshine personified in the best way possible. The growth of both characters as the navigate through their struggles; grief and anxiety. Lark and Callum are just the absolute cutest and watching Callum come out of his shell throughout the story with the strong arm encouragement of Lark was so entertaining to read. The cast of side characters are just utter perfection. You will laugh and you will cry, cause I know I did. And you will close this book with a smile on your face.

Morbidly Yours had me hooked by chapter three. When I say I couldn't put it down, I mean I stayed up past midnight to finish it. Normally, I save my crazy reading sprees for Romantasy novels because I find them easier to escape into then contemporary romance or rom-coms. But I found it just as easy to imagine myself in a beautiful graveyard in Ireland while reading this.

Lark and Callum where so delightful to read. The tension and chemistry between the two practically had steam whirling off the pages. You will be rooting for them to get together from the very beginning and every moment after. Both characters point of view is written so well that you feel invested in their lives and experiences. You get to see first hand how well they compliment each other and how they make each other's lives better.

The theme, plot, location and meet cute are all incredibly original and I have never read anything like it. Especially, so well written. It gives the fresh take and vibes of Butcher & Blackbird with the intense chemistry you find in the ACOTAR series. This is bound to be the next big booktok hit when it comes out. I cannot wait to read more from Ivy Fairbanks.

Would I reread this book or listen to it on audiobook? - Yes, often
Would I recommend it to others? - Yes, to everyone I know
Spice rating - 🌶🌶🌶 out of 5
Over all rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

This book was so cute and so different than most rom coms. I loved the representation with Callum, he was adorable. I also loved the setting and the use of the Irish language. This really made me want to visit Ireland.
The romance in this book was so good, the banter was swoon worthy, and it was so much spicier than I thought based off of the cover. I highly recommend this book, can’t wait to see what Ivy Fairbanks writes next!

I freaking absolutely loved this book!! The dual pov was a nice touch and you really got to know what both of them were thinking and feeling. There was some great tropes such as neighbors and friends to lovers. Also loved that there was demisexual representation. Please check the trigger warnings before reading. This was so cute and lighthearted. A fave for sure!

okay HELLO? what a unique and fun book 😭 i absolutely loved and enjoyed this entire reading experience!!! i thought it was fast-paced and had such a natural growth to the relationship. i loved getting to know the characters and really seeing their relatable experiences. i thought the grief portion was handled so well and the disability/demisexuality rep was beautiful to see. such a big fan and am so happy i got a chance to arc!!! it was fab!!!

Ivy Fairbanks perfectly meshes grief and love in this easy to read novel. The characters are witty and have very relatable problems. There’s social anxiety and emotional barriers just like the average joe.