The prose is fine, the story seems to move along, and it reads easily. I stopped after chapter 2 (5%), but I'd guess a solid 3 to 4 stars for the target audience with 5 for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

Bravo on this debut !!! Slow burn, friends to lovers, grumpy ( ish ) / sunshine. I really loved how the author dealt with friendship, forgiveness, grief, self worth and social anxiety. Morbidly Yours was a funny, smart and charming read.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I looooooved this book. It definitely had more heart than I expected. Both characters were so fleshed out that I felt like I knew them, and really liked the people they were.
The plot, the issues that arose, it was explained so well by the author that I felt all the boxes had been ticked. Insane chemistry? Check. Fun banter? Check. Felt like justice had prevailed? Check. Good people supporting each other? Check.
What a wonderful debut by this author. I'll be recommending this book 100%.

Give me dual POVs and I’m hooked!

I really enjoyed this book and loved the characters! It was a little slow in the beginning and that made it a little hard to get into but I’m glad I stuck through.

I was so annoyed with Lark but she had a lot of wounds and trauma that she needed to heal. I was not in love with how she took advantage of Callum’s feelings and friendship. I am glad she pulled her head out of her behind and decided to let herself be vulnerable. Overall I loved the progression of the story and the slow burn felt like it was just the right pace.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. Dnf at 36%.Guys I went into this book with such expectations. One of those expectations (which I think is reasonable for a romance) is some pretty graphic depictions of the embalming practice within the first few chapters . I’m not a prude. In my mystery/horror, the more graphic the better. Add to that a female pick me girl with no spine. Struggle bus. When I found myself dreading reading, I knew it was time to call it. I do think this book will have its audience. Just not for me.

“The butterflies in my own stomach fluttered as Callum met my eyes. I needed to take scissors to those wings.”

🪦 TROPES & THEMES 🪦
✔️ American in Ireland
✔️ Love after loss
✔️ angst and chemistry is 10/10
✔️ Dual POV/Romcom
✔️ Demisexual rep
✔️ Friends to Lovers
✔️ Shy Mortician meets Bubbly Animator
✔️ spicyyyy 😎

I picked this book up on a whim because the cover and the blurb just sounded like so much fun!! If you know me, you know I don’t dive out of my romantacy/pnr genre much - but gosh am I glad I did! I had the best time reading this book!!

Not only was I laughing out loud to so many parts of this book, but I was teary eyed too with the heavier themes about loss and grief. The author did an outstanding job touching all the emotional bases and making the reader feeling them all.

I loved hearing Callum’s Irish sayings, and Lark’s commentary back. Watching Cal’s shy persona open up with help from her was so precious and adorable! I was over here swooning at the absolute butterfly filled moments we got to see!

The pacing kept me invested, the banter had me swooning - and yep, the spice, when it hit, was hot and I loved every page of this book!! It was such a unique, refreshing read!!

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Ivy Fairbanks, and the Penguin Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The plot had me hooked from the beginning. A reserved undertaker with a speech impediment (as an SLP, I thoroughly appreciated this) from Ireland meets an outgoing glass-is-half-full Texan. It was a true grumpy meets sunshine.

What a great debut novel by Ivy Fairbanks! I looovveedd it! I was so excited to read this book when I received it that I ignored the others on my TBR and moved it right up to the top of the list. And it did not disappoint! I loved Fairbanks' writing style, the dual POV, the blending of cultures. It was just a great mix.

Callum and Lark are fantastic main characters! They each have their own baggage and quirks but that just helps them grow together. The friendship that they made was so cute. The romance was envy-inducing. The spice was hot without being overwhelming.

Individually, I loved the MCs, too. They each owned who they were and were unapologetic about it. Their own backstories were so meaningful and thought out. The friendships that they had/created were relatable and heartwarming. I thought each character was so well thought out and presented without so much extra information that it would take away from the main plot,

I laughed. I got emotional. I enjoyed the spice. What more could I want from a romance?? Can't wait to read what Ivy Fairbanks comes out with next!

Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks was such a treat! I loved this and enjoyed my time reading it. It's a slow burn that does slow burn right. It's a romcom but it still held some weight to it and I thought the characters were flushed out and not just the typical romcom stand ins. The writing is well done and the character development had me glued to this book. I requested this book because the concept seemed original and I thought I would enjoy it but I'm still surprised at how MUCH I loved it. It's fun, it's romantic and I feel like it's going to be popular with so many people. I'm looking forward to recommending this book to everyone.

It’s official— my heart is in the hands of a mortician and I’ve never felt more alive and well.

A Dolly Parton-loving animator from Texas moves to Ireland in an attempt to run away from her grief over losing her husband. She quickly realizes she’s unknowingly moved next door to a funeral home. The home is run by the biggest cinnamon roll undertaker with a stutter who needs to find a wife quickly in order to keep his home and business per his grandfathers will.

This story manages to pull off a punny and hilariously morbid brand of humor while still being deeply emotional when it needed to be. It had me both laughing out loud and pulling desperately on my heartstrings. Callum and Lark’s chemistry leapt off the page and oooof the slow burn was BURNING. The tension was delicious. I was practically screaming at them to JUST KISS ALREADY. When they finally did the payoff was so worth it!

This was somehow a silly and yet profoundly deep friends to lovers story that I absolutely couldn’t put down!

How I love grumpy/sunshine books! Lark wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but she pretended to be. After relocating across the pond after her husband passed away and needing to have a change of scenery she moves in next to a cute bed and breakfast. But it turns out it isn't a bed and breakfast after all, it is a mortuary and it's owner is one of the grumpiest golden retrievers around.
Callum has a predicament, he needs a wife so that he can take over the family business once and for all. With the clock dwindling down, he is running out of time and he just might fall for the one person that he can't marry.
Lark and Callum have their own sets of issues and while Lark pretends to be ok, Callum can see that she is not and he falls in love with her, even all of her messy parts. Cal isn't without his issues either, he has social anxiety and doesn't really connect with people much. The one person he connects to is Lark, and she has made it clear she is unavailable. How can she fight her feelings so hard when it is clear to see how she feels about him? After her job there is done, she has no reason to stay, unless Cal finds a way.
Both of these characters had a lot of trauma to unpack and while this was a fun, spicy romcom, it also had hard topics and grief that is palpable as you read. Lark is still grieving and Callum has dealt with grief his whole life. I thought these two were perfect for one another. It was hard to see Lark push him away as much as she did, but I could understand her.
Thank you to Penguin, Ivy Fairbanks and Netgalley for an early copy.

Dolly Parton loving Lark moves to Ireland after grieving the loss of her husband. She moves next door to the shy, quiet and handsome mortician struggling with the grief of losing his own loved one.

I truly enjoyed this read. This is the slowest of slow burns and I ate it up. Truly a best friends to lovers tale. I laughed at the banter between these two characters so many times. Lark was such a fun and bubbly character struggling to deal with her grief. This topic was very tastefully approached in a way that made me feel so connected to the character. While Callum was not my favorite of book boyfriends, he definitely had a lot of depth. I had a hard time matching his shy and quiet demeanor with his physical description as well as his personality change in certain scenes. However, his growth throughout the novel should not go unnoticed. All in all this was a wonderful debut novel. The spice was just enough without taking away from the story or character development!!

I was sold when I read Callum was an undertaker 🤷🏽‍♀️ what can I say I like unconventional sometimes. It also helped that he was a hunky Irishman. And Lark just being the cutest social butterfly souther Texan was a fun twist. Add her being in animation and all the cartoon references…sold! I’ve always been a lover of cartoons!!

Lark moved to Ireland after her husband had passed, too many memories. She ends up moving next door to Cal who is in the business of dead people. A bit on the nose but he was so kind and caring. Really exactly what she needed as she was grieving and just learning how to live life without her late husband. She also really just needed to process some guilt and Cal was so patient with her. They truly just become best friends. But all the while Cal is trying to find a wife so he doesn’t loose his home and family business. A bunch of failed dates and the cutest moments happen 😍 Lark bringing Cal out of his shell and Cal just being such a great consistent presence for Lark. This was just so cute! I liked it!!

I really enjoyed this book! I thought the main characters were perfectly written and Cal had me twirling my hair 🤭 I loved the serious subjects mixed in there, I thought it was a good mix! I also like the addition of the FMC having a stutter, you don't see that very often. 10/10 recommend this book

Here are the things I loved about this book: a grieving heroine, a hero with a stutter (never saw that before!), the little Irish lesson (iykyk) and descriptions of Ireland. Characters were both likable, but not as well developed as I usually look for. There were some descriptions of funeral home fare that- while I’m sure accurate- really turned my stomach. I could have used a trigger warning or at least a heads up. (Consider this review your heads up!) There were a couple of other topics that were a little heavy handed that I didn’t expect, and a few two dimensional villains that just seemed cartoonish to me in parts. Honestly though the Irish lesson and a few other well written scenes push Morbidly Yours into the 4 star zone for me… definitely rounding up but those were memorable! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

The synopsis caught my attention immediately. Going in, i didn’t know what to expect. This was a surprisingly cute read. Emotional, sweet and about grieving loss and overcoming it. Cal was a such a sweetheart and Lark was so cute. I really enjoyed the vibes they gave. Lovely!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and Ivy Fairbanks.

Did Cal get hotter? I pictured a big muscle quiet giant with a big heart and excellent sense of style. I loved reading the indie version but I think this traditional pub is a little bit hotter. The body preparation scenes, Cal is a mortician, the explanations blended nicely with the story and added a some humor. The friends with benefits trope was extremely spicy and satisfying.

This was cute. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. There is a fair amount of description of his role as an undertaker (enbalming, etc) in somewhat explicit detail so if you’re squeamish about that this might not be the book for you but I really enjoyed both of the main characters. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It took me a minute to get into this, but once the friends-to-lovers started lover-ing I didn’t want to put this down. Callum is a precious baby cinnamon roll with a dirty mouth, and if that ain’t the dream I’m not sure what is. I loved Callum and Lark’s banter, and I absolutely ate up the use of the Irish language for *ahem* certain scenes.

However! There was at least one sub-plot too many for my liking. There was enough going on that most of the storylines wrapped up too quickly and conveniently, and we didn’t really get enough focus on Lark’s grief as the primary source of conflict and character growth.

I feel like this story had a lot of potential that got lost in tackling too many unnecessary conflicts. At the end of the day, this was tender and sweet and also set in Galway! So no complaints from me.

3.5 stars

A young widow moved to Ireland to start over only to realize after she moves in that her flat is next to a live in funeral home. Will the broody quiet undertaker be brought out of his shell and find a wife before he loses the funeral home? Will the young widow make a new life in Ireland or will she leave as soon as the assignment for work is done? This has cozy dark humor and some spice. I love this story and no I refuse to tell you how it ends. Read it and find out. You won’t be disappointed.

# Morbidly Yours
# 4/3/2024 ~ 4/16/2024
# 5.0 / 5.0

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did 🥹 Callum seriously stole my heart and I’m okay with not getting it back!! This was so much fun to read. Callum and Lark are both on their own grieving journey & find some comfort in the friendship they found in each other. Lark helped Callum come out of his shell, while Callum helped lark see that she doesn’t need to be so afraid of her grief. So many funny references from lark— like her making Callum watch corpse bride & coraline!! I also LOVED LOVED LOVED every dolly reference. I’m a huge fan of dolly and always catch myself asking “what would dolly do?” Love these two and this beautiful story🤎