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.

Thank you for the Arc NetGalley!
First of all cozy, romantic ( slow burn), adventurous and cute. Short but sweet and beautiful. I love the characters I think that everyone has a little bit of each. The author did a good job on presenting and keeping our interest but being fluffy.

“Love was a living thing. It spread like wild brambles and took over everything.”

This book was so sweet and it made me tear up a few times as I got to see Lark overcome her grief and let herself fall in love again. Callum was such a sweet, sweet man, and he deserves the world. I loved the fact that he was shy and reserved, but that he opened up for Lark. He loved her so much. 🥹

I’m a sucker for a good slow burn, and the fact that there was also a sprinkle of friends with benefits was perfect. I really liked the plot and the fact that Callum had to find someone to marry in order to keep his family business. It was bittersweet that the woman he fell for turned out to be the only one not interested in marriage.

“You are my pulse. You make me feel alive even when I’m surrounded by death.”

What I loved:
🪦 Demise*ual representation
🪦 Overcoming grief
🪦 She’s a social butterfly & he’s shy
🪦 Standing up for each other & themselves
🪦 Friends with benefits
🪦 “Just once to get it out of our systems” ▶️ “Oh crap, it’s not out of our systems”
🪦 Slow burn
🪦 He writes songs for her 🫠 and praises her in Gaelic
🪦 🌶️🌶️ “Who knew the reaper has such a pretty scythe?” 😏
🪦 Caretaking
🪦 He calls her “love”

“No one could make me forget about Lark. Not in a million years.”

Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph….and the wee donkey too!

This is exactly the type of book I love. Witty banter, a genuine connection, and perfectly steamy!

Lark is an animator working in Ireland for the Summer and Callum is sexy undertaker neighbor. Did I say undertaker? Sure did! And you know what? It works and makes for some corny but hilarious jokes. I laughed out loud multiple times.

I absolutely loved this and devoured it in one sitting.

Lark rented a house that’s owned by Callum, the mortician.

I love both characters individually, and they got such fascinating jobs. The setting is such a vibe.

I was hoping for more everything, but it was just so rushed in a way. It was perfect grumpy x sunshine but it’s did not hit the mark so I gave it 4-stars. Premise sounds intriguing and I love how they got together where they developed friendship and more.

I love the part where Lark’s aware of Callum’s social anxiety but end up pushing him outside his comfort zone but at the same time, knowing her limits and boundaries.

I kinda hated the 3rd-act break up lol. The singing part are also cringe and had second-hand embarrassment when he sang lol.

Overall, I love my reading experience and I love the book. We saw how each characters' dealt with their own struggles and their growth throughout the book.

When Lark moves to Ireland for a new job, Callum (an undertaker) ends up being her neighbor living in the funeral home next door. They quickly form a cute friendship when Lark discovers that Callum has to marry in order to keep his family business and she makes a plan to break him out of his shell and find him someone suitable to be his wife.

This book was the perfect amount of quirky without getting cringey! I loved that this was set in Ireland, the banter was cute and awkward but so sweet. I loved the relationship these two had, and the plot was a nice change up from the typical rom-com, but had all the rom-com elements that we all know and love! Would defintiely recommend to anyone looking for a fun and quirky rom-com. This would be the perfect read around the Halloween/fall season!

I've 100% read a book with a similiar concept to this but the mortuary addition helps if feel more fresh than the standard fair. For the reader who doesn't want to go into butcher and blackbird but needs something with a different twist to a typical rom com

Thank you so much to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After enduring 2 years in her hometown after the passing of her husband, Lark decides to move to Ireland for a fresh start. Lark's hope for her new town to is escape the tragedies of her past. Unluckily for her, she moves in next do0r to a funeral home where she meets the shy, stoic undertaker, Callum. Lark quickly takes to Callum and is set on befriending him- using her wild whimsical ways to pry him from his ever-present shell.

Callum has a hard time opening up to people. He likes it that way and would be fine staying that way had his grandfather not left a stipulation in his will that Callum must be married by age 35 in order to keep the funeral home that has been in their family for multiple generations. When he falls for his new American neighbor, Callum gets hopeful that this might solve all of his problems at once, if not for Lark's declaration that she would never marry again. Though they know that they have different romantic goals they can't fight the chemistry that is sparking between them.

I am astonished that this is a debut novel. There are usually a few kinks to work out along the way when establishing your catalog, but Ivy Fairbanks came out knowing exactly who her characters were. The sweet but stubborn Lark, while whimsical and fun has the tendency to not keep herself grounded, whereas Callum finds himself unable to reach for the stars so these two balance each other perfectly. I struggled a bit with Lark as a character as I do sometimes with overly 'manic pixie dream girl' characters and while she road that line quite a bit I happy to say she landed on the side of likeable. The trauma that she endured would prove to be difficult to reconcile in real life. While I did end up liking Lark, the author did push my bounds for a will they won't they third act conflict. If the two characters both realize they love each other about 66% into the book, then there should be at least one reasonable conversation about those feelings and surely with some healthy communication they could reach a middle ground. it was a hard sell for me that it was they either get married or never talk again.

I also struggled with Lark's 'quirky' personality. there is quirky and there is a walking fire hazard and miss girl would not have made it to 28 with the situations that the author put her in. Excessive clumsiness as a plot point drives me nuts but I will say this was front loaded in the start of the book and became much more reasonable. We will chalk that up to debut novel kinks.

Overall, this was a compassionate story about love, loss and loving again. Callum was a top book boyfriend find for me and was patient and loving with the woman he was down for on day one.

i think this is my new favorite book!! i cannot get enough of it! i need a physical copy IMMEDIATELY! it was very fun and just too cute!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random house for this ARC. All opinions are my own!

This book delights you in all the ways you anticipate a contemporary rom-com while experiencing such a unique character dynamic. You get so much more for a rom com, and if you’re like me, the male main character being a mortician was an immediate draw-in that led to a journey where we not only got to see two people fall in love, but also deal with the complexities of grief, depression, growth, and finding oneself. The chemistry between these two characters, finding themselves in a will they/won’t they situation built on wonderfully written tension was just a delight.

Ivy Fairbanks approaches this novel with quick wit that still manages to address delicate topics in the way they deserve. Getting to experience Ireland, a love story, and a delightful cast of side characters twice was such a wonderful experience.

This was a truly beautiful book and story, and I am so excited for the rest of the world to get to read this book so very soon!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ivy Fairbanks for the opportunity to review this book.

And what a wonderful book it was.

Lark lands a job as an animation director in Ireland and decides to make the move after a going through a personal tragedy. She soon finds out she lives next door to Callum, a local mortician (although they call him an undertaker in the book and I love it). Callum is a shy sweetheart who is going through his own issues but Lark's radiant personality draws him into a beautiful friendship. Neither one feels like love is in the cards for them but (spoiler alert!) it is for them.

Watching Lark and Callum help each other heal and come out of their shells and reach their true potential was what made this book so beautiful.

Easy 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! This was such an adorable ROMCOM read!! I think it was a great DeBut novel with relatable and likable characters!! I loved Lark the American girl and Callum the Irish man who fall in love. ! It took a difficult subject matter (death) and made a sweet story around it! I would recommend this book and I plan on reading more from this author!!

I was excited for a romance with a demisexual lead given there is so little ace-spec rep in literature, but there was just something about this that I couldn't get fully into!

The leads are interesting but the story is maybe a little too slow burn (that'll work for some readers!), but I didn't feel the same pull that a lot of other people might. And that's okay!

I enjoyed this enough, and felt that the driving factor/constant undercurrent of grief was done incredibly well. Grief's a heavy subject but it never feels out of place, even in a romance novel. It clearly shapes both of our POV characters and I think that is the part that I loved the most.

Good for fans of super slow burn and an easy grumpy/sunshine comp (black cat bf and golden retriever gf, or whatever).

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

A special thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Morbidly Yours is a killer debut romance novel from Ivy Fairbanks. This book has a little bit of everything, opposites attract, friends to lovers + killer romantic tension. Also lets take a moment to appreciate the stunner cover which was the main reason why I requested the book!

Callum and Lark are characters that win your heart over the instant you meet them. As singular characters and as a couple! I think this experience is so rare in books, which just made me appreciate the authors talent in making such likable characters.

As a sucker for slow burn romances, this book was so addicting. Every time I flipped the page, I was craving even more from these characters and when they finally got together, it was so incredibly sweet.

Let's talk about these characters!

Callum Flannelly is an introverted irish undertaker determined to inherit his grandfather's funeral home. The one problem is... he must marry to inherit the family business.

Enters Lark Thompson, your extroverted sunshine gal who has recently moved in next door to a funeral home, while she's in Ireland for a job position as an Animator and Cartoon creator (And actively running from her past).

Together Lark and Callum form a friendship to aid Callum in finding the perfect woman and help Callum inherit the business.

Oh, what could possibly go wrong with that?

If you enjoy slow burns and a good friends to lovers contemporary romance book, this is the perfect book for you!

P.S. Callum is such a precious hidden gem. He deserves all the hype. He is my aesexual king (who dirty talks in irish ;)

Cannot wait to see what else Ivy Fairbanks has in store for us next!

A debut novel by Ivy Fairbanks “Morbidly Yours” is a Romantic Comdedy that will have you laughing, crying and just plan old having a good time. Lark has moved to Ireland to take a job as Animation Art Director at KinetiColor after expeierencing the loss of her husband. Callum is the undertaker, who also owns the business next door to where she lives. When arriving in Ireland and as she starts to unpack she finds that she has been delivered body bags by mistake. She does not know that she lives next door to a mortuary. When she decided to give the package to its rightful owner she finds his out very quickly. Callum is tall, dark and broody, he also has a stutter. He has grown up with bullies and finds its hard to date and meet people. He find solace in his job and likes helping families find comfort in their time of need. His grandfather has passed and has left a will stating that by his 35th birthday he needs to be married in order to keep the mortuary.
Now at this point, you might think that this book would be marriage of convenience, but it is not that type of book where our FMC and our MMC make a deal. And that is so REFRESHING!!!! I absolutely love this book from the beginning to the end I read it in one sitting and for a debut novel I think that Ivy Fairbanks hit this one out of the park. I absolutely loved the characters be it the main characters or the side characters we met. I really have a hard time reading about loss but I this felt therapeutic in a way. I really hope that Ivy writes a book for Cielo! I really want to know more about her and hopefully her adventures in Ireland.