Having just read "Morbidly Yours', I was excited for this similar sounding premise (Funeral Home/Casket Sales/Death/Etc.). That said, the pacing here is off and I am not invested in the characters because it moved too quickly. Insta-love is not my favorite trope, but that aside, this is lacking the character development I need to feel connected to and immersed in the story. The general writing feels abbreviated and/or rushed; like it's a rough draft or outline and needs fleshing out. I think with some more editing it could be a good book, but it's not quite there yet.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing this ARC for my voluntary and honest review!

A casket salesperson and a “logistics” worker for Death fall in love in this small town, southern romance. I really appreciated how this book navigated grief, it was a truly unique read. The pacing and some of the relationship dynamics were a bit odd, but I still overall enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Dell for providing me with this digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
I will start by saying the premise of this book is quite the HOOK, and it immediately grabbed my interest when I casually found it on Netgalley. A romance between a casket store owner and an emissary of death sounded exactly up my alley. Another element I appreciated was the representation of grief as a nonlinear process in a non-romanticized way. Both of our characters have known grief and handle it differently, which is ultimately a good reflection of how it is for most of us.
Ultimately, while I can see the author's talent, I feel like this needed an editor that focused better on the elements of pacing that are not working. A romance novel with an insta-love trope can work, but not in the way it was done here. They get together very soon and fall for each other without us really seeing those big moments that could make them realize that. And then another romantic interest is introduced making it even messier.
Pacing in a romance novel is essential, but so is the development of a romantic build-up that feels rewarding to the readers. This case, because it was too fast and without major events, felt incredibly unrewarding which made me lose interest in the book quite fast. Not even the dialogues could make it more enjoyable since they were very slice-of-life and not funny or fundamental for plot development.
I do think that Lauren Evans could have a great career ahead because her writing skills are strong and so are her ideas, but she needs a better understanding of story arc structures (especially in romance) and an editor who is unafraid of asking for big plot structure changes.

I had such high hopes for this book, mainly because I am THE target audience: I'm more a "fictional representations of death" girlie than a rom-com girlie, I love small-town settings, and I don't mind when my books get heavy. I was so, so thrilled when I got approved for Casket Case, but unfortunately, it fell flat on a lot of levels for me.

But first, the good! The premise is still one of the most original that I've read this year. Casket saleswoman Nora meets consultant-for-death Garrett while he's trying to find his next mark. The two fall in love, all the while Garrett's big secret looms over them. I liked Nora's small southern town, Rabbittown, a lot, and I really enjoyed the vibe that the author was going for. I read it around Halloween and it should've been the perfect spooky read -- all the ingredients were there. I think with a few more drafts and some heavy copy editing that this would've been a win.

But unfortunately, I did not enjoy the copy I received. This is an ARC, so maybe some things have been fixed before publication, but I struggled with a number of elements here:

1. The writing feels very show-not-tell. It's a rom-com so I'm not expecting Pulitzer Prize material, but I am expecting a fun little ride that feels easy, breezy, and sweet (and maybe a bit steamy!). Instead, there were more than a few stilted sentences and a strange omniscient narrative choice; this may be my personal preference for first person in a rom-com talking, but I didn't love all the extraneous details about neighbors that were just dropped in. I feel like a few rounds of copy-editing definitely could have fixed this, as well as a few more drafts in general for developmental purposes.

2. The tone felt a bit strange to me. I think this might've been in the fact that it's billed as a rom-com. Now listen: I've got a LOT of beef with how genres are being marketed this year. From "romantasy" that's failing at the romance to "rom-coms" that aren't hitting the comedy, I think a lot of this year's flops are due to expectations on the audience side not matching the actual book. I think this one could've been fine as a romance, or even as that nebulous genre "women's fiction," but there is absolutely zero comedy here. If anything, it's a meditation on grief, love, and one woman's journey...more Alice Hoffman than Emily Henry, tbh. Which isn't a bad thing at all! Just...not matching the cover or marketing whatsoever.

3. The biggest one of all: the romance. Nora and Garrett are very insta-love and almost feel as if they fell for each other out of desperation. There's a hint of a love triangle in the second half of the book, between Nora and a rival casket salesman, which I almost preferred to the couple we were meant to root for. There was banter in the second half! Personality! A spark of something! Meanwhile, Garrett and Nora's relationship just felt kinda sad to me, and not in the "I've fallen in love with death" way. More in the, "girl did you just settle for that?" kinda way. I liked the premise here far more than the execution, and did I mention the red flags? Oh boy are there red flags galore from both Nora and Garrett.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine (Random House), and Lauren Evans for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! I wish that I'd liked it more, but I hope Lauren Evans keeps coming up with fantastic concepts.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. the premise of this was really interesting to me so it was disappointing when it was executed so poorly. why was this so morbid when it should be a fun time? the writing was bad, it could have used another few passovers.

Very fun and fast paced read. Love the banter between characters, its view of romance and grief and the small
Town vibes. It’s often hard to write about grief but keep the story fun and light and this was done well! Very enjoyable.

A love story about a casket business new owner and deaths right hand man…just didn’t do it for me. I had hoped for a bit more of a not so fast but super slow burn and not whiplash instead

thanks to netgalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for a review!

this was a really interesting concept at face value and i thought that it had a lot of potential. nora returns to her hometown to run her family's funeral home and garrett rolls into town literally working for death. i thought there were so many interesting plotlines that could be done with this, and then none of that really panned out. so much of this fell relatively flat for me, which was a bummer. it was still cute and i enjoyed it, but i felt at most points that it could have been so much more.

I first want to say that I really loved this cover, the purple is so pretty. lol
This was a good book, written well and kept my interest.


Nora and Garret. Main characters in this rom-com.
Nora was a tough character to deal with she was up, down and all around. I mean I did feel bad for her, she went through a lot and lost a lot of people in her life. Then she has to run the family casket business where all she sees is loss and sadness.
Garret works for death, and this is such a strange job to wrap your dead around. No one is allowed to know his job.
There are a few extra unnecessary conflicts in this book (in my opinion). It really didn't need the extra drama.
Nora starts really falling for him and then notices some weird things with him.
Will she find out his line of work, will they work out, will she be ok with his job????
So many questions and you will find it all out throughout this book and the ending is definitely not what you are expecting at all.

A smart, fun romance with a paranormal twist. Great characters and a unique story. This book provided a well written enjoyable escape for me. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

A unique paranormal story that delves into love, loss, and the afterlife. I loved the premise of the story but I never engaged with Nora. She was a little annoying and I thought that her relationship with Garrett escalated a little quickly. Even so, it was a charming read.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

this was a cute read i want to be honest in my review and say i could not read this all the way thru maybe it just was not for me at the time i wil give this another try at a later time

the characters are unique so is this storyline/concept but the romance felt flat to me and i had issues with the pacing (slow and fast the same time) the romance came too quickly then out no where we are having a jealously/love triangle thing going on the side characters got to much page space. i could not keep up nor wait to see it pan out bc again the pacing was slowwwwww the romance felt to drawn out for me

also this is a great spooky read bc of all the death haha esp with Nora being a casket selling of all things (and also to insecure imo)

I honestly don't have not much to say about this book. It was just okay.

I thought it would be a cute little spooky rom com, but I found the insta-love odd and unbelievable.

I appreciated Nora's representation of anxiety and what it's like to live in someone's head like that. As someone who suffers from anxiety it was relatable but also depressing because I already know what that's like in my own head, so that was a mistake on my own part and I don't fault the book for that. Nora did feel fairly fleshed out, but Garrett felt one dimensional. The only thing you learned about him was his brother passed away and that's what prompted his choice in a career. I appreciate a sweet cinnamon roll boy but I need more dimension from the love interest.

The one thing I found the most unbelievable though, was the fact that she was so mad at Garrett because he worked for death. I couldn't understand why she would be so mad when she literally does the same thing. Also, the ending felt so rushed that when the story finished I said out loud "THAT'S IT?!" Nothing felt concluded.

While the premise sounded promising, the execution was a little mediocre for me.

I was quite surprised by this one, to be honest. I was expecting something spooky, a little cringe (but the good kind) and an easy shove into the halloween spirit!

Little did I know that the magical realism included in this read would be something so different, it took me completely off guard!

Nora has taken over her family's business, running the Casket shop in a small town. She's working a regular day in the shop, when a handsome stranger wanders in looking for directions.

Garrett was a fun addition, he truly made a realistic MMC that you might run into at the local supermarket. I loved his outlook on Nora's life, his job and what was right vs wrong.

Though I enjoyed Nora's story in the end, I struggled to like her character throughout. I found her to be very selfish, whiny and "woe is me" and while she did have a tragedy happen to her that had her stuck in her home town running the business and not doing much else.... she could have just as easily sold the shop and moved. In her selflessness of taking over her parents shop, she complained entirely too much.

I found the FMC and MMC's relationship and communication (or sometimes lack there of) to be very realistic. It was refreshing to read a couple that I could see handling their disagreements in ways someone in real life might. I guess I was just surprised that their arguments and make ups reminded me so much of a true relationship!

My only wish was that the details about Garretts job to have been more of a mystery, vs it being announced on the back cover. I would have LOVED to have experienced the "Ah-Ha!" of a reveal, instead of going into the story knowing something was a little off.

Their romance was cute, the relationship was realistic and the whole "I sell caskets and you work around Death everyday" matching was ironically perfect. I would recommend.

I started reading this one but it was a bit cookie cutter for me. Maybe it’s because too many paranormal romances came out at once, but I found myself not wanting to go back to it due to boredom. I even thought the audiobook would help but as enthusiastic as narrators were, the plot just wasn’t there for me. DNF at 48%

It’s frustrating when a book has a great premise but falls flat in execution. The idea of a casket seller falling for someone who works for Death hooked me immediately—I was excited to dive in. But honestly, the romance between Nora and Garrett felt forced and completely unearned. They go from meeting to being head-over-heels without any believable development, which made it hard to invest in their relationship. And then there’s Johnny, thrown in as a love triangle for no good reason, which just complicated things unnecessarily. The dialogue and plot felt underdeveloped, like they were just going through the motions. The only saving grace was the blunt, realistic discussion about death and how we process it, but even that wasn’t enough to salvage the book for me. It just didn't live up to the potential of its concept.

✨ I received this book as an ARC for my honest review✨

Rate: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a fun and unique read! It blended romance, humor, and a bit of the morbid in a way that’s totally captivating. The story follows Nora, who unexpectedly inherits her late parents’ casket business in a small town. She’s still grieving and just trying to get by when a handsome, mysterious guy named Garrett comes into her life. But of course, there’s a twist—Garrett works for Death (yep, you read that right!).

I really enjoyed Nora and Garrett’s chemistry. Garrett is sweet and patient with her, which I loved. But Nora, while relatable, could be really immature for her age, and her constant back-and-forth with Garrett—hot one minute, cold the next—got old fast. I’m sure this was done on purpose to show her emotional journey, but it got annoying. At times, it felt like she was just spinning in circles, and I kind of wished she’d made up her mind sooner. The romance escalates pretty quickly too, and while I was here for it, it did feel a little rushed given how little time they’d actually spent together, and then a random love triangle popped up, which felt a little forced.

The book handles grief really well. Nora’s emotional journey feels genuine, and though she can be tough at times, it’s clear she’s just trying to cope with her parents’ death. Her grandpa adds a nice touch of lightness to balance out the heavier moments. Garrett's acceptance of death is understandable and filled with compassion. Working for Death itself, he seems at peace with its inevitability due to having a death in his family. His calm demeanor and patience with Nora show his understanding that life and death are just parts of the same cycle, something he’s learned to embrace without fear.

The pacing can be a little slow at times, and I was expecting more comedy or banter, but the emotional moments hit harder than I anticipated—especially the ending, which totally took me by surprise and had me in tears, both happy and sad. Despite Nora’s indecision and Garrett’s secretive side, I really enjoyed the story. It’s a sweet, touching rom-com with a unique twist, and definitely a great book that will make you laugh, cry, or maybe even both!

I really enjoyed Casket Case. It is a fun idea for a story and would make for a great series. I am looking forward to reading more books by Lauren Evans.

DNF @ 40%

I got so bored with this book I wished Death would visit me instead. The romance started immediately and went absolutely nowhere?? I am uninterested in the detailed daily diary entries of the needy casket selling girl who keeps getting drunk on boxed wine and crying about her boyfriend. And very uninterested in the vague crap about the Death guy who is obsessed with his job but refuses to actually talk about it with his girlfriend. And the other reviews for this book are not encouraging, so, this will be a no even if I continue and who has time to waste on boring books when they could be getting drunk on their own boxed wine and doing literally anything else

This was such a fun concept and this would be a great seasonal read. I think it was just light enough that death and caskets don't give it a sad sort of feeling. If you're a fan of MORBIDLY YOURS, you might enjoy this one.