Casket Case delivers a quirky and original rom-com with a twist that’s equal parts charming and eerie. Nora’s return to small-town life and her family’s casket business sets the stage for a love story like no other—especially when her seemingly perfect suitor, Garrett, turns out to work for Death itself.
The concept is unique and the romance is sweet, but the plot can feel a bit stiff at times, much like the clientele at Nora’s shop. Garrett’s mysterious job and the growing suspicion surrounding him keep things interesting, but the blend of romance and the morbid can occasionally feel a bit uneven.
Still, if you’re in the mood for a romance that dares to dance with the grim reaper, Casket Case offers a humorous, if slightly unconventional, take on love and loss in a small town where death is always just around the corner.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Nora is the only person who doesn’t seem to mind selling caskets for a living. The old companies are selling out to the conglomerate but Nora’s sure she can keep her business afloat until she meets a grim reaper. Comforting and honest about the ultimate end result for everyone, the story tells the reader why you should believe, even if it’s temporary because things aren’t always as they seem…

I….what did I just read? 😅

The unique premise of this book really caught my attention and I had hopes for it. However the writing was so choppy to find much enjoyment from it. The pacing of everything gave me whiplash too.

The main character Nora was so unlikeable too. She had only known Garrett for a few weeks and she turned into a stage 5 clinger QUICK. The way she was so insecure and constantly questioning every single thing was annoying. I feel she should have worked on herself before ever getting into a relationship. Plus her trying to move on so quickly was an odd choice.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dnf at about 20%.

I really wanted to like this one, I think the premise is so creative. However, I didn't feel connected to either of the characters or the story, and the writing felt a bit clunky to me. This was very very insta-lovey, which was a little difficult for me to get onboard with. Especially knowing so little about the characters to begin with. It didn't really seem like either of them had much of a discernible personality when they were already romantically involved. I think this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Dell for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Honestly not the best but it was an interesting premise for sure. Nora has recently inherited her family’s casket business and basically immediately after meeting him, falls for Garrett, an employee of Death itself who has just come to town. Again, super interesting premise and I love the paranormal aspect and the tackling of grief head-on, but it fell kind of flat overall. Just not enough going on, the insta love was too much, the love triangle was weird, and the pacing was a little slow.

This a cute, small-town romance novel. I thought it was clever. It seemed a tad stuck for a while, but had a nice ending.

This could have absolutely been an interesting, fun, and cute read. I loved the concept. But why did we get a weird love triangle? Why did these two start dating within the second time meeting and declare their undying love like a few chapters later? Not a fan of that. The pacing could have been done better for the relationship, which would have made it more interesting and engaging to read.

I enjoyed certain aspects of this book. I am from AL, so I am a bit biased, but I hate the AL football team so that was a turn off for me. The romance was good but the book was lacking in every other aspect.

A strangely awkward book. Both MCs are awkward in the beginning then gradually get to know each other. The pacing was slow while the romance was fast. A little paranormal with Garrett working for death. It was an odd pacing, the MCs kept getting into the same argument before asking for space and repeat. It is a close door romance, when the first fade to black happened I thought the characters went all the way, the writing suggested it happened. But they didn’t, until later. It was a little confusing. The dialogue between MCs seemed very robotic, felt like when you’re on a call with an automated phone operator and you mess up a number and it repeats all the options again. Little to no emotional depth. I liked the story concept but the execution was a little off.

Nora a shy, awkward, anxious women who works for her family casket business in small town Alabama. She is also struggling with the loss of her parents and only has her Grandpa.

She falls in love with a man named Garrett who works in death ( I don’t know want to give the rest away)

The story had a lot of potential but it didn’t pull me in like other books.

The paranormal aspect was what drew me into this book. Their story is an instalove connection, which made me feel unsure and question whether the characters were genuine with each other to begin with. There are some jokes here and there, but there’s not much comedy, so don’t mistake this for a “rom com”. I think that’s where a lot of readers were expecting this story to fall, but a lot of death talk does make depressing content – especially with a somewhat depressed MC. What I liked about the book is that it gives off small town vibes, and the portrayal of grief felt relatable, without shying away from the difficult emotions. The premise of working for “Death” was very interesting, but I think the back-and-forth was a bit much.

Casket case was small town cute writing. I enjoyed reading about these characters and how they interacted with each other. I laughed and found this book to be a pleasant read.

I don’t have words for this book. I am Nora. Nora is me.

My great-great-grandparents started a funeral home in our incredibly small town in south Louisiana. My great grandfather was named William (Billy) and my grandfather was William (Tommy). My grandparents opened their funeral home location the same year as the casket company opened. My grandmother makes a banana pudding for every funeral. My grandfather passed a few years ago, but he reminds me so much of Nora’s grandfather. I had a favorite casket as a 6 year old, and I helped fold programs and scan in photos for the slideshows over the summer. I went with my grandparents to the Funeral Directors Convention in the summer. I even went to Birmingham last summer and ate at the trendy Mexican restaurant and had a conversation about the plantain nachos!

Seriously if you sub out Alabama for LSU, I felt like I was reading about my life. And ironically enough, I even married an Alabama fan. Yes, this book is morbid. Yes, there are jokes that most people who did not grow up around a funeral home will not appreciate. But this book felt like sitting around my grandmother’s dinner table talking with my uncle about who died that week and my grandfather making a joke about being “the last one to let you down” or “dying to do business with us” and I loved it.

Simply put, this book felt like home, and it really might be one of my favorites of the year!

Thank you to the author + Netgalley for the ARC

I read "Casket Case" by Lauren Evans on NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book and would read more by Evans. The main character, Nora, has moved back to her small town to take over the family casket business after her parents died in a car accident. Then one day a stranger, Garrett, comes to town. They are instantly attracted to each other, but you'll need to read the book to see if it works out.

This book had so many elements I usually like. Quirky FMC, opposites attract romance, elements of magic. There was a lot to like, but ultimately it ended up not being my favorite.

What I liked: the quirky small-town vibe was spot on. I live in the south, though not Alabama, and I recognized a lot of the culture. It felt very authentic. I appreciated how open and honest the FMC was. She didn’t beat around the bush or play dumb. And the MMC, although he kept his job a secret, was honest and straightforward about everything else. I felt like they had a solid foundation. The spice was fade to black, but realistic. I also appreciated that the FMC, although she struggled with intrusive thoughts and self doubt, ultimately stood on her own two feet and didn’t let all the men in her life make decisions for her.

What I didn’t like: despite what I’ve said above, I didn’t feel the chemistry between the main characters. They seemed a good fit logically, but I didn’t feel any of their passion for one another. They had a very caring, considerate relationship, but I a romance novel I want more. Also, the cast of secondary characters was hard to keep up with. There were so many townspeople. And none of them were distinct enough to stick in my mind. They were all so interchangeable that I couldn’t remember who was who. And finally, I wanted to know a bit more about the MMCs job. It was so vague. I just wished there had been more explanation about how it all worked.

Overall, it was a very interesting premise, but a very slow execution that left me wanting.

Review shared 8/29/24 on my Instagram account (@b00ksrmagic) as well as Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Fable.

This was a unique story and I have been conflicted on how to review it. I liked it as a whole, but there was so much about Nora that I didn’t like. It was as if she was half developed. There wasn’t really an understanding to me of why she was so difficult but also didn’t seem to care or have opinions and the anxiousness didn’t have a root cause either. I didn’t get the instant love between she and Garrett either. I actually thought the banter between she and Johnny was a better fit for her. I felt like Garrett could have done much better.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The owner of a casket shop meets and begins dating a Grim Reaper. Sounds like the plot to a romcom filled with hijinks, right? At least it did to me.

That is not what this book is.

Nora, our casket seller, is awkward, a little shy, and dealing with not only her grief over the loss of her parents, but also her grief and trauma over the ending of her previous relationship. She is not in a good headspace, at all.

Enter Garrett, our reaper, in town to assist someone to the Other Side. He stops into Nora's shop to ask for directions, and is immediately drawn to her. Winds up asking her out. And Nora is drawn to him as well - but continues to hem and haw over whether she should date him, constantly apologizes for things, etc.

I was not expecting this to be a clean romance, but there are absolutely no smutty scenes at all. I feel this is something that the author may want to list at the beginning, as it can be a deal breaker for some readers (like myself).

I had a hard time with this book. Most of it, save for the random flashback scenes, are written from Nora's POV, and while I know she is meant to be healing from her grief and past experiences, I feel that she was not a character I could relate to or even empathize with very well. I feel she really created a lot of the drama in the book herself by projecting a lot of her own issues onto other people. And yes, Garrett kept the truth of his job from her but really, who doesn't find out secrets after dating someone for a while?

I struggled with this one. To be honest, the writing style wasn't really for me. The third person perspective sort of made me feel detached from Nora and Garrett and made it extremely difficult for me to get into the story. However, I recognize that that may just be me. The premise is really interesting, and there are many who will really enjoy the book. I, unfortunately, just wasn't one of them.

The premise of this one was very interesting! Working for death is an intriguing prospect, and I appreciated the care Garrett put into his job and how important it was to him.

I didn’t love Nora and I didn’t love the romance. It was very instalove, and that’s not my favorite. It felt like a runaway train, and they were having so many fights over silly things. I understand she has anxiety and we were following her thought processes, but it got pretty tiring after awhile.

I did like the ending, I thought it was very sweet. Some things felt unresolved, like the big conflict of Garrett traveling for work and Nora staying in her small town.

3/5
Wouldn’t reread, but would recommend to certain people

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. For more book contact, follow me @romantic.ally_ on instagram

The premise of this one was very interesting! Working for death is an intriguing prospect, and I appreciated the care Garrett put into his job and how important it was to him.

I didn’t love Nora and I didn’t love the romance. It was very instalove, and that’s not my favorite. It felt like a runaway train, and they were having so many fights over silly things. I understand she has anxiety and we were following her thought processes, but it got pretty tiring after awhile.

I did like the ending, I thought it was very sweet. Some things felt unresolved, like the big conflict of Garrett traveling for work and Nora staying in her small town.

3/5
Wouldn’t reread, but would recommend to certain people

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. For more book contact, follow me @romantic.ally_ on instagram