Liked the idea of this book and had high expectations unfortunately it was just ok for me. I didn't really feel one way or the other about the main characters and never felt very invested in their relationship. I liked the small town aspects and the little bit of supernatural that was involved though I think that the working for death part could've been explained a little better. Would as always recommend people to give this a try just because it wasn't a hit for me I'm sure it will be for others. I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Casket Case had an interesting premise. A young woman, Nora, who has lost both her parents, moves back to her home town to take charge of the family business, selling caskets. While trying to make sense of her new life she meets Garrett, who just happens to have a job where he helps people move on to their afterlife. I love a good rom-com especially one with a twist so I really expected to love this one. Unfortunately, it was a little slow for me. Rom-coms have a typical plot that they follow and this one did as well but there was just so much angst on Nora's part. I get why she felt the way she did but at times it was frustrating because you could tell what a good thing she had with Garrett. This book was easy to read and I essentially read it in a day and a half but I just wished there was a little more action to the book and a little more with the paranormal since that was what I thought I was getting. I do think this author has potential and I will definitely try another book by her.

Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for this ARC.

I am so sorry, but I just couldn't finish this book.

The premise sounded super cute and interesting but the writing was so choppy. I also just couldn't get into the relationship between the two main characters. Their conversations felt so fake, the relationship moves so quickly, and I felt like zero chemistry between them.

Casket Case follows Nora, a casket store owner, and Garrett, a logistics coordinator for Death. This wasn’t the light and quirky rom com I was expecting but I really enjoyed it. Nora is imperfect and messy and her relationship with Garrett is imperfect and messy. I liked the small town romance mixed with heavier themes. I liked following Nora as she navigated grief, figured out what she wanted for her future, and learned to accept death as a part of life. I thought this was a great debut and am looking forward to reading more by Lauren Evans.

I was so excited to dive into this one because the blurb made it sound fabulous. However, I quickly felt like I was sold a different book than what I got. I love fast pacing in my books, but even for me this book was too fast paced. I don’t think that is ever a thing that I have complained about, but it didn’t work for me here. Because of how fast paced everything was, I didn’t feel connected to the characters, and I just felt like I was getting the cliff notes version of everything. I really also didn’t like the characters. Maybe if things had been slower and I would have connected with them more I would have felt different, but they seemed insufferable.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this e-arc.

DNF at 20%

I tried and just could not get into this one. The concept was intriguing but the dialogue and characters were stilted and I was not invested in anyone as a character.

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing for providing me with this ARC!

I wanted to like this so much more than I did! 😭 I was so invested, but the story really derailed for me me around the 60% mark. I understand that grief is a journey, but Nora didn’t undergo any character development until literally the epilogue & I really wish we got to see more of that in the page. How she got 2 men to be interested in her is beyond me bc girly was giving us nothing!

Garrett and his flashbacks were the most interesting part of this book and then he was only an active participant in half of it.

I loved the concept of this book. It was so original and unique, which is so exciting to me. I also liked the story line but the book overall didn’t wow me. My biggest critique is the overuse of characters names. It felt a bit redundant to me, but that has always been a pet peeve of mine. The ending of this book was so well done. It was the perfect way to wrap up the story.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early.

Casket Case follows Nora, a young woman running her family’s casket business and Garrett, who works for death.

This book had a really fun concept and the side characters were interesting during the sections where the leads did not interact. The plot was also really enjoyable but I found all the interactions felt stilted. Even though I really liked all the side characters, there was too much information about them. I don’t need to know about every kid they had and how Nora knew each kid. Nora and Garrett also dating immediately after they meet took away from the tension story as Nora’s anxiety would have made more sense if she was unable to consider Garrett a dating partner instead of going back and forth while being with him.

I think this book felt a little young in terms of the writing. The idea was great and so was the basic plot but the writing style really held the story back.

Thank you Penguin Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley again for the chance to read this early.

I couldn't get into this book from the beginning, and I hate dnf-ing arcs, but I just could not finish it. I didn't like the main characters, and there was absolutely no chemistry between them; their relationship was very unbelievable, and their dialogue was extremely stiff, which is my main issue with the book.

1.5 ⭐️ rounded up:

The idea behind this book is unique and had a lot of potential. The small town vibes and the relationship between the main character and her grandpa were the two things I liked about this book. Ultimately, it wasn’t my speed and I had a hard time finishing it.

Nora is working through the grief of the loss of her parents and running their casket store in their small town. She meets a passerby Garrett who randomly comes back to ask her on a date. Except he’s basically the grim reaper from Dead Like Me and travels a lot for work.

I think if I could change anything, the pacing would be different, slower to romance but quicker to know the deets of his job. It needed the characters to have chemistry and tension, but I felt there wasn’t any. Maybe better dialogue, something just felt flat.

Honestly, this one was iust really unmemorable to me and I am having trouble remembering the plot for this one.

I had high expectations for this book, because I've had good odds with the death/romcom crossovers (The Dead Romantics and Morbidly Yours) + my family owning and managing a cemetery makes it sort of a fun crossover for me.
But.
This book did not live up to those expectations. It did not really seem to qualify as a romance-- sure, there was *a* romance, but it was so far removed from me as a reader that I felt like I was reading an autobiography. The two main characters met, started dating, and broke up within the first chunk of the book, and there was very little development to engage me with any of that (I found myself skimming… a lot). Then there's a random love triangle, and I found myself rooting for neither guy, because they both lied to the FMC about various things and did terrible jobs of apologizing. The FMC herself was also extremely one-dimensional and boring (which I think is sort of the point, but it didn't make me like her any more).
Overall, the pacing of this book was entirely too fast, and I found it near impossible to connect with any of the characters (partially because of the fast pacing, but also because none of them seemed to have any redeeming qualities).
Except Grandpa. I am team Grandpa.

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

I was eager to read this book because of the premise but unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations. The pacing of this book was off and the main character, Nora, was unbearable. Every page felt like a panic attack and her thoughts and feelings were jumbled all over the place. Also, the romance between Nora and Garrett happened so quickly that it wasn't believable. If I'm not mistaken they said I love you after their second or third date? But even with the issues that I had with the story there were some parts that genuinely made me lol.

Perfect for those who love their romance with a twist of grief and sadness, because this is about the impacts of death on our leads and their community as much as it is about romance. Not your sparkle gem beach read.

This was cute. I've read a lot of books but I don't think I read anything similar to Casket Case. Some times books can feel really repetitive and boring, like a Hallmark movie, and it's so refreshing seeing a new take

Something I liked about this book is this it just drops you right into the story and the heads of the characters. Unfortunately, I prefer that to happen with a touch more exposition than was here. It took me a little longer than I would have liked to fully understand what was going on. And to understand where in the story we were.

There are multiple timelines in this story that give the reader some more insight into the characters, sometimes they didn’t feel totally relevant though.

This book has such a fun premise, but I couldn’t get that invested in the characters. They felt very two-dimensional to me.

This was a fun and quite read, but not anything too deep (at least for me). I was able to get this book done in an afternoon - it really did zoom by!

And they are definitely a very cute and wholesome couple.

Thanks Net Galley for the e-ARC of this book! My review is already up on Goodreads and my TikTok review will be up with my June monthly wrap-up (at the end of the month or very beginning of the next).

This is a great romcom. I liked it quite a bit. I’d recommend it to fellow romcom readers. Pick this one up on publication day.

The pacing did not make sense, and I felt it was difficult to connect with Nora. I enjoyed the way they portrayed grief and death however!

Lauren Evans’ Casket Case is a delightful debut rom-com that blends love, loss, and a touch of the supernatural. Nora Clanton returns to Rabbittown, Alabama, to run her family's casket business and meets Garrett Bishop, a seemingly perfect stranger with a mysterious job. As residents start dying under strange circumstances, Nora discovers Garrett’s secret: he works for Death.
This revelation tests their budding romance, forcing Nora to reconcile her feelings for Garrett with his grim occupation. Evans’ witty writing and charming characters make this a heartfelt and engaging read.
I enjoyed the unique premise, humor, and emotional depth of this story. Casket Case is a clever and endearing tale about love and loss, perfect for fans of quirky romances.
I’d rate this book 3.5 stars for its engaging plot and lovable characters.
🌟🌟🌟⭐️
Thank you to the NetGalley team for providing me with the ARC to review.