I just wasn’t drawn into this books from the start. I enjoy more of a slow burn romance and the insta love just wasn’t doing it for me. I felt their relationship moved too fast and they didn’t really even know each other that well which usually aligns with a 3rd act breakup.
The whole Death industry thing just got more confusing the more they tried explaining it.
I also didn’t love how another love interest showed up at like 70%.

I was really excited by the concept of this book but I was unfortunately not super fulfilled by it. There were a few things that kind of took me out of this. The first being Nora and Garrett's relationship. It moved at such a fast pace and the intensity of it really took me out of the storyline. It just felt super rushed and unbelievable and made it lean more towards a YA book for me.

I really would have loved to have more of the story told from Garrett's perspective because the whole 'Death' thing fascinated me. He and Janine kept talking so intensely about following protocols and following a script so the fact that it never really went into the job more felt like a missed opportunity.

One thing I did really like was the 'plot twist' of Nora's grandpa being a 'Death' employee. But again I would've loved for that storyline to have been explored and elaborated on.

thank you NetGalley and Dell for the arc

I tried so hard to love this book but I couldn't get into it. The main characters didn't have any chemistry. Garrett worked for Death and Nora worked at a casket store. Match made in heaven? I wasn't feeling it. And the book was very morbid. I thought the idea was cool but I didn't enjoy the book

When I first read the description of this book it reminded me of a mixture between Belladonna and the tv show Tru Calling. And for me that was an immediate sold, since I loved both of them. After finishing the book I found it overall just ok. I think I would’ve rated in higher if we had gotten more on an extended epilogue. Like that ending come on my heart.

But in all seriousness I did enjoy this book and devoured it in less than 24 hours. The concept was creative. The pacing was at times slow, but it kept me interested. Most of my issues stem from the middle of the book. When our MFC acts like a whiny brat. She’s supposed to be 30 years old yet her behavior screamed that she was still a teenager. And that just rubbed me the wrong way. It got so bad at some points all I wanted to do was scream at Garrett our MMC, you deserve better. Thankfully by the end Nora did have some growth which just took her awhile to get there.

All in all Casket Case is easy, quick read that I would definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

this was not as fun as i wanted it to be :(
2.5 stars rounded down
thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc
but like as a nora???? being with a garrett is an insane notion what kind of a name is garrett
also it was not as gothic romance as i wanted it to be
cutsey cover should’ve told me tho

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Nora can't believe she is working at her families casket store. When she sees a stranger, she does not realize that he will change her life in many ways. An enjoyable read.

3.5⭐️ rounding up. This book was such a fun read, and it really sucked me in from the jump. The voice is that unique dry humor that always reminds me of Gaiman, Pratchett, Adams, and 90s Hugh Grant romcoms. The romance was insta love, but honestly Nora and Garrett were so gosh darn cute I didn’t even mind. A super fun concept with a fleshed out world. I even read it with my eyeballs instead of listening to the audiobook, which is saying something about its ability to keep my attention tbh

I will say that I wouldn’t count this as a romance novel/romcom. It’s much more about grief and growing up. Family and hometowns and acceptance. The main couple break up around the halfway point and don’t get back together until the last chapter, with only a handful of short interactions in the meantime. This 60-80% kind of dragged, particularly as Garrett and Nora’s conversations/arguments started to feel repetitive. It felt sometimes like the breakup was the climax of a really tight novella and most of the second half of the book existed to make it long enough to be a novel. But that’s only if you’re going into this expecting the romance to be at the forefront. It took some mental readjusting, but I got there and still enjoyed it overall.

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

I adored this book! The synopsis grabbed my attention and the book made me want to take my time reading it. We follow Eleanora (Nora) navigating her life after her parent’s untimely death. Left with her parent’s home and business, in her sleepy small town, Nora is just making it through the days. That is until a handsome stranger comes into town and makes everything in her world spiral.

I loved Garrett and Nora’s storyline, but at times, I felt like Nora was incredibly immature for her age. I assume she was intentionally written in that way, but the communication and the back and forth hot then cold- it became an annoying character flaw.

The epilogue was incredible and not what I was expecting. It made me cry and have all the feelings.
Overall my rating is 4 stars, but for a debut romance with such a different premise, well done!

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

"Casket Case" was a sweet and amusing story. Following her parents' unexpected deaths in a car accident, Nora returned to Rabbittown, Alabama, and took over the family business, Rabbittown Casket Company. That was not what she had planned for her life. She has basically been going through the motions. However, everything changes when a mysterious stranger (Garrett) appears in her store asking for directions and returns later asking about her. They quickly progress to a serious relationship, which is not without its tensions. Garrett works in logistics and has to travel a lot. He has been intentionally vague about what exactly he does, for good reason, as his employer is Death. Yes, Death is a corporation. Garrett's role is to be with a person when it is time to transition from life to death, to help answer questions and provide a bit of comfort. This role is of a very personal nature to Garrett, given his own childhood experience with the death of his brother. Nora, understandably, does not take it well when Garrett finally reveals the truth of his job. They might both be in the death business, but Nora does not find their work equivocal, and cannot come to terms with the fact that Garrett knows in advance that a person is going to die but does nothing to intervene.

This premise may make the book seem dismal or sad, but there is actually quite a bit of sweetness and humor in the story, especially as the author gets into the histories of the main characters and details the interactions between Nora and the other residents in Rabbittown, who have known her and her family for many years.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC. There were so many things that I really enjoyed in this book and some I didn’t.. For example, I really enjoy the premise of the story. It was so unique and had such potential to be Amazing. I loved the representation of death and grief in this book.. Both concepts were well developed and gave me peace and comfort vibes. I loved Norris relationship with her grandfather, and how Garrett was always there for her. I didn’t enjoy the aspect of Nora’s constant overthinking and self sabotage. I was hoping toward the end of the book she would’ve gained the self-confidence that she was lacking, but unfortunately, she did not.. I didn’t think the low triangle gave anything special toward the book and I would’ve loved if the ending would’ve had a little bit more depth. I still think it was a decent book. I’ll continue to read more from this author..

This book had such a unique storyline that sucked me right in. Nora lives in a small town called rabbitown and runs her family’s casket business. She meets a handsome guy and she immediately crushes on him. What she doesn’t know is that his occupation involved death, much like her job. It’s cute and funny but also makes you think about how we deal with grief. Nora’s overthinking did drive me nuts and I thought some parts were too fast paced or rushed like the ending, I found it to be an easy read and a great debut novel from this author.

This had the bones (no pun intended) of such a fan-freaking-tastic book. Unfortunately, I felt Nora was insufferable. Her sheepish and insecurity felt overdone and didn't resolve itself in a way that felt real. The pacing of the book had me close to putting it down but at 50% I GASPED and got so into it once the details of his job were revealed. Such an amazing storyline and idea. For the next 10% I was really into it and thought that the last 50% could truly redeem the slow start (but also the premature I love you after the most boring and lackluster chemistry???). The final chapters just felt bland to me. HOWEVERRRRR, that epilogue had me in TEARS. It was wonderful and beautiful and it pains me that the rest of the book didn't grab me like that final goodbye did. This truly had so many sparks but just fell short of making MAGIC for me. I believe in this author though and will be back for her next books. The unique idea and boldness of this story has me convinced Lauren Evans could put out the next big book that grabs BookTok by storm!

I really really really wanted to like this book. I honestly gave it my all because I loved the cover and the premise. However, the execution wasn’t the greatest.

I found the characters to be flat and the chemistry between the MMC and FMC lacking. Garrett asks Nora out right after meeting her, but I couldn’t even tell if he actually liked her. At first I thought he just wanted to get close to her, but then they actually fell in love.

I did enjoy that the novel showed us the MMC and FMC hanging out and falling in love…but it just lacked. I wanted to be in their heads more and the third-person POV really messed with that. It also happened super fast - like I Love You’s by the 30% mark.

I also found Nora to be kind of annoying. I have anxiety too, but it seemed like she was anxious about everything.

I wanted more scenes and info about how this whole Death job works. I found this to be the most interesting part of the synopsis.

I will say that this is a debut novel, so I think that is why this book comes across as a bit flat. I will be giving this author another shot in the future, because I can tell she has great story ideas.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not a huge fan of third person narration but this story drew me in so quickly that I hardly noticed it. Death and living are both things we worry about but honestly it his book, even being a fictional story, has made me less scared of both of them. I loved it and I hope a lot of others will too.

The premise of this book is so intriguing, however that’s where my interest ended. I want to like this book so badly, the the character and relationship development between the FMC & the MMC was really lacking and moved too quickly. I did love the FMC’s relationship with her grandfather, that was lovely.

Interesting concept for a book, but it felt rushed. Really wanted to like it more than I did. I had a hard time connecting to the characters as they weren't given much depth. The ending also felt too abrupt and cheesy.

3.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed this book. The main characters and setting of the story were relatable. There are a few interesting twists throughout the story that kept me wanting more. The author did a good job of moving the timeline along which helped the pacing of the story.

Overall I would recommend this book to others who enjoy romance with quirky twists.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital version of this book.

“Casket Case” by Lauren Evans sounded like a book up my alley. A guy who works for Death … a woman working at a casket business … they fall in love. However, beyond the adorable cover and the premise, I found myself struggling with this book. A casket business differs from a funeral home - and while I know that, the business seemed much in the background. Maybe it’s because I recently read a book about a funeral home where a lot more time was spent on the funeral industry (particular caskets, certain rituals, prepping a body) but I found this one a bit feeling like the casket industry was there really in the background. This book has instalove (not my favorite trope) … and really quickly moving in to a relationship (see: instalove) and a “love triangle” that I didn’t really like as it felt like it came out of left field. Granted, I’ve watched a lot of “Supernatural” episodes - so I was expecting the main male character, Garrett, to be more a “representative” of Death - not an actual living human (so that took a few chapters to wrap my brain around). In some ways, I think the idea for this book was decent - but between the main female character’s overwhelming depression (maybe not stated in the book, but she came across as depressed) and the pacing (slow) I found myself losing interest in the two main characters. I so wanted to like this book more than I did, though I will say that the non sugar-coated way of death I found a bit refreshing. I’d give this author another try as I see the potential and really did like the idea of this book.

This was an interesting read.

Nora (FMC) and Garrett (MMC) both have jobs that deal with the dead. Nora works at her family’s casket store while Garret it’s death himself.

I loved Garrett so much he always shows up for Nora. But I disliked how Nora always felt like she wasn’t good enough. She was always self sabotaging. I did enjoy her relationship with her grandfather tho.

Overall it was still an enjoyable read.

Charming..Cozy Rom Com with a side of death! In Casket Case by Lauren Evans we meet Nora. Nora returns to her hometown to run her family’s Casket business and out of nowhere Mr Handsome and mysterious walks in but there’s just one catch he works for death itself!

I really enjoyed this cozy read. It was well written and charming I also think the story could have been more. Everytime I thought it was becoming predictable I quickly was proven otherwise. I was even in tears at the Ending I did not see that coming. I do hope that I have someone like Garrett when it’s my time.

I want to thank Random House Publishing House and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #CasketCase before it published on September 10, 2024