DNF at 15%

This started off fine but then took a weird turn and got very, aggressive in tone? I did not enjoy the main character after a bit and the insta love was hard to believe.

Lauren Evans’ Casket Case is an absolute gem. As someone familiar with grief, this story struck a deep chord, offering a fresh and poignant perspective on love, loss, and the unexpected ways they intertwine. Nora’s journey is both heartfelt and inspiring, a powerful reminder that how we view life’s challenges shapes our experience and how we flourish in those moments. This story truly delves into grief and the strength it takes to face loss. twist in the end was just what the recipe of this book needed.

Casket Case is a light-hearted romance with a twist. Nora returns to her hometown of Rabbittown, Alabama to run her family’s casket business. Unfortunately, her romantic prospects in this small town were definitely not looking good. That is, until the day a handsome stranger wandered into her shop asking for directions. Their romance develops swiftly, but he is hiding the true nature of his job: Garrett is a Logistics Coordinator for Death. How will Nora react when she finds out?

Casket Case is a quick, enjoyable read. The characters are engaging and the storyline is clever. It is certainly a nice way to spend an afternoon.

I was able to binge read this on a flight, but damn, it was really sad and melancholic? I think I was expecting a murder mystery rom-com-esque book based on the promotion of the book (it wasn't really clear what "Death" was from the book summary, lol), but it was a plot of the MCs dealing with the death of their family members in a stages of grief way.

TWs - death in general of known people and peers, death of parents due to a car accident, death of sibling due to cancer, death of a grandparent

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

2/5 ⋆｡°✩

I wanted to like this book but it unfortunately fell flat for me. The premise is so unique but felt halfway incorporated which was a bummer because that's what pulled me towards the book in the first place.
I loved that it took place in Alabama and all the side characters (the old folks anyway) were great! That's about all I can say that I enjoyed. I found the fmc annoying and the mmc boring as all get out. I don't particularly enjoy insta-romance (specifically when it isn't believable) and this fell into that HARD. I think if Evans had leaned into the supernatural aspect a little more, I would have had a better time reading this but without switching to the audiobook towards the end, I would not have been able to finish this.

Thank you to the author, Lauren Evans, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

*no playlist for you>:|

This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! Definitely worth the read!

Interesting concept with having someone who sells caskets and the other works for death. Some parts just felt slow and the relationship between the main characters felt rushed

This book was not what I expected. It was marketed as a rom-com, but it was NOT that. Instead, it was filled with tragic loss after tragic loss. It had a very dark heavy feeling from start to finish. It had a great message on how to cope with loss and grief in life, but failed as a rom-com.

For the first half we are sitting back waiting and waiting for Nora to figure out that Garrett worked for death. We already knew. We are told in the book description and it confuses me why the author would do that. It gave away the best part.

The second half Nora, a grown adult, makes poor decisions with zero common sense, which was frustrating. The Johnny portion disjointed the story while we sat back, yet again, waiting for Nora to figure out he was a red flag which she already knew, but chose to ignore.

The book ends with more sadness and grief which overshadows the romance. The book had a great concept, but it just fell short for me as the rom-com I was expecting. Thank for the Arc for my honest review.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Looking for contemporary paranormal romance!? This book was just what I needed to get me ready for spooky season!

okay this was actually so fun and I loved the vibes 🤪🤪 I really enjoyed the romance that grew between these characters and they didn’t get on my nerves!

2.5 - A really creative idea that just wasn't executed in the right way for me! For something marketed as a rom-com, I wasn't expecting so many heavy topics (obviously, grief), and thought there would be a bit more levity to it all. A bit hard to overcome my expectations going into it, and the characters were lacking for me, too.

This was an interesting novel. A girl moves home and takes over the family business. She feels like she is in a rut and doesn’t go out. A handsome man walks into the casket shop and they start dating. She falls for him but realizes she doesn’t really understand what he does for her work.

I loved the concept of Casket Case by Lauren Evans and thought it was such a fresh idea for a rom-com! Nora takes over her family’s casket business in small town Alabama after they unexpectedly pass away, and she doesn’t necessarily want to be there. I loved seeing how her feelings changed throughout the book and there is a large emphasis on grief and how we handle it. Also, Garrett’s job! I have no idea how Evans thought up making the MMC a logistics coordinator for death, but it was such an interesting element and one that I basically found out along with Nora since I couldn’t remember the synopsis. 😂

I ended up listening to Casket Case on audio, and I really enjoyed Sean Patrick Hopkins & Bailey Carr’s narration for Garrett and Nora. HOWEVER, I think it ended up confusing me because I could never understand why the timelines jumped around so much. Looking at the book, it makes sense now, so I might recommend reading with the eyes for this one. For as unique as this book was, I don’t think the execution was there for me. I didn’t find myself falling in love with the characters, and I didn’t find anything funny in what is being marketed as a rom-com. I would have loved some humor mixed in to make it a little less heavy and to better suit the romance itself. All in all, a bit of a meh debut for me, but I would definitely recommend it to the right person!

Tried to stretch myself out of my norm of reading straight up romance to add in a little bit of paranormal or science fiction and darn it, it didn't work. I thought the concept of the storyline being that she was going to work for a casket company and he was working for well... death... and she essentially did, too, that this would be a cutesy story. But man if they didn't strike what I was hoping for - instead, it was just another "love" story where it flew by and there was no build up between their characters. On the other hand, though, I would totally give Lauren Evans another try for other stories because her writing style is what kept me going - unique and flowed well! Just wasn't chemistry laden. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

I love magical realism stories and was so excited to dive into this one. I really loved the concept but I think this needed to be more of a slow burn than instalove kind of story. I think the love interests needed time to build up their chemistry. Their drama was a little tiresome too and I was more invested in the grief aspects than their breakups/makeups.

I absolutely loved this book, it was absolutely emotional, sentimental, and romantic. I stayed up all night to read this book. This is a five-star read, and I will absolutely read everything from this author!!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.8-3/5. This was a really cool premise, but one that I felt like didn’t really go into the lore of the universe. We barely got to see what Garrett actually does, and it was moreso the romance between the mains. That would have been okay, but I just didn’t really feel for them as a couple. I was told they loved each other a lot, but I wasn’t invested. Honestly, I felt more for her and Johnny more than anything. The one Death-employee reveal we had felt a bit random and rushed, and it just wasn’t for me.

It’s definitely a low stakes cozy book, so I can see the appeal for some people? It’s certainly not a bad book, I just don’t feel like anything really happened.

This book unfortunately didn’t pull me in. I made it to 16% and couldn’t find the motivation to read anymore unfortunately it just wasn’t for me! But it might be for someone else!

Unfortunately this book was not for me. Third person present tense is a challenge for me to read, and when I requested this book, I didn't realize that was how it was written.