Thank you NetGalley for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

As a debut - this novel has a very fun premise. Reminded me a little of The Dead Romantics by Ashley Posten as far as genre goes.

The spice is very nearly closed door, non-descriptive, only insinuated. I tend to appreciate an open-door medium to slow burn.

This book was sadly, unrealistic insta-love.. they fell in love after what felt like 4 days and very little conversation. The dialogue was forced and they asked very surface level questions. I would have preferred it to have been written more POV style vs “he said, then she said” to get into their heads more so that it felt more cohesive. I couldn’t figure out why they even liked each other.

The breakup was unexpected but I kind of enjoyed the mini love triangle - but sadly almost rooted for the new guy.. they had more chemistry and their night out on the town was far more fun and flirty than anything the main characters had ever done.

Overall I really did think it was cute but I did find myself skimming in portions. Her grandpa having the same job as Garrett felt super left field and I would have loved to have had that alluded to more often, earlier on to really tie it all together.

For a debut, honestly a great general idea - I hope she continues! It’s only going to get better from here. Her world and characters were lovable.

I loved the idea of this story, so I hate to admit that I almost DNF’d it. There is a time and place for flashbacks, but Garrett’s flashbacks seemed out of place and didn’t really flow well with the story. I also really wasn’t a fan of Nora’s monologuing about nearly every resident she brought up. It almost took away from the story. Almost.

What I did like about the story, however, was that it talks about grief and how grief can ruin a relationship when not properly dealt with. Seriously, I loved this couple (even if I didn’t vibe with Nora), and it made me so frustrated to read how Nora was basically sabotaging her relationship.
Of course, things work out, and I definitely cried with that epilogue.

There was a lot of dialogue without much being said in this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an advanced readers copy of this book.

This book was somehow both messy and mundane. I can see what the intent was, a book with the same morbid whimsy of The Dead Romantics. There were multiple things that made this a flop.

1) Insta love - L words exchanged within weeks of knowing each other
2) Random love triangle
3) Miscommunication
4) Bland banter
5) Overly insecure, boarding on whiny FMC

But the most egregious crime was how boring the dialogue is. Especially the main leads. I felt like the awkward third wheel on a date with the two most boring people on earth. Was the chemistry in the same room as us. A lot of reviewers like to bring up phrase "show don't tell". Casket case was a prime example of that.

And to Nora, the main character, I'm gonna hold your hand while I say this. You're not too "quirky" or "messy" to be loved. You're just really boring. Watching Cheers in a dark room and drinking wine isn't a hobby.

A very interesting premise and cast of characters but the romance and pacing fell a bit flat. I think this could of used a few editing nits and reaslly been a gem. Interested in checking out this author in the future!

I took weeks to finish this read, which I rarely ever do, but i really struggled to connect with either character and very much so in their relationship. Their relationship felt rushed, but feelings quickly with little development together and just an overall missing piece of their dynamic together. I really love the creativity around the premise of this book, the way grief was discussed/handled and the small town setting. I wish I could have connected more to the characters and story, but I really struggled through this read.

Debut author Lauren Evans book about Nora & Garrett. Took me about 2 days to finish this. Fast read and really good. Can’t wait to read more by Lauren! Thanks to NetGalley &the publisher for the ARC!

I'll start bluntly...The subject of the story is "death" and, although it is truly handled in a touching and comforting way, positing the theory that we are not alone at the time of death and it isn't the shock to the system to the person who is passing, as we often suspect, but it can still be tough to read about. This story involves the love of family, the love of people we have lost, and how that impacts us now and moving forward, and the future with people we are just learning to love. It is the coming of age story of a young woman, Nora, who experiences a sudden and great loss, which then forces a domino effect of changes in her life, none of which she had anticipated. As a result, she needs to relearn to become comfortable in her new/old life, and relearn how to advocate for her new self. This book evoked so many different reactions as I read...It was fun and funny, at times. It was touching and emotional, at times, and then there were the times where it was downright hard to read, but in an incredibly touching and almost comforting way. Death and loss aren't fun topics, but this book helped me look at the entire situation in a different and more comforting manner. It is a female awakening and empowering story, and one that will resonate with so many women.

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.