Casket Case, set in seemingly charming Rabbittown, a small town in Alabama, follows casket shop owner, Nora, and the Regional Director of Logistics for Death, Garrett, on their journey of falling in love and navigating life with their careers.

What drew me to Casket Case was the professions of both the main characters. I mean, a casket shop owner and the Regional Director of Logistics for DEATH? Falling in love? How fun, right? However, as I read Casket Case I found myself not overly drawn to or connected to Nora or Garrett emotionally. Casket Case fell flat for me due to feeling as though we were going through the motions without in depth emotions, particularly referring to Nora and Garrett’s relationship. Where Casket Case shined was its portrayal of a small southern town as well as its portrayal of grief.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Bellantine | Dell for this advanced copy of Casket Case in exchange for my honest review.

Review added to Goodreads account on 4/11/24.

Cute, fresh rake on a rom com with fun characters and typical hiking. BUT I don't go into rom coms wanting to have my mind blown

Okay, I have to admit, this is one of the strangest concepts I've come across lately. The author's creative mind intrigued me, and the morbid eeriness of this plotline—a strange love story between a woman who inherits a casket business from her late family and a charming man who works for Death in logistics services—piqued my interest. However, there were two things that didn't sit quite right with me: the pacing of the book and the instant, underdeveloped romance between the main characters.

The pacing was unusually slow, while the intimacy between Nora and Garrett escalated too quickly. They started dating after their second encounter, and just a few chapters later, they were declaring their love. Then, out of nowhere, we find ourselves in a love triangle, which made me question whether Nora fell for the first potential guy nearby simply because she lived in a small town with limited dating options. I also had doubts about Garrett's attraction to Nora. Did he think, 'Okay, I work for Death and she sells caskets for dead people, so we're a match made in heaven'? Because I didn't understand what intrigued him enough to ask her out on a date after only a brief encounter where he asked for directions. There weren't enough indications that it was love at first sight, so I didn't buy into the rushed romance storyline.

What I enjoyed most about this book was how it handled grief without sugarcoating it, taking a realistic approach instead. I found it difficult to connect with Nora, even though I understood her reluctance to let go of the memories of her family while trying to function amidst her grief. However, her dialogue came across as a little hostile and temperamental, and she seemed overly depressed. When reading her parts, I couldn't decide whether to give her a hug and reassure her that everything would eventually be okay, or shake her shoulders to snap some sense into her.

Overall, I appreciated the paranormal concept of the book and its unique, realistic approach to death, as well as the portrayal of close-knit small-town life. However, I didn't enjoy the romantic aspects, and I didn't particularly like the heroine. Therefore, I've decided to give it a solid three stars. Nevertheless, I'm still curious to read the author's upcoming works.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Dell for providing me with this digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

What would you do if you found out that the guy you fell in love with worked for Death? This is the conundrum Nora faces when she finds out that the handsome logistics guy she has been dating has an unbelievable job. Will Nora accept Garrett's job or will she move on?

I liked Nora but liked Garrett even more. I loved Nora's grandpa and I think his character was a wonderful offset to Nora's character. I did find myself getting annoyed with Nora after a bit as I wanted her to make up her dang mind (even if ultimately I knew who she would end up with). Garrett was so patient and understanding and he gave Nora all the space she needed to come to terms with his profession. I also got a bit annoyed with Garrett that he let his job be a secret for a bit too long but I forgive him :)

I will admit I was hoping for a bit more banter/comedy but I really enjoyed it overall and I might have shed a little tear during the epilogue.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell and Lauren Evans for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A charming and unusual premise! Nora sells caskets for a living and Garrett is a middleman for Death. Opposites attract but can they withstand questionable career choices?!

This was a cute, light, and uneven read. Nora and Garrett fall for each other instantly so I’m not sure there was much relationship growth and development and the pacing felt a bit off. There were a lot of religious references and churchgoing which I was not expecting (and am not personally a fan of). Though the book deals with death and grief, it doesn’t delve too deeply and remains lighthearted.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Okay five stars for the ~~VIIIIBES~~ alone.

Is this a perfect book? No. And I'll get into that but first...thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of Casket Case, and shout out Lauren Evans for a delightful debut novel.

Let's get into the good. This could easily be a bummer of a book or it could easily be really hokey...but it's neither? Nora owns a casket business, Garrett works for Death. FUN FUN FUN. I expected a bit more comedy, a bit more of exasperated ghosts watching this couple and shaking their heads. But that's not what you get. What you get is...Nora works in caskets, and Garrett works for Death which is basically a logistics company. It's really not anything deeper than that.

This is also written in present tense third person omniscient which is so fun to read (to me) and I enjoyed reading this story with this perspective. More books should use this POV, though it's hard. And I know because I'm trying to write something in it, and it's HARD. Sometimes things sound weird and don't flow as well as they would if you were using a first person POV. Which is one of my minor gripes with this story. Sometimes things don't feel like they flow from one thing to the next. It feels a bit stunted in certain areas. Not in big plot ways, but in one sentence to the next. Sometimes it's the dialogue, sometimes it's the switch between scenes. It feels like it just needs a little more finessing in a handful of areas.

Nora is a bit of a disaster at the start and as much as I really like her and how she feels her feelings, I do think she was a little dramatic at the beginning for the sake of plot and it felt unnecessary. It's also insta-love. And that's usually wildly annoying to me, but it was kind of fun in this story. There wasn't pining. There wasn't some enemies to lovers or second chance or anything like that. Garrett shows up one day and is like, hey I like you. And boom. That's it.

For some reason there are pieces of this story that I normally don't like but they all just WORK when it's put in this context. I do think this book will end up with something like an overall 3.6 rating on Goodreads as the book stands right now, and that feels like a bummer. I think if this went through another editor (not that this one did anything wrong, just for a new set of eyes) and really tightened it up a bit more, it would really soar. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would happily read anything else Laruen Evans publishes.

Five stars for a contemporary romance that revolves around death and funerals but not in a trauma way.

In the beginning i found it very hard to immerse myself into the story. Nora wasn’t the most enjoyable character at first but who is after her parents are dead? Let’s be real. She’s kinda just going through the motions clinging to what she has left of them: a casket shop. Now the first date? I was getting butterflies from Garrett. You have to love a direct man. The small town banter and gossip is exactly what you’d expect and provides some comic relief with some charm. Once you get over the little beginning hump it’s actually good. I recommend sticking it through to the end it really is cute.