I wanted to love this one, the concept was so good. It wound up not doing it for me. I didn't feel any connection between the 2 main characters. I didn't dislike either of them, I just didn't get any spark between them, and their whole relationship/love story is the point.

Should I wait until I’ve stopped crying to write this review or just go for it? I’ll go for it.

You know those books that find you at just the right time? “Casket Case” is that book for me. Nora is so relatable! She’s navigating grief - both from losing her parents and losing the life path she thought she was on. She’s hopeful and scared, stuck and dreaming about the future, lonely and loved. She displays the confusing mix of human emotions that is the happy right along with the sad. Whatever “Instagram therapists” she keeps referencing, they’re doing a good job.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for an ARC of this book! This is my honest review. I’m sorry for not getting to it before the publish date but Nora and Garrett and Grandpa (especially Grandpa) knew when I’d need them.

This book was a fast read for me, and I loved the concept of working for Death. The character building was strong, and I enjoyed the relationships between all the characters in the small town. The insta love between Garrett and Nora didn’t feel totally earned to me, and I wish we had seen more of why they fell in love.

This had the potential for a great and creative story. After the sudden and tragic loss of her parents, Nora returns to her small Alabama hometown to run her family’s funeral casket business. Soon she encounters the mysterious new guy to town, Garrett. It’s not long before there’s a spark between them but he’s holding a big secret from Nora: he works for Death and shepherds folks onto the afterlife. While she grows increasingly suspicious of Garrett, she also must face her own trauma and grief and the loss of what she thought would be her future.
I really wanted to like this but it felt like there were so many random plot lines and unanswered questions. There didn’t seem to be a real point of their encounters or any lessons learned.
Thank you to Random House-Ballantine for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a DNF for me, as I just couldn't get into the story. The writing felt a little off and I think that's what had me feeling disconnected from the story. The reason I'm still giving it 2 stars is because I do love the premise of the book. Perhaps it was just the mood I was in at the time I tried to read it but just wasn't for me in the end.

I really wanted to love this book and I tried my best to push through in hopes it would get better but I just couldn’t get into it. I was very intrigued by this book because it’s different and nothing like I’ve read before but I felt like it was poorly executed. I felt the romance moved way too quickly and the book felt rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the arc copy of Casket Case!

For the first portion of the book, I thought it might be a DNF for me. The pacing was super fast and all tell, no show. But there was something that made me want to keep reading. And I’m glad I did!

Nora and Garrett go through a lot of character development and end up as well rounded, likable characters. I love that Nora ended up being the one chasing Garrett rather than the typical male chasing female trope. I also loved the exploration of death throughout the novel. It is a topic that is not talked about enough, and I felt like the author did a great job with making it seem more normal and less scary.

Nora Clanton has found herself back in her hometown running her parents casket business after their sudden deaths. She certainly didn’t expect to be in the tiny town of Rabbittown, but things aren’t exactly terrible. She doesn’t expect to date since prospects aren’t strong, but things change when Garrett Bishop walks into her business asking for directions and a date. Sparks fly between the two and he seems to be everything she has been looking for. Nora just can’t get her head wrapped around his job. All Nora knows is that he works in logistics and is always on the road. This drives a wedge between them and when she finally finds out that his employer is actually Death, this might be the last straw. She doesn’t understand how someone so wonderful can do a job like that. Can she see past this or will this be what ends their relationship for good.

This one had such an interesting premise to it, but in the end, it didn’t make the marks for me. I know fantasy genre is not always my favorite, but I really struggled to get into this one. I couldn’t get into the characters and the continued hidden truths between them all was frustrating. The whole time I was reading this book though, I kept thinking of the song ‘My Name is Death’ by Red Wanting Blue. If this book had a theme song, it is absolutely that one.

DNF at 64%. I tried to finish this, but it was a painful read. The writing was not great, and the main character was always picking a fight and super annoying. Like all her and the guy did was argue, she was insufferable. He should have just left. This could have been an I treating concept but it’s just not well written. This was not for me.

This was cute and I really like the premise. Nora is a cute character and I did honestly find her relatable. While I did struggle to get through this book, I enjoyed how the writer addressed the topic of grief and death.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for my eARC!

DNF at about 25%

This book just couldn't grab me, and I was dreading picking it up. The concept seemed somewhat promising, but once I was reading it, I realized that the execution just wasn't there.

I really enjoyed the first and last part of this romance, but I got pretty frustrated with Nora in the middle. The premise was great, and I loved how Lauren Evans did a different take on Death and the business aspect! I also liked the "everyone in your business" part of small town life.

Thanks to Ballantine and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I enjoyed this book but I also have no idea what to do with it. Something felt reserved about the writing and the epilogue felt really odd for a romance novel, though I was sort of waiting for that part of the story to happen, it felt obvious. Garrett and Nora are kind of adorable but I can never figure out exactly what they loved about each other. Both seem to find the other attractive and then kind? I don't know, something felt off. Reserved, like I said.

Maybe its just me and romances that revolve around death? I don't know.

If you remember the movie Meet Joe Black this will give you similar vibes.

This was a slower start but I feel like that’s because you’re having to learn about the characters and their place in everything. This is a romance but it’s also about grief and finding yourself even through hard times.

Nora is so relatable. Going through greif and trying to find the answers to your life when it seems everything is going a different way. Garrett was quirky in a I say all the wrong things but look like James Bond. I love how everything connected and that some of the chapters went back in time. I will say the end bumped this up to a 4 star read for me. I did not see myself crying until I did

Having just read "Morbidly Yours', I was excited for this similar sounding premise (Funeral Home/Casket Sales/Death/Etc.). That said, the pacing here is off and I am not invested in the characters because it moved too quickly. Insta-love is not my favorite trope, but that aside, this is lacking the character development I need to feel connected to and immersed in the story. The general writing feels abbreviated and/or rushed; like it's a rough draft or outline and needs fleshing out. I think with some more editing it could be a good book, but it's not quite there yet.

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

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing this ARC for my voluntary and honest review!

A casket salesperson and a “logistics” worker for Death fall in love in this small town, southern romance. I really appreciated how this book navigated grief, it was a truly unique read. The pacing and some of the relationship dynamics were a bit odd, but I still overall enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Dell for providing me with this digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
I will start by saying the premise of this book is quite the HOOK, and it immediately grabbed my interest when I casually found it on Netgalley. A romance between a casket store owner and an emissary of death sounded exactly up my alley. Another element I appreciated was the representation of grief as a nonlinear process in a non-romanticized way. Both of our characters have known grief and handle it differently, which is ultimately a good reflection of how it is for most of us.
Ultimately, while I can see the author's talent, I feel like this needed an editor that focused better on the elements of pacing that are not working. A romance novel with an insta-love trope can work, but not in the way it was done here. They get together very soon and fall for each other without us really seeing those big moments that could make them realize that. And then another romantic interest is introduced making it even messier.
Pacing in a romance novel is essential, but so is the development of a romantic build-up that feels rewarding to the readers. This case, because it was too fast and without major events, felt incredibly unrewarding which made me lose interest in the book quite fast. Not even the dialogues could make it more enjoyable since they were very slice-of-life and not funny or fundamental for plot development.
I do think that Lauren Evans could have a great career ahead because her writing skills are strong and so are her ideas, but she needs a better understanding of story arc structures (especially in romance) and an editor who is unafraid of asking for big plot structure changes.

I had such high hopes for this book, mainly because I am THE target audience: I'm more a "fictional representations of death" girlie than a rom-com girlie, I love small-town settings, and I don't mind when my books get heavy. I was so, so thrilled when I got approved for Casket Case, but unfortunately, it fell flat on a lot of levels for me.

But first, the good! The premise is still one of the most original that I've read this year. Casket saleswoman Nora meets consultant-for-death Garrett while he's trying to find his next mark. The two fall in love, all the while Garrett's big secret looms over them. I liked Nora's small southern town, Rabbittown, a lot, and I really enjoyed the vibe that the author was going for. I read it around Halloween and it should've been the perfect spooky read -- all the ingredients were there. I think with a few more drafts and some heavy copy editing that this would've been a win.

But unfortunately, I did not enjoy the copy I received. This is an ARC, so maybe some things have been fixed before publication, but I struggled with a number of elements here:

1. The writing feels very show-not-tell. It's a rom-com so I'm not expecting Pulitzer Prize material, but I am expecting a fun little ride that feels easy, breezy, and sweet (and maybe a bit steamy!). Instead, there were more than a few stilted sentences and a strange omniscient narrative choice; this may be my personal preference for first person in a rom-com talking, but I didn't love all the extraneous details about neighbors that were just dropped in. I feel like a few rounds of copy-editing definitely could have fixed this, as well as a few more drafts in general for developmental purposes.

2. The tone felt a bit strange to me. I think this might've been in the fact that it's billed as a rom-com. Now listen: I've got a LOT of beef with how genres are being marketed this year. From "romantasy" that's failing at the romance to "rom-coms" that aren't hitting the comedy, I think a lot of this year's flops are due to expectations on the audience side not matching the actual book. I think this one could've been fine as a romance, or even as that nebulous genre "women's fiction," but there is absolutely zero comedy here. If anything, it's a meditation on grief, love, and one woman's journey...more Alice Hoffman than Emily Henry, tbh. Which isn't a bad thing at all! Just...not matching the cover or marketing whatsoever.

3. The biggest one of all: the romance. Nora and Garrett are very insta-love and almost feel as if they fell for each other out of desperation. There's a hint of a love triangle in the second half of the book, between Nora and a rival casket salesman, which I almost preferred to the couple we were meant to root for. There was banter in the second half! Personality! A spark of something! Meanwhile, Garrett and Nora's relationship just felt kinda sad to me, and not in the "I've fallen in love with death" way. More in the, "girl did you just settle for that?" kinda way. I liked the premise here far more than the execution, and did I mention the red flags? Oh boy are there red flags galore from both Nora and Garrett.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine (Random House), and Lauren Evans for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! I wish that I'd liked it more, but I hope Lauren Evans keeps coming up with fantastic concepts.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. the premise of this was really interesting to me so it was disappointing when it was executed so poorly. why was this so morbid when it should be a fun time? the writing was bad, it could have used another few passovers.

Very fun and fast paced read. Love the banter between characters, its view of romance and grief and the small
Town vibes. It’s often hard to write about grief but keep the story fun and light and this was done well! Very enjoyable.