Rating: 3.25 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a free ARC.

Casket Case follows a casket seller, Nora, from a small town in Alabama and her love interest, Garrett, that works in "logistics"... for Death.

One might assume with them both working in the same industry they would hit it off, right? At first it was instant love but then there were too many secrets and a then third act breakup. But they just couldn't resist each other. The ending with Nora's grandpa wasn't a huge surprise but still sad.

Personally, I loved the concept but dragging on the secret of Garrett's job became very exhausting at about 45% I put it down and struggled to pick it back up. It just felt really slow. But Garrett was so sweet with still some mystery to him so I needed to know how things ended. Things were going too perfect for too long so i needed to see how things ultimately ended. Nora was fine but I didn't feel very connected to her. She felt more like an acquaintance. I did love her interactions with her grandpa and she may not have liked the business she was in she still cared so much about the families she worked for and I did really respect that.

I did listen to the audiobook after it was published and will add I like the narrators they chose for this book.

Overall I would likely recommend this to anyone that was interested in a small town romance around the fall season but would be sure to let people know of the third act breakup since it's not everyone's favorite trope. I try to avoid that trope when reading but I'm just so so glad things didn't go farther with Johnny because I had a bad feeling about him from the start. I thought it would be an enemies to lovers with him but I'm so glad Nora didn't take things farther with that snake.

This just wasn't working for me and I'm not sure why. I loved the premise, but the characters and the relationship felt flat despite the slight paranormal intrigue

I went back and forth about requesting this book. It looked so intriguing but I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it. Finally, I went ahead and requested because it really seemed like something I had never read before. I was right and . . . I'm glad I took the chance!

Nora runs her parents' casket business and one day she meets Garrett who comes to ask her for directions. But, who is Garrett? Welp, he's a logistics coordinator for death. Yep. You read that right.

Some of the pacing was a bit off and I felt like some better development would have made the characters even more compelling. But, having said that, this is a really unique premise and covers a lot of intense topics. I might also suggest a different POV would change some of the issues I had with connection to characters. But . . . I still enjoyed this book. It's not a feel-good cozy read so don't be fooled. Like people in the industry of death must do in real life, the morbid here is treated as normal and death isn't sugar coated. But I found this to be an interesting, unique read and I'm looking forward to what Evans might do next.

Perfect for the start of the season!!! This was definitely an interesting one and very different concept! Kind of gave similar vibes as The Dead Romantics, in a way!

Casket Case is a cozy read about a woman who comes back to her small town to run her family's casket store after the death of her parents and a man who works for death. It touches greatly on themes of grief, but is overall, a sweet story about these two characters.

I am really enjoying this trend of cozy reads set in traditionally spooky settings. The small town casket store is a fun concept and the characters of the town are fun. This book was really enjoyable and I highly recommend adding it to your TBR for this season when you want something on theme, but still cozy.

Thank you to Lauren Evans, Random House, and NetGalley for this advanced copy!

This book had an intriguing concept, but it fell short for me. The story featured humans actively dying (which, fair based on the premise and Garrett's job), but then there was nothing nice to go along with it. I know death is not really a nice thing, but this is a romance! Look at how many romances talk about death or have ghosts or zombies or whatever else and make it work. This one just shrugged it's shoulders and said, "sorry, can't do anything about it." The book tries to present the dying characters as finding closure through interactions with the hero, but it felt like a lot of emotional wounds were left unhealed.

On top of that, the stiff dialogue and clunky writing didn’t help. It was mostly telling rather than showing which really slowed the pacing down and made my attention wander most times. Also, because I wasn't receiving great lines, I wasn't falling in love with the characters.

Also, despite the dialogue pacing, the romance was wildly rushed. This was very insta-love so they were sleeping together and swapping "I love yous" before I even knew their last names. Then, to add insult to injury, the pacing got weird. They broke up halfway through, she started a romance with someone else, and a forced love triangle ensued. Naturally, they ended up back together in the end, but I didn't even care about the MMC anymore.

In the end, this book just wasn’t for me. While the book’s focus on death was clear from the start, the execution left a lot to be desired. The idea itself was intriguing, and I did enjoy some of the Death-related details. Unfortunately, the romance is where it all fell apart for me.

I really wanted to love this book. The idea that Garrett works for death is such a wonderful and fun concept. The romance was very weak, the chemistry just wasn’t there. The relationship moved so fast that it was hard to feel invested in the characters story as a couple. It’s hard to believe that they had these two awkward dates but then were glued to each others faces. The writing wasn’t the best but tolerable.

I really liked this! It was a good transition into cozy fall reading. I do think Nora grew a little annoying, and I could have done without the Johnny subplot, but I found this really enjoyable overall.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for this advanced reader copy.

The premise of this book was intriguing - a girl working in a casket store falls in love with a boy who works for Death as, essentially, a grim reaper - but the execution left a lot to be desired.

The most egregious issue with this book is the insta-love. Nora and Garrett have zero chemistry on the page and I could not tell why Garrett liked Nora or even asked her out. He literally walked into her casket store, took one look at her, and decided she was the love of his life. I wish I was kidding. Nora seems to be into Garrett because he asked her out, he's hot, and he drives a fancy car. That's it. Their dialogue is the most mundane script imaginable, and neither character has a personality to speak of.

There is some potentially interesting meditation on grief here - Nora lost her parents, after all - but rather than dealing with her grief through therapy she's drifting through life, going to work then drinking wine and watching soap operas. That's the entirety of her life. She doesn't have any friends, hobbies, or interests. Garrett goes to work and goes running. That's the extent of their personalities, so you can imagine how difficult it was to believe that either of them found something to love in the other 'cause there's just... nothing there.

The plot was also missing. They meet, they date, they break up, they get back together. Nora goes to a conference to accept an award. A couple of people die. That's literally it. Even Garrett's job, which had the potential to be intriguing, was glossed over like Evans didn't want to bother coming up with an interesting system for Death. Between the dry dialogue discussing everyday minutiae, the utter lack of personality, and the non-existent plot, this reads like the bare-bones first draft of a book. Shame on Evans's editor for allowing it into the world like this.

The unique premise of this book immediately sparked my curiosity, but unfortunately I feel this book missed the mark. The pacing of the book felt slow and I struggled to get through it, yet the romantic relationship developed rather quickly. I didn't feel a more than a passing connection to the characters, neither of whom I found to be very likable, which left me uninvested in the outcome of the plot.

Garrett was rather bland, without much range of emotion. Nora was dealing with the grief of loosing her parents, the end of her previous romantic relationship, and also struggling with the decision she must make to either stay in her small hometown and continue running the casket store, or return to her old life in the city. While Nora showed more emotion than Garrett, I would have liked to experience a deeper connection with her.

Overall, I give this book a 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 because of the uniqueness factor.

This was a unique romance novel, and I enjoyed it immensely. 

No one ever wants to think about Death and what people go through on both sides. Enter Garrett. He works for Death, which is portrayed as a large corporation. His outlook is altruistic based on what happened 27 years ago when he lost his younger brother to cancer. Nora lost her parents to an accident and is now back in their small town running the family casket business. Is this where she wants to be, or is it meant to be? We are on a journey with Nora as she processes grief and figures out her place in this world.

While we know what Garrett does based on the book description, Nora takes much longer to uncover this truth. She then has another struggle as she tries to balance her attraction and feelings for Garrett with his job. I appreciated that not everything was easy for Nora or Garrett, and they had to work for their relationship and more. The author even introduces a potential third party. I think there could have been more to this story or even more to his story. Maybe a book based on him would be fun. The eternal playboy that is snared by the right woman.

I loved this little town, Rabbittown, because it is a quintessential small town. Everyone knows everyone and their business. Nora can't get away with much because even if the truth isn't exciting, they will twist it to become more.

I laughed and even cried a little at the end of this book. It was a great break from reality and thrillers that I usually read.

We give this book 4 paws up.

Garrett and Nora, ugh, I love you both so much!

Cue the small town vibes and wholesome love story.

This is a very unique story and although you might catch on, early on, it does not ruin the storyline at all. Lauren Evans has hit the ground running with this stunning debut. She captures the moment and blurs the lines between life and death.

This is a must read.

Check out this teaser :

Nora thought she was finished with Rabbittown, Alabama, for good. But an unexpected tragedy turned her life upside down, and she’s found herself back in her tiny hometown running the family casket business.

There aren’t exactly a lot of prospects for a single woman in her thirties in a place like Rabbittown. Until Nora Clanton’s ordinary, casket-selling day is interrupted by a handsome stranger wandering into her shop and asking for directions—as well as a date.

Garrett Bishop seems like the ideal guy. He’s thoughtful, he’s kind, and he has a lucrative job as a logistics coordinator, for which he seems to have a passion. She’s not totally sure what “logistics” entails, but she knows it means long hours, lots of travel, and urgent calls in the middle of the night.

When a few of Rabbittown’s residents suddenly pass away—a heart attack here, a car crash there—and Garrett is spotted at the scenes of, well, all of the deaths, his frustratingly vague job description starts to become increasingly . . . suspicious. What is it that Garrett actually does for a living?

He’s a logistics coordinator for Death.

When Nora discovers the truth, she is unable to reconcile the wonderful man she knows with the unthinkably cruel job he loves. Will she ever be able to understand how he can do what he does, or will she have to lay her best chance at love to rest?

CASKET CASE is a paranormal romance about nora, a young woman running her family's casket business, who falls for a guy who ticks all her boxes and seems perfect on paper... except he works for death. this was a really fun, slightly spooky romance, and it's perfect for fall! nora and garrett's chemistry was so good and very easy to believe. my only issue was with the pacing—i felt like their relationship developed way too quickly, so i spent a lot of the book waiting for the other shoe to inevitably drop. but i still really enjoyed it and would recommend for anyone who's in the mood for a good fall read!

thanks to netgalley and dell for the advanced copy!

Such a fantastic premise but unfortunately the execution wasn't good at all. It didn't ever feel like they had a connection at all and Nora was very annoying. I went in to this one hoping to love it and just didn't.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Omg this book!! I loved everything about it! Such a fun and easy read! I really enjoyed all of it. Highly recommend!

This was an okay read. I thought i would like it more than I did. Maybe this read is not for me. i found the story-line to be pretty dull/bland.

This ARC took me a while to get into, but by the end I was smiling and bawling my eyes out. I didn’t realize how death heavy it would be. It’s not in a bad way but I have my own issues with stuff like that 🤣🤣

After I got over my anxiety, this was such a lovely book and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Let me start by saying that a lot of reviewers said they didn’t like this book because it was too morbid and the death aspect was depressing, I personally didn’t get this vibe. I thought it was handled well and seemed pretty realistic. I did however think this book was just kind of boring.

Unfortunately this book just didn't deliver in the way I thought it would. From the summary and overall very fallish, spooky vibes, I was really excited for this romance!! I thought the plot of the book had similarities to The Dead Romantics, which is one of my favorite books, because Nora is surrounded by death and runs a casket business. However, the writing and characters just overall fell a bit too flat for me.

Nora has to return to her hometown to run her families casket business when she meets Garrett, who appears to be her ideal guy. However, she starts to get suspicious of Garrett when she realizes he appears whenever there is a new death in her town. That is because Garrett is actually the logistics coordinator for Death. Nora has to work through her feelings of whether she can reconcile Garrett working for Death with the person she has grown to love and appreciate for his thoughtful and kind personality.

Overall, not my favorite book, but it definitely had cute moments and a nice small town vibe. Thank you to Dell Romance and NetGalley for my advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review!

Adding this to my fall book list. Not only is this a romance, it’s also very healing when dealing with grief and death as a part of life. Nora owns a casket shop and Garrett works for death, itself, helping people by being with them in their final moments. Following the death of her parents, Nora resents death yet still works closely around it. Can Nora reconcile these feelings when she learns of Garrett’s job?