shut up i loved this book. i’m gonna need to find me a broody mortician. i’m a sucker for unconventional rom coms and this one has been one of my favorites. Lark and Callum are the complete opposite but fit together SO well. their banter and relationship is so damn cute and i love how she brought out the joy and confidence in him and how fiercely he loves her. the spice was also really nice and very much appreciated and not what i was expecting just bc of Cal’s demeanor but MAN my mind changed quick lol. in the end i was so happy for both of them and that they both got what they wanted and deserved. this book made me tear up and also laugh and made me want to go to Ireland. 5/5

4.25⭐️

ARC kindly provided by publisher via NetGally for an honest review.

What a breath of fresh air this was! It was goofy and cute while also being full of heartbreak and healing. This book was like a warm hug, i loved it and could not put it down!

Morbidly Yours
By: Ivy Fairbanks
Rate: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Take Blurb:

A very social Texan woman, Lark, moves to Ireland for a job, but she’s running from the past life she had with her husband who passed away, and of course, she blames herself for his death. Her new home is next door to an undertaking business. YIKES! But it gets better because the guy, Callum, who runs it is very socially awkward. I mean who isn’t socially awkward at some point, but this poor guy would rather dig his own grave than take someone out to dinner and a movie. So, of course, they become BFFs. But Callum has to marry before his 35th birthday to keep his family’s undertaking business (it was a clause in a will 🙄). Lark is willing to marry Callum to save his business but he refuses!!! What is he going to do?

Review:

Heads up: Grief is a HUGE component in this book.
What a great debut novel. I’ve never yelled “JUST KISS ALREADY” in my head so many times while reading a book. In general, I enjoyed this book, but it didn’t tick all of my boxes.

As a fellow Texan woman myself I didn’t think that Lark was over the top with the whole Texas personality. That erks me to no end when they overplay someone from Texas. I liked that she was an animator and Callum was an undertaker because the two careers had a night and day difference. I like it when books give careers to the characters that aren’t prevalent jobs for the characters. Lark and Callum are very cute together, and their friendship really helped both of them to get over the grief and other things that their lives threw at them.

Absolutely fantastic! I was laughing out loud and that was not something I expected from a book that includes a funeral home as a setting. Seeing Lark and Callum work their way through becoming friends and becoming more was perfect. Lark's story really resonated with me and just seeing her work through guilt and loss as she develops a new relationship had me feeling so hopeful.

Rating: 4 ⭐️
Spice: 2/5 🌶️

Oh my god, who know a story involving death could be so romantic!!!!! I love love loved this book- the chemistry and banter between Lark and Callum was amazing. The friends to lovers with a heavy dose of pining that ends up in such a wonderful relationship… I die. I usually *hate* friends to lovers but this was so well done. Callum is an angel of a human and I want to find a man like him (though I could go without the undertaker as a job lol).

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! I can’t wait to see what Ivy Fairbanks publishes next!!

For how amazing the cover and dsescription are this book seems to fall flat for me.
While it was refreshing to see an author talk about concepts not normally written about it just didnt hit a home run.
The book is about loss, grief and finding yourself again a long the way. There is some comedic touches added and if they didnt constantly state she lost her husband you would never guess any of it from the way she carries herself, friendships or job. It seems the concept of grief didnt stick enough so it had to keep being thrown at us.
I think what really hurt this book is there are too many plots being chosen..
falling for your neighbor
quirky meets extrovert
marriage of convienience
grief bonding
and the quirky comedy was forced so much it became quite annoying/overdone.

I LOVED THIS

1. The way the main man had a stammer that is treated with the utmost respect by more characters in this book while also highlighting the struggles that come with it because certain members of society can’t be bothered to give some respect…perfection. I cried and sobbed by this. I needed this kind of representation in my life….as someone who stays silent in most situations because of it, I have always wanted some kind of representation as is in this book.

2. The way Lark finally reached inside of herself and stood her ground over her designs and animations….AMAZING! We love a strong woman who learns how to stand their ground!

3. All Hail Dolly Parton!

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me with the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy Fairbanks' book "Morbidly Yours" and absolutely loved it! The story revolves around themes of love, grief, forgiveness, and accepting that it's okay not to be okay sometimes. I was eagerly looking forward to reading this book, and it certainly met my expectations. The characters, Lark and Callum, complement each other beautifully - their contrasting personalities, intense chemistry, and slow-burn romance will keep you wanting more. I enjoyed every aspect of this book immensely and hope more of Lark and Callum in the future!

I really really enjoyed this book! The premise was great and the friendship and romance between the characters was cute and sweet. The book made me miss when I visited Ireland. I would highly recommend this one!

Loved this book! The characters are so likable and relatable. The tension was there and it's even a little slow burn at times. Will continue reading more from this author

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5

Callum Flannelly runs Willow Haven, a funeral home in Ireland which has been in his family for generations. In order to keep the parlor under his ownership, Callum’s grandfather stated in his will that Callum must be married by his 35th birthday.

Lark Thompson is an animation art director who has moved to Ireland for a new job opportunity and lives next door to Callum. We’re not sure how exactly Lark came to be in Ireland, except that she seems to be on a new adventure in order to forget her past.

Lark bursts into Callum’s life as his quirky and eccentric neighbor, and the two quickly become friendly. When Lark confesses about his grandfather’s will, Lark makes it her personal mission to help Callum find a wife before time runs out and he loses Willow Haven. As their relationship develops and tension between Lark and Callum grows, they find it harder to focus on finding a wife for Callum, when the perfect woman might be right in front of him. But things are not as easy for Lark, who is battling with some demons from her past.

I thought this book was so, so, so stinking cute and fun! I loved the juxtaposition between our FMC and MMC, and loved how their careers were a direct reflection of their personalities. I was SO frustrated by Lark’s work rival, and was immensely satisfied when that was resolved. The storyline of our FMC’s journey to work through her grief was incredibly heartwarming, and I loved how the author dealt with our MMC’s stutter. It was so endearing! I highly recommend this book.

Tropes in this story:
✨Fish out of water
✨Grumpy/cagey MMC, social butterfly FMC
✨He falls first... but there is mutual pining!
✨Dirty talk in Gaeilge
✨”Let’s just get it out of our systems” (yeah right!)
✨Friends with benefits

This story touches on loss of a loved one and grief. All potentially sensitive themes are mentioned by the author in the Author’s Note at the top of the story.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book via NetGalley, but my review is all my own.

I loveddddd this.

Lark has just moved to Ireland for a job, and her new neighbor is a cutie, introverted mortician. Lark also fled Texas due to a personal tragedy, and is trying to focus on moving forward. Getting into a relationship is not in the cards for her, but Callum’s friendship and connection is to die for (hehe).

The banter and jokes between Lark and Callum is hilarious! Callum is SOOOO sweet. The way he talked/thought about Lark was so precious. I related to him in that he hates social settings. I loved how Lark tried to get him out of his shell without overdoing it. Their chemistry felt so natural. The tension!!

I was surprised by all of the hints of Texas, and I loved it! From HEB, whata, Austin, Spurs, etc.

Ngl Lark was irking me towards the end. She chose flight mode when she had a good thing going. It just wasn’t my fav thing.

I wanted to love this so badly, and I just fell in like with it. It's very cute, but given the title/cover/marketing, I felt like we were sold a different book. I wasn't expecting so much sweetness/earnestness. There's plenty to like here, and some very cute banter, but I think that's just what we're left with- a lot of cute.

I really loved this book and thought it was incredibly charming. I loved Lark and Callum together and how they already balanced each other out and brought the best out of each other. Only rated 4 stars bc it took me awhile to get into the story (about 20% through) but once I was in I was hooked.

How do I explain that this book made me so SAD, but I LOVED it. This book DELIVERED all the feels. The MMC’s demisexuality, the FMC’s grief, their connection and chemistry - these things wrapped up together into an emotional ride, and I loved it.

The characters were the best part, next was the writing. The author sprinkled in these nuggets of beauty, and it made the story so much more rich.

Ended up at a 4.5 for me (took off .5 because the slow burn was just a liiiittle too slow for me), but still a great read!

4.5 rounded up, and this was definitely a situation where I didn't expect to like this book NEARLY as much as I did. It was fun to learn about the job of art directing, I loved the Irish setting, and I like a book where all of the characters (except the villain) are actually nice.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ivy Fairbanks, and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam Publishing for access to the e-Arc of this book in exchange for a honest review.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After loosing her husband two years ago Lark, our FMC, decides she needs a fresh start and accepts a job offer in Ireland. Lark is an energetic and carefree ball of sunshine from Texas with an overactive imagination. When she receives a package full of body bags meant for her neighbor, her imagination runs while about whether or not she lives next to some crazy serial killer. Determined to find out who her neighbor is, she goes to introduce herself.

Callum, our MMC, is a mortician and the owner of Willow Haven funeral home. Calling is a quiet, grumpy, and socially awkward man. Calling grandfather passed and left him the funeral home in his will with the exception that he marries before his 35th birthday or the funeral home will go to his father who wants to sell it to the competitors.

We follow both characters as they deal with the friend of loosing their loved ones and building a friendship in the process. After building a friendship, Lark helps Callum in his search for someone to marry in the next six months. However, what happens when Lark and Callum’s feelings start to build in the process.

This was a cute and cozy, slow burn romcom with some morbid references. Callum is a mortician and Lark does live next to a funeral home. A perfect romcom to read in the fall/Halloween time of the year.
Grumpy x Sunshine, friends with benefits, friends to lovers, dual POVs

I really wanted to love this because it was such a cute idea but it kind of fell flat for me. I think I had a hard time with the Irish aspect of it and the mortician part was not something I jumped on board with. I could have gotten more on board if this was more cozy mystery but the romance was tough for me. The writing is great and it is a cute idea, just not for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Morbidly Yours is absolutely a lovely book, just not for me. And the fact I can recognize that is I think a testament to the talent of Ivy Fairbanks.

The concept and milieu is charming, the characters are deeply personalized, and I was absolutely rooting for their love story. The side characters were also a delight and I look forward to where she takes the next book, assuming this will be a series (she's definitely set up enough lovable characters to achieve that, particularly Saoirise, my personal fave). My only comment about the characters is Sean, one of the main antagonists. I found him to be a little underwritten and bad only for bad's sake.

Personally, the chapter length was too short for my taste and not many scenes lasted long enough for me to really sink into. I found myself shocked at how quick we were onto the next moment, making the passage of time, especially given the plot surrounding Callum's inheritance, a bit confusing. Also, the book was vibier than I usually like. Again, personal preference.

Overall, the book is charming and delightful and would serve as a great gateway for new romance readers

find myself thoroughly impressed by this unique and intriguing take on the paranormal mystery genre. This story weaves a narrative that's rich with gothic elements and tinged with a delightful sense of the macabre, which kept me glued to the pages from start to finish. The protagonist is brilliantly crafted, blending vulnerability with a curious and resilient spirit that fits perfectly within the eerie and suspenseful atmosphere of the book. The authors' writing style is compelling and detailed, striking a perfect balance between dark, atmospheric descriptions and a fast-paced plot. The dialogue is sharp and adds depth to the characters, making their interactions memorable and meaningful. It’s a must-read for fans of the genre looking for something that's both captivating and distinctly eerie.