There's romantic comedy, there’s paranormal romance, and then there’s this book that fits nowhere and everywhere. I’ve read many books by this talented lady, but it's been a while, and this one is like nothing else of hers I’ve read previously.

What if you got a second chance at life once you die, but you have to come back in different body? This is the dilemma Brittany Lynn Snider faces after crashing her mama's minivan while driving and texting on the way to a Tinder date after church one Sunday. Brittany may have been content to make her way into Heaven, but socialite Edie Randolph Chatsworth-Jones jumps the line in front of Brittany, and now Brittany is faced with a decision.

The reviews for this one are all over the place! Maybe that's the sign of a provocative body of work though. It's clearly appeals to some very specific tastes and seems dependent on how seriously a reader takes her reading or how much entertainment value she's seeking.

This may not be the very best Gibson book ever written, but I really liked it. It bogged down a little with the goings-on in Purgatory before Brittany returned to earth as Edie, but once Brittany was back with Edie's family it was a really quick read for me. So check out the other reviews and make your own decision, but this was a fun, light-hearted departure from my typical reading and I really enjoyed it.

This book just wasn’t for me unfortunately. I couldn’t get into it/connect with the characters at all. There were so many Christian references which I wasn’t anticipating and felt out of place in a romance novel.

Rachel Gibson wrote one of my favourite books, See Jane Score. I was hoping for the same chemistry in this story, however, Oliver didn't really play that big a part. There was a small build up and the sex scene was over pretty instantly.
This novel felt a bit like her previous book, Not Another Bad Date, where the concept of heaven was explored.
There were parts where I could really connect with Brittany turned Edie, and then others, not so much. I would say that this probably wouldn't be classified as a romance, but more of a general fiction.

Drop Dead Gorgeous is one of my favorite reads of the year. I can’t think of a book in the past few months that I could have kept reading past the ending. Drop Dead Gorgeous gets 5 stars from me!

Little did I know the title is so apropos! Food for thought on this contemporary women's fiction journey. I would not class it as romance, rather a fictitious awakening to the elements of which most of us aren't aware. A comedy of serious content. Where do our spirits go after death? What are they doing while the physical body is healing, or giving up?
This gives a rather hilarious synopsis of what it could be like, but if you think you're gonna fast-track yourself to heaven, you'd better think again.
Two women, Brittany and Eide, total opposites, get switched due to Eide thinking she deserved to get to heaven. God doesn't get mad, I believe He gets justice. So Brittany gets a second chance as Eide to be a good-hearted person and maybe redemption. Idk, it didn't go that far.
Meanwhile, Eide turned Brittany, has to stay in the spirit lounge as a concierge helping spirits with their comings and goings, either direction I might add, and not interfering in their paths.
It was interesting to read for sure with LoL moments, SMHs, and what the's. I would have liked more to the whole story. I will say the first 50 percent was like a stage setting. I thought there would have been a romance in here as one seemed to be in the works. At the end it was just rather an epiphany.
I received an ARC through NetGalley. I am giving my own thoughts and opinions voluntarily.

I LOVE Rachel Gibson, at first the blurb of this book reminded me of one of her older titles, but it’s nothing like it at all. While the concept was similar the story is completely original and absolutely enchanting. I loved it so much!

From a Navy Seals genre of Lola Carlyle Reveals All to introducing me to the hockey romance genre, I will always pick up a Rachel Gibson romance. However, once I started on this, I realized it was Women's Fiction.

Like watching the movie Soul, which also spent too much time setting up the "other world" and and ditto here, I had to really stick with this in order to get through it. The opening dragged and including the perspective of original Edie just didn't feel necessary to telling the ultimate story.

Admittedly, a lot of Gibson's later romances were lackluster and too corny. This also doesn't have the same magic as some of her earlier work.

I gave this book until 25% before I gave up on it. I knew 5 pages in that I wasn’t going to like it. I would recommend updating the listing for this book to somehow mention that it’s religious. The concept is cool but the main characters entire personality is that she’s Christian. This book needs to be tagged as Christian Fiction or Religious Fiction or something. I never would have requested this book I’d known. The writing is fine and I’m sure the story would end up being fun but all the god talk is just a hard no for me. Sorry.

I thought this book suffered from fairly severe pacing and content shortcomings. While the concept of the book was excellent, the execution left much to be desired. I never got the sense that the characters were striving towards an end goal, and I so wish they had.

This was a cute, fluffy read. Nothing too big or too deep, just fun speculation about the afterlife and how things could go after we pass. It's one of those books that works if you don't think too deeply about it.

Drop Dead Gorgeous tells the story of a young woman who is really just starting out in life. After a tragic car accident, which I'll admit, I struggled to drum up a ton of sympathy for (put your phones away when you're driving y'all!), Brittany Lynn Snider's spirit finds itself in limbo while she waits for her physical body to die. Shenanigans ensue and she ends up plunged back into the wrong body and has to figure out how to go on with her new life. If you ever watched and liked the show Drop Dead Diva, you'll probably like this book.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Gallery Books and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

I found this much more enjoyable than expected. The characters developed throughout the story at a delightful pace. I’d recommend this to book clubs, anyone looking for a new favorite, a weekend read they won’t want to put down.

When I first started reading I had a bit of a hard time getting into the story. Brittany is from Texas and her accent was a bit over the top for me and I found myself wanting to skip ahead during some of the dialogue. The plot feels a bit drawn out in the first half of the book but definitely kept my interest in the second half. When Edie takes Brittanys spot in heaven and Brittany is sent to inhabit Edie's body the book really picked up for me.

Brittany doesn't have any of Edie's memories so she claims amnesia and has to get reacquainted with all of 'her' old family and friends. Brittany soon learns Edie made a lot of enemies, including Oliver, a longstanding family friend she is supposed to be feuding with. As Brittany and Oliver's relationship progresses the story became much more interesting and I got to the end of the book much sooner than expected. The later part of the book where we watch Brittany trying to adjust to Edie's life redeemed the slow start for me and I would give the book a 3.5/5 stars.

3.5 Stars

I've been a fan of Rachel Gibson's books for years. I've read and enjoyed all of her contemporary romances, most of getting 5 star ratings from me. Sadly, that pattern didn't continue for me with Drop Dead Gorgeous. It started out strong, but had some ups and downs.

"Glorious Way Evangelical is the center of my momma's life. She looks forward to church worship like an alcoholic looks forward to happy hour at Woody's Watering Hole."

Those first couple of sentences had me immediately curious about Brittainy and her life in Marfa. Some people might find her hick-ness over done, but I found it fun to read. For the rest of the first chapter, I was highly entertained. Even the beginning of the second chapter held my attention. Somewhere between the second and fourth chapters my attention waned. There was a lot of explaining about what the coma purgatory would be for Brittainy in those chapters that just wasn't all that interesting to me. (I'll admit I was a little tired when I  started this book, so maybe that was it? I don't know.) That disinterest continued until Brittainy became Edie. Then things got interesting.

I loved the story of Brittainy inhabiting Edie's body and having to play amnesia. It was fun to experience her learning what being Edie meant and making Edie's life her own. I loved the relationships she forged with Edie's family and even her foes. The little romance with Oliver was cute.  I also ended up enjoying the chapters of the real Edie. It was cool to see her get what was coming to her and how she navigated that. I was happy that this book ending up entertaining me more than I was expecting after several chapters that were too slow for me.

I did have one more small complaint. Things wrapped up in the end way faster than I was expecting. I could feel the story coming to the end, but I needed a couple more scenes with Edie/Brittainy with her parents and with Oliver. I just wanted more closure there for myself rather than being told everything was good.

Other than that, this book ended on a high note for me. I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. The characters ended up charming me and I loved Edie/Brittainy's progression throughout the book. It was a good read.

I loved this novel about almost dead people stuck in a type of a way station, a woman whose life completely changes, and the journey she makes to her new reality.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really 3.5 stars. This book was enjoyable the premise was unique and it had moments of humor, sadness, and love. It spoke of strong family bonds and learning to value yourself. However, and maybe it’s the northeasterner in me, I felt like there was a lot of space wasted on really enforcing how big and gaudy everything is in Texas, how Brittany was overweight and now in a tiny blonde body, and other cliches that could have been better dedicated to character and story development

This was my first book I have read by Rachel Gibson and will not be my last! It was a really interesting concept and kind of predictable but I really enjoyed it.

The first book for me to read by this author but I will be on the lookout for more for sure! Highly recommend this one!

I enjoyed this book. The plot was well paced and the characters were well thought out. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This was a quick enjoyable read. I loved that the premise was so unique. There were parts that were a little slow and the romantic plotline fell flat and was slightly confusing. I did like reading "Edie" and how her soul helped to improve herself with the opportunity she was given.

This was a cute contemporary romance. I wouldnt say it brought any super strong emotions, which I normally love, but it was a good read nonetheless. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.