Morbidly Yours was so cute! It had just the right balance of spice and a deep story with a couple you just couldn’t help but root for. Lark was a ray of sunshine cartoonist and Callum was a stoic funeral director and yet the two of them balanced each other out.
I loved the dynamic between the two and enjoyed seeing Callum come out of his shell.
I think this will be a huge hit this year and I definitely recommend it.

My only criticism is that I felt like the drama of Lark not wanting a relationship worked in the beginning, but I didn’t think it worked as the main conflict as the story progressed. I wished she’d have gotten over that point sooner and the conflict had shifted into her potentially not being able to stay in Ireland or something later on. It wouldn’t have changed that much, but it would have felt less frustrating watching her continue to lie to herself and reject Callum, who already stepped far outside his comfort zone for her many times. I just felt awful for him.
Other than that, I felt like this was such a perfect story and I really enjoyed it. I loved the characters, the setting, the language, and the romance!

4.5 stars/5 stars

Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks is a romance between widowed American artist Lark Thompson and Irish mortician Callum Flannelly. Lark moves from Texas to Galway in her process of getting away from the grief of unexpectedly losing her husband alongside becoming the art director for a film by independent Irish film studio, KinetiColor. Callum’s career, home, and very livelihood are at risk of being sold off by his father after his granda chose to pass on their family legacy found in their mortuary, Willow Haven, to him instead of Callum, who must marry be his 35th birthday (aka in six months) if he wishes to be able to continue the family undertaking business. Speaking with strangers is difficult for Callum, but there’s something about his next door neighbor, Lark, that brings him ease in opening up. Despite having sworn off love and marriage for herself, Lark takes it upon herself to help Callum find His Person. However, they are inevitably drawn towards each other despite their differences in wants and Lark’s looming expiration date for living in Ireland.

Reading Lark felt like a study in grief. There were times that I was so frustrated with the mentality that she trapped herself inside of, and yet I have so much empathy for her and her emotional journey. I cannot fathom losing the love of my life, especially in such an unexpectedly traumatic way, and especially *especially* after such a fraught interaction. I can, however, relate to the need to get away, which let’s call it what it is– the desire (and in both of our cases, the follow-through) of running away when times get tough. I admire that, with the help of Callum lifting her up and loving her for who she is, Lark was able to get the help that she needed and take the active steps in becoming the person she wants to be, most notably with opening her life back up to love, in both the romantic way and in building community for herself.

I absolutely adore Callum. He is oh-so-serious and stoic, and reading him melt into into human goo as he slowly fell for Lark, *chef’s kiss.* Characters like Callum are the very reason that I love reading dual POV because in lieu of his shyness and social anxiety, reading his cinnamon roll thoughts of Lark bringing light and joy into his otherwise solemn life had me swooning and wishing that I could find myself a person like him outside the pages of fiction. Another thing I love is how Fairbanks approached Callums’s stutter. While I have no personal experience with this specific disability, Callum’s stutter felt like it was written about with respect and honesty in how it doesn’t absolutely define him, but it still impacts him and how he approaches life. Furthermore, Callum’s demisexuality. I, particularly, am constantly searching for characters who exist on the asexual spectrum, for I’m hoping to find a character with whom I identify in this way. While I have yet to find any that I wholeheartedly find home with as far as the asexual umbrella goes (which even though, honestly, I’m not necessarily looking to find a label, I do think would be nice to feel like one fits me, specifically), I am so happy to be able to add Callum to my list of ever-growing ace-spec fictional characters who fall in romantic love. Callum was written with the utmost respect in every regard, from his disability to his sexuality to his genuine love for Lark and his calling for working with folks and their grief as a mortician.

I had so much fun reading this book. I legitimately laughed out loud several times, and I loved getting to read the beauty of Galway and Ireland at large. I have been slightly stuck in a reading slump, and this was the first book that caught my attention and kept my focus. I am super excited to read every book in the Love in Galway series and every book Ivy Fairfield has to write!

Thank you, Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons, for the ARC!

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a great story and a fast read. The characters were instantly likable and interesting backstories. I liked the speech disorder/widow rep as well.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.
The premise of this book was so unique, it will be difficult to forget these characters. The author gives each character an interesting job and background.
Callum is a mortician and loner. Lark is the colorful studio animator that brings color and life back to Callum. She is the girl next door, difficult to ignore, and even more impossible not to love.
The two become neighbors by chance and friends by choice. Lark acts as Callum's wing woman to help him find a wife in order to keep his family business and inheritance. She gets one glimpse of Callum's forearms and it all changes.
These two are the epitome of opposites attract. Callum has a stutter, deadpan humor, and social anxiety, but more than that he is a deeply loyal and thoughtful man. You will absolutely fall in love with him. He delivers the swoon and the sexy.

Not to be ignored, Lark is a strong character as well, but Callum really steals the spotlight in this one. I can absolutely see this being a series with some of the supporting characters ready to take the reigns.

Morbidly Yours ⚰️🌻
ARC REVIEW

I absolutely loved this book so much! Once I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down, and I read it in a day.

⚰️ Opposites Attract
🌻 Blonde Bubbly Texan Widow FMC
⚰️Shy Demisexual Irish MMC with a stutter
🌻 Marriage of Convenience trope
⚰️ Neighbors/ friends to FWB
And these microtropes
🌻 Bonding over a shared pet, hair washing to show love, sexy language lesson, and supervising after an injury.

Callum Flannelly can only inherit the family undertaking business and carry on their legacy under one condition: He must marry before his 35th birthday. But this introverted and sarcastic mortician has an aversion to marrying out of necessity rather than love.
Enter Lark Thompson. The bubbly blonde Texan just moved to town to start over after losing her husband and is Callum's new neighbor. After hearing of his plight, Lark is convinced she can successfully play matchmaker and help Callum snag a wife.
But the more time the two spend together, the more their connection grows. Soon, neither one can deny their growing feelings.

I loved both of these characters so much! Lark is not a typical annoying female protagonist. She is trying to build a new life, and I love her positivity and spunk. Callum is a well-done representation of someone with a stutter. I also appreciated the Demisexual talk. It really made sense for his character.
These two are so sweet together. They have chemistry from their first meeting. I loved that they were really friends first. I felt like they genuinely cared about each other's feelings.
Callum is obviously being added to my long list of book boyfriends! He is dreamy!❤️
The way the book deals with grief and guilt is gentle and heartfelt, and I loved it. I shed a few tears every few chapters. 🥹
I really can't believe this is a debut! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A huge thank you to the author and @Netgalley

This book took the journey of grief and portrayed it so well. I absolutely love Callum and Lark! This book is definitely one I would recommend to anyone who loves grumpy sunshine, and friends to lovers!

Such a morbidly cute read!

The characters were both so different but at the same time compatible! I really enjoyed the writing and felt it made the story even more endearing. It wasn’t anything crazy but it was what this story needed.

P.S I did really like how the author used deeper topics to make the story feel a bit more emotional

Great if ur looking for a fall romance!

Morbidly Yours is book one in the Love in Galway series by Ivy Fairbanks.
This is a quirky but fun romance that I instantly got hooked to.
This book was so adorable and the characters are amazing.
They were real and so relateable.
The storyline was incredible and sucked me in almost immediately. The story was well-written and well-developed.
I can’t wait to read book two.

Thank You NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book is a hit and miss book. Let me highlight what I loved first. I love that you have a male demi character. Demi people are so tragically underrepresented not only in fiction but in general. Having it be male is even more powerful. Because demi’s are not always women. What I didn’t love was I felt like sometimes Callum wasn’t always represented in the way that his character was written. I know stuttering can be hard to come through within written texts, but if he does still stutter then having a couple of instances would have felt more authentic. The ending wasn’t necessary I feel like the book had ended on a beautiful note, and then one last scene was added in just for heck of it and honestly it wasn’t needed. I enjoyed the plotline for the most part, but I wasn’t swept away as much as I like to be when I read a romance.
Thank you so much to Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

This was a wonderful slow burn/opposites attract read! It was so fun to read and I fell in love with Lark and Callum. The real life representations in this book were phenomenal. The banter between the two main characters was refreshing and perfect. I must say I am a sucker for a book with great banter. Hook, line, sinker baby haha.

If you like:
-Slow burn romances
-Grumpy x Sunshine
-Friends to lovers
-Opposites attract
-Dual POV
-An Irish hottie
-Social anxiety rep
Then this is the perfect read for you! Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book early <3

"Morbidly Yours" is a really good book. It's funny and sad at the same time, and it makes you think about stuff you don't normally think about. The author does a great job of writing about dark stuff in a way that's not too heavy or depressing. It's a really unique and thought-provoking book, and I highly recommend it.



****Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.****

Absolutely delightful in every way, Morbidly Yours somehow manages to be full of heart and humour at the same time.

This might be Ivy's debut novel, but there is nothing amateurish about it. I could swear this is her tenth book. Ivy is already an expert at capturing the elements this bookworm seeks in her romances - a clever premise, well-developed characters I want to cheer for, and a great balance of humour and depth.

I was initially attracted to the book's description. It had that quirkiness that I absolutely love. A "vivacious cartoon creator" and an "introverted mortician"? Yes, please! But I also noted that there was some seriousness as well, with Lark losing her husband. Happily, this description did not lead me astray, and readers get exactly what is described.

I can't think of a better word to describe Lark than vivacious. Larger than life and determined to dress in full technical colour, Lark is the sort of person who makes friends everywhere she goes. But she isn't all sunshine and rainbows. She has taken a big leap from Texas to Galway to take a job as the lead on a new feature-length animated movie with a small studio. This is her chance at a fresh start after the death of her husband. There is some mystery surrounding his death that doesn't fully get explained right away. The reader doesn't know the circumstances, but we do know that she has sworn off love. As a result, Lark has some much-needed depth and doesn't come off as too fluffy. I loved her.

Callum is one of the most interesting book boyfriends I've read in a while. Painfully shy because of his stutter, he does not make friends easily. He's also demisexual, meaning he has to feel a connection with someone before experiencing sexual interest. I loved this detail about him. Not only because I love it when an author includes characters from the whole spectrum of preferences (thank you!) but because it really amped up the tension in his "he must marry" situation. How do you find a partner quickly when you need time to get to know someone? Once you get past all that, Callum is a wonderfully sweet and thoughtful guy.

Lark and Callum together are beyond wonderful. We watch as they become friends. Lark has a way of making Callum feel comfortable that he hasn't experienced before. It's fun to watch as they both develop big feelings about each other but try to put them off. Their banter is some of the best I've read. It's clever and funny. I loved them together. Bonus points for one of the best birthday present scenes I've ever read. I couldn't get enough of these two together.

A terrific read, Morbidly Yours does not disappoint. I can't wait to see what Ivy writes next.

Thank you so much to @ivyfairbanksbooks and Regina with @putnambooks for reaching out and offering me a copy of this book.
Talk about a very cute read! First off, this is definitely a slow burn that gives you the JUST KISS ALREADY! type of feelings. Lark’s personality gives me all the feel good vibes. She brings light to anyone she encounters and even with her grief, she strives to be truly happy. She treats Callum so tenderly and I love how she instantly treated the fact that he had a stutter with sensitivity and respect. She never rushed him or looked away anytime he had to regroup himself.
Callum is the definition of shy and reserved, but even he can’t fight himself when it comes to Lark. He falls fast and hard and I am HERE FOR IT. Talks dirty in Irish? Punches her coworker for disrespecting her? Swoon🥵
I thought this was a great debut novel and I look forward to reading more by this author.

This book is not for everyone. Especially due to the dark nature of the MMC being an undertaker and the FMC on a journey of grief after losing her husband. But after a rocky start, I did really enjoy Callum and Lark's love story.

It was a great example of how important trust is in relationships because trust is what eventually led them to owning up to their feelings for one another.

Also, Fuck Sean.

A wonderful will they, won't they, neighbors with benefits with a touch of navigating heavier topics.

Morbidly Yours follows a Texan animator who, isn't running away but definitely can't stay in Texas, got a new job in Ireland on a project she feels really excited about which is just what she needs to get her mind off of her husband's recent death. What she didn't realize is that the apartment she rented for this project was right next to a mortuary and cemetery, which is not a great way to move on from a traumatic death in the family. Callum has inherited his family's mortuary after the death of his grandfather who raised him. Imagine his surprise when his grandfather's will specified that Cal needs to be married in order to keep the mortuary. The only problem with that is his crippling social anxiety. Just when he thinks he has no other options his new Texan neighbor marches straight through his walls with her pink cowboy boots.

The relationship between Lark and Callum is great! Their friendship builds in a really wholesome and loving way. The side characters are also really wonderful. I was most impressed with how well the author was able to approach the heavier themes of workplace harassment and grief in a realistic but also gentle way. Now my biggest complaint of the book was the pacing and the third act break up. The will they, won't they section lasted way too long and the reasons for the characters' hesitance was very shaky at best. I feel like an additional editing pass would have been able to bring this novel up to a four or five star read.

This is one of my favorite books now! Callum is top tier book boyfriend and all green flags with a dirty mouth! He and Lark had such amazing banter. When I finished this book, I immediately wanted to start it over again!

This was a quick cute read. The romance was sweet. The way they became friends was adorable. It's one of those perfect sunshine meets grump. I found the chemistry was lacking at times but that could just be me. Each character is coping with their past and trying to move on in some way. I enjoyed reading this and would recommend to a friend who enjoys romance.

How cute was this book?! It explore trauma, grief, social anxiety, and more. I think the author did a fantastic job with each topic, and presented it in a fun and engaging way. I loved Callum and Lark, there story was adorable!

Such a fun and cozy read - there was so much to love about this one. I felt like the book covered some touchy topics but did so with such sensitivity and in a way that never felt too heavy. I loved both main characters and really was rooting for each of them! Highly recommend this one for a sweet fall romance.

I mean…talk about opposites attract and grumpy/sunshine.

Sunflower-donning, cartoon-creating Lark and hearse-driving, hug-dodging Callum.

Amazing couple. Incredible chemistry - Morbidly Yours has everything you want in a romance novel.

You’ll simply not believe this is a debut, either.

In addition to the classic rom-com traits, this novel does some incredibly poignant work around grief and trauma. So, readers will want to check trigger warnings before diving in.

And yet, I think the Venn Diagram of “Readers who Love Rom Coms” and “Readers Who Love Super Graphic Descriptions of Mortician Work” has a fairly small overlap - even given how many undertaker-inspired romances are currently (inexplicably?) on the market right now.

So, I just want to warn you - I read a lot of fantasy and war stories, etc., rarely even look at a trigger warning as a reader, but there were several scenes I couldn’t stomach and I actually don’t recall this ever happening to me with another book.

On the one hand, I can’t hold it against the book because the title and description are clear that the MMC is an undertaker. However, I’ve read several books recently where one of the two held this job and they weren’t nearly as scientific and detailed.

That said, the fact that I had such a visceral reaction to those scenes (and please know there’s only a couple…easily skipped for a novel this amazing) must mean the writing was just that good.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.