This one, I was just mainly annoyed by. I found the FMC to be too quirky and I just didn't find this "romcom" to be particularly charming or funny.

This was so fun! And hot! I loved the tension in this story, I never thought I’d read a contemporary romance with an undertaker as a romantic lead. I am not a fan on “insta-love” tropes but it turns out I am a fan of “insta-best friends”! Ivy Fairbanks did a great job building Callum and Lark’s friendship…yes I was saying “kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” about 40 pages in but the build up of their friendship and life in the town makes the payoff even better. Fairbanks deftly navigates some heavy topics (loss of loved ones) through out, resulting in a heartfelt (and spicy) love story.

This was cute, but not excellent, which I thought it really could have been! Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes, but I thought the ending around this with Aiden finding a solution was a little bit lazy. I loved Callum and Lark, but definitely could have done with more character backstory/development around both.

ugh hopefully i am not in a reading slump bc this is the 2nd book were it didn’t eat but i did just not as much recommend this book

I really wanted to like this but it was ultimately not for me.
Lark moves to Galway, Ireland on a whim after a tragedy in Texas and meets Callum, a mortician living next door. Lark and Callum are basically the epitome of the grumpy/sunshine trope. Callum is given an ultimatum, get married or lose the family business and home and Lark has a short work visa. They quickly become friends and Lark wants to help out Callum who is demisexual so finding a wife in 5 months is very difficult for him when he really needs to have a deep connection to feel attraction. I really liked their friendship and how easily they could talk to each other but that’s where the book lost me. After pages and pages of how Callum might be almost on the asexual spectrum, by 30% he was already having way too dirty thoughts about Lark. And the side story about Lark’s stereotypically sexist and racist coworker did not help things. I ended up speedreading from 50% onwards just to be done with the book.

Thank you for the ARC and the opportunity to read early.

Thank you Putnam Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this book! It's a great, unique premise for a romcom; I was expecting a little more darkness/eeriness vibes, or that Lark would perhaps be working WITH her neighbor, but that's what I get for judging a book based on it's cover!

The FMC, Lark, is an American cartoon creator that's decided to spend some time in Ireland after losing her husband. Finding out Lark's status as a widow struck me deeply, especially after finding out the circumstances surrounding his death! The layers of misplaced guilt Lark carries adds a certain humanness to her character that I admire. The support in her life, or lack thereof, was really shocking and sad to read.

Now, for my hot take: I don't like the way Lark's mind works. She is traumatized and severely messed up, I realize that, but she was an extremely frustrating character. I struggle with this kind of psyche in books because all I can think is: WOW, they really need to go to therapy...!!

Callum was a great MMC! He's a perfect blend of quirkiness, shyness, and sweetness that really adds to the story. I found him very supportive and understanding throughout everything going on—except when it came to Sean's mistreatment of Lark. I hated that he barely spoke up in her defense, and then when it all came to a head all he had was a punch?? Lame!!

Overall, "Morbidly Yours" offers a sweet, low-stakes read that blends emotion and intimacy effectively. Definitely recommend!

Don’t let the title and cover scare you away from this one. This debut novel is fantastic. So much deeper than I thought it was going to be. Outgoing, glass half full Lark ups and moves to Ireland for a new job after a loss in her life. She moves next door to a funeral parlor and befriends the mortician, who is dealing with loss of his grandpa and must marry soon to take over the funeral home. Lark helps Callum thru social anxieties and come out of his shell to start dating. This is a friends to lovers, opposites attract with a side of grief story. I also loved Lark coming into her own professionally and thru being friends with Callum. Some heavy topics of grief are discussed throughout the book. This is open door (and you’re cheering for it by the time it happens!). I found this a quick read and very enjoyable.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Morbidly Yours - what a gem!!

I hadn’t read the indie edition so thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for an advance reader copy!

Lark moves to Ireland for a new job. Callum runs a mortuary which he is at risk of losing if he doesn’t fulfill a requirement of his inheritance - getting married. After Lark and Callum become friends, Lark sets out to help find Callum a perfect match so that he can keep his mortuary.

I was really expecting more of a marriage of convenience after reading the summary. It turned out to be a lovely friends-to-lovers story! I loved the connection and the evolution of the friendship between the two main characters. I thought the latter half of the book had such new takes on these tropes. If you also love a mutual pining story, this is one to check out!

What do you get when a mortician and animator fall in love? A morbid love! And trust me when I tell you it’s morbidly good!

This book is full of beauty and I’m not just talking about the backdrop that is Ireland. Lark and Callum’s story is painted perfectly. You can’t help but fall in love with the two of them at every turn of the page.

Grief is a topic that is discussed through out the book but it’s done in a way that doesn’t feel too deep. Think of it as more of a warm hug and one you really don’t want to end. Ivy really did a great job of bringing attention to the importance of grief and healing but in a way that also leaves you smiling.

If I still haven’t convinced you to give this book a try, let me leave you with one final hook. Callum, who will also be your new favorite book boyfriend, will not only melt your heart. He will make you blush and squeal at the dirty words he speaks that also happen to be in an Irish accent. That’s it, that’s the hook. You’re welcome.

But in all seriousness, Ivy Fairbanks wrote an amazing debut! I cannot wait to see what other stories she puts out because I will be reading them all!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for a copy of this arc. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was super cute! It took grumpy/sunshine pretty on the nose with an fmc animator from texas and an mmc Irish mortician. I loved their relationship, sometimes they bugged me but the happily ever after made up for it. I also enjoyed the demisexual rep in this book, I haven't read any with that before and I think it was handled well. Check this out if you want a cute, easy romcom with some fun spice!

ARC received from NetGalley.

Morbidly Yours is a slow-burn, neighbors to friends to lovers romance about an animator running away from a recent tragedy in her past and an undertaking trying to save his business. Our FMC, Lark, takes a job in Galway as an art director for an upcoming project to get away from the ghost of her late husband. Ironically, she moves next to a funeral home operated by Callum who took over the family business from his grandfather.

I don't like topics of death/grief so I was skeptical when I requested this, but I wanted to give it a go anyway and I'm glad that I did. This ended up being such a sweet, cozy read! The plot was unique, and I appreciated that so much. Lark and Callum had amazing chemistry, and their friendship was cute enough that by the end, I didn't even care if they got together or not, as long as they stayed friends. The slow-burn was well done and never felt like the author was rushing the characters into a relationship. While Lark's job kind of fell flat for me, I REALLY enjoyed Callum's. The depiction of undertaking was explicit, but tasteful, and not exploitive at all. I really appreciate the author from not shying away from the aspects of it.

This book wasn't perfect, and won't be a favorite for everyone. While I enjoyed it, around 50% in the book kind of... fell apart for me.
- The prose felt inconsistent and sometimes forced.
-The worldbuilding could've been better.
- Representation was just... Not good. Minorities/LGBTQA+ characters should never be token or used to further the white MCs stories and it's a shame this has to keep being said, and is still ignored. Callum's demi-sexuality felt like an afterthought, and his speech impediment was close to coming off as a mockery instead of feeling realistic. I appreciate the author for trying and if it had been done better, it would've been great.

Anyway, this was still an enjoyable novel and I can definitely see some of our romance-loving patrons enjoying this title.

I had so much fun reading this book!! I absolutely swooned over the main male lead and truly felt the chemistry.

Morbidly Yours was the perfect slow-burn romance that also discusses grief and learning to love again. I loved Lark as a character. Her personality was upbeat and bubbly, but she was also dealing with the loss of her husband and learning to forgive herself for his death. Her chemistry with Callum was almost immediate and their opposite personalities lead to some comedic banter. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for when they would finally get together. I felt that the ending to this book was done perfectly and ended up thinking about this book for several days' afterwords. I am excited to read more from this author.

Morbidly Yours comes out August 20th.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to review Morbidly Yours. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'd give this maybe even a 4.5⭐️ it honestly blew my expectations away like it was so cute and sweet but also there was banter

Thank you for GP Putnam Books for this e-arc!

I absolutely enjoyed this book! From the beginning, it pulled me right in. Callum and Lark are 2 easily relatable characters and their stories were written very well. I enjoyed the build up of their relationship.

THIS WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MOVE! The scream I scrumpt when I saw I got approved for this (Thank you Netgalley!) This book has been on my radar for ages. The cover, the story, THE CHARACTERS! uggghhh I am so in love.

A solid 5 star read for me. I'll be making a video review on my socials about this one and recommend it as much as I can.

Perfection, just read it!

This was a really sweet story about these two finding each other and overcoming their own personal hesitations against relationships. While the beginning w/ Callum has a bit of a gristly detail with being a mortician, afterwards it's pretty much just background information (for those that can't do the ick).

I liked how quirky they were and the fun they had together. There were some bits of the story that didn't feel like they served the story overall to me but I still am glad I read this.

Read this if Shopaholic/Sophie Kinsella is your vibe of romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This was exactly what I needed, I loved this read, an amazing debut with a lot of charm, sweet moments and lovely characters that I ended up really enjoying.
This is a slow burn, friends to lovers, with a demisexual mmc, it was cozy, it was sweet, and I just have nothing but good things to say about it.
There are some pacing issues throughout the book where things can get a bit slow, and suddenly we're going 0-1000, but for a debut novel I really didn't mind and just sat back and enjoyed learning more about these two characters and watching them fall in love.
Really excited to see what else this author writes!

This book was so cute! I fall in love with the main characters. They were so cute together and the banter was so good! The story was so well written!

4.25 stars

I had no idea what to expect with this book but I was so completely hooked from the beginning. I honestly did not think that I would enjoy this book the way I did. The background of the characters gave their choices and emotions so much depth and they felt like fully realized characters. Sometimes with romance books, characters can lean towards totally unrealistic but both Callum and Lark made choices that were of sound mind.

Lark was such a fun, vibrant, and complex main character. I enjoyed her charm and light, which was such a stark contrast to the inner battle she was facing. Callum was a treat. I literally am blushing just writing this review and thinking about him. I mean, he checks all boxes for me personally, especially in the last 1/4 of the book (iykyk). He is truly a man written by a woman. Their banter and connection was everything - some of their jokes had me actually laughing out loud. It is a very slow burn but the payoff was so worth it. Also, more spicy than I could have imagined...

There were two main things that brought my rating of the book down. The first was the way the main issue in the book resolved... it felt rapidly tied together. I don't think that it was a sufficient fix and wasn't very well explained. The second would be a major spoiler but I would have liked an epilogue of further out and that's all I can really say.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this arc. I really enjoyed it!