This was a painful slog. In concept the book sounded great. Good idea and could have been great. But in execution not so much. It was clear this is a first novel. The writing did not flow smoothly and the story was jumpy and odd at times. The romance wasn’t believable and the two main characters start off in some kind of obsessive relationship right after meeting. Nora wasn’t very bright and Garrett was way pushy. The small town vibe wasn’t cozy it was just nosy and not a good backdrop for the story. Just didn’t work for me.

She's running her family's casket business but falling for a guy who is working for Death. Nora has unexpectedly found herself back home in her little town of Rabbittown... and working at her amily's casket business. Garrett Bishop seems like the perfect guy, he's sweet and has a good job... only he's hiding a secret and it's odd that his odd job behavior and the strange uptick in residents of the town passing away, has Nora's red flags up. What does he actually do and can she trust him with her heart? This was a small town romance that explores loss and dealing with death Unfortunately this one did not hit the mark for me, I really didn't care for the characters or the romance, despite how hard I wanted to like it. The premise made it seem like a book I would absolutely love but while reading it I just felt bored overall. Nora just didn't make all that much of an impression on me and I did not feel any chemistry at all between the two characters. The romance just didn't feel all that romantic and the story just felt "meh" for me unfortunately. If you do like small town romances that deal with grief and death, I'd say give this a go, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

Release Date: September 10,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book has such a fun premise but the connection between Nora and Garrett had no real time to build before they were declaring their undying love for each other. Then as soon as Nora learned Garrett's secret, she dumped him and was getting romantically entangled with someone else she previously swore she couldn't stand. The second romance felt like this was two books being smushed into one rather than a single book that focused on what Nora and Garret's relationship. It wasn't entirely clear what Nora learned during her time at the funeral conference that made her go running back to Garret, so their reunion didn't really feel earned. The prose is well-written, and there's good stuff in here, but the plotting could have been tightened up.

2.75/3 ⭐️ I really wanted to like this one more. I was instantly interested in this once I read the summary and thought it was suuuch a good concept but sadly the execution really fell flat for me.

The pacing was really off from the get-go. We got to spend time with our main characters during the beginning of their relationship and Nora when they were apart but I have no clue what the actual timeline was from the moment they met to when the last chapter takes place because it’s not really mentioned except for brief mentions of days or weeks here and there.

That leads me into my next point, this one was super heavy on the insta-love. It’s essentially love at first sight for Garrett and Nora falls pretty quickly after. They automatically spend all their time together and are in love so fast only to break up abruptly because of his job (understandably tbh) and then get back together because she accepts his job now. Maybe it would’ve worked better if the characters had a bit more substance but unfortunately they both felt very one dimensional to me. I really struggled connecting with either of them throughout the story.

I think the most interesting part of the whole story was Death as a company. I know it’s a romance novel but I wish we got to see more of that part.

Overall, Casket Case was fine. I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to recommend it but it was a quick and easy read so not the worst.

Casket case is an adorable twist on the rom com genre. It took me a couple tries to get into it because it was just too meet "cutsie" at the beginning. The characters developed more as the story went on, but this is a small town Alabama girl meets big city boy trope.

I've let this book just mellow in my mind for a few days before giving my honest opinion. I thought this was bad overall for many reasons, and I'll share my notes after my review. I think the biggest issue I had with this book is that I know the title is a play on words on Basket case, but its Caskets cause she sells caskets. I just think it was so wrong for the FMC to constantly call herself crazy for some of the things she does, when she's not crazy. She's depressed.

Like the FMC is still grieving the tragic death of her parents and how her life is now that they are not there. I get self deprecating humor, I just thing it's wrong of a romance book that have an FMC that is so depressed then by the it's all fine and dandy cause she found love. She still hasn't gone to therapy or tried working on her grief.

The other issue I had, and it wasn't the purity culture, is how quick the characters fell in the love in the first 25% of the book. To then have her be super jealous, then mad at him for his job. Question the whole relationship because of his book. Then start having out with another guy, just to go back to the guy.

This was bad. I did not like it a lot.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


notes:
- The pacing is weird, the POVs.
- Purity Culture?????
- I don't get the Humor
- "He's the kind of smart that can skip grade." Is a weird sentence.
- She;'s not like other girls cause she watches all show and sports.
- Instagram therapy????????????

I fell in love with this book. Lauren Evans did a fabulous job as a literary artist. The description of the characters brought them to life as well as Rabbittown.

Nora had a life she was comfortable in, a job, and a relationship she could see a future with until her parents died in an auto accident that changed her life. She moved to Rabbittown into her parents' home and took over the family business selling caskets. Even though she lived in her parents' house she never changed anything and left it the same way it was the day of their death. Her life was in limbo not knowing what she wanted so she didn't do anything, just lived day after day with each day the same until she met Garrett Bishop. Nora and Garrett have a whirlwind romance until Nora started questioning why Garrett is there at the scene whenever someone dies Nora knows.

Death seems to be a big part of this book, and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really light-hearted read that's perfect going into spooky season. It takes everything I love about the subversive like the characterization of Death and joins it with a sweet undertone of romance.

Nora’s parents died a year ago, leaving her to return to their small town and run the family casket shop. It’s a life with a dependable but dull routine, waiting for customers and watching tv alone.
Garrett works for Death, a ‘logistics coordinator’ making sure people get where they’re going. While in town to ‘move on’ the local restaurant owner, he stops at the casket store for directions and Nora catches his attention.
The two start dating. Even though she doesn’t know much -well anything - about what his job is, it doesn’t really come up as an issue until the town starts losing other people and it’s noted he’s been around.

At the start, it is like if The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy had all its whimsy replaced with depression. (CW - Nora does a not insignificant amount of drinking in attempt to cope with her mental health)
And when the two begin dating, the dialog felt stilted, which made the instalust less than believable. And then instalust while taking things slow felt off. They somehow talk a lot with actually communicating. There are arguments that feel weird, and there’s a lot of them.
Basically, this one just isn’t for me. Dnf at 45%

Thanks to Ballantine/Dell for the arc

Up front - you gotta buy the premise with this unique rom com and even then it might feel a tad odd in spots. Nora, who moved home to her small town run her parents' casket company after their deaths, is stalled and stuck until the day that Garrett comes to her shop for directions. He works for Death- and you won't fully understand how and why until late un the novel. He turns her world upside down and inside out. Until....no spoilers. Nora is a portrait of grief (and know she drinks a lot), her Grandpa a wise man, the people of the town delightful, and Garrett, well he's interesting to say the least. Yes there's insta-love but the steam is delayed and it's not explicit. And then there's another possible romantic interest (he's a hoot). SO much is revealed in the last chapters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. The tone might seem odd in spots but this is a gem.

I don't know how I feel about this book. Nothing really stood out to me as great, it was mostly just everything being okay or lacking. First, the romance was really a let down. At first, it sounded great, a girl who inherited a casket business and a man who works for Death. It seemed like a really fun concept that could have led to do much more. But instead we got insta love, a love triangle, and boring characters that I could not root for at all. I had such high hopes for the concept of this book, but the overall execution was disapponiting.

Thank you to Lauren Evans, Random House Publishing Group - Balentine, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Nora inherited her family run casket business, where she meets Garrett. I liked how it was told from both points of view and hoped she would give him a chance. I felt the book ended a bit too abruptly for me.

A solid debut from an author I look forward to hearing more from! Such a fun and different premise. I didn’t develop a solid love for the main characters but did think it was a darling book!

Definitely hope to read more from Lauren in the future!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for this review.
Unfortunately DNF at 22%.
The first chapter I loved, I was interested and intrigued and then it just stopped. The characters were so boring and unlikable. Like at one point we did almost half a chapter talking about making pizza. It was just so not enjoyable. It sucked cause I loved the premise but there was no spook factor. No fun. And I connect with most grieving people after losing my dad and I felt nothing.
The pacing for their relationship was also way way too fast.
Overall this had promise but the execution just was so lack luster. It needed more umpf

Nora has inherited her parents’ casket store after they die unexpectedly. Garrett works for death.

I struggled a lot with this one. I work in funeral service and I’ve never heard of a casket store open to the public that also does funeral planning. So that was a hurdle. Also, the writing style seemed uncomfortable.

I wanted to like this, but I just couldn’t.

Nora never thought she would find herself back in Rabbittown, Alabama, the small town where she grew up. However, her parents tragic and sudden death landed her back in her hometown and managing her family business - a casket business. There aren't a lot of prospects for a woman in her thirties in Rabbittown, so when a handsome stranger comes into town, she's instantly intrigued. The only problem? He works for Death.

Casket Case had such a promising and unique premise. I mean come on... She sells caskets and he WORKS for the grim reaper? (I mean essentially works for the grim reaper. However, the execution of this story, the characters... Everything was so sloppy. The pacing of Casket Case was very very fast. We've barely been introduced to our main protagonists and any qualities about them when Garrett walks into Nora's business and instantly asks her out on a date. There is absolutely no chemistry between our two protagonists. Everything they do feels so lackluster because there is no motivation behind it and no motivation because we truly know absolutely nothing about them except of how flat they are. 45% of the way through this book, the characters had been on maybe 2-3 dates and already entered a committed relationship, said "I love you" and met each others families. These two characters started off as strangers when the book began and had no previous relation to one another that would warrant such development. Even if this fast pace was warranted, the author made no efforts to make it meaningful or worthwhile to the reader. For some reason the author decides to add a love triangle in the second half of the book that is just not needed. I mean the fact that he works for Death is enough conflict and can be well developed enough to BE the main conflict that drives most of the story.

This book left me very disappointed and while I think the author came up with a very engaging, interesting premise... You need to have the skills to support it to make it a readable story. I honestly have no clue how I was able to finish it.

I normally don't read rom-coms, however the plot of this book intrigued me so I picked it up. A woman who works in her family's casket shop meets up with a representative of Death. They go on many dates. Characters die. Despite the interesting plot, the book soon becomes uninteresting. I didn't really care when the couple broke up, got back together, broke up, blah blah.

I was definitely excited to read this book, but unfortunately I don't think it is the one for me.

The overall concept greatly intrigued me, and I liked the main characters. I just wish the book had given me more than it did. I would've loved to have gotten more perspectives from Garrett and seen more about his life and his job. I know the insta-love puts some readers off, but I didn't really take any issue with it. In fact, I kind of preferred them getting together early over the usual will they/won't they type of stuff that romance books usually pull. My main issue lies with the pacing. The last 1/2 of the book quickens the pace, so that was nice, but the first half dragged. Additionally, the ending was sweet but the last 2 chapters kinda wrapped it up a little quickly for my taste.

Again, the book wasn't bad. There were a lot of great elements that made me enjoy it, but the few structural issues kind of put me off. These are just my own personal issues, so I know that another reader is going to love this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Dell for the ARC.

Casket Case was such a fun premise. She sells caskets and he works for death. It’s set in Alabama which made my Alabama born and raised heart happy! It has some heavy topics but comes across lighthearted.

It was a little insta-love but a cute little read! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

This book is surrounded by themes of grief, grieving & death with just a sprinkle of romance.

The romance happens quickly, but is ripped apart just as fast. Little action takes place until closer to the end. The main character, Nora, seems to be in a consistant state of panic & overthinking.

A little more focus on Garrett, who works for Death, would give the reader a better understanding og him.

The book lacks a solid flow; at times it figuring out the narrator for the chapter was not immediately evident. And while the premise of the book is interesting unfortunately it was difficult to read in the sense that it is lacking in many areas.